Southfield High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Southfeld High School
native_name = "Where Blue Jays Soar"
city = Southfield
established =
state = Michigan
country = United States
type = Public school
principal = Michael Horn
students = 1400
grades = 9-12
address = 24675 Lahser Road
district = Southfield Public Schools
mascot = Blue Jay
colors = Blue and grey
newspaper = [http://my.highschooljournalism.org/mi/southfield/shs/ "The Southfield Jay"]
yearbook = "Blue and Grey"
website = [http://www.southfield.k12.mi.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=37 Southfield High School website]
picture =

Southfield High School is a senior high school located in Southfield, Michigan. It is the older of three high schools in the Southfield Public Schools district, one school being Southfield-Lathrup High School, and the other being University High School Academy [ [http://www.southfield.k12.mi.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=27 University High School Academy - The U: Home of the Soaring Eagles! ] ] , which is located in the building of Southfield High School.

History, milestones, and awards

Dress Code

Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year, a dress code was instituted at the high school level, finalizing the process of bringing all of the Southfield Public Schools district under a dress code policy. All members of the board supported the measure and voted aye, except for Trustee Karen Miller. Ms. Miller voted no because she didn't feel that there was enough input from students in the development of the dress code. For the 2006-2007 school year, the dress code was tightened further so that it required all students to tuck in their shirts.

NASA Explorer School

Southfield High School is a NASA Explorer School, and features a class, NASA Aerospace to teach students about the wonders and dynamics of flight while enhancing real-world problem solving skills.

Campus

The campus is divided into several distinct zones called "houses", two of which are connected by glass hallways.

A House

A House, also a two story building, is considerably smaller than O House. It holds the Blue Jay Cafe, a model restaurant for those in Culinary Arts classes, as well as the majority of the English department classrooms.

During the 2006 - 2007 academic year, A House was shut down and its classes relocated.

B, C, and D House

In March 2006, a new two story building adjacent to and connected with A House, opened to hold students relocated from the closed parts of O House.

Classrooms in A, B, C, and D House are all air conditioned, with flat panel television screens in each room, as well as combination DVD/VCR players.

Portables (B House Replacement)

After Labor Day, 2004, B House, which was a two story building, and home to an additional cafeteria was closed to all traffic and underwent dismantling. Classrooms in this section of the school were directed to "Temporary Instructional Facilities" or TIFs, which are simply classrooms in large mobile office style buildings. Colloquially they have come to be known as "the portables".

There were three separate "buildings", each holding approximately 8 classrooms. Unlike the majority of classrooms in both A and O House, these classrooms are air conditioned and carpeted. Because these classrooms were outside on the front lawn, students were often forced to walk outside, uncovered, in unfavorable conditions, such as snow or rain.

The portables were removed prior to the beginning of the 2006 - 2007 academic year.

Extracurricular Activities

*Newspaper - "The Southfield Jay":This newspaper has had several awards bestowed upon it for journalistic talent, including three George H. Gallup Awards from Quill and Scroll. Over the past 10 years they have accumulated more than 60 awards.
*Yearbook - "Blue and Gray"
*Radio - WSHJ 88.3
*Business Professionals of America
*Project Manhood
*Project Womanhood
*Sold Out for Christ:A group of members united in religion.
*Southfield High School Marching Band "The best band in the land"
*Poetry Club
*Rotary Club
*Robotics Club
** FIRST ROBOTICS Robotics - TechnoJays
***The TechnoJays are the 2008 Buckeye Regional Finalists, having finished second overall
** OCCRA Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association:Participates in OCCRA and FIRST Robotics competitions.
*Intermural Sports:Football::Freshman Football::Junior Varsity Football::Varsity Football:Track and Field::Cross Country::Track and Field

Curriculum

Academy Learning

Southfield High is home to two of the Academies serving the Southfield Public Schools district, specifically the Engineering & Manufacturing Sciences Academy and the Global Business & Information Technology Academy. Both academies have separate entry requirements from the mainstream curriculum.

Engineering and Manufacturing Sciences Academy

Courses offered:
*Engineering Tech
*Drafting
*CAD/Adv CAD
*Engineering Design
*Electronics & Robotics

Global Business and Information Technology Academy

Courses offered:

Advanced Placement Options

Southfield High offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses in several different subjects including:

* United States History
* United States Government & Politics
* Biology
* Calculus
* Chemistry
* English Language and Composition
* English Literature and Composition

ummer Reading Program

Beginning the summer of 2005, all Southfield High students were required to read books from a preselected list over the summer. Honors and AP students received more books to summer read than other students.

Beginning the summer of 2006, all summer reading work was required to be submitted through mydropbox.com, an online plagiarism screening service.

Notable alumni

* Ted Simmons, St. Louis Cardinals - '68-'88
* Rick Titsworth aka Rick Worthy c/o 1985, actor http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0941796/
* Torin Dorn, North Carolina CB c/o 1986, LA Raiders 4th round Draft Pick
* Debbie Schlussel c/o 1986 attorney, political commentator, and blogger.
* Gabriel Watson c/o 2002, Michigan DT c/o 2006, Arizona Cardinals 4th round Draft Pick
* Kelli Truss, c/o 1996, physician
* Phillip Williams, Jr., c/o 1987, mortgage banker
* Vince Bean, Michigan WR c/o 1981
* Rozlyn Tennielle Linder, c/o 1993, educator, author
* Ira Newble, c/o 1993, forward for the Los Angeles Lakers
* Terry Dexter, c/o 1993, recording artist
* Damon Green, c/o 1993, Business Development Manager Cybernet Systems Corporation
* MernaLyn, A Shakespearean actress, international model
* Karriem Riggins ,jazz drummer and former member of the Ray Brown Trio
* [http://www.polarisventures.com/WhoWeAre/TeamDetail.asp?ContactID=%7B13FFAD62-07DB-4E1B-8169-DEF97DD6F468%7D/ Alan G. Spoon] , Managing Partner, Polaris Venture Partners, former President of Newsweek Magazine
* [http://www.susanmerson.com/ Susan Merson] , actress/playwright/producer
* [http://www.hoa.org/ Jack A. Allweiss] , President of Future Domain Corporation - acquired by Adaptec Corporation
* James V. Jackson, c/o 1988, Vice President of the Southfield Board of Education - '07-'08
* Pat St. John, American radio personality and voice artist
* Spencer Overton, c/o 1986 Law Professor, Voting rights expert, and author of Stealing Democracy

References

External links

* [http://www.southfield.k12.mi.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=37 Southfield High School Official Website]
* [http://www.southfield.k12.mi.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=11612&sc_id=1127416123 Student Dress Code]
* [http://www.detnews.com/2005/schools/0507/10/B04-240729.htm Dress code extended to Southfield high schools.] Detroit News (July 8, 2005)