Gulf Coast High School

Infobox School | name = Gulf Coast High School


imagesize = 203px
established = 1998
type = Public
principal = David Stump
faculty = 135
enrollment = approx. 2000
colors = Black, Teal and Silver
mascot = Shark
free_text2 = 7:15AM to 2:00PM

location = 7878 Shark Way
Naples, FL 34119
country = USA
website = http://collier.k12.fl.us/gch/

Gulf Coast High School is a secondary education school located in Naples, Florida, and is the largest of nine public high schools located in Collier County. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://collier.k12.fl.us/schools/schoollist.asp|title= List of Collier County Public Schools|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=December 28|accessyear=2006|curly=] Gulf Coast High School is part of the District School Board of Collier County. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://collier.k12.fl.us/gch/|title= Gulf Coast High School - Home of the Sharks|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=December 28|accessyear=2006|curly=]

Gulf Coast High School opened its doors to Collier County students for the first time in August 1998. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/650173-1.html|title= Planning high-tech high|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=December 28|accessyear=2006|curly=] The total cost of the project was 44.5 million dollars. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/650173-1.html|title= Planning high-tech high|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=December 28|accessyear=2006|curly=]

Academics

National Merit

Gulf Coast High School has had several students in the past few years place as National Merit Scholarship Finalists.

Average standardized test scores

Athletics

Gulf Coast High School is one of the seven members of the Collier County Athletic Conference and also belongs to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA). The school offers the following athletic programs. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://collier.k12.fl.us/gch/Activities/index.htm|title= Gulf Coast High School Athletics|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=August 15|accessyear=2006|curly=]

Fall sports

*Boys & Girls Cross Country
*American football
*Boys & Girls Golf
*Boys & Girls Swimming & Diving
*Girls Volleyball
*Girls Cheerleading

Winter sports

*Boys & Girls Soccer
*Wrestling
*Boys & Girls Basketball

pring sports

*Boys Baseball
*Girls Softball
*Boys & Girls Tennis
*Boys & Girls Track and Field
*Girls Cheerleading

Club Based Sports

The school lists some club sports that students can participate in. Lacrosse and Water Polo are specific to Gulf Coast, and they also list the Naples Bears Rugby club, which recruits from several area high schools. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://collier.k12.fl.us/gch/|title= Gulf Coast High School - Home of the Sharks|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=May 4|accessyear=2008|curly=] The school also lists Cheerleading as one of their sports, however the FSHAA considers it a "Recognized Sport" and not a "Sanctioned Sport." [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://www.fhsaa.org/programs/|title=FSHAA.org: Sports & Programs|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=May 4|accessyear=2008|curly=]

Career academies

Gulf Coast High School is home to two different Career Academies. The goal of these programs is to help students that are interested in a certain career. Over the course of their high school education, students enrolled in the Academy take several classes relating to the Academy, some of which are classes specifically made for Academy Students.

ports and Entertainment Marketing Academy

The Sports Marketing Academy has affiliated itself with the local Germain Arena. They put on shows and programs throughout the school year.

Medical Academy

The Medical Academy's goal is to prepare students to pursue a career in any medical field they may be interested in.

Clubs

Gulf Coast High School is home to many different extracurricular clubs. An accurate, up-to-date list is difficult to keep, as clubs are added and dropped as students graduate or lose interest. However, some of the notable clubs are:

*Anime Club
*Key Club
*National Honor Society
*Student Council
*Tiburon Players Drama Club
*DECA
*Fellowship of Christian Athletes
*FBLA
*Spanish Honor Society
*French Honor Society
*Journalism
*Mock Trial
*Model United Nations
*Speech & Debate
*SWAT
*Gay/Straight Alliance

Marching Band

Gulf Coast High School is home to the 350-member 'Shark Marching Band.' The Band is under the direction of Mr. Robert Hamberg and has been recognized for their outstanding performances throughout the years. The Band performs at all Varsity Football Games and takes part in different events. In 2006, The Sharks received the Honor of being the First High School Band to ever perform at a Tampa Bay Buccaneer's Half-Time Show. The Band takes part in different parades, such as the Disney Magic Kingdom 'Share a Dream Come True' Parade and the Universal Studios' 'Macy's Christmas Parade.' The band also traveled to New York to perform in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=24|year=2006|month=10|url=http://collier.k12.fl.us/news/releases/102406b.pdf|title= News Release – Sharks play for Bucs|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=Collier County Public Schools|language=English|accessdate=November 7|accessyear=2007|curly=|format=PDF]

Theatre

Gulf Coast High School is part of District Six thespians and is International Thespian Society Troupe number 5876. Each year the theatre troupe puts on four main events. First there is a main-stage, full length production. There is also either a musical or dinner theatre, and then there are two shows featuring events scheduled to appear in District competition including Evening Extraordinaire: A One Act affair, and A Dramatic Showcase (featuring Individual Events). Occasionally there are other shows that are produced every few years, including the Pratfalls comedy show which appeared for its third production in 2005, and a Night of Improv, which returned April 2006 after its successful debut in Pratfalls III. The troupe performs in The Performing Arts Hall of Gulf Coast High School, one of the largest auditoriums in the school district [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://www.operanaples.com/a_tickets.c.html|title= Opera Naples|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=December 28|accessyear=2006|curly=] .

The most recent District Competition took place January of 2007. Pieces are rated in the following fashion: Superior, Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor. In 2006, for the first time in troupe history, one theatre student received the award for Best Overall Technical Theatre Piece for their Costume Design in the District 6 Competition. This piece was chosen by the judges as the best technical theatre entry out of all the high schools participating, and out of all sub-categories in Technical Theatre. In 2007, three students were chosen to represent District 6 in State Competition. One received the award for Best Overall Technical Theatre Piece for a scenic design in the District 6 Competition, and a duo received the award for the Best Overall Pantomime in the District 6 Competition. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:DYNr_lphMEcJ:www.collier.k12.fl.us/gch/studentannouce.html&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1|title=Google Cached Page: GCHS Student Announcements|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=|language=English|accessdate=January 23|accessyear=2007|curly=] .

Inventeam

In 2004, Gulf Coast High School was one of thirteen schools nation-wide that received a $10,000 grant from the Lemelson-MIT Inventeams Program. The program is part of the Lemelson-MIT program which endeavors to foster a spirit of research and invention in high schools nationwide through grants. The GCHS Inventeam's invention was a hybrid between an air ionizing system similar to the Ionic Breeze and a typical ceiling fan. The idea was that the ceiling fan would circulate the air around the room, and as the air flowed over the ionizing system it would be cleaned as well, providing multipurpose from an appliance standard in many households. [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=2005|month=|url=http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/teams/2005/gulfcoast.html|title=Gulf Coast High School InvenTeam|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=Lemelson-MIT Program|language=English|accessdate=August 28|accessyear=2006|curly=]

Campus

Gulf Coast High School consists of 8 main buildings which enclose a courtyard which is 1/4 of a mile in size. Most of the building is on a single level, however Building 5, being the largest building, has classrooms on a second floor and the auditorium has a balcony on a second level. The school includes computer labs, a main gymnasium and an auxiliary gymnasium, a 3,000-seat football stadium, cafeteria, media center, TV Production Studio, darkrooms for photography, and an auditorium which is also home for the Opera of Naples.

*Bldg. 1: Administrative Offices

*Bldg. 2: Gymnasium

*Bldg. 3: P.E. Dept.

*Bldg. 4: Classrooms

*Bldg. 5: Classrooms

*Bldg. 6: Classrooms

*Bldg. 7: Cafeteria

*Bldg. 8: Auditorium; Music Classroms

Demographics

The District School Board of Collier County Web Site updates each school's demographics daily. The update as of May 4, 2008 lists the school's demographics as follows: [cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://collier.k12.fl.us/schools/gch.asp|title=Gulf Coast High School Demographics|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=Collier County Public Schools|language=English|accessdate=May 4|accessyear=2008|curly=]

Students by sex

*Male: 1035 (50.07%)
*Female: 1032 (49.93%)

Students by race

* White: 1587 (77.08%)
* Black: 40 ( 1.94%)
*Hispanic: 347 (16.85%)
*Haitian: 17 (0.83%)
*Asian: 37 (1.80%)
*Multi-racial: 27 (1.31%)
*Native American 4 (0.19%)

Related links

* [http://collier.k12.fl.us/index.aspx Collier County Public Schools]
* [http://collier.k12.fl.us/gch/ Official School Web Site]

References