Fairmont Senior High School

Infobox School
name = Fairmont Senior High School


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location = 1 Loop Park
streetaddress =
city = Fairmont
state = WV
county =
zipcode = 26554
country = USA flagicon|USA
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schoolnumber =
schoolboard =
district = Marion County
affiliation =
superintendent = Dr. James Phares
trustee =
founder =
principal = Chad A. Norman
viceprincipal = L. D. Skarzinski
dean = Rusty Campbell
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schooltype = Public coeducational
endowment =
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enrolment = 648 [ [http://www.wvmat.com/misc/classes.htm WV High School Classifications] ]
grades = 9-12
classrooms =
campus =
campus size = 11.5 acres
campus type =
athletics =
conference = NCAC
slogan = "Polar Bear Pride"
song =
fightsong =
motto =
accreditation =
rival = East Fairmont High School
mascot = Polar Bear
mascot

sports =
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colors = Royal Blue,White color box|#4169E1 color box|#FFFFFF
yearbook = Maple Leaves
newspaper =
opened =
established = 1876
founded =
status =
closed =
other =
feeders = Fairmont Middle School
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free_label3 = Main Office
free_text3 = (304)-367-2150
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Fairmont Senior High School (FSHS) is an historic secondary school located in Fairmont, West Virginia, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The school serves grades nine through twelve and is part of the Marion County School District. The athletic teams are referred to as the Polar Bears, giving rise to the term "Polar Bear Pride".

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History

Established in 1876, the school was relocated once in 1905 and again in 1928 to accommodate the growing student population. The building that was contructed at Loop Park in 1928 is the current location for FSHS, and originally housed grades 10-12. In 1929, the first class to graduate from the new building presented the school with a statue of Abraham Lincoln that still stands today.

Much of the building was constructed of concrete, which helped to mitigate the destuction caused by a fire that damaged a large section of the school's roof on February 16, 1979. The historic foundation of the building was preserved.

The campus has since become a conglomeration of facilities displaying the differences in architectural influences for over a century. At 11.5 acres, the campus on Oakwood Road ranks among the most beautiful in the state and country. The outdoor living classroom of trees with historical significance also cultivates flowering dogwoods, maples, and oaks, which enhance the landscape and make every season a beautiful environment for learning.

The campus currently consists of the original school and several separate structures including a science and mathematics builing called the Freshman building, a full-sized gymnasium, and a cafeteria. The decentralized campus provides for a college atmosphere due to the outdoor nature of travel between classes. The campus also features many walkways, a small waterfall, flowering bushes, and rolling hills.

National Register

Infobox_nrhp | name =Fairmont Senior High School
nrhp_type =

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caption = Main Building
location= 1 Loop Park, Fairmont, West Virginia
lat_degrees = 39
lat_minutes = 28
lat_seconds = 43
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 80
long_minutes = 9
long_seconds = 26
long_direction = W
locmapin = West Virginia
area =
built = April 1, 1929
architect= William B. Ittner; Smallwood Low Stone Company
architecture= Colonial Revival
added = March 22, 2002
governing_body = Local
refnum=02000254cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

On March 22, 2002 Fairmont Senior High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] Architect William B. Ittner, who is responsible for over three dozen entries in the National Register, designed the school in the late 1920s. He was prominent in St. Louis, Missouri where his firm Ittner Architects still operates. [ [http://www.ittnerarchitects.com/ Ittner Architects] ]

The school's architectural classification is Colonial Revival, with a stone foundation, brick walls, and asphalt shingle roofing. Materials were provided by the local Smallwood Low Stone Company. Excavation began on January 26, 1928, by the builders D. J. Phipps of Roanoke, Virginia, and the building was finished just over a year later on April 1, 1929, with a total cost of approximately $574,000. [ [http://www.fshsfoundation.com/auditorium/originaldedicationprogram.pdf Dedication] ] The main building originally possessed 33 classrooms, and could comfortably accommodate 900 students. Plans were included to expand the building should the student population increase.

Fairmont Senior possesses many unique features that fortify its historic nature. The open light court or "senior court" is bound on all sides by interior walls of the school, but is not constrained by a ceiling. The opening provides sunlight to the surrounding halls and classrooms, as well as the small glass greenhouse located just inside the court. The school also possessed a central ventilation system that provided fresh air to the classrooms and featured two chimneys that can still be seen from the exterior of the building. This system was later closed off due to fire codes. Another notable contribution are the eight tiled water fountain backsplashes. Each displays a different scene and contains the original tiles used in its creation.

The auditorium originally housed 1107 opera style chairs and a 16 by 50 foot wooden stage. Later, when the stage was expanded, the first four rows of seating were removed leaving 976 seats. By the turn of the century, many of the seats were in poor condition and needed to be replaced. To preserve the historic nature of one of the school's greatest attributes, the 1000 Voices fund was established to restore the auditorium to its original state. In 2001 the seats were dismantled and sent away to be completely refurbished and reinstalled into the auditorium. Intricate details such as the gold leaf ribbons on the house lighting globes was also preserved, as well as detailed paintings on the proscenium arch.

Other structures also contribute to the school's historic nature. A small single arch concrete bridge crosses a stream that divides the campus; a stone wall approximately 100 feet in length runs along the back of the school; and two brick gate posts stand at the entrance of the campus.

Inscriptions

Adding to the historical significance of the building are several inscriptions that can be found etched into the stone at various locations on the exterior of the main building. The inscription at the main entrance was taken from a quote by Daniel Webster who spoke at the dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument in 1825.

Choral Music

Fairmont Senior High School has a rich tradition of providing some of the highest quality choral music at the high school level. The Fairmont Senior Madrigal Chamber Choir, a renaissance style a cappella choir, has won numerous all-around Festival's of Music choral competitions in places such as Montreal, New York City, and Williamsburg. The choral department includes the Choraliers, Madrigals, Freshman, Mens’ and Womens’ Chorus, and piano instruction. The elite Madrigals, an Elizabethan style choral group, entertain in authentic costumes. The group has won competitive prestigious prizes and performed at the inauguration of West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin.

Drama and Speech

The International Thespian Society originated in Fairmont, West Virginia and was founded by Dr. Paul Opp and Mr. Harry Leeper. Two of the three original chapters were Fairmont Senior High School Troop #2 and East Fairmont High School Troupe #3. The school temporarily lost the Troup #2 label, until it was reinstated following petition in 2002.

Averaging 50 trophies for the past 25 years, the speech team's total trophy accumulation numbers over 1200. FSHS has placed more students in the top 48 at the Octo Finals than any high school in the state of WV.

Troop #2 is in current production of the show Is He Dead? by Mark Twain staring Josh Leeper, direct descendant of Harry T. Leeper.

Athletics

The boys' sports teams are referred to as the Polar Bears and the girls' teams, the Lady Polar Bears. Fairmont Senior competes in the North Central Athletic Conference (NCAC) and regularly contends for state titles in various sports. The school has a total of 21 sports teams and is one of the few in the state to have a lacrosse team. The school has also won a total of 33 state titles and has many honorable mentions as the runners up in state championship events.

Mascot

Originally the athletics teams were known as "Ice's Men" in reference to Coach Frank Ice who coached the school's athletic teams from 1914 to 1920. In 1926 the Polar Bear mascot was officially established in honor of the coach. The class of 1970 donated twin polar bear statues that line the entrance of the school.

Rivalry

Fairmont Senior is one of three AAA high schools in Marion County, along with East Fairmont High School and North Marion High School. While both schools have presented strong competition for FSHS, the intense rivalry that exists between Fairmont Senior and East Fairmont is one of the greatest in the state, known simply as the East-West rivalry. Now in its 88th edition, the rivalry continues to generate new stories that enrich its longstanding history and tradition. Adding to the tension between the two schools is the fact that they share a home football field at the historic East-West Stadium. For the East-West football game the home team is alternated each year and decorates the stadium in their school's colors.

East-West Stadium

The Polar Bear football, soccer, and track teams all practice and perform off-campus at the historic East-West Stadium. The stadium was built in the 1920's and is home to both Fairmont Senior High School and East Fairmont High School. The facility includes a football/soccer field, track, and a swimming pool. The stadium, which covers one full city block, has an approximate capacity of six-thousand spectators. [ [http://www.eastweststadium.com/about.asp East-West Stadium] ]

Swimming

The Boy's Polar Bear Swim team has never lost the West Virginia state championship title, winning every state swim meet since the formation of the sport in 1999. [ [http://www.wvssac.org/new_site/wvssac_website/html/State%20Champions/Swim.pdf WVSSAC] ] This accomplishment puts Fairmont Senior in the company of Parkersburg High School as the only two AAA high schools in the state of West Virginia to achieve a streak of ten or more state championship victories in a single sport. [ [http://wvgazette.com/Sports/PrepSports/200802210016 Charleston Gazette] ]

Notable Alumni

*Mary Lou Retton, American all-around gold-winning Olympic gymnast.
*Michael Garrison, former president of West Virginia University.
*Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., "the fastest man alive."

See Also

*List of National Register of Historic Places entries

References

External Links

* [http://www.fshsfoundation.com FSHS Foundation]
* [http://www.fairmontseniorhighschool.com Fairmont Senior]
* [http://www.fairmontpolarbears.com Polar Bear Sports]