Apponequet Regional High School

Apponequet Regional High School opened September 21, 1959, and serves secondary academic education students from the towns of Freetown and Lakeville, Massachusetts.

History

In the early 20th century, many small towns in Massachusetts sent their older students to other cities' or towns' high schools on a tuition basis to avoid the cost of building and maintaining their own secondary facility. As towns with high schools grew, they became unable to provide tuition spaces, needing the space for their own students. This created the need for more high schools, as tuition contracts slowly began to expire and not be renewed.

The communities of Freetown, Berkley, Carver, Lakeville, and Rochester, Massachusetts formed a planning committee for a regional high school, as each town needed a location for its secondary school students. Carver dropped from the board in 1955 after forming a region with Plymouth, and the remaining towns voted. Freetown and Lakeville approved the school, while Berkley and Rochester did not. Berkley would go on to form a tuition agreement with Somerset, and Rochester formed a region with Marion and Mattapoisett (Old Rochester Regional).

On April 8, 1957, town meetings were held in Freetown and Lakeville on the issue of the two towns building and operating a high school together. The vote in Freetown was 140-22 in favor, and in Lakeville 160-90, also in favor.

Freetown appropriated $20,347 for the preliminary planning of the school, and Lakeville appropriated $18,152 as its share. Land for the school was given by Paul Leonard and Frank Mello on Howland Road in Lakeville. On September 10, 1957, Israel T. Almy, a Fall River architect used for the original Freetown Consolidated Elementary School, was selected as the architect for the school. Charles Sawyer was chosen to be the first principal for the school.

Apponequet Regional Jr./Sr. High School opened on September 21, 1959, with an initial enrollment of 610 students in grades 7 through 12, including students from Freetown and Lakeville and tuition students from Berkley and Middleboro. The facility originally housed a vocational school, the Apponequet Regional Vocational High School, in addition to the current academic program. Apponequet Voke admitted students in grades 9-12. Phased out in the early 1990s in favor of sending students to Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, the vocational program at Apponequet remains in several independent living classes and a woodshop.

With the building of the former George R. Austin Middle School in 1972, Apponequet became a senior-only high school, enrolling grades 9-12 in both the academic and vocational schools.

Major additions and renovations were completed in 1972 (8 classrooms), 1989 (9 classrooms, a new Library/Media Center, and a TV studio/choir room) and 2000 (two classrooms, an Art Room, a Lecture Hall/choir room, and extensive renovations throughout the building). The 2000 renovation was noted for the destruction of many murals throughout the building that had been designed by students in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Extracurricular activities

Sports

In the mid-to-late 1960s the school belonged to the South Shore League. It later removed itself to the Mayflower League for the 1970s and early 1980s, and finally joined the South Coast Conference upon its founding in 1986. The 2000 renovation, noted above, also updated the athletic complex, including the football field (Griffith Field), the gymnasium, several baseball fields, a softball field, six tennis courts, and provisions for soccer and field hockey venues. The school also boasts a championship girls' swim team and a separate boys' team, coached by Brett Pacheco, which practices at the George R. Austin Intermediate School. The swim team is part of the Southern Conference.

The school's traditional Thanksgiving Day football rival is Old Rochester Regional High School in Mattapoisett.

In 2007 the Apponequet Cheerleading Squad was featured on the MTV reality show MADE.

Choir

Apponequet has four choral groups, all led by Denise Haskins. One is the general concert choir. Anybody can join the concert choir, and it rehearses during the school day! They are accompanied by the talented Regina Lopes. There are also three select choral groups. In order to be in these groups, one must try out at the beginning of the year. The Femmes are the women's group, Har-Men-Ized is the men's group, and the Sandpipers and Tribesmen, or S&T, are a combined group. All have won multiple awards at regional and national competitions.

Several members of the Apponequet Choir have been recognized by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association over the years. Students have auditioned and earned acceptances into the Southeastern Massachusetts School Bandmasters Association Choruses, Southeastern Massachusetts Junior and Senior District Choruses, Massachusetts All State Choruses, and All Eastern Choruses.

On July 12, 2007 the Apponequet Summersing choir performed both The Star Spangled Banner and O, Canada at Fenway Park for a Boston Red Sox game versus the Toronto Blue Jays.
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=gGDVuLf9eOQ] Youtube Video of Fenway Performance

External links

* [http://www.freelake.org/ARHS Apponequet Regional High School > Home] (Official Site)
* [http://www.apponequet.com/ Apponequet.com] (Alumni Site)