Great Mills High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Great Mills High school

motto = "Forward Ever, Backwards Never"
established = 1929
type = Public Secondary
principal = Tracy Heibel
students = 1619 (2005-2006)
free_label_1 = Faculty
free_1 = 149
grades = 9–12
city = Great Mills
state = Maryland
country = ,USA
district = St. Mary's County Public Schools
campus = Suburban
colors = Green and Gold
mascot = Hornets
newspaper = Hornet's Buzz
website = [http://www.smcps.k12.md.us/schools/high/gmhs/index.htm Great Mills High School Official Link]

Great Mills High School is a comprehensive public high school of 1600+ students in grades 9-12. It serves students at the confluence of the Potomac River, Patuxent River, and Chesapeake Bay. The area is a mixture of rural and suburban communities. Many of the families are employed by NAS Patuxent River, government contractors, St. Mary's College of Maryland, and others involved in the traditional agriculture and water related businesses. The ethnic population of the school reflects the community: 63% Caucasian, 31% African American, 1.3% Hispanic, 4.7% Other.

Great Mills High School is accredited all Middle States Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Maryland State Department of Education. Great Mills High School belongs to the St. Mary's County Public Schools system, and is associated with two other county high schools: Leonardtown High School and Chopticon High School.

Great Mills High School was founded in 1929, as one of the original high schools in St. Mary's County, Maryland. It has since expanded from a school house to a school building rolling on several acres, with a football, soccer, and field hockey field, and tied to a county pool next door. Great Mills High School is among the oldest continually operating school in St. Mary's County and the State of Maryland

Great Mills High School Athletics belong to the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference, and competes in Division 3A in the state competitions.

At Great Mills High School, student-athletes are known as the Hornets.

(From The Times April 2006 [http://somdnews.com/stories/042106/entetop185956_32080.shtml The Times Article] )

The motto of Great Mills High School is "Forward Ever, Backwards Never."

Notable Alumni

*William R. Craft, Jr. - (1986) - Poet/Publisher
*Clifford Dukes - (2000) - St. Louis Rams Defensive Linesman
*Roy Dyson - (1966) - Maryland State Senator representing Maryland District 29: Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's County
*Todd Friend - (1989) - drummer of punk band H2O
*Shawna Kenney - (1987) - author/writer
*Toby Morse - (1988) - punk vocalist of H2O
*John F. Slade III - former member of the Maryland House of Delegates [Maryland Manual, current Associate Judge on District Court [http://www.djs.state.md.us/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000185/html/am185--138.html] ]
*Tubby Smith - (1969) - Head Coach of University of Minnesota's Men's Basketball team. Former coach of University of Kentucky's Men's Basketball team.
*Tanya Hughes - (1990) - U.S. Track and Field - 1992 Barcelona Olympics
*Ronda Thompson - (1987) - Miss Maryland - TV Host (After Dark TV)
*Gerwyn Baldwin - (1988) - Author, "Black By Popular Demand" - 1st Book Selected in National Reading Campaign (2004), Appearances on syndicated radio talk shows.

Military Casualties

Sgt. Ryan P. Baumann - 101st Airborne Division, Motor Transport. KIA in Afghanistan on August 1, 2008, graduated in 2004. Sgt. Baumann will be buried at Arlington Cemetery.

References