Port Huron Northern High School

Port Huron Northern High School (also PHN or Northern) is a high school located in Port Huron, Michigan. The school's colors are blue and gold, and the mascot is the Siberian Husky. The school has a store (the Paw Pad), a radio station (WORW), and had a Performing Arts Center (PAC) added in 2005.

In-School Operations

Northern hosts a traditional curriculum on a 6-period day with one principal, two assistant principals, and an athletic director/assistant principal. The school has well-developed AP and arts programs, offers many athletic teams and co-curricular clubs and activities, and houses a radio station as well as a store that runs a snack bar and sells logo wear.

Paw Pad

Open before school and during the 3 lunches, the Paw Pad is Northern's school store. The store sells snacks, drinks, apparel, and various supplies. Recently, the school had begun to sell treats and baked goods from Tim Hortons. The name of the store references the school's mascot, the Siberian Husky, and the room is decorated with the school's colors.

Language Courses

The school offers several years of 3 different languages: French, Spanish,and Japanese. Currently, students are able to take the first two years at the middle schools and take upper level courses at Port Huron Northern. The school is anticipating developing an AP Spanish Language Program, offered as a fifth-year class. The week before Spring Break is 'World Language Week', where all world language students intermix and participate in many different cultural activities. Students decorate shirts and other items in the target languages, research and make food, and view cultural videos in the Performing Arts Center.

WORW

The school operates a radio station WORW, nicknamed "The Wave" which broadcasts on the 91.9 FM frequency. The station's format is Top 40 with occasional off-format specialty shows run by students. It began broadcasting in 1972, and in 2005 implemented updates which allowed it to broadcast constantly. The station is student operated during their 6 school hours and lunch periods.

Northern Bands

The Northern Bands offer a wide variety of experiences built upon three concert bands: a freshman Concert Band, and two upperclassman bands, the Symphonic Band and the Northern Winds and Percussion. These concert bands provide the foundation of instruction for the program, and participation in any one of those three concert bands makes a Northern student eligible to participate in any one or several auxiliary units that branch from the confer bands, including: the Northern Husky Marching Band, the Port Huron Northern Aurora winter color guard, the Northern Jazz Band, and the winter drum line Northern Thunder. In 2014, the Northern Wind Ensemble ("Northern Winds and Percussion") under the direction of Erick Senkmajer was one of only five band selected to perform at the Michigan Music Conference in Ann Arbor.

The Northern Bands are non-competitive in nature, though they have a very active performance schedule. From July 2011 through October 2014 saw some portion of the program giving a public performance on average about once every 7 days.

Though noncompetitive, the program has earned many honors, including: consistently high ratings at their district and state concert and marching festivals, an invitation to perform at the state music conference in January 2014, selected to perform as part of the national television feed at America's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2010, repeatedly selected for the "Main Street USA" parade at Disney's Magic Music Days, among many others.

In the last decade, the band program has hosted many guest artists of national and international renown including: Blue Jupiter, Boston Brass, Jeff Coffin, the USAF Band of Flight, USAF Band of Mid America, and several university ensembles and professors.

During the marching band/football season, the trombone section performs Trombone Suicides on the sidelines.^[1] This is usually performed between the 3rd and 4th quarters.

Recent Additions and Updates

The Performing Arts Center

Port Huron Northern was given a large addition in 2005, the PHN Performing Arts Center. The PAC can seat about 650 and is wheelchair-accessible. The architecture features large amounts of glass and light, a full fly, a large proscenium, and a full pit. The school hosts plays, concerts, presentations, as well as special events for students.

Many individuals and organizations utilize the Performing Arts Center at PHN. Presentations include: drama club productions; concerts by the high school concert bands, jazz bands, chamber ensembles, the marching band and choirs; performing arts class productions; professional speakers.

The acoustics in the Northern PAC are adjustable for many different kinds of performances. A movable, fully enclosed acoustical shell and acoustical cloud system provides good projection, balance, and mix for audiences, regardless of their seat in the auditorium. The a light and sound suite at the back of the PAC allows for broad control over the lighting and some acoustical properties within the theater. The light and sound suite also includes a large projection bay which is used to project onto a retractable 40x20 foot screen.

Individual lights, while controlled from the box, can are reached and adjusted from three catwalks, two Juliettes and a second-story spotlight nest.

St. Clair County Technology Center

Student can apply for additional classes at the St. Clair County Technical Education Center (TEC). To get to TEC, students take a bus during the school day from PHN. The TEC offers various classes that students take to earn college credits while still in high school. As of 2008, quite a few students are currently enrolled in the program.

Images

• PHN Media Center
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  The PHN Media Center

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  The PHN Media Center Computer Lab

References

External links

• Port Huron Northern Homepage
• Port Huron Northern High School Bands Homepage
• Michiguide.com - WORW History

Coordinates: 43°1′27″N 82°26′41″W / 43.02417°N 82.44472°W / 43.02417; -82.44472