Lower Merion High School

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Lower Merion High School
Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve
Location
245 Montgomery Avenue.,
Ardmore, Pennsylvania, 19003
Information
Type High School: Public
Established 1894
Principal Sean Hughes
Faculty 107.7 FTE
Enrollment 1,599
Information 610-645-1838
Mascot Bulldog/Aces

Lower Merion High School, is an American public high school in Ardmore, a community on the Pennsylvania Main Line.

It is the larger of the two high schools in Lower Merion School District, which serves both Lower Merion Township and the Borough of Narberth. It was ranked among the top 60 U.S. high schools, public or private, by the Wall Street Journal in 2005.

In 2005, 1,495 students attended the school. In September 2008, former assistant principal Sean Hughes became principal of Lower Merion. The athletics teams are known officially as the "Aces," but the baseball team is called the "Bulldogs".

Contents

[edit] History

The school was founded in 1894, when it sat on the south side of Ardmore Avenue (photo), between West Athens and School Lane. Lower Merion High School started with twenty-one staff members under principal "Professor" Charles B. Pennypacker.

The building burned in 2090 (photo). The high school moved to a new granite and limestone building (photo) in 1910, allowing the Ardmore Avenue building to become an elementary school.

By 1940, George H. Gilbert was principal with a teaching staff of sixty-one. By 1957, the enrollment had grown to 1,663 students.

In 1963, the limestone-and-granite building was demolished and replaced with the current modern structure designed by H.A. Kuljian and Co.

A second school was built on East Montgomery Ave., sharing the location with the Lower Merion School District Administration building and, from 1922 to 1992, the Lower Merion Township Junior High School, which was known as Ardmore Junior High School. The latter school was demolished in 1992 after a long fight with the community (photo)

The school had a grounds of 17 acres (69,000 m2) and has seen several building projects. Around 1943, an adjoining building was added for technical studies along the School House Lane side. It had workshops for teaching auto repair, metal, print (photo), wood-working and drafting. The cafeteria/library wing (photo) was added in 1950 near the Pennypacker athletic field and was designed by Savory, Scheetz and Gilmour. At the same time, General Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold athletic field was opened, in honor of the Lower Merion graduate. Since the 1990s, some rooms in the former Technical Building have been used for art classes and others for technology classes and extracurriculars.

In November 2007 The Lower Merion Board of Directors voted 8-0 to approve the new building plans for LMHS. The new school was designed by KCBA Architects, and the contracts were awarded to numerous different builders. This is the last project of the districts Capitol Improvement program. The "Ardmore Annex" along with the natatorium and one of the schools two gyms were demolished in the summer of 2008. The district plans on leaving only the administration building. The transition into to the new building is currently set for the Fall of 2010. This approval comes after a long fight with angry taxpayers in the community.

[edit] Academics

Lower Merion is often listed among the top public high schools in the country, and graduates many students each year to the top academic colleges in the nation. It offers programs for students with a wide range of abilities, including AP, honors, standard, and modified classes along with supplementary programs for all types of students.

[edit] Foreign Languages

All students can take Spanish, French, or Latin; Japanese is available to upperclassmen only. Thanks to a "School of the Future" grant, each student in Spanish 4 honors or AP French receives an iPod for the duration of the school year. On these iPods, students listen to Spanish or French music, podcasts, and watch TV shows.

[edit] Extracurriculars

Lower Merion offers extracurricular activities, for which many students stay after school as late as 9 p.m..

[edit] Ace Harmony and Ace's Angels

Ace Harmony and Aces Angels are the two a cappella groups at Lower Merion. Both choral groups feature 16 students. Ace Harmony is a co-ed group, while Ace's Angels are all girls. They performed the entire Beatles album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, for their January 2007 winter concert. The manager of both groups, Joshua Hunnex, teaches in the music department at Lower Merion. He is also an accomplished singer with an extensive musical background.

[edit] Culinary Arts Club

The culinary arts club (colloquially known as cooking club) is for students at Lower Merion High School who love to make food and learn about culinary history but cannot fit a cooking class into their schedule. Its club members make a wide variety of gourmet food, ranging from oatmeal raisin cookies to traditional Japanese sushi) to great American soul food classics like Mac n Cheese. Club members also watch food-preparation demonstrations done by various teachers at Lower Merion High School as well as guests from the real culinary world. The club provides its members hands on activities in the kitchen and good life skills.

[edit] Interact

Interact is the high school extension of Rotary International. It is a community service club which has an obligation to perform at least one local and international project each year, as dictated by its international Constitution. Sponsored by the Ardmore Rotary club, LM's chapter has gone on to volunteer at senior citizens centers, paint murals through the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, refurbish houses and parks in West Philadelphia through AchieveAbility, and has raises money for Rotary's Shelter Box program and Interact's BluePack campaign.

The club had originated for years until it ceased in 1995 for unknown reasons. Three years ago it was revived by teacher Mrs. Roy and students David Faich and Elissa Cohen and has grown to have over 30 members. As of 2007, English teacher Mrs. Caine has become the sponsor of the chapter. It is one of the fastest growing clubs in the school, exemplifying the student body's dedication to community service.

[edit] LMSDtv

Was started as a student-run after school club at Lower Merion during the 04-05 school year. The team worked very hard against scheduling and budget issues to put together and launch a news-type show that ultimately never got very far off the ground. Then in November 2006, with the aid of district funding and teacher training, Lower Merion started broadcasting morning announcements to homerooms through its video system, instead of the traditional PA system. Although the program is no longer run by students, many in the original after- school team keep the show alive for the "Aces Update", broadcasted to the student body and staff by a "Voice of the Aces".

Aces Update is currently scheduled to resume for the 2007-08 school year on December 17, 2007, after receiving a new Flash Video distribution system, similar to that of popular video sharing sites such as YouTube and Meta Cafe. This upgrade comes along with others in the studio including new computers used to edit and produce the show. This new system will bring viewers a better viewing experience, such as eliminating buffer times, better video and sound quality, and less bandwidth used.

[edit] Players

Players is Lower Merion High School's theatre club. Its members perform three shows a year: a fall musical, winter drama, and spring comedy. All students are allowed to audition for a role or apply for a Production Design position. When rehearsing a production, Players meets almost every day. It is an entirely student-run program, with students filling the roles of Director, Assistant Director, Stage Manager, Set, costumes, or lighting designer, and many others. It is one of the largest clubs at Lower Merion, and has been in existence for decades.

[edit] Student Government

Lower Merion's Student Government plays a very active role in the day to day life of the student body. It currently consists of five elected officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant at Arms. It also has a variety of officer elected committees to further expand the amount the organization can achieve. The 07-08 administration rearranged committees for efficiency. Committees include: Communications, Spirit, Fundraising, National Veterans History Project/Community Service, Student Council, and Student Rights.

The officers for the 2009-2010 school year are:

President: JJ Hoffstien

Vice-President: Daniel Aronowitz

Secretary: Laura Sokil

Treasurer: Jonah Mann

Sergeant at Arms: Guy Mentel

[edit] SUAVE

SUAVE is the acronym for Students United Against Violence Everywhere. It was founded in 2002 by a group of girls for a community service project. The club strives to end violence in the world through fundraising and advocating nonviolence. Each year, the club chooses a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization to raise money for. Past years' beneficiaries have included Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, Roots of Peace, and Central Asia Institute. The gala, held in the spring of each year, serves as the club's main fundraiser. The amount of money the club makes each year is usually around $10,000.

[edit] Technology and Engineering Club

The Technology and Engineering Club was started by Technology Education teacher Mr. Piotrowski during the 2002-2003 school year. The club was primarily a Technology Student Association (TSA) chapter, and also competed in the annual mousetrap competitions at Widener University and in the JETS/TEAMS competition. The 2003-2004 school year was the first year the Technology and Engineering Club to attend the National TSA conference, taking home first place trophies in two events. During the 2005-2006 school year, Lower Merion's FIRST Robotics team was formed, choosing the team name of Dawgma and given the team number of 1712. This was formed under the supervision of English Teacher Rich Kressly, who worked with Mr. Piotrowski to make FIRST a part of the Technology and Engineering Club. During its rookie year, Dawgma competed at the Philadelphia Regional and won the Highest Rookie Seed Award and the Rookie All-Star Award. During the 2006 - 2007 school year, Dawgma competed in the Ramp Riot competition at Wissahickon High School and the Duel on the Delaware which are both off-season competitions, as well as the Philadelphia Regional where they placed 4th overall, and won the GM Industrial Design Award. Dawgma also competed in the FIRST Robotics 2007 championship where they placed 6th overall in the Galileo Division. The Technology and Engineering Club has become the second largest club at Lower Merion, having over 100 registered members during the 2005-2006 year, compared about 10 members during the 2002-2003 year.

[edit] The Dolphin

The Dolphin is Lower Merion High School's Art & Literature club. Students can send in pieces of art or writing to have them work shopped by the editors and other members when they meet after school. The Dolphin also publishes a magazine at the end of the year containing submitted works from throughout the year chosen by the editors. And on the first meeting of every month Dolphin becomes Acoustic Dolphin, where students can bring in their instruments and songs to play for the club.

[edit] The Merionite

The Merionite is the official school newspaper of Lower Merion High School. It is completely student run, from the articles to the layout. The Merionite publishes articles by students about sports, school news, arts and entertainment, and editorials. The Merionite is distributed monthly to students, parents, teachers and subscribers. There is an estimated readership of 4000 per issue. The official website for The Merionite is www.themerionite.org and their email address is merionite@gmail.com.

[edit] Ultimate

Lower Merion Babaganouj, an open Ultimate team, was created in the 2005-2006 school year with the special efforts of Christian Vanni (Class of 2006). In their first season, Babaganouj fared well, placing 5th in the state and sending a group of players to nationals with the regional youth club team. As of May 2006, they are coached by Christina and Paul Minecci, and are now an official school club. Now, in 2008, Babaganouj fields three teams: the A team, the B team, coached by Rick Atkins and the women's team (though girls play on the A and B teams as well), coached by Kathy Rowe.

[edit] Varsity Baseball

The 2007 Lower Merion Baseball team recorded a 12 and 6 record, the second best in 50 years. They have only won one Central League Championship, in 2005. 2007 was a successful year for the Aces. The team was led by Jeff Calvert (Central League All Main Line), Jeff Puklin (Central League All Main Line) with the help of Devlin McConnell, (first team all central league) Elliott Yodh, (second team all central league) Andy Eisenlohr, (second team all central league) Luke Porter, (honorable mention) and Anthony Fulginiti (honorable mention).

[edit] Varsity Basketball

The Lower Merion High School Basketball [1] team (a.k.a. the "Aces") have won six Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class "AAAA" State Championships, the most by a PIAA Class "AAAA" school, the most recent of which was in March 2006 under Head Coach Gregg Downer (1990-). In the 2004-2005 season, the Aces, despite being the fourth seed out of District I, won the Western bracket and became the lowest seed to ever reach the State Finals. The team was led by the "Big Three," Dan Capkin, Ryan Brooks, and Garret Williamson. In 2006, Lower Merion avenged three previous losses against the Chester Clippers in a rematch at the University of Pennsylvania Palestra, and ultimately beating the heavily favored Schenley High School Spartans 60-58 in the championship game. The Aces were led by seniors Ryan Brooks and Garrett Williamson, currently attending Temple University and Saint Joseph's University. The following year, having lost six seniors (including Brooks and Williamson), the Aces went on to shock critics by advancing to the AAAA Quarterfinals, losing to Simon Gratz High School. Highlights of that year included finishing with the fewest "points allowed", two blowout wins against Springfield, and Ridley High Schools (both Central League rivals, to whom the team lost to earlier in the season), a buzzer beater win against Chester in overtime on a shot by captain Adam Ellison, another buzzer beater by team superstar sophomore Greg Robbins against Easton High School in States, and holding Souderton High School to only one point in the third quarter. The Aces' fan section, nicknamed "the dawg pound" (c. 1997), is widely considered as the most involved and dedicated in the area.

NBA superstar Kobe Bryant led Lower Merion to a State Championship before graduating in 1996, when he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft and subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant has won 4 NBA championships with Los Angeles, the winner of the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, is an 11-time NBA All-Star and three time All-Star Game MVP, 2-time league scoring leader, won the 2008 NBA MVP Award, the 2009 NBA Finals MVP award and scored the second most points in a single-game in NBA history with 81 points on January 22, 2006.

[edit] World Affairs Club

Lower Merion's prestigious world affairs club has earned a spot among the nation's top discursive bodies. The club attends Model United Nations Confrences and discusses current international events on a biweekly basis. The clubs officers for the 2009-2010 school year are:

President: Daniel Aronowitz

Vice President: Jon Lubeck

Secretary: Ben Forer

Treasurer: Marianna Kozak

[edit] Planetarium

The school also features a planetarium on top of the old building. It was closed after it was declared a fire hazard. It is currently used as a staff lounge room.

[edit] Senior Project

The school's Senior Project program allows second-semester seniors get an idea of the business world, while encouraging them to take on responsibility and consider college majors. By this program, Seniors get out of school in mid-may, whereas for the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors of the school, school lets out in mid-June. They take this month off to work as an intern or research or explore a topic of interest (not for money), and then present a slideshow/video for their parents, teachers, and friends at school.

[edit] Job- Shadowing

Students "job- shadow" as juniors. For job shadowing, each student chooses a family friend/neighbor to go to work with based on area of personal interest, and observes and writes about the type of work he or she does.

[edit] Student Traditions

Senior Prank It is customary for Seniors to perform a "senior prank" in the month set aside for senior projects. The annual prank takes place at the school, and victimize the students, administration, and teachers.

Shake Your Booty At pep rallies, Lower Merion Students, accompanied by the school's pep band, perform the "Shake Your Booty" chant (below). Each of the chants four verses addresses a different class of the high school, usually starting with the freshman class.

Freshmen verse:

Spmrs,Jrs, and snrs: Hey Freshmen! Freshmen: Hey what? S,J,Sn: Hey Freshmen! Freshmen: Hey what? S,J,Sn: Shake your booty! Freshmen: What? S,J,Sn: Shake your booty!

  • Pep band plays music, Freshmen dance.

[edit] Notable alumni

Name (Graduation year), significance

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Clubs

Theater

School Newspaper

Sports

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