Grosse Pointe North High School

Grosse Pointe North High School is a public high school in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The school opened in 1968. It is a member of the Grosse Pointe Public School System. The principal is Tim Bearden, while the assistant principals are Tom Beach, Matt Outlaw, and Carmen Kennedy. As of 2006, about 1580 students are enrolled at GPNHS. This school is ranked #1067 on Newsweek's 2006 list of the Best High Schools in America.[1]. It has received a rating of "A" on the Michigan Report Card. [2]

Notable clubs

• RATS, the radio astronomy team at this school, is credited with being the first high school group to build its own radio telescope from scratch in the U.S., and is mentored under the teachings of Ardis Herrold. Students are now constructing a new telescope to replace the original that was destroyed in a Michigan snow storm. The new telescope is better engineered and more easily interfaced with computers. The students not only are constructing the dish but they are doing all the wiring and computer programming that is involved. A picture of the GPT (Grosse Pointe Telescope) on top of the school's main academic building can be seen on the school's website.

• Choir Grosse Pointe North Choir program is under the direction of Ms. Mandy Scott. Grosse Pointe North choirs have performed at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. The choral department consists of the Freshman Choir, Concert Choir, Choraliers, Pointe Chorale, AcaFella and Vocalese. In 2005 the choirs performed at the Washington National Cathedral. [3]

• Bands and Orchestras Grosse Pointe North's bands and orchestras are led by Mr. David Cleveland and Mr. Joseph Bauer, respectively. The instrumental music program includes a Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, String Orchestra, Pep Band, Drumline, Full Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Fiddle Group and most noticeably a Pit Orchestra. The Pit Orchestra is a group composed of entirely of students who attend GPNHS and perform the original score to each year's musical. The bands and orchestra play at Detroit's Orchestra Hall every other year and travel across the country to be adjudicated. Past locales have included Chicago, Boston, New York City and the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.

• Quiz Bowl GPNHS's Quiz Bowl team ranks high in the region every year and continues to be a notable contender. It had great success in 2005, finishing 3rd in the state tournament and tying for 20th at the NAQT National Tournament. In 2006, the team finished 2nd in the state tournament, and won an impressive 9 out of 10 games in the preliminary rounds of the NAQT National Tournament, therefore becoming seeded 1st out of a field of 128 teams. Eventually the team ended up tying for 16th place. In 2007, the team placed second in the Michigan NAQT state tournament. In local Macomb County league play, North has been undefeated for more than four straight years, playing well over 100 consecutive games without a loss.

North Pointe

The school's newspaper is the North Pointe, which has undergone a transition for the 2006-2007 school year with a major redesign. The newspaper adviser is Andrew Taylor. The first issue of North Pointe featured a full-color poster cover about the 2006 Norsemen varsity baseball team finishing first in the state of Michigan (Division 1) with a 38-1 record.

North vs. South Rivalry

Grosse Pointe North's all time rival in sports is Grosse Pointe South High School, located about five miles away in Grosse Pointe Farms. South, which was originally built as Grosse Pointe High School changed its name to Grosse Pointe South High School after North was built. This formed a cross-town rivalry, from the start. Ever since North was opened in 1968, the two schools have played each other in sports and academic challenges. Many Norsemen flock each year to see the varsity football game between North & South in the fall, probably the biggest sporting matchup between the two schools during the year.

Athletics

Boys sports include: baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, sailing, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and wrestling.

Girls sports include: basketball, cheerleading, crew, cross country, dance team, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, sailing, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.

The 2005 boy's varsity basketball team recorded a school record in wins and made it to the state semifinals, becoming the most successful boy's basketball team in Grosse Pointe history. The team was led by Michael Bramos, who now plays for Miami University. The 2006 boy's Varsity Baseball team was ranked first in the state and broke the school record in wins, finishing the season with a record of 38-1. It also became the first state championship baseball team of Grosse Pointe North in 26 years. The team went on to receive national recognition by earning a top 10 national ranking. Also, the EA Sports All-American team recognized coach Frank Sumbera as national coach of the year and pitcher Michael Kaiser as 2nd team All-American.

Sex Scandal

During the 1997-1998 school year, the school became infamous throughout the Detroit metropolitan area for the "Grosse Pointe North Sex Scandal". The scandal was about the alleged rape/sexual assault of three intoxicated 14-year-old freshmen girls by a group of four senior men (all legal age.) The scandal became public when a picture of one of these senior men, with his genitals exposed, appeared in the student yearbook. Ultimately, the evidence and testimony were only found to support the trial of one of these seniors, and he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge—contributing to the delinquency of minors—to avoid a possible felony conviction for sexual assault. He then served a 4-month sentence in Wayne County Jail.

The sex scandal became so highly publicized that it spread to the national media and even 48 Hours of CBS dedicated a full episode to the scandal. The episode, released on November 19, 1998, was titled Cry Rape.

Vandalism Issues

On November 5, 2006, the newly built science wing of Grosse Pointe North High School caught fire after several flares were ignited and placed on the roof of the school by two sophomores. The fire burned a six foot hole into the roof, and damaged the rooms below. Approximately 20 other flares were found scattered on other parts of the school's roof. The flares were thought to have been stolen from a bus used by University Liggett School, a private school in the area. The gravel-like structure of these roof sections prevented any damage. The science wing currently houses the entire science department of Grosse Pointe North High School, including the departments of earth and environmental science, biology, chemistry, astronomy, and physics. Two classrooms were damaged and remain closed, while the rest of the damage has been cleaned up.

On January 5, 2007, during third hour an announcement by the school's principal was made, informing the students about a tree dedicated to an important member of the school's community being cut down. A $500 reward was announced for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. At about 2 p.m, two suspects were identified by Assistant Principal Carmen Kennedy. Two suspects were arrested, both former North students.

Notable Alumni

David Legwand- Professional NHL Player, for the Nashville Predators

Carly Piper- Olympic Swimmer and Gold medalist in Athens, 2004.

External links

• The Grosse Pointe Public School System Web Page

• Grosse Pointe North High School Web Page

• Grosse Pointe South High School Web Page

• GPNHS annual report (PDF)

• Radio Astronomy Team website

• GPNHS Choirs website

• Sex Scandal Article