Harriton High School
| Harriton High School | |
|---|---|
| File:Lmsd.jpg | |
| Address | |
 | |
600 N. Ithan Ave. | |
| Information | |
| Type | High School |
| Motto | Corpori Menti Moribus |
| Established | 1957 |
| Principal | Mr. Steven R. Kline |
| Faculty | 85 |
| Enrollment | 889 |
| Information | +1 610 658 3950 |
| Colors | Red, White, Black |
| Website | LMSD.org |
Harriton High School is a public secondary school located in Rosemont, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.
Harriton is one of two high schools in Lower Merion School District; the other is Lower Merion High School. It is a comparatively small high school, containing 889 students in 9th through 12th grades. The student teacher ratio is 16:1, and the average class size is 25 students. Harriton also offers the IB, or International Baccalaureate, program.
History
In 1697, William Penn sold a 700 acre (2.8 km²) tract of land to Rowland Ellis. Years later, Ellis sold his home to Richard Harrison who had married a local woman named Hannah Norris. Some of the land holdings of her family were known as Norriton. Thus the combination of the names of Harrison and Norriton became known as Harriton. The daughter of Richard and Hannah Harrison married Charles Thomson.
In 1957, a new "campus-style" school was designed by architect Vincent Kling. It situated on a portion of the plantation grounds belonging to Charles Thomson, which gave Harriton High School its name. Harriton High School opened its doors for the first time in 1958.
- Source: Harriton High School History
Notable teams
Science Olympiad
The Harriton Science Olympiad team, under head coach Brian Gauvin, is one of the most followed teams at the school. Harriton has placed first in the Pennsylvania state Science Olympiad competition for the last decade and has won the national Science Olympiad title in 1995, 2001, and 2005. It is considered one of the best teams in Pennsylvania and the nation. The Harriton team consistently scores in the top ten at the national competition. Most recently, Harriton placed eighth at the 2007 Science Olympiad National Championship at the Wichita State University.
Politics, international affairs, & forensics
Harriton is also noted to have an excellent Speech and Debate Team. In the recent past, interest in politics and world affairs has risen at Harriton, due mainly to the advent of a formal Model United Nations delegation in 2006.
Harriton Theater Company
The Harriton Theater Company is one of Harriton's most prized clubs, most noted for being a completely student-run organization. The shows are chosen by a student director, who then, with the guidance of a sponsor, directs the show. All of the set construction and lighting is done by students as well. In the 2007-2008 school year, Kevin Ginsberg, a teacher who had once directed the musicals at Welsh Valley Middle School, came to Harriton High School to direct the shows. This was accompanied with less formal student leadership positions.
Past Productions:
- 2003-2004: [Plaza Suite] and [Guys and Dolls]
- 2004-2005: [A Devil Inside] and [The Pajama Game]
- 2005-2006: [Absurd Person Singular] and [Kiss Me Kate]
- 2006-2007: [Smile] and [Once Upon a Mattress]
- 2007-2008: [The Who's Tommy] and [The Visit]
Harriton Student Council
Harriton Student Council works to improve the quality of student life at Harriton by creating programming for the student body, advocating on behalf of the student body, and working to recognize student accomplishments. It has produced events such as Snow Ball and the Mr. Harriton competition, as well as numerous smaller events. It has also worked with school administration on issues such as alcohol at school dances, student parking, and the master schedule. Student Council consists of elected officers and appointed committee co-chairs and members. It is organized into five committees: Students' Rights, Events, Communications, School Store, and Internal Planning. The president, always a senior, is the face of the Harriton student body. Past presidents have included:
- 2004-2005: Eli Klein
- 2005-2006:Abe Roisman
- 2006-2007:Sammie Madway
- 2007-2008: Ben Goldberg
- 2008-2009: Blake Bergen
The current 2008-2009 officers include:
- President - Blake Bergen
- Vice President - Jessica Rothstein
- Secretary - Anna Denis-Rohr
- Treasurer - Steven Ellis
- Sergeant at Arms - Rebecca Rutenberg
- Sponsor - Ms. Marie Ochiogrosso
Harriton Music
Harriton features a full symphonic band and orchestra, currently under the direction James M. Joseph, formerly of Conestoga High School, who also teaches IB Music and Music Theory. The freshman chorus and concert choir are directed by Mr. Jason Bizich, a nationally recognized choir conductor. Mr. Bizich is also the AP Music Theory teacher. Harriton also features a performance jazz band, led by James Joseph. Every fall and spring Harriton has a music concert featuring all the ensembles as well as the occasional string quartet or percussion ensemble.
Every year Harriton musicians audition for positions in the PMEA district band and/or orchestra. Dozens of Harriton students attend the try-out, competing against hundreds of other students. Some succeed, and a few even go on to perform in the regional band/orchestra and all-state band/orchestra.
Harriton also has a number of musical opportunities for students who do not want to study music. There is a music forum, where students get together and critique each other's taste in music. Also hosted at Harriton are a number of open mics, well attended events that always show off Harriton's musical talent and variety.
The Harriton Banner
Since the opening of Harriton High School in 1957, the school newspaper has been called either the Harriton Forum or the Harriton Free Forum but as of October, 2006 it was renamed to The Harriton Banner.
The IB Program
Harriton's IB Program for juniors and seniors is coordinated by Tom O'Brien, who also teaches Theory of Knowledge and is the Extended Essay coordinator. The Creativity, Action, and Service coordinator is Lisa Celebre. The program has been offered since 2000 with anywhere from 15 to 40 students in any given grade. However, in the 2008-09 year, about 80 students total are expected to participate. Course offering vary by year but include Economics, Psychology, Art, Music, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, English, History of the Americas(focusing on the US 1870-1970), French B, Spanish B, Latin, Math Studies, and Mathematics. The school tests in May.The program brings an international flavor to the school, as many foreigners move to Lower Merion to partcipate in Harriton's IB program. Students have come to Harriton's program from France, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Russia. Due to the size of the program, a strong community feel developes among IB students. Harriton IB students frequently are leaders in school organizations and are reguarly admitted into the nation's (and the world's) top universities.
More information: Harriton's IB Webpage
High School Modernization
Currently, Lower Merion School District is undergoing a High School Modernization program. Construction of a new school will begin on Harriton's athletic fields, starting in January 2007. The new school is set to open in time for the 2009-2010 school year, with the original building being demolished the same year.
The new school is planned to house approximately 1250 students and cover about 330,000 square feet (30,000 m²) as opposed to its current area of 176,825 square feet (16,000 m²).
Notes
- Harriton is built in a unique way for a Philadelphia-area public school because it is built with a California-style campus, with its buildings surrounding a main quad known as the Tombs. The new Harriton High School, currently being built, will not feature this style.
- Harriton is also one of only 426 high schools in the United States to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.
- Notable Harriton graduate include former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and former President of Harvard University Lawrence Summers, Barry Shils, an independent filmmaker, Vampire's Kiss among the films he produced, sports agent Arn Tellem, members of the Macintosh design team, Andy Hertzfeld and Susan Kare.
- Harriton is considered to be among the best public schools in the nation. It is a two-time recipient of the Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School Award, and consistently ranks high in Newsweek's lists of the top 1000 high schools in the country. In a 2005 Newsweek list of the top high schools in the United States, Harriton ranked 427. On a similar Newsweek list from 2003, it ranked 384.
- In Philadelphia Magazine's September 2006 issue, it ranked Harriton the 33rd best school in Pennsylvania, 6th best public school in Pennsylvania and, 2nd best school in Montgomery County (just behind its sister school).
External links
Alumni Groups.
Misc.
