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Lake Orion High School

Coordinates: 42°45′17″N 83°14′00″W / 42.7546°N 83.2333°W / 42.7546; -83.2333
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Lake Orion High School
Address
Map
495 E. Scripps Road

Orion Township, Michigan 48360
Coordinates42°45′17″N 83°14′00″W / 42.7546°N 83.2333°W / 42.7546; -83.2333
Information
TypePublic
Established1893, 1997 (Current Site)
School districtLake Orion Community Schools
PrincipalSteven Hawley
Faculty137
Grades9-12
Enrollment2,459 (2014-2015)[1]
RivalsClarkston Wolves
Oxford Wildcats
Adams Highlanders
Colors
Mascot
Green and White
Dragon
WebsiteLake Orion High School

Lake Orion High School (also referred to as Lake Orion Senior High School) is a public secondary institution located in Orion Township, Michigan. It is a part of Lake Orion Community Schools.

The large campus (377,756 square feet) features a centralized commons area, which serves as a distribution center to the wings. The commons area features the cafeteria and student store, as well as the main office. Each wing features classrooms, computer labs, student lockers, and faculty offices. The school building is the third largest in the state of Michigan, behind Saline High School in Pittsfield Township, Michigan, and Anchor Bay High School in New Baltimore, Michigan.

The campus also features a gymnasium, natatorium, and auditorium; all of which are suitable for state-level competitions or productions. The Information Resource Center is a library, featuring computers, tech-ed labs, and studio classrooms.

The immediate area around the school has been developed into residential neighborhoods, but is still dominated by Bald Mountain Recreation Area to the north, east, and southeast.

As of the 2013-2014 school year, Lake Orion High School has the 10th largest enrollment in the state of Michigan, and the 2nd largest in Oakland County after Clarkston High School (when Clarkston off-campus freshman are included). Since opening at the current location in 1997, LOHS has added close to 1,000 students to the enrollment.

History

The first building to house Lake Orion students was built in 1893 and served grades K-12. It was demolished in the 1930s by a Works Progress Administration project after a new school building was in place.

In 1927 a new building was constructed that would house K-12 students for the next 30 years. Located within the Village of Lake Orion, the building is still in use today as the Ehman Center, and is used by various non-profit enterprises (the property is zoned as non-commercial). It also was the home of a Boys & Girls Clubs of America chapter in the 1990s and early 2000s; the chapter has since moved.

The next building to house LOHS is located near the current school, and is now used as a Community Education Resource Center. It is commonly referred to as the "CERC Building". Opened in 1957, it housed classes for high school students for 40 years. During the 1980s and 1990s the building became so limited in space that it eventually only served grades 10-12, and also required the use of portable classrooms. During that time, the building was known as Lake Orion Senior High School, and was fed by Lake Orion Junior High School (grades 8 and 9). In 1994, Lake Orion and Orion Township residents approved a millage for a new high school, a new elementary school, new buses, and improvements to existing buildings.[2]

The current site of LOHS opened in the Fall of 1997, with much of the school uncompleted as construction was behind schedule. Students began classes while construction crews completed the main entrance, gym, weight room, auditorium, parking lot, baseball fields, and natatorium. As a result, students and staff used secondary entrances and were bused to the former high school for gym classes (and the first pep rally to include all 4 classes in years).

Beginning in 1999, LOHS was named a National Blue Ribbon School. In 2000, LOHS was honored as a New American High School showcase site. Both honors are bestowed by the United States Department of Education.[3] In 2001, LOHS was named one of the top 100 "wired" high schools nationally by The Princeton Review and FamilyPC magazine.

Athletics

The soccer, football, and track and field facilities at Lake Orion High School.

LOHS offers 29 varsity sports, and competes in the Oakland Activities Association or "OAA". At the state level, the school is classified as "Class A" or "Division 1", competing against those schools with the largest enrollments. Historically, LOHS began competing against schools with the smallest enrollments in the early half of the 20th century. As the area's population grew and enrollment increased, LOHS began moving up in classification until permanently being classified as Division 1 or Class A in the 1970s. Recently, Lake Orion has added boy's ice hockey (2001), boy's and girl's lacrosse (2007), boy's and girl's bowling, and girl's competitive dance to the list of varsity sports offered.

The grounds surrounding the school feature Dragon Stadium, which houses the football field and track. The football field is composed of AstroTurf GameDay Grass XPe, an artificial surface constructed to resemble grass. A separate soccer field is located next to the stadium. There are several baseball and softball diamonds, some of which feature dugouts or bleacher seating. Lighted tennis courts are located adjacent to the school. Many of these facilities are suitable for regional, statewide, and AAU competitions.

The athletic teams are known as "The Dragons". The "Dragons" (or Lady Dragons) name is used by all athletic teams at all educational levels throughout the school system. The chief rival to Lake Orion is the Clarkston High School Wolves, located in the township directly west of Orion. The two districts border one another and share many of the same demographics and enrollment. A previous rival to Lake Orion was Oxford High School, located in the township directly north. Beginning with the 2010 fall sports season, Lake Orion will again face Oxford in sporting events as Oxford moved to the OAA. The football teams compete for the "Double-O" trophy each season.

The boys and girls ski teams compete at Pine Knob. The ice hockey team predominately competes at the Detroit Skating Club.

Lake Orion baseball has had 8 players drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft.[4][5] From 1996-1998, the baseball team was coached by former major leaguer Dave Collins.

The Lake Orion soccer field served as home field for the Michigan Bucks of the USL Premier Development League in 2007 and 2008.

State Championships

  • 1925 - Boys Basketball (Class E) [6]
  • 1957 - Football (Class B) (pre-playoff, selected by the Detroit Times)[6]
  • 1990 - Wrestling (Class A/Division 1)[7]
  • 2007 - Girls Golf (Division 1)[8]
  • 2007 - Baseball (Division 1)[9]
  • 2008 - Power Lifting (Club) (Class A)[10]
  • 2009 - Power Lifting (Club) (Class A)[11]
  • 2010 - Football (Division 1)[12]
  • 2012 - Boys Track (Division 1)[13]

Individual Awards

  • 2002 - Randy Frye - Mr. Baseball (Michigan)[14]
  • 2002 - Randy Frye - Baseball - Gatorade State Player of the Year (Michigan)[15]
  • 2003 - Billy Weaver - Soccer - Mr. Soccer (Michigan)[16]
  • 2003 - Billy Weaver - Soccer - NSCAA State Player of the Year (Michigan)[16]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "MHSAA > Schools". Mhsaa.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Looking Back". Lakeorionreview.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Lake Orion Community Schools". Lakeorion.k12.mi.us. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Lake Orion High School". Thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  5. ^ "MLB DRAFT: Tigers' Day 3 picks include Ben Verlander, Lake Orion's Nick Deeg WITH VIDEO". Theoaklandpress.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b Colin Baumgartner. "On the record..." Clarkstonnews.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Team Champions". Mhsaa.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Team Champions". Mhsaa.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Yearly Champions". Mhssa.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  10. ^ Colin Baumgartner. "Powerlifters celebrate state title". Clarkstonnews.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  11. ^ "On the mountain top - thecountypress.mihomepaper.com - The County Press". Thecountypress.mihomepaper.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Lake Orion captures first ever Division 1 football title after defeating Plymouth, 21-13". Highschoolsports.mlive.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Lake Orion brings home the first Division 1 boys track and field team title in school history". Highschoolsports.mlive.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  14. ^ "MICHIGAN HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL - Mr. Baseball". Peschstats.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  15. ^ "Baseball America Online - High School POY Watch". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  16. ^ a b "Billy Weaver Bio - Indiana University Official Athletic Site". Iuhoosiers.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  17. ^ [http://www.clarkstonnews.com/Articles-i-2010-10-13-238177.113121-sub-LO-grad-is-a-Rehab-Addict.html "LO grad is a �Rehab Addict�"]. clarkstonnews.com. Retrieved 2014-12-06. {{cite web}}: replacement character in |title= at position 14 (help)