Hempfield High School

Not to be confused with Hempfield Area High School.
Hempfield High School
Location
Landisville, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County
United States
Information
School type Public, Secondary
School district Hempfield School District
Faculty ~130
Grades 9 - 12
Enrollment ~2,480
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Red and Black
         
Mascot Black Knight
Rival Manheim Township High School
Alma Mater Our loyalty we give to thee, and sacred honor too.
To help us in our future, that we our best may do.
Honor, gratitude, loyalty,
All of these we give, to thee!
Mission statement The mission of the Hempfield School District community is to provide rigorous, relevant, responsive, and safe educational opportunities for students to become lifelong learners and contributing citizens in a diverse, global society.
Website www.hempfieldsd.org/hhs

Hempfield High School is a public senior high school located in Landisville, Pennsylvania. It serves both East and West Hempfield townships and serves as the only high school for Hempfield School District.

Demographics

Academics

Hempfield High School continually shows above state average test results on the PSSA tests [1] and the SATs. The school has a 95% graduation rate with almost 82% of Hempfield graduates continuing on to excel in post secondary education.[2]

Academic success is also shown through national merit, where, in 2005-2006, thirteen students were honored as National Merit Finalists.[3] Finally, Hempfield students have consistently excelled in the Pennsylvania Math League. In 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, the Math Team were the first in their region, and in 2001, 2006, and 2008, they were first in the league.[4]

Hempfield offers a number of Advanced Placement courses. These include classes in Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Environmental Science, English, French, German, and Spanish Literature, Art, Music Theory, Physics, Statistics, and US History, US Government and Politics.[1] AP exams for college credit, are also offered in all of these areas. Honor weighted courses in the Humanities are offered, however, no AP exam accompanies them.

Performing Arts and Music

Theater

Hempfield High School is renowned for its extensive theater program and is highly regarded for its annual "Dance Theatre" production,[5] created by Pat Kautter (now Choreographed and Directed by Cody Smith) is a completely original show which features over 100 students. Dance Theatre celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2008.[6] Hempfield's spring musical productions, under the direction of Dr. Alan Mudrick and Cody Smith, are also well known for their excellence. A fall and spring play are also performed annually. The 1,300 seat Performing Arts Center[7] was designed by The Ray Group Inc.[8] a Lancaster-based architecture firm that specializes in schools and universities.[9] The PAC opened in Fall 1995 and is one of the most expensive high school stages in Pennsylvania. The "PAC" is often rented out by local dance companies and performance groups to hold their productions.

Music

The Hempfield Black Knight Marching Band, under the direction of one Mr. Adam Gumble, consists of over 115 members. Other than the marching band, Hempfield is also host to other bands. The Symphonic band for grades 10-12, and The Concert Band is a 50+ performance group which accepts all levels of musicians from all grades designed for 9th graders to adapt them to the more challenging material and style that is played in the Symphonic band. The 2012-2013 band was selected to perform at the PMEA All-State conference. The Jazz Bands include the Jazz band who hosts a variety of shows during the year and the Jazz Lab Band which performs with the Jazz Band during the spring jazz concert. All of the bands at Hempfield are supervised by the department chair of music, Dr Alan Mudrick.

Hempfield is also the home to several choral groups; Hempfield Singers, Bel Cantos, Concert Choir, and Chamber Singers. All are under the direction of Dr. Alan Mudrick. Hempfield Singers is a high level choir which is open by audition. Bel Cantos is an all female-choir, also selected through audition. Concert Choir is a larger group that is open to any student. The Hempfield Chamber Singers is an elite group which includes a small number of singers. The 2012-2013 group also performed at the state conference. The Chamber Singers perform the national anthem at many of Hempfield's home basketball games.

The Hempfield Orchestras include Symphony Strings, an orchestra tailored to advanced musicians; and Concert Strings, a performing orchestra designed for underclassmen.

All orchestras, bands and choirs perform at either the holiday concert, the winter concert and a spring concert as well. Some groups have shows outside of the Hempfield music department, which change every year.[10]

Athletics

Hempfield competes in the Lancaster-Lebanon League as part of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Sports

Notable athletic alumni of HHS

Football Program

Led by Head Coach Ron Zeiber, the Hempfield football program has dramatically increased in performance in recent years. They play in Division 1 of the L-L League.

Football Disciplinary action of 2012

After a 1-0 start, Hempfield played their first home game of the season against Manheim Central. Hempfield won 17-14 that evening for the first 2-0 in 5 years. That evening an incident occurred at the townhouse of then-Hempfield senior Zac Getz where alcohol and drugs were consumed by celebrating students, including players of the football team. Police action occurred in the middle of the night, and many players were reported for several different infractions. Despite what was a bitter battle between Hempfield policy number 157 (which all team members had signed and agreed to at the beginning of the season) and members of the football team, the policy won ultimately. Hempfield started their first freshman quarterback in a Varsity Game ever, crushing all hope for a successful football season, and finished the year 3-7. The incident shocked the community and the rest of the league. Many argue it is what caused the dramatic downturn of the success of the football team during the 2012 season. The team looked to rebuild, and start with a clean slate the next year.

Facilities

Recent Success

In the last few years, Hempfield has seen great success in all of their athletic programs. The girls Volleyball team has won the state championship two of the last three seasons. The boys Soccer team won the state title in 2010. The girls Field Hockey team won the state title in 2011. The boys Track & Field team won the state title two of the previous four seasons. Other sports that have seen recent success are boys Basketball, boys and girls Tennis, Cross Country, boys Golf, girls Soccer, and boys Baseball among many others.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 GreatSchools.net
  2. ↑ Hempfield Senior High School - Landisville, Pennsylvania/PA - Public School Profile
  3. ↑ School Profile
  4. ↑ Math League Contest Results
  5. ↑ LancasterOnline.com:Entertainment:Bailey bridges age gap
  6. ↑ LancasterOnline.com:Entertainment:Stepping out
  7. ↑ Hempfield High School | Performing Arts Center
  8. ↑ Robert Lorelli Associates, Project List
  9. ↑ The Ray Group | Welcome
  10. ↑ Hempfield Music Website
  11. ↑ http://www.georgelislaw.com/
  12. ↑ http://www.lancasterinferno.com/

External links

Coordinates: 40°05′31″N 76°24′50″W / 40.092°N 76.414°W