North Farmington High School

North Farmington High School
Established	1961
Type	Public secondary
Affiliation	Farmington Public School District
Principal	Joseph F. Greene, Jr.
Students	1350
Grades	9–12
Location	32900 W 13 Mile Rd, Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA
Colors	Brown and Gold
Mascot	Sidney Raider (named after El Cid)
Rival	Farmington High School
Website	[1]

North Farmington High School is located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit USA. The school currently educates a student body of 1450. Established in 1961, the current Principal is Joseph F. Greene, Jr. The current Assistant Principals are DeeAnn Lacy and Moussa Hamka.

History

In 1959, many homes in the area were being built by families with older children, so it was apparent that a new junior and senior high school were needed. The Board of Education put together a proposal asking voters to approve a $3 million dollar bond for the construction of:

1. A new junior-senior high on a site at 13 Mile and Farmington Road
2. Two new elementary schools
3. Renovation of existing schools

The proposal was passed by voters and the final outcome of the vote was 1,618 in favor and 1,276 opposed. In January 1960, the School Board appointed Harold Humble, an assistant principal at Farmington High School, to principal of the new school. The suggested name “Farmington Northern High,” was later changed to “North Farmington High School.”

It was not until the summer of 1960 that the architectural plans were approved for the new High School. As construction continued in January 1961, the School Board unanimously approved the proposed color scheme of “shades of brown and yellow.” North Farmington High School opened on September 7, 1961 but lacked many needed supplies such as chalk boards. There were 598 students from grades 7-10 who attended that first day.

Students chose the name "Raiders" as their mascot but a personal identity was needed for the Raider, so the art class designed the original Raider logo that is still being used today and was named “El Cid.” As time went on, the Raider was increasingly referred to as the “Sidney Raider.” It is a school tradition for a student to anonymously dress up as Sidney, wearing the traditional NF cape, bucaneer hat, and Zorro-style mask, and attend high-profile North Farmington sports events in order to spark excitement in the crowd.

In addition to its strong academic tradition^[1], North Farmington is also noted for its strong theater, music, art, and athletic programs. It also has a high level of alumni and community involvement, with fund raising efforts leading to the construction "Raider Plaza" at the athletic field, Holland Field. In addition to its two artificial turf fields and parquet gym floor, the school also features a performing arts wing, completed in 1999, that houses the Farmington Public Schools district television station, TV-10.

On September 8th, 2008, the school was host to a campaign stop by Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. He spoke to a crowd of area voters in the school's gym. During the town hall meeting, Mr. Obama announced to the audience that the 2009 Michigan Principal of the Year award was being awarded to then NFHS principal Richard Jones.

Another notable point of interest: the 37th District Court (Farmington's judicial authority)is held once a year in the school's gym.

Towards the end of the 2010-2011 school year, the building itself was re-named the "Richard B. Jones Academic Center", in honor of the outgoing principal, so that the organization North Farmington High School is at the Richard B. Jones Academic Center. The west wing (fine arts wing) of the school was named the "Dean and Sue Cobb Center for the Performing Arts" for Dean and Sue Cobb, North's directors of plays and musicals, who left the same year.

Notable alumni

• Bill Joy, '71, co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Known for the creation of Berkeley Unix (BSD), the vi text editor, and the Network File System (NFS).
• Pam Dawber '68, actress. Played Mindy in the TV series Mork and Mindy, opposite Robin Williams. Married to Mark Harmon.
• Elizabeth Berkley, '90, actress. Primarily known for playing Jessie Spano on the TV series Saved by the Bell.
• Drew Mahalic, '71, Former NFL professional football player and University of Notre Dame star linebacker. Current CEO of the Oregon Sports Authority.
• James Wolk, '03, actor. Credits include You Again, Front of the Class and Lonestar.(canceled)

Publications

The Northern Star is North Farmington's news magazine. It is published bi-monthly by the advanced journalism class and is sold for one dollar. The Northern Star has won statewide journalism competitions on multiple occasions, including numerous Michigan Interscholastic Press Association awards.^{[citation needed]} The yearbook class publishes the Aurora. The 2006 edition won a Michigan Interscholastic Press Association award. The 2007, 2008, and 2009 editions won a Spartan award, the highest award given to a publication by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.^{[citation needed]} Both publications have been in print since the school's inception.

Sports

The girls basketball team made it into the Michigan High School Athletic Association Final Four in 2007-08. The boys swim team were named League Champs (Division II) in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. The boys tennis team was state runner-up in 1999. The 1970 football team, coached by the legendary Ron Holland, won the "Mythical" state title in Class A, finishing the season with a #1 ranking as there was not a playoff yet. The 1978 football team was runner-up in class A, losing to Traverse City 20-14 in the finals of the state playoffs.

Girls Varsity Competitive Cheer was named League Champion during the 2006-07, 2007-08, 2009-10 competitive seasons.

Boys Golf Team won division championships in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Also, they won 3 invitationals in 2010.

Boys Swim Team was named League Champs in 2011.

External links

• Farmington Public Schools
• North Farmington High School

References

1. ^ North Farmington Annual Report, 2007-2008