Midland High School (Midland, Michigan)
Encyclopedia
Midland High School is a three-story public high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 located in Midland, Michigan
Midland, Michigan
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....

. It is the older of two high schools in the Midland Public Schools
Midland Public Schools
Midland Public Schools is a public school district located in Midland, Michigan, USA.-History:The roots of Midland Public Schools go back to the 1872 Union High School, which educated local students until a boiler explosion destroyed the building in 1907. A new school was constructed the following...

 district, and a member of the Saginaw Valley High School Association
Saginaw Valley League
The Saginaw Valley High School Association is a high school sports league within the Michigan High School Athletic Association , located in the Saginaw/Flint, Michigan area...

.

History

  • 1872 - Union High School opens its doors.
  • 1907 - The Union High School building was destroyed in a fire as the result of a boiler explosion.
  • 1908 - $11,000 USD is donated by the Dow Chemical Company
    Dow Chemical Company
    The Dow Chemical Company is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization .Dow...

     to help rebuild the high school. The name changes to Midland High School with the opening of the new building, which was closed and demolished in 1957 after being used as an elementary school
    Elementary school
    An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

     and intermediate school. The site of the former building is now known as Grove Park.
  • 1937 - The third building and location of Midland's High School is built (still in use, currently Central Middle School)
  • 1955 - Construction of the current facility is completed on what was the old Midland Airfield.
  • 1956 - Students begin the 1956-57 school year in the new building.
  • 1968 - Overcrowding is reduced as Herbert Henry Dow High School
    Herbert Henry Dow High School
    Herbert Henry Dow High School is a public high school located in Midland, Michigan. The school, a part of Midland Public Schools, is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and in 2008 was named one of the top 20 High Schools in Michigan in a study commissioned by US News & World...

     opens for sophomores.
  • 1997 - Ninth grade moves from intermediate schools to high schools.
  • 2005 - Construction is started on two additions to the building - a new gymnasium and music wing.
  • 2006 - Construction on the new gymnasium and music wing is completed.
  • 2007 - A new front entrance on Eastlawn Drive and a new pick-up/drop-off area to improve traffic flow and modernize the building's appearance is constructed. Midland High School celebrates its 50th anniversary in their present building and becomes an International Baccalaureate school.

IB Diploma

Both High Schools in Midland participate in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, the most widely recognized pre-university educational program. The challenging academic regimen is especially useful for students planning to study abroad and college admissions officers view the IB Diploma very favorably.

Activities

Midland High School provides its students with a wide array of extracurricular activities. Among them:
  • The school newspaper, Focus.
  • Key Club
    Key Club
    Key Club International is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization whose goal is to teach leadership through serving others. Key Club International is a part of the Kiwanis International family of service-leadership programs...

  • Environmental Club
  • Business Professionals of America
    Business Professionals of America
    Business Professionals of America is a career and technical student organization that is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. BPA aims to develop leadership, academic, and technological skills in the workplace among students and leaders within the community...

     (several national champion teams)
  • Computer Aided Design (CAD) Club
  • DECA
    DECA (organization)
    DECA, also known as Collegiate DECA on the college level) is an international association of students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service . DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing,...

  • National Honor Society
    National Honor Society
    The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...

  • Band, Orchestra, and Choir
  • Drama (three productions a year, including a musical and competition piece)
  • Forensics
    Forensics
    Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...

  • Model United Nations
    Model United Nations
    Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....

  • Student Council
    Student council
    Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...

  • Programming Club
  • Teenage Republicans
    Teenage Republicans
    Teen Age Republicans or "TARs" is a political youth organization that is an official auxiliary to the United States Republican Party. There are various TAR clubs throughout the United States, at county and state levels. TAR has a presence in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, and...

     Club
  • Young Democrats Club
  • Anime Club

Athletics

The school's athletic director is Eric Albright, also History teacher for upper classmen and Chemic's varsity baseball coach.

Football: Midland High boasts an excellent football program, coached by Eric Methner, along with Assistants Matt Rapanos, Matthew Starling, Pete Welter, Brad Blasy. Rapanos, Starling, and Blasy are all graduates of Midland High. The Chemics have posted consecutive winning seasons for the past 35 years (since 1976), the second longest streak in the history of the state of Michigan. Midland High has also earned eight consecutive playoff berths, and 20 overall since 1983. Since 1950, Midland High has had only 5 losing seasons. The annual Midland High vs. Dow High game is considered one of the biggest high school football games in the state of Michigan, generally drawing around 10,000 spectators. Midland has dominated the series with a 31-10 overall record. The Chemics have two state championships (1957 and 1968), and have made it to the state championship game three times since then (1990, 1993, 2007).

Wrestling: The Chemic wrestling team has won three straight district championships and the school's very first regional championship in 2009 . In the first round of the 2008 regional the Chemics were matched up with Davison and lost, a reversal of the 2007 football regional with MHS beating Davison. The 2009 wrestling regional was again a match-up between MHS and Davison. The Chemics win was in turn a reversal of the 2008 football regional with Davison beating the Chemics. The Chemic wrestlers lost 51-12 to Holt High School
Holt High School (Michigan)
Holt High School is a public high school serving grades 10 – 12 in Holt, Michigan, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Holt-Dimondale Public Schools district.-Campus:...

 in the quarterfinal matchup on March 6, 2009 putting an end to their season.

Midland Community Stadium
Midland Community Stadium
Midland Community Stadium is located in Midland, Michigan and is owned by Midland Public Schools. The stadium is notable because the fan seating is built into man-made earthen hills, and does not have scaffolding type bleachers that are typical for high school stadiums...

, located on the west end of the MHS campus, was renovated in 2004 with AstroTurf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...

 XPe and is the home field of the Chemics' football, track & field and soccer teams. The stadium is also shared with Dow High School as their home field.
 

Fall sports

  • Football
  • Volleyball
  • Girls Swimming/Diving
  • Boys Cross Country
  • Girls Cross Country
  • Pom-Pon
  • Cheer
  • Boys Soccer
  • Boys Tennis
  • Girls Golf
  • Gymnastics**
 

Winter sports

  • Wrestling
  • Boys Basketball
  • Girls Basketball
  • Boys Swimming/Diving
  • Pom-Pon
  • Competitive Cheer
  • Hockey
  • Gymnastics**
 

Spring sports

  • Baseball
  • Softball
  • Boys Track & Field
  • Girls Track & Field
  • Boys Golf
  • Girls Tennis
  • Girls Soccer

**Recently cut as a sport due to district budget cuts along with various freshman teams.


2007 Regular Football Season
Opponent Outcome
Mount Pleasant High School
Mount Pleasant High School (Michigan)
Mount Pleasant High School is a public high school located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. It offers college preparatory courses to students in grades 9-12, technical preparatory courses from the Mount Pleasant Area Technical CenterMount Pleasant High School is a public...

L- 23-43
Bay City Central High School
Bay City Central High School
Bay City Central High School is a high school located at 1624 Columbus Ave., Bay City, Michigan. Its mascot is the wolf, and its colors are purple and gold.-Building history:...

W- 19-13
Saginaw Heritage High School
Saginaw Heritage High School
Heritage High School serves as Saginaw Township Community Schools' only high school. As of the 2006-07 school year the student body numbered approximately 1700 students with over 100 staff . It is located on North Center Road in Saginaw Charter Township, MI...

W- 32-0
Saginaw High School
Saginaw High School
Saginaw High School is located in Saginaw, Michigan, USA. The student enrollment is approximately 746 students....

W- 48-0
Flint Northern High School
Flint Northern High School
Flint Northern High School, is a public secondary school located in Flint, Michigan. The original building was built in 1928, and the current site was erected in the 1970's. It is one of three high schools in the Flint Community Schools district along with Flint Northwestern High School and Flint...

W- 48-0
Western High School
Western High School (Auburn, Michigan)
Bay City Western High School is an American high school located at 500 Midland Road, Auburn, Michigan. Its mascot is the Warrior, and its colors are brown and gold. The school fight song consists of music from the march Winchester , with original words written for Western High...

W- 28-7
Flint Central High School
Flint Central High School
Flint Central High School was one of the Flint Community Schools, located in Flint, Michigan, USA. Flint Central was the city's oldest school. Its first building was built in 1875, and the school moved into the present building in 1923. It was called Flint High School until Flint Northern High...

W- 44-13
Flint Southwestern Academy
Flint Southwestern Academy
Flint Southwestern Academy is located in Flint, Michigan, United States. This school is a part of The Flint Community Schools.The 2009 closing of Flint Central High School sent many ex-Flint Central High School students to Southwestern and led to the reopening of McKinley Middle School, which...

L- 19-20
Herbert Henry Dow High School
Herbert Henry Dow High School
Herbert Henry Dow High School is a public high school located in Midland, Michigan. The school, a part of Midland Public Schools, is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and in 2008 was named one of the top 20 High Schools in Michigan in a study commissioned by US News & World...

W- 38-14


2007 Playoffs
Round Opponent Outcome
1st Round Arthur Hill High School
Arthur Hill High School
Arthur Hill High School is located at 3115 Mackinaw in Saginaw, Michigan. The student population is approximately 1300 students. Of the three high schools in the Saginaw Public School District, Arthur Hill's student population is the greatest.-Athletics:...

W- 43-29
2nd Round Bay City Central High School
Bay City Central High School
Bay City Central High School is a high school located at 1624 Columbus Ave., Bay City, Michigan. Its mascot is the wolf, and its colors are purple and gold.-Building history:...

W- 48-6
Quarterfinals Davison High School W- 7-3
Semifinals Lowell High School
Lowell High School (Michigan)
Lowell High School is a coeducation public school located in Lowell, Michigan. The current principal for Lowell High School is Patricia Murphy-Alderman....

W- 31-28
State Finals Detroit M. L. King High School L- 21-47





Newspaper

Midland High School's journalism curriculum publishes a monthly tabloid newspaper called Focus. The newspaper is run by the school's Advanced Journalism class, run by advisor Jim Woehrle. It typically runs between 16 and 20 pages, including a color front page as well as a center spread. The paper is a member of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association out of Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

.

Awards: Focus has been awarded the Newspaper Spartan Award, recognizing outstanding school newspapers in the state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 19 times in the last 20 years. It has also been nominated for, and has won, the National Scholastic Press Association
National Scholastic Press Association
The National Scholastic Press Association is a nonprofit organization founded in 1921 for high school and secondary school publications in the United States. The association is membership-based and annually hosts high school journalism conventions across the country...

's National Pacemaker Award, most recently in 2007.

School Fight Song

Written by Ted Nicholson

(Sung to the Kilgore College
Kilgore College
Kilgore College is a community college located in Kilgore, Texas. It has an annual enrollment of more than 5000 students.The school was established in 1935 at the height of the East Texas oil boom...

 fight song)

We'll all stick together

Old MCHS* in all kinds of weather;

We're friends, not foes

With luck it goes

We'll fight for the right with all our might;

We'll not show white feather.

Our team has the old pep;

We're marching onward step by step.

The blue and gold will have no fear,

We're always ready to cheer and cheer

For dear old Midland High.

*MCHS is short for Midland Community High School, a previous name for the school.

Chemic Traditions

  • Spirit Week - Every year the four classes of students (Freshmen
    Freshman
    A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

    , Sophomore
    Sophomore
    Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...

    s, Junior
    Junior (education)
    "Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...

    s, Senior
    Senior (education)
    Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...

    s) hold a competition for possession of the Spirit Week Megaphone. The competition is held the week of the Midland versus Herbert Henry Dow High School
    Herbert Henry Dow High School
    Herbert Henry Dow High School is a public high school located in Midland, Michigan. The school, a part of Midland Public Schools, is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and in 2008 was named one of the top 20 High Schools in Michigan in a study commissioned by US News & World...

     football game. Activities include Spirit Days, float decorating, hall decorating, Yell Night, and an obstacle course during the annual "Beat Dow High" assembly.

  • Homecoming Ceremony - Prior to Homecoming, a student must be nominated to be put on the ballot. The top students from each grade are then put on a ballot. Two representatives, one male and one female, are chosen from each class, along with one overall king and queen. The winning representatives are announced ahead of time, but are officially introduced to the school during the coronation ceremony held in the old gym.

  • Black Out - The newest tradition at Midland High is that anyone in the student section at the football games will wear all black. This is called the "Black Hole". It started in 2007 during the Homecoming Game against Flint Southwestern.

  • Krause House - The Midland High Student Section for Boys basketball. Every student is to wear a white t-shirt or a customized Krause House shirt, sold during the fall & winter of the academic school year.

  • Student/Staff Basketball Game - The game is open to any senior and any teacher of Midland High. There is now a Dunk Contest at half time during which any students who can dunk are able to show off their skills.

  • Hoops for Haiti - A bracket-style basketball tournament where all proceeds will go to the Caribbean nation of Haiti.

  • Magazine Drive - This school-wide fundraiser is held annually at the beginning of the school year. Through prizes and an assembly, students are encouraged to sell a quota of 3 magazine subscriptions. The money goes toward various school activities, and the top 10 selling students receive prizes such as a video game system, a mini-fridge, a bike, and gift certificates. The top daily seller of each classroom wins free doughnuts. The class with the most subscriptions sold at the end of the drive wins another prize.

  • Cinco de Mayo Massacre - A bracket-style dodgeball tournament held every year near the 5th of May, starting with 16 eight-person teams and ending with one final champion team.

  • Rhapsody Rendezvous - A fall talent show held at the Midland Center for the Arts auditorium. Seniors can audition to be MCs
    Master of Ceremonies
    A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....

    , and there are various student and staff acts and performances.

  • Viva Variety - A spring talent show open to all students.

  • Chemic Music Fest - A showcase of various rock bands and acoustic acts from Midland High.

  • Classes start at 7:40 a.m., and run to 2:25 p.m. for the 6th hour or 3:25 p.m. for extra 7th hour.

  • Marching The Halls - (All home football games, the Dow vs. Midland football game and continuing every playoff game) The day of a game during 4th hour the Marching Band will parade march through the halls, play the fight song, and perform the "Boogie Down" stand cheer which involves the entire band dancing.

Notable alumni

  • Howard Mudd
    Howard Mudd
    Howard Edward Mudd is an American football offensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and a former offensive lineman in the NFL. From 1998–2009, he was the offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts...

    , (born 1942) 3-time Pro Bowl
    Pro Bowl
    In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

     offensive guard for the San Francisco 49ers
    San Francisco 49ers
    The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

    ; currently Indianapolis Colts
    Indianapolis Colts
    The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

     assistant coach.
  • Cathy Guisewite
    Cathy Guisewite
    Cathy Lee Guisewite is the cartoonist who created the comic strip Cathy, about a career woman facing the issues and challenges of eating, work, relationships, and being a mother. As Cathy put it in one of her strips, "The four basic guilt groups."Born in Dayton, Ohio, Guisewite grew up in Midland,...

    , (born 1950) cartoonist
    Cartoonist
    A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...

     who created the comic strip
    Comic strip
    A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....

    , Cathy
    Cathy (comic strip)
    Cathy was a comic strip drawn by Cathy Guisewite. It featured a woman who struggled through the "four basic guilt groups" of life — food, love, mom, and work — the strip gently poked fun at the lives and foibles of modern women. Cathy's characteristics and issues both made fun of and...

     in 1976.
  • Brandon Link, (born 1963) sports handicapper
    Handicapping
    Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which the advantage is calculated...

     and inspiration for the movie, Two for the Money
    Two for the Money
    Two for the Money may refer to:* Two for the Money * Two for the Money...

    .


External links

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