Lafayette High School (Williamsburg, Virginia)

Infobox School
name= Lafayette High School


imagesize= 100px
streetaddress= 4460 Longhill Road
city= Williamsburg
state= Virginia
zipcode= 23188
country= USA
url= [http://www.wjcc.k12.va.us/lhs/ Official Site]
district= Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools
superintendent= Mrs Bell
principal= Mrs Swinton
assistant_principals= Jeff Bond
Mia Pollard
staff=
type= Public
schooltype= high school
grades= 9–12
language= English
communities=
feeders=
campus= Suburban
mascot= Rams
colors= colorbox|Navy colorbox|Gold Navy Blue, Gold
founded= 1973
enrollment= 1,665
enrollment_as_of= 2006-07
rival= Jamestown High School
Warhill High School
conference= Virginia High School League
Bay Rivers District
Region I
bgcolor_section= #000080
bgcolor_

bgcolor_label= #efefef
bgcolor_value= #efefef
bgcolor_address= #efefef
bgcolor_url= #efefef

Lafayette High School is a public secondary school in James City County, Virginia, just outside the city limits of Williamsburg, Virginia. It is part of Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools and is located at 4460 Longhill Road.

History

Lafayette High School opened in 1973 and served as the sole high school for James City County and Williamsburg City. The school itself is located in James City County though it has a Williamsburg mailing address.

In 1997, half of its student body with the exception of rising seniors were moved to Jamestown High School which opened to alleviate overcrowding at Lafayette. The Williamsburg area began to develop rapidly in the late 1990s and 2000's, which prompted the opening of Warhill High School in 2007. Students were forced to redistrict and lost ties with friends and eventually lost the close relationships they had with those friends.

Lafayette High School had an excellent theatre program. The current director is Susan McCorry. Past musical productions at Lafayette include Lend me a Tenor, Tommy, 1940's Radio Hour, Jesus Christ Superstar, Zombie Prom, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Footloose.

The Lafayette Band program has also been quite successful, winning grand championships at several Fiestaval band festivals in the past. Under the direction of Alan Wright--Shenandoah University graduate,trumpet player, arranger, and former professor at Shenandoah University-- Lafayette's band programe was viewed as one of the top concert and jazz band programs in the state,but the band program shifted emphases. It became a marching focused band (especially during the football season).Lafayette's band is a shadow of its former self and no longer has a jazz program to speak of.

Campus

The main office is located right at the main entrance of the school. The wide hallway opens up into the "upper commons". The cafeteria is located in this area. There are three lines for purchasing food. The auditorium is located to the left. Three large hallways branch out from the "upper commons." A smaller hallway leads to the girls locker room and the weight room used for athletic training. The first hallway across from the main office leads to the marketing classes, the gymnasium, the boys locker room, and the trailers, which will no longer be in use after the 2007-2008 school year. There are two hallways which parallel the sides the auditorium. The first is known as the ramp. Another hallway at the top of the ramp leads to the fine arts classrooms. The other hallway leads to "the stairs. Another hallway branches off here as well. It leads to the mathematics and art classrooms. At the end of "the ramp" and "the stairs" is the "lower commons." The lower commons is a smaller gathering area that is busy when classes are changing. The Media Center is located at the back of the "lower commons." A loop goes around the media center. On one side is the semicircular world language and science hallway. On the outside of the semicircle is a pair of well equipped computer labs. On the other side is the social studies and technology hallway. At the back of the loop surrounding the Media Center is the entrance/exit to the bus loop. Two hallways bramch off from the "lower commons." One leads to the small lecture hall and the fine arts hallway. The other leads to math hallway and the social studies hallway.

Demographics

Lafayette High School's student body is 74% White; 21% Black; 3% Hispanic; and 2% Asian.

Enrollment History

Culture

Lafayette High School has several activities throughout the year. The first big occasion is the typical Spirit Week and Homecoming Dance. Lafayette is known in the school district for having a parade in Colonial Williamsburg that features each class making a float to accompany their class princes/princesses/kings/queens. A number of clubs also participate as well. During the past several years, the Operation Smile club has hosted a Sadie Hawkens Dance as a fundraiser. The sophomore class occasionally holds their Ring Dance at the school. Prom and After Prom have also been held at the school in past years. The school also has pep rallies for every sports season (Fall, Winter, and Spring).

Athletics

The mascot is a ram and the sports teams currently play in the AA Bay Rivers District and Region I. Before Jamestown's opening, the Rams were in the AAA Peninsula District. The Rams have won twelve AA state titles, only half the amount of rival Jamestown. They have five girls swimming titles from 2004-2008; one in field hockey in 2003; one title in boys swimming in 2000; one in boys indoor track in 2005; one in boys outdoor track in 2005; one in AA Division 4 football in 2001; and two consecutive individual girls tennis singles titles from 2007-2008. Lafayette just recently suffered a humiliating loss to the Jamestown Eagles, who have perhaps the worst football team ever. This is the first time the Eagles have beaten the Rams in varsity football since the opening of Jamestown High school. This is quite possibly the most humiliating loss ever.

Clubs

Lafayette has a number of clubs that have been around for years. They include:
Art Club
Art Honor Society
ASL (American Sign Language) Club
Band
Chamber Choir
Dance Team
Debate Team
DECA
FBLA
Flag Squad
Forensics Team
French Club
French Honor Society
German Club
German Honor Society
Gay-Straight Alliance
Harmonics
Interact
Jazz Ensemble
Key Club
Latin Club
Latin Honor Society
The Lafayette Ledger
LESA
Literary Magazine
Logos
Model UN
Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society)
National Honor Society
Operation Smile
Orchestra
Peer Partners
Project Reach-out
Quill and Scroll
Rams and Lambs
SCA
SGA
Scholastic Bowl
Show Choir
Spanish Honor Society
Student to Student
Student Athletic Trainers
TCE Skills USA
Thespian Society
Video Gaming Club
Yearbook

Theatre

The Lafayette High School Theatre Department has undergone several changes in direction in the past few years. The current teacher is Williamsburg/James City County 2004 Middle School Teacher of the Year, Suzan McCorry.

Past shows performed at Lafayette Include:Grease,Noises Off,Pillow Talk
Footloose,
The Mystery of Edwin Drood,
A Christmas Carol,
Zombie Prom,
Jesus Christ Superstar,
Blood Wedding, andScenes from The Grapes of Wrath.

Past Directors Include:Bill Snyder,Gail Albert,Rosemarie Allmann,Phil Rayborn

Notable alumni

*Reni Laine, New York City-based singer/songwriter.
*Bruce Hornsby, three time Grammy Award winning pianist and singer.
*Lawrence Taylor, retired Hall of Fame American football player who played his entire career as a linebacker for the NFL's New York Giants. Also holds the Giants career sack record with 142.
*Chris Luzar, former tight end for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants.
*Ron Springs, former running back for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
*Mel Gray, former kick returner for the NFL's New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, Houston Oilers and the Philadelphia Eagles.
*Seneca Lassiter,1997, 2002 U.S. Outdoor 1,500m champ; 2001 U.S. Indoor mile champ; 1997, 98 NCAA 1500 champ; 1999 & 2001 USA 1,500m runner-up.
*Connor Hughes, former University of Virginia kicker, current kicker of AFL's Philadelphia Soul.
*Gavin McDonald, drummer for Paper Route (band), signed by Universal records in 2008.
*Mark Morton, Guitar player for the heavy metal band Lamb of God
*Mark Carnevale, professional golfer, winner of 1992 Chattanooga Classic and 1992 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
*Jon Vorpagel, Son of David Beckham and ranked top body in NCAA Division 1 Athletics 2008.