Liberty High School (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
For schools with similar names, see Liberty High School.
| Liberty High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 1115 Linden Street Lehigh Valley Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, (Northampton County), 18017  United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°37′46″N 75°22′17″W / 40.62944°N 75.37139°WCoordinates: 40°37′46″N 75°22′17″W / 40.62944°N 75.37139°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| School district | Bethlehem Area School District |
| Superintendent | Joseph Roy |
| Principal | Harrison Bailey III |
| Asst. Principal | Beth Guarriello Cathy Moore Michael Wagner Nicholas Tsamoutilidis Antonio Traca |
| Teaching staff | Approx. 150 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 3,218 (2009) |
| Campus size | 570,000 square feet |
| Color(s) | Red and Blue |
| Fight song | LHS Fight |
| Athletics conference | Lehigh Valley Conference |
| Nickname | Hurricanes |
| Rival | Freedom High School Bethlehem Catholic High School |
| School roll | Approx. 3,250 Students |
| Tuition | Free |
| Website | www-lhs.beth.k12.pa.us |
Liberty High School is a public high school located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
Liberty is the larger of two public high schools in the Bethlehem Area School District, with Freedom High School being the other. Liberty's current attendance area includes students from the City of Bethlehem, Fountain Hill, Freemansburg, and Hanover Township. Mrs. JoAnn Durante was appointed as the first female principal in 2007.
In the current academic year of 2009, 3,218 students attend Liberty High School. It employs a staff of 153 full-time teachers, and 5 part-time teachers. Graduation takes place annually at Stabler Arena.
Liberty High School holds football games and other sporting events at the Frank Banko Field at the Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.
Contents |
History [edit]
Liberty High School was built in 1918 and opened in 1922 under the name "Bethlehem High School".[1] It is located in the geographical center of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. As the school started nearing it's capacity, the Bethlehem Area School District established a second high school, Freedom High School, and renamed the original school "Liberty High School" as a memorial to the Liberty ships that returned to Pennsylvania after World War I.
Liberty High School served all of Bethlehem until Freedom High School was built. Afterwards, Center City, Pembroke, and South Side residents attended Liberty while Bethlehem Township and Hanover Township residents went to Freedom. Adjustments have been made to these borders however, and Liberty now has students from Hanover, Center City, Pembroke and some of South Side (with some South Side residents attending the Freedom school).
Up until Liberty's recent remodel, the school was composed of three classroom buildings, two buildings with four floors and one science center with two. Over the years, several renovations have been performed on the school, with the most recent being an overhaul of the main building, along with the construction of a new student activity center.
Student government [edit]
The Student Government is made up of the Senate (consisting of eight senate seats per grade level) and five Senate Officers; President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Activities Secretary, and Treasurer. Each Grade also has four class officers; President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Student Government is the sole place where the Student Body can put their input and ideas on how they want their school year to go. The 2008 - 2009 Student Government created history by creating a new Student Government Constitution that gives the Student Body a voice in every decision that is made.
Clubs [edit]
Liberty High School offers a range of clubs including PJAS (Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science), Best Buddies, SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving or Students Against Destructive Decisions), Chess Team, Science Olympiad, Class Play – Fall (Fall Play), Shakespeare Club, Class Play – Spring (Spring Musical), DECA, Stage Crew Drama Club, Step Team, Ecology Club, Student Government, Class Offices, FBLA, Teen Summit, Historic Bethlehem Club, Teens Against Tobacco Use, Key Club, Tempest Dance Team, Latino Leadership, Video Production Club, LHS Strategy Club, Anime club, Jr.NAACP, Mini Globe Trotters, Photography Club, the Young Republican and Democrat club, and Art club.
The Liberty Girls Lacrosse Club has been in existence since 2004. This is a school-sanctioned club, but is financially and administratively independent from the school. By following PIAA rules and regulations, the club is eligible for district and state playoffs. The girls play a regular varsity and junior varsity schedule. The club has won two Lehigh Valley Invitational Championships. It has become one of the most popular sports at Liberty high school, and many girls have gone on to play in college. In 2009, the club's administration created and received approval for the present Bethlehem Area School District Club Sports policy which now allows club sports in the district to compete on the same level as other fully funded school varsity sports in Pennsylvania. The Liberty Boys Lacrosse Club was started in 2012 and also functions under the Club Sports policy. Both clubs are sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Conference.
Athletics [edit]
The school's athletic teams compete in the Lehigh Valley Conference, which also includes high schools from Allentown, Easton, Emmaus, and other Lehigh Valley locations. The sports include Cheerleading (non-competitive), Baseball, Field Hockey, Boys and Girls Soccer, Boys and Girls Track & Field, Boys and Girls Basketball, Football, Softball, Boys and Girls Volleyball, CoEd Golf, Boys and Girls Swimming, Rifle, Boys and Girls Tennis, Girls and Boys Lacrosse, Wrestling, and Boys and Girls Cross Country. In December 2008, the Liberty High School varsity football team won the Pennsylvania 4A State Championship.
Liberty (as well as Freedom High School (Pennsylvania) and Bethlehem Catholic High School) plays in Frank Banko stadium. It seats approximately 14,000.
Liberty High School Grenadier Band [edit]
The Liberty High School Grenadier Band is a world-renowned marching band. The "Grenadier" theme was first thought up by Ronald Sherry. Before him the Liberty High School Grenadier Band was known as the Liberty High School Marching Band and the band was directed by Joe Riccapito.
Their marching uniforms are modeled after the Coldstream Guards, a regiment of the British Army. In their uniforms the buttons are shipped over from England, the belts are old belts of the Coldstream Guard, and their bear skins are also from the British Army. Today the band has collected over 79 real bear skin hats. The Liberty High School Grenadier Band is the only band in the world that can wear these authentic uniform parts because the band has special permission from the Coldstream Guard to model after them. The Grenadier Band has performed in England numerous times which has strengthened their relationship with the British bands. They have also played at the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Pearl Harbor, Disney World, Disneyland, many professional sporting events, and a multitude of other prestigious events. They traveled to Hawaii to march in the Waikiki Holiday Parade over Thanksgiving 2011 to participate as the honor band - this parade honors veterans and specifically commemorates the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Grenadier Band has been invited to participate in the 2014 Rose Parade on January 1, 2014 in Pasadena, CA.[2]
The Grenadier Band has also on numerous occasions opened for different sections of the Queen's Guard including the Coldstream Guards, the Irish Guards and the Black Watch Pipes during their tours across the United States.
Currently, the band has 303 members. The Band Director is Gregory MacGill. The Assistant Band Director is Kevin Long.
Along with the main band, the Grenadiers also have a smaller elite band known as First Company. Recently, in August 2010, First Company members went to Canada for a week to participate in the Fortissimo show along with the Canadian Coldstream's Herald Trumpeters. The band also has an auxiliary unit with 21 majorettes, and 21 bagpipers and 5 pipe drummers who play at events across the Lehigh Valley - school events, funerals, corporate requests, community events are among the places where these students are requested.
Notable alumni [edit]
- David A. Bader, professor and executive director of high performance computing, Georgia Institute of Technology[3]
- Chuck Bednarik, former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member
- John B. Callahan, Mayor of Bethlehem
- Pete Carril, former basketball coach, Basketball Hall of Fame member
- Alexandra Chando, actress, As the World Turns and The Lying Game
- Jimmy DeGrasso, drummer, Alice Cooper band; former drummer, Megadeth
- Ted Deutch, Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 21st congressional district.
- Peter D. Feaver, Former Special Advisor for Strategic Planning and Institutional Reform, United States National Security Council
- Jonathan Frakes, actor and director, Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Mike Hartenstine, former professional football player, Chicago Bears
- Loren Keim, real estate author
- Gary Lavelle, former professional baseball pitcher, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays
- Barry W. Lynn, political activist and executive director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
- J. J. Maura, voiceover artist and television announcer, WCAU and QVC[4]
- Matt McBride, professional baseball player, Colorado Rockies
- Paul McHale, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Security and former Member of Congress
- Billy Packer, college basketball television sportscaster, CBS
- Dan Persa, former quarterback for the Northwestern Wildcats
- James J. Reed, former head coach, United States men's national soccer team
- Sheetal Sheth, actress, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
- David Zinczenko, diet author, editor of Men's Health magazine
- Dean Gehringer, Certified Public Accountant
Notable faculty [edit]
- James Delgrosso, taught driver's education from 1965 to 2003. Mayor of Bethlehem from 2003 to 2004.
Alma mater [edit]
Verse 1:
Hail to Alma Mater dear, where we've spent our high school years.
Now to Liberty we raise, Voices to extol thy praise.
In thy stately halls we've spent, hours with hearts and minds content.
Now to thee, dear Liberty High, In our loyalty we cry:
Chorus:
Liberty High School hail to thee
Loyal sons and daughters we
In the future, as the past
We'll be loyal to the last.
Verse 2:
Hail to dear ole' Red and Blue, to thy colors we'll be true.
As the star of Bethlehem shone, so our love for thee has grown.
In the world where ere we are, nothing shall thy honor mar.
Though the future years past by, this shall always be our cry:
Chorus:
Liberty High School hail to thee
Loyal sons and daughters we
In the future, as the past
We'll be loyal to the last.
References [edit]
- ^ LHS Profile
- ^ Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, Liberty High School, 2012
- ^ College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
- ^ Stamm, Dan (2010-07-30). "Longtime Voice of NBC10 Dies, J.J. Maura was a fixture at NBC10 for 2 decades". WCAU-TV. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
External links [edit]
- Liberty High School Official Web Site.
- Liberty High School Grenadier Band and Orchestra Parents.
- Liberty Girls Lacrosse Club.
- Liberty Boys Lacrosse Club
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