Brookwood High School (Snellville, Georgia)

Brookwood High School
...A Tradition of Excellence
Location
1255 Dogwood Road, Snellville, GA 30078
Coordinates	33°53′02″N 84°02′25″W
Information
Type	Public
Established	1981
School district	Gwinnett County Public Schools
Principal	Debra T. Dees
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	3,433
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Maroon and Gold
Mascot	Bronco
Accreditation(s)	SACS
Region	8A in Class AAAAA (GHSA)
Website	Brookwood High School

Brookwood High School is an American public secondary school in Snellville, Georgia with a student body of over 3,500. Brookwood serves several areas of Gwinnett County, Georgia, including Lawrenceville and Lilburn.

Layout

The school is separated into various halls, named A through F. 'A' Hall is primarily for senior core classes, chemistry and physics classes, and foreign language studies. 'B' Hall is primarily for electives such as art, engineering, computing, and others. C Hall is primarily special education classes, as well as some biology, chemistry, math, and foreign language courses. 'D' Hall contains the two gyms, locker rooms, and the dance room. E Hall contains the Theatre and almost all sophomore classes, while 'F' hall, commonly known as 'Poopie Britches,' is designated for ninth grade classes and computer labs. There are also over 25 trailer classes outside of the building.

History

Planning for Brookwood High School was started in 1977 to lessen the overcrowding of nearby South Gwinnett High School and Parkview High School. A committee of educators from Gwinnett County met to create and discuss specifications for the facility. The school officially opened in 1981 under principal Emmett Lawson.

The school derived its name from its location on the intersection of Holly Brook Road and Dogwood Road. A committee of three students selected the school mascot and the colors of maroon and gold, which were based upon the colors of Florida State University. The Brookwood school song and fight song were selected by Brookwood's first band director, the late Stewart Hughes. Both songs were based upon the songs from Tucker High School. The original school mascot had a horseshoe around the bronco, which was later removed. The original mascot was a realistic drawing of an entire bronco, but the current logo uses only a bronco's head.

Since opening, the school has grown greatly. The school first expanded when it added a two-story addition, which opened in 1997. Due to continued growth, the school added another two-story addition, which opened in 2006. A new band/orchestra room was added in 2006.

All but one Brookwood Cluster Schools was recognized by the Governor Sonny Perdue for outstanding academic achievement in 2010. The high school has a tremendous fine arts department featuring some of the best music, drama, and art programs in the area. Brookwood was recently named one of Atlanta Magazine's Worst Smelling High Schools for 2010.

Athletics

The varsity sports include:

Boys

Football (2010 AAAAA State Champs, 1996 AAAA State Champs), hockey, Cross Country (currently ranked #1 in the Southeast; 1989, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998 AAAA State Champs; 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011 AAAAA State Champs, 2009 Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional Champions, 2009 Nike Cross Nationals 18th place finish, 2010 Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional Runner-Up, 2010 Nike Cross Nationals 22nd place finish), basketball, wrestling, swimming (2008, 2009, 2010 AAAAA State Champs), soccer (2001, 2004 AAAAA State Champs), tennis (1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 AAAA State Champs, 2011 AAAAA State Champs), baseball (2008 AAAAA State Champs, 1986 AAAA State Champs,) and track (2010 AAAAA State Champs and runner-up National Champs)

Girls

Cross country (1985, 1989, 1990, 1991 AAAA State Champs), cheerleading (football, basketball, and competition), basketball, swimming (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 AAAAA State Champs), soccer (1998 AAAA State Champs; 2003 AAAAA State Champs), tennis (2000 AAAA State Champs), softball (1991 Slow Pitch AAAA State Champs), volleyball, track (1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 AAAA State Champs).

Co-educational

Golf, hockey, lacrosse, and fencing are available.

Fine arts and clubs

As in its academics and sports, Brookwood High exhibits a variety of activities from dance to theatre, to a renowned band program and full orchestra.

Literary and debate

Brookwood was the 1999 AAAA State Literary Champion, and the 2006 AAAAA State Debate Champion.

Theatre

In 1998–99 Brookwood finished first at the state One-Act Competition with their production of The 1940s Radio Hour. The same cast went on to perform at the International Thespian Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska that summer.

In 2001 Brookwood finished second at the state One-Act Competition with The Robber Bridegroom, a production they would return to in 2008 to take third at the regional One-Act Competition. In 2005 Brookwood finished second at the state One-Act Competition with their production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. In 2006, Brookwood placed third at the regional One-Act Competition with Jekyll and Hyde. In 2007, Brookwood finished 3rd at the regional One-Act Competition with Grease. In 2009 Brookwood finished fourth in the regional One-Act Competition with Thoroughly Modern Millie. In 2010, Brookwood placed first at the regional One-Act Competition and 4th at the state One-Act Competition with "Godspell". In February 2011 the same cast went on to perform at the Georgia Thespian Conference. The following year, in 2011, Brookwood once again placed first at the regional One-Act Competition and placed fourth at the state One-Act Competition with another production of Into the Woods.

Dance

The Dance Department is composed of several different levels and types of classes, and performs two shows a year, each with a different theme.

Music

The school's main band is actually four separate bands. In order of ability, these bands are the Maroon and Gold Band, Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Symphonic Winds, as well as the Brookwood High School Marching Band with the entire program containing over 200 students. Up until 2006, the band rehearsed in what is now the dance room but moved when a much larger band and orchestra room were built on the far side of the Poopie Britches hallway or "F Hall" closest to the parking lot.

Jazz and Music Tech

The school's jazz program has grown to three full bands. There is also a Music Technology program featuring three introductory classes and an advanced class. The classroom has 25 iMac stations for MIDI music composition, using mainly the GarageBand, Reason and Logic programs. One station is set up as a mini-recording studio.

School publications

The Brookwood High student paper is titled The Sentinel and features school, political, and entertainment articles.

The yearbook, also student-run, is called Cayuse. A literature club produces a yearly magazine, Pegasus, which is released alongside the yearbook. The magazine features short stories, essays, songs, and poetry written and submitted by current students.

Science Olympiad

Brookwood High School's Science Olympiad is one of the most successful programs in Georgia. The team has won the 2007–08, the 2008–09, and the 2010-11 Georgia State Championships.

Reader's Rally

Brookwood High School's Reader's Rally was the runner up when competing with Sweetwater Middle and first place of the Gwinnett County schools in 2010.

Feeder schools

Brookwood is the high school of the Brookwood cluster, a group of schools which feed into one primary high school for an area in Gwinnett County. The middle schools that feed into Brookwood are Alton C. Crews Middle School and Five Forks Middle School.

Notable alumni

• Jason Bulger- MLB pitcher
• Brian Cono- Winner of VH1 Cover Wars
• Jason Elam – Retired NFL Place Kicker. Played for the Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos; He is tied with Tom Dempsey for the longest field goal in NFL history (63 yards)
• Jennifer Ferrin – Daytime Emmy-nominated actress, As the World Turns, 2003–06
• Stephon Heyer – NFL Lineman for Washington Redskins
• Michael Kelly – Actor, The Sopranos and The Changeling
• Jackson Pearce – Author of As You Wish, Sisters Red, and Sweetly, and the upcoming Purity and Fathomless.
• Amy Robach – Anchor of NBC's Weekend Today
• Andre Sims- Michigan State wide receiver
• Nick Tompkins- Michigan State running back
• Amanda Weir – American Olympic swimmer. Two-time silver medalist in the 2004 Olympic Games. American record holder in the Women's 100m Freestyle
• Mansfield Wrotto – NFL Lineman for the Seattle Seahawks
• Rennie Curran – College Football Linebacker for the University of Georgia; Drafted by the Tennessee Titans (3rd Round—97th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft then released soon after.

External links

• Brookwood High School
• Gwinnett County Public Schools
• Real Estate Information for Brookwood High School