Orchard Park High School
Orchard Park High School is located at 4040 Baker Road, Orchard Park, New York. The school has approximately 1725 children in grades 9-12. The students are divided among three houses, with a principal for each house and a principal which oversees the entire school.
Building design and specifications
The main portion of the current high school building was completed in the late 1940s, and served from then until 1976 as the junior high school. In 1976, a large addition and renovation process doubled the size of the building and it became the high school. (The old junior high gym became the pool and added the gym adjacent to it. Also added is the three-story classroom addition and an auditorium adjacent to the original building.) (The former high school became a Middle School, which currently houses grades 6-8.) The building has undergone only minimal refurbishment and changes since the late 1970s. A common complaint regarding building design is that the narrowest staircase (capable of fitting only two people abreast) is in a central location; heavy between-period traffic often becomes congested in a bottleneck. This staircase, aptly named the center staircase. Currently they are remodeling the gymnasium locker rooms and the Baker. Rd entrance to the school. Also they are building a turf athletic field and a grass baseball field.
Extracurricular and cocurricular activities
The school has a variety of athletics teams including baseball, basketball, cross country, football, tennis, lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, track and field, swimming, rifle, and diving (which was ranked #1 in New York State for the 1999-2000 season), gymnastics, golf, and varsity hockey, among others. The golf team won the 2008 ECIC Team Championship by 12 shots. The club hockey team has won the last eight "Super Sunday's" for the Southtowns Club Hockey League. It also is the home to the Quaker Marching Band, the 2007 New York State Field Band Conference National Class Champions [1], student government, History Club, math club, Science Olympiad Team, philosophy club, Masterminds, Model Congress, book club, student-run literary magazine (Still Life), ecology club, Model UN, Destination Imagination, Future Business Leaders of America, and Future Teachers of America, as well as a newly created Rock Climbing Club. The school also boasts an interactive student, teacher, parent and administrator program called STAP-Comm. They have also put on many successful musicals, the most recent being Kiss Me, Kate.
School spirit and traditions
The school mascot is Opie the Quaker (in 2008, was portrayed by Kevin Prise) and the school colors are maroon and white.
Like any other high school, Orchard Park has its share of unique traditions. Freshmen asking for directions are often pointed towards the nonexistent "fourth floor" of the three-story building, even being tricked into climbing a restricted ladder that leads to the roof. There are many stories about traditions, frequently apocryphal. Harmful examples, such as bleach in water guns, are treated seriously by the administration. Many rumors surround the school pool, which is arguably over treated and causes many students ocular and dermatological discomfort. The pool has a textured floor and sides which often cut students, sometimes seriously. For a time, there was a traditional homecoming bonfire; due to fights breaking out in the 1990's, however, the practice was discontinued.
The 2008-2009 Academic Year Senior Class Officers: President: Kevin Prise, Vice President: Carly Dell, Secretary: Jordan Ott, Treasurer: Logan Jensen, Public Relations: Rob Yung
Parking
The Freeman Rd. lot is reserved for teacher and faculty parking, while the Baker Rd. lot provides spaces for all vehicle-equipped seniors and visitors to the high school. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church across the street from the school allows seniors the use of their parking lots during the week, as they have only weekend services, while a distant lot at the athletic field provides space for juniors, who must have a valid reason for driving to school, such as a job, and also seniors who have been banished from the closer lots for breaking parking rules.
Famous Alumni
- Jim Burt (football player), NFL player
- Lex Luger, Professional Wrestler
- Ron Pitts, former NFL player, Now Broadcaster on CBS for the NFL
- Josh Thomas,current NFL Player who plays DE for the Colts
- Dave Hollins, Professional Baseball Player
- Craig Wolfley,former NFL Player
- William Sadler, actor, The Shawshank Redemption
- Jon Corto, NFL defensive back, Buffalo Bills