Grosse Pointe South High School
Grosse Pointe South High School is a public high school of state and national historical significance serving the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe. Originally known as Grosse Pointe High School when opened in 1928, the school adopted its current name in 1968 after the newly established Grosse Pointe North High School began accepting students.
Grosse Pointe South High School | |
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![]() Grosse Pointe South High School minutes after the start of classes on the last first day of school for the class of 2020 | |
Address | |
![]() ![]() Grosse Pointe South High School ![]() ![]() Grosse Pointe South High School ![]() ![]() Grosse Pointe South High School | |
11 Grosse Pointe Boulevard , 48236-3711 United States of America | |
Coordinates | 42.390754°N 82.902652°W |
Information | |
Other names | South, Grosse Pointe South, GPS, GPSHS |
Former name | Grosse Pointe High School (1928-1968) |
Type | Comprehensive public high school |
Opened | 1928 |
Status | Currently operational |
School district | Grosse Pointe Public School System |
NCES District ID | 2625740[1] |
Superintendent | Dr. Gary C. Niehaus |
CEEB code | 231-802[2] |
NCES School ID | 262574006220[3] |
Principal | Moussa Hamka |
Teaching staff | 87.36 FTE[3] |
Grades | 9-12 |
Gender | Co-educational |
Enrollment | 1,615[3] (2017-2018) |
• Grade 9 | 392[3] |
• Grade 10 | 412[3] |
• Grade 11 | 393[3] |
• Grade 12 | 402[3] |
• Ungraded | 16[3] |
Student to teacher ratio | 18.49[3] |
Schedule type | Semester |
Schedule | 7 50-minute periods |
Campus size | 23 acres[4] |
Campus type | Suburban |
School color(s) | Blue and Gold |
Song | "Grosse Pointe South Alma Mater" |
Fight song | "Victory March of the Blue Devils" |
Athletics conference | Macomb Area Conference - White division |
Mascot | Blue Devil ![]() |
Nickname | Blue Devils |
Rival | Grosse Pointe North High School Norsemen |
Accreditation | Cognia |
ACT average | 25.8[5] |
Publication | Looking Glass (art and literary magazine) |
Newspaper | The Tower (print) The Tower Pulse (online) |
Yearbook | Viewpointe |
Communities served | Grosse Pointe |
Feeder schools | Pierce Middle School
Brownell Middle School |
Website | mi01000971 |
![]() Grosse Pointe South High School from the front lawn | |
Grosse Pointe High School | |
![]() Grosse Pointe High School historic site marker | |
Coordinates | 42.390686°N 82.903787°W |
Built | 1927-1928 |
Built by | Carl S. Barry Co. |
Architect | George J. Haas |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival (Neo-Georgian) |
NRHP reference No. | 93000429 |
MSHS No. | L1882 |
Significant dates | |
Architecture | 1927-1928 |
Education | 1928-1943 |
Art | 1938 |
Added to NRHP | May 20, 1993 |
Designated MSHS | 1992 |
Last updated: November 12, 2019 |
Martin Luther King Jr. In Grosse Pointe | |
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Coordinates | 42.390753°N 82.903830°W |
Designated | 2018 |
Reference no. | S754 |
Communities served and feeder patterns
The school serves the following municipalities:[7] almost all of Grosse Pointe Farms,[8] and all of Grosse Pointe (city) and Grosse Pointe Park.[9][10]
Elementary schools feeding into GPSHS include all of the zones of Defer, Kerby, Maire, Père Gabriel Richard, and Trombly. All of the boundaries of Pierce Middle School and most of the boundary of Brownell Middle School coincides with that of GPSHS.[7]
Academics
In 2009, Grosse Pointe South ranked in the top 2% of High Schools-Nationwide.[11] By 2010, Newsweek posted that Grosse Pointe South High School ranked 920 (fifth in Michigan) and Grosse Pointe North High School was 899th (4th in Michigan).[12]
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
As of 2010, the school offers 15 varsity sports teams for boys and 18 varsity sports teams for girls. These sports include baseball, basketball, competitive cheer, crew, cross country, field hockey, figure skating, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, sailing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, synchronized swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. Grosse Pointe South competes in the Macomb Area Conference (MAC), under the regulation of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA).
Tennis
The boys' tennis team won the class A state championship in 1945 and 1946 and tied with Monroe High School in 1947.[13] The girls' tennis team won the state championship every year from 1976 to 1986 (Tying in 1976,1977,1982 and 1985), 2008, 2012, and 2014.[14]
Pointe Players
Pointe Players is Grosse Pointe South's student theater organization. It is Troupe #49 of the International Thespian Society. It is also among the five oldest clubs at South, as it was started in 1929.
The group produces one main stage play each Fall. Recent productions have included Daniel J. Sullivan's Inspecting Carol, Christopher Sergel's adaptation of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, John Van Druten's I Remember Mama, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! In 2008, the 'Players' performed Moises Kaufman's The Laramie Project, a controversial play about the murder of gay University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard.
Martin Luther King Jr. visit and speech
Grosse Pointe High School hosted a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. on March 14, 1968, when 2,700 people gathered in the gymnasium to hear a speech entitled "The Other America", just three weeks before his assassination.[17] Dr. King had already visited Detroit and led a march in the city of Detroit where he gave an early version of his "I Have a Dream" speech.
To honor the 50th anniversary of the event the Grosse Pointe News partnered with the Grosse Pointe Public School System and the Grosse Pointe Board of Realtors in submitting an application for a historic site marker to be placed near the one previously installed on campus.[18] The marker, which was approved by the Michigan Historical Commission on July 27, 2018, was paid for by a grant from the National Association of Realtors.[18]
Notable alumni
- Ayokay — producer and DJ[19]
- Terrence G. Berg Federal District Court Judge, Eastern District of Michigan
- Scott Boman — Libertarian politician in Michigan
- Tony Fadell — Engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and investor. Co-founder of Nest. Former Senior Vice President of the iPod division at Apple who was a key figure in the development of the iPod and iPhone. "Father of the iPod"
- Chris Getz — Former MLB second baseman with the Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago White Sox
- Edward Herrmann — Actor and narrator known for his role as Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls and his voice work for PBS and History
- Alexander Koch — Actor known for his role as James "Junior" Rennie on Under the Dome
- Lisa LoCicero — Actress known for her role as Olivia Falconeri on General Hospital
- John 5 (John Lowery) — Guitarist with Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson
- Mike Murphy — Republican political consultant and NBC News and MSNBC contributor
- Quinn XCII — singer and songwriter[19]
See also
Michigan portal Schools portal Education portal
References
- "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Grosse Pointe Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "Grosse Pointe South" (PDF). Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- "Search for Public Schools - Grosse Pointe South High School (262574006220)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "History of South High School / History". Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- "South Profile 2018-2019.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- "GPPSS-DistrictMap" (PDF). Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- "District Map." Grosse Pointe Public School System. Retrieved on January 8, 2017.
- "Zoning Map." City of Grosse Pointe Farms. Retrieved on January 8, 2017.
- "Zoning Map." Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. Retrieved on January 8, 2017.
- "Zoning Map." Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Retrieved on January 8, 2017.
- America's Top Public High Schools 2008 - Newsweek and The Daily Beast
- "America's Best High Schools: The List". Newsweek. June 13, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- "Boys' Tennis Team Champions". Michigan High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
- "Girls' Tennis Team Champions". Michigan High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
- "Grosse Pointe South Sundevils". Grosse Pointe South Sundevils. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- "Solar Car Challenge - SolarCarChallenge - High School Solar". solarcarchallenge.org. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- "The Other America". Grosse Pointe Historical Society. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
- GPN Staff (January 23, 2019). "Commemorating MLK at 'The High'". Grosse Pointe News. Pointe News Incorporated. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- "Grosse Pointe Musicians Score Major Record Label Contract: Listen". Patch. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- Hill, Eric J.; John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3.
- Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Socia, Madeleine; Suzie Berschback (2001). Grosse Pointe: 1890 - 1930 (Images of America). Arcadia. ISBN 0-7385-0840-3.
- "Grosse Pointe High School". National Park Service. Retrieved March 11, 2007.