Saginaw Heritage High School

Infobox School
name = Saginaw Heritage High School


motto =
established =
type = Public
affiliation =
district = Saginaw Township Community Schools
grades = 9-12
president =
principal = Michael Newman
head of school =
dean =
faculty =
staff = approx. 100
students = approx. 1700
enrollment =
athletics =
conference =
colors = Blue, Green
mascot = Hawk
free_label =
free_text =
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location = Saginaw Charter Township, MI
coordinates = coord|43.4561|-84.0159|region:US_type:edu|display=inline
country = USA
homepage = [http://www.stcs.org/education/school/school.php?sectiondetailid=2155&PHPSESSID=d9133e6dcdd0f1aeb8dc3e43848ffafb Heritige High School Website]

Heritage High School serves as Saginaw Township (Michigan) Community Schools' only high school. As of the 2006-07 school year, the student body numbered approximately 1700 students with over 100 staff (including six counselors, about 80 teachers, and roughly 30 administrative and clerical personnel). It is located on North Center Road in Saginaw Charter Township, MI. Jerry L. Seese, EdD., is Superintendent of Saginaw Township Community Schools; Mr. Michael Newman is principal of Heritage High School.

History

Heritage was the product of a merger between Douglas MacArthur High School (which now houses White Pine Middle School) and Dwight D. Eisenhower High School (which now houses Heritage) in 1989, after Eisenhower High School was severely damaged in a 1988 arson attempt. Selecting one color from each of its parent schools, Heritage's official colors are Navy Blue and Kelly Green; its nickname is "Hawks."

Academics

Heritage has offered numerous Advanced Placement courses, and beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, the school has participated in the International Baccalaureate program.

Heritage also has an Academic Quiz Bowl team where students compete in local tournaments and then advance onto state tournaments. The Quiz bowl team of 2006-2007 was undefeated in the local Kiwanis tournament and also advanced to the Michigan State Quiz Bowl tournament.

Besdies the Quiz Bowl team, Heritage also participates in the local Science Olympiad. Under the coaching of Ms.Talbot, the team got 7th in the regional tournament. Only the top three teams got to go to state.

In addition to the successful Quiz Bowl team, Heritage also had a newly-formed Destination Imagination team, which managed to win first place at the regional tournament and advanced to the state competition at Central Michigan University.

Athletics

Heritage's football team competes in the Saginaw Valley League, going 9-0 in regular season play in 2006. The team is directed by Hall of Fame Coach Bruce Bendix and plays its home games at Larsen Field on the campus of Heritage High School.

HHS athletic teams include football, cross-country, soccer, golf, basketball, pompon, swimming, tennis, cheerleading, hockey, skiing, wrestling, bowling, volleyball, baseball, softball, tennis, and track. Furthermore, a lacrosse club was instituted in the spring of 2008.

The Hawks have won state championships in men's track, women's soccer, women's basketball, and pom pon. In 2002-03, Heritage was honored as an "Exemplary Athletic Program" by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators' Association. Mr. Peter Ryan is the Director of Athletics for the Saginaw Township Community Schools; Mr. James Noble, Heritage Athletic Director.

Traditions

Class Competition

Class competition is probably the most important tradition to Heritage students. Each year, the Senior Class Council selects a mascot (typically a character from a cartoon or children's literature) for the incoming freshman class.Class mascots include:
*Class of 1989 - Pee Wee's Pals
*Class of 1990 - Popeye's People
*Class of 1993 - Batman's Buddies
*Class Of 1994 - Bart's Brats (not verified)
*Class of 1995 - Cookie Monster's Clan. The first 2 year winner of the class trip awarded to the class competition winner!
*Class of 1996 - Gonzo's Gang, with teal as the class color.
*Class of 1997 - Barney's Bunch (Originally the class mascot was intended to be Barney from Barney & Friends but due to the non-specific nature of the mascot being assigned as "Barney" (as defined by the Senior class of '94) the class of '97 'modified' their Barney mascot to Mr. Rubble from The Flintstones. The change was a topic of heated debate between the classes at the time.)
*Class of 1998 - Waldo's Wonders. Class color was gray.
*Class of 1999 - Power Rangers (Specific 'Ranger' used varied, though usually it was either the original pink pterodactyl ranger, Red "Tyrannosaurus" ranger or some non-canonical zeo-like version (as seen printed on the HHS 10-year anniversary shirt) usually modified to be purple matching the class's designated "class color".)
*Class of 2000 - Big Bird's Babies
*Class of 2001 - Kermit's Kids
*Class of 2002 - Rainbow Brite's Brigade
*Class of 2003 - Sebastian's Shrimps (The 2nd class to win back to back class competitions)
*Class of 2004 - Tigger's Tikes
*Class of 2005 - Hulk's Heroes
*Class of 2006 - Skeeter's Squeakers
*Class of 2007 - Clifford's Club - The third class to win 2 class competitions
*Class of 2008 - Sylvester's SuperSquad
*Class of 2009 - Oompa-Loompa Troop
*Class of 2010 - Franklin's Fanatics
*Class of 2011 - Beaker's Brainy Bunch
*Class of 2012 - Thomas' Terrific Team

Other HHS class mascots from years past (yet to be identified with class year) are:
* Alf

Under the banner of their class mascot, the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors engage in a year-long competition for points. Points can be won through participation in special school-spirit days, winning the monthly bulletin-board contest, and competing head-to-head during events such as the annual Spring Fever day.

The class which has accrued the most points at the end of the year is rewarded with a day-long trip to a class picnic.

Theatre

Each year, the Heritage Players put on a "straight show" in the fall (recent examples include Much Ado About Nothing and M*A*S*H) and a musical in the spring (including Les Miserables and Footloose).

Other Entertainment

Heritage students also produce four other annual shows: Mock Rock, the Culture Show, Mr. Heritage, and the talent show. There is also Spring Fever day in the spring.

Mock Rock usually consists of about half a dozen acts, each of which parodies songs, television shows, or other aspects of popular culture. At the end of the event, the audience votes for the winning act by acclamation.

The Culture Show comprises mostly musical acts selected and produced by the Heritage Multicultural Club. After the acts have concluded, the audience is invited to the Student Center to engage in a buffet of exotic foods.The first annual culture show took place in 1999.

Mr. Heritage is HHS's male beauty pageant. Participants engage in a wide variety of activities, including a talent portion. They are systematically eliminated by audience vote until a winner is crowned "Mr. Heritage" for that year.

The talent show is generally a more serious event than the other annual shows, offering an opportunity for Heritage's student body to showcase its abilities to the community.

Spring Fever is essentially a field day where the classes compete in activities and challenges against the other classes.

Notable Alumni

Stuart Schweigert, NFL (Raiders)

Hank Winchester, WDIV-TV

Stephen Nacarato, Muscular Dystrophy Association (Director)

Andre Rodriguez, NFL San Francisco 49ers (Madden 09)

Jason Dark, adult film star

Kevan Miller, Baddest Mother Fucker Around Award Recipient 2005. ( www.BMFofAmericaInstitute.Org)

External links

* [http://www.stcs.org/education/school/school.php?sectiondetailid=2155 Heritige High School]
* [http://www.alumniclass.com/heritagemi/ Heritage High School Alumni Michigan Class Reunion]
* [http://www.stcs.org Saginaw Township Community Schools]