Lake Highlands High School

Lake Highlands High School is a secondary school serving grades 10-12 located in Dallas, Texas, United States. The school serves the Lake Highlands community including the RISD section of Highland Meadows. The school is part of the Richardson Independent School District and is located centrally within Lake Highlands near the DART Blue Line. Additionally, the Lake Highlands Freshman Center (which sits on the same property as LHHS) houses the 9th grade students.

The school mascot is the Wildcat. The Wildcat is also the mascot of the LH Elementary School, LH Junior High, and the above mentioned Freshman Center. Thus, some students can remain Wildcats for all of their elementary and secondary school years.

In 2002, the school received a Blue Ribbon award from the U.S. Department of Education [ [http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF) ] ] . It was also named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best high schools in America in 2001.

Large portions of Ron Howard's 1978 TV movie Cotton Candy were filmed at the school. The movie was about a group of friends who started a band.

The school is home of the "Wildcat Wranglers", one of the few high school Country/Western dance teams existing in the United States. The group also performed for the 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential inaugurations, including at the Black Tie and Boots Balls and in the Inaugural Parades associated with the aforementioned inaugurations; in the 2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; and performed in the 2008 New Year's Day Parade in London.

The school is also home to the Lake Highlands Wildcat Band, which in the 1970s, under the direction of Eddie Green, was nationally acclaimed. The band appeared at the Texas Music Educators Association as the honor band in 1973 and also at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. The Lake Highlands Band has been invited to perform at the Midwest convention more than any other band. Fact|date=May 2008 The current band director is Jeff Bradford. Fact|date=February 2007

The school's football team has been in the UIL regional and state playoffs numerous times and won the 5A state championship in 1981. The school has won district championships in baseball over 20 times since 1964.

The school also shares a football stadium with L.V. Berkner High School. Currently it is called "Wildcat-Ram Stadium," a collaboration of mascots. Lake Highlands students also unofficially refer to this stadium as "The Boneyard". Lake Highlands and Berkner have long been rivals in football and other sports. For the annual football rivalry, both schools are playing "at home" in Wildcat-Ram Stadium. The 2005 and 2006 rivalry games were won by the Berkner Rams in the final minute, either by a touchdown or a field goal. Lake Highlands won the 2007 rivalry game by a score of 31-24.

The Trestle

For many years, the senior students painted a railroad trestle located directly west of the school and stadium. The words "Welcome To The Boneyard" were painted on the west side of the steel trestle, greeting those about to drive by the stadium, while the seniors painted their names on the concrete columns supporting the trestle. This activity was never officially authorized by the school or by DART, which owned the trestle, but no one objected to it being painted and it was a fixture in the community. In 1999, DART demolished the trestle, much to the dismay of the students and community. A new trestle was built for the portion of the DART Blue Line which was completed in 2002. DART refused permission for the students to paint the new trestle, stating that they would not tolerate graffiti on their property and anything painted on that trestle would be considered graffiti. However, by April 2000, when most of the concrete for the new trestle was in place, students were painting it, with the 20-year-old phrase "Welcome To The Boneyard" in its traditional place, as well as remarks like "Property of LH" and "DART Go Home". DART quickly removed the graffiti, and students quickly created more of it. This continued for 3 to 4 years until the students largely stopped painting the trestle. DART constructed a fence around the trestle and planted vines on it to discourage this behavior.

The Infamous 'Muffin Man' Prank of 2006

In May 2006, near the conclusion of the school year, muffins containing cannabis were delivered to the faculty. At least 18 school employees were sent to Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas after experiencing dizziness and lightheadedness. [ [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/richardson/stories/051706dnmetmuffins.49cc00be.html Dallas Mrning News "18 fall ill from tainted muffins"] ] . The muffins were delivered by a senior from Bishop Lynch High School named Ian Walker, who planned the prank with Lake Highlands' senior and former student of Bishop Lynch, Joey Tellini. Roughly two weeks after the event, the two turned themselves in to the police. No teachers suffered lasting harm and the school's 81 year-old receptionist was the only person hospitalized overnight. This incident was reported nationally by CNN, and mentioned in skits such as "school bake sale" by late-night television personalities such as Conan O'Brien.Coincidentally, a transformer near the school blew up the day after the incident, which led to speculation that the events were somehow connected. This was the second time in three years that such an electrical problem had occurred.

Notable alumni

*Amy Acker - actress
*Nicole Bilderback - actress
*Merton Hanks - National Football League safety
*Justin Leonard - American professional golfer. British Open champion.
*James F. Reilly - NASA astronaut
*Kristi Scales - sidelines reporter for KLUV radio
*Matt Stover - National Football League Baltimore Ravens kicker
*Phil Dawson - National Football League Cleveland Browns kicker
*Paul Broome - Major League Soccer professional player
*Morgan Fairchild - actress
*Darvis Patton - Olympic Track Athlete
*Marcus Coleman - National Football League Dallas Cowboys safety
*Erin Aldrich - Track and field athlete, high jumper in 2000 Summer Olympics
*Brenda Bock - TV soap and film actress
*Matt Dunigan - CFL Hall of Famer, passed for 713 yards in 1994
*George Gimarc Local radio personality
*Chris Harrison - Host of the TV show "The Bachelor"
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1241487/ Bryan Holloway] - Artist, Sculptor
*Scott Livingstone - Former MLB player; drafted in second round by Detroit in 1988.
*Wally Lynn - Radio sports broadcaster who has worked for the Dallas Cowboys and ESPN; real name is Walter Ralph.
*Detron Smith - former NFL running back (1996-2003) with Denver and Indianapolis; played at Texas A&M.
*Grant Henderson - Former Miami Dolphins tight end (1975-1978); also played at Texas Tech.
*Jim Sowell - Former Chairman of the Board of Regents of Texas Tech and former chairman of Circle 10 Council of Boy Scouts.
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1115508/ Brad Vanderburg] - Film Writer, Director, Editor
*Gibby Haynes - Musician
*Frank Okam - Football defensive tackle for the University of Texas and the Houston Texans
*Warren Carter - University of Illinois basketball forward
*Josh Carter - Texas A&M University - basketball guard
*Andre Tillman - Former Miami Dolphins tight end (1975-1978); also a first-team All-America performer at Texas Tech. [http://texastech.cstv.com/trads/hoh-qt.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.risd.org/Schools/schools.asp?OrgCode=002 School Information Page]
* [http://www.risd.org/schools/lhhs/index.htm School Website]
* [http://www.risd.org/ Richardson Independent School District]
* [http://www.lakehighlandsbands.org/ Lake Highlands Bands]
* [http://www.lhwranglers.com/ Wildcat Wranglers]