Holt High School (Michigan)

Holt High School
Address
5885 W. Holt Road Holt, Michigan, 48842 USA
Coordinates	42°38′17″N 84°34′33″W
Information
School type	public high school
School district	Holt-Dimondale Public Schools
Principal	Brian Templin
Vice principal	Ann Coe, Chris Billingslea
Chief custodian	Carter Cartin
Faculty	86
Grades	10 – 12
Number of students	1335
Grade 10	495
Grade 11	438
Grade 12	402
Student to teacher ratio	19:1
Campus size	40 acres (16 ha)
School Colour(s)	Gold
Slogan	"We Care, We Learn, We Grow"
Mascot	Ram
Team name	Rams
Average ACT scores	20
Newspaper	'Ramparts
Yearbook	'Rampages
Website	http://www.holthighschool.net/

Holt High School is a public high school serving grades 10 – 12 in Holt, Michigan, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Holt-Dimondale Public Schools district.

Campus

A modern two story building on a 40-acre (160,000 m²) campus houses grades 10 through 12, with Brian Templin serving as the school's principal. The 9th Grade is housed in a separate 9th Grade Campus. The high school includes 11 Computer Labs, an Internet/research center, computers with Internet access in each classroom, building wide broadcasting capabilities, a Performing Arts complex with an 850-seat theater and comprehensive on-grounds athletic facilities. Outside the school there is a large Football Stadium, Baseball field and a Cross Country course that are used often in sporting events throughout the year. The building is the largest one in the Holt School District, however, the administration of the District reside across the street in a separated "Ninth Grade Campus."

An image showing the front of the building, taken in the spring of 2008 for the Yearbook.

The building is very expansive, consisting of two floors and a basement. The building is renowned for its cleanliness and elegance, which are due to the fact that it was only recently constructed in 2003. The School Cafeteria is located in the middle of the building, juxtaposed to the Auditorium, and two lunch periods are held each day of the school year on which there is lunch. A Lunch takes place before a student's fourth period class, while B Lunch does not occur until after fourth period.

The Cafeteria of Holt High School is located in the direct middle of the establishment.

The Margaret Livensparger Theater is used to host many activities in the school such as talent shows, graduations, and plays. It's two level seating is accessible on the second story on either side of the foyer.

The library in the school is named after a former student, "John C. Chi", who died shortly after graduation in 1975, but was noted for both academic and athletic achievements. The library is equipped with thousands of books and a fleet of computers available in conjunction with those of the Computer Labs. The Library plays host to Parent-Teacher Conferences every Trimester.

The library of Holt High School.

The Computer Labs in Holt High School were disliked by most of the School's population for their outdated software and operating systems, as well as their technical fallibility and constant crashing. Late in the 2008-2009 school year, they were upgraded to new computers, although there are not any pictures available to show them.

One of the School's computer labs before the upgrading took place.

Adjacent to the Cafeteria is a "School Store", operated by students enrolled in certain Business courses. It sells snacks as well as clothing pertaining to school spirit.

Holt's School Store is located in the cafeteria.

History and Culture

Holt High School was originally located in the current "Junior High", which now contains grades 7 through 8. After the new building was completed, Holt High School was moved to its current location, which enjoys modern luxuries unheard of at the previous location. More space is available, and technology is more widely found. It was during the 2003-2004 school year that these changes took place. The move was controversial in some circles as it drastically increased the District's debt, but because the economy was still mostly going well at the time, such concerns were widely ignored. This has resulted in new problems after the 2010-2011 school year, as the District will probably face a Budget Shortfall.

Compared to many other nearby High Schools, such as those in the neighboring Lansing Community, Holt High School has a far higher standard of safety and education than most Public Schools in Central Michigan, resulting in many "School of Choice" students migrating to the District. Many Parents and Students began to complain about the perpetually crowded situation, but in light of recent economic woes the situation has mostly self-alleviated itself, although this could change in the future.

Holt High School has a wide variety of sports, clubs and activities for students to participate in. The Building is widely known in many areas of Michigan for its "Lore", the result of a School-Sponsored "History Detectives" Club led by School Lunch Lady Aurora Anstett, with the assistance of an assortment of History Teachers. The Club was dedicated to discovering more about the local Holt community, and mostly concerned about rediscovering many of the local legends surrounding the building(s). Holt High School is located in what was formerly a vast countryside, and thus there are many antiquities littered around the area, many of which have been put on display by the club, one example being a large bowl from the 1900 Presidential Election encouraging citizens to "Vote For Toast", satirizing what the Artist perceived, which was that the Election was really nothing more than a shameless popularity contest that deserved no respect. The Bowl, among other items, is no on display Mr. Kutney's room, and received coverage from local News organizations during the time of its discovery. As of 2009, the Club has been disbanded due to a lack of interest among the student body.

During the 2010-2011 school year, a number of changes will occur. School start times will be pushed early by five minutes, and the class schedule will expand from five to six classes so that students can take more electives. This is controversial because some see it as compromising more important classes and it randomizes student's schedules, as they were unable to select classes and teachers like they used to. Certain classes like photography have also been removed, but newer innovative classes like "Michigan Literature", which covers famous poems and stories by writers like Judy Bloome and Bob Shingles, have been added. In the 2010-2011 school year, the successful enrollment of Morey Carl Cartin into Holt High School has served as an inspiration for the student body, and has opened their eyes to the realities of continued British dominance in American society.

Bands

One notable aspect of the school is its renowned Marching Band, a versatile collection of students with instrumentations ranging from the Brass to Percussion to the Woodwinds. A number of sections in the band have gone on to compete as a smaller unit themselves in addition to the rest of the band during festival season. In 2009's Marching Band Camp, the Clarinet Section was voted best section by the Band alumni for outstanding musicianship and marching versatility, although the Saxophones and Mellophones only lost by one and two votes respectively. Holt has competed in competitions at Grand Ledge, and the Band plays in Football Games in the Fall. After the Football season, the band splits into Concert Band for average players, and Symphonic Band for the good ones. In 2009 and 2010, Symphonic Band earned overall 1's in District Festival for the first time. Two other bands exist in Holt as well, and they are the Jazz and Pit Bands. The Pit Band plays backing music in plays and other auditorium events, meeting after school. The Jazz Band meets early every morning, and they play Jazz music from a variety of famous Jazz musicians, like Bob Shingles.

Curriculum

The school offers a variety of courses, including AP and honors level classes in several subject areas:

• Business
• English
• Family and Consumer Sciences
• Math
• Physical Education
• Science
• Social Science
• Special Education
• Studio Art
• World Languages

The student-teacher ratio is 19:1, average for the state.

The school also offers innovative programs:

• Community-based experiences
• Geo/CAD (Geometry and Computer Aided Drawing)
• Integrated English and American History blocks
• School-To-Work Mentorships and Internships
• Senior Individualized Investigations and Exhibition

Extracurricular activities

Clubs and organizations

• Academic
  • Debate
  • DECA
  • Forensics
  • Quiz Bowl
  • Science Olympiad
  • National Honor Society
  • Model United Nations
  • Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FECA)
• Cultural
  • French (Français) club
  • German (Deutsch) club
  • International club
  • Spanish (Español) club
• Fine Arts
  • Art Club (studio art)
  • Choir
  • Jazz Band
  • Marching Band
    • Color Guard
    • Winter Guard
  • Symphonic Band
  • Theater
• Service
  • "H-Town",
  • The Looning Looners

student-managed school store

• Other
  • NHS
  • Peer Assisted Listeners (PALs)
  • Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD)
  • Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU)
  • Anime club
  • Chess club
  • Gay-Straight Alliance

Sports

The school fields 23 varsity athletic teams and competes in interscholastic sports in the Capital Area Activities Conference: Holt High School's team nickname is 'The Rams'. The team colors are brown and gold. The team used to be named the 'The Ramblers' but was shorted to 'The Rams' at an unknown time

• Fall sports
  • Boys cross-country
  • Girls cross-country
  • Equestrian
  • Football
  • Girls golf
  • Boys soccer
  • Girls swimming
  • Boys tennis
  • Girls volleyball
  • Boys water polo
• Winter sports
  • Boys basketball
  • Bowling
  • Dance
  • Gymnastics
  • Hockey
  • Boys swimming
  • Wrestling
  • Girls basketball
• Spring sports
  • Baseball
  • Boys golf
  • Boys lacrosse
  • Girls lacrosse
  • Girls soccer
  • Softball
  • Girls tennis
  • Track and field
  • Girls Water Polo

Holt has won a total of 8 state championships in the sports of Girls Gymnastics (2007), Boys Basketball (2005), Wrestling (1971, 1996, 1997, 2008), Girls Track and Field (1976), and Girls Bowling (2010).

They have also been State Runners-Up on 4 different occasions in the sports Boys Soccer (2009), Football (1998, 1971), and Wrestling (2009).

Performance

In 2008, students' ACT scores exceeded the state averages. In 2007, the school's scores on the Michigan Merit Examination (MME) and Michigan Educational Assessment Program High School Test (MEAP HST) tests exceeded the state averages in all test areas.

Holt High School students won the Michigan Poetry Out Loud competition in 2006 and 2007.

References

• • WikiHolt(http://wikiholt.wetpaint.com)
  • The Shadowlands Michigan Haunted Places Page(http://theshadowlands.net/places/michigan.htm)

External links

• Holt High School website
• greatschools.net
• localschooldirectory
• School district website