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 it 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 in September 2019 | |
Address | |
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11 Grosse Pointe Boulevard , 48236-3711 United States | |
Coordinates | 42°23′27″N 82°54′10″W / 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 | Andrea Tuttle |
CEEB code | 231–802[2] |
NCES School ID | 262574006220[3] |
Principal | Moussa Hamka |
Teaching staff | 68.59 FTE[3] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Gender | Co-educational |
Enrollment | 1,238[3] (2022–2023) |
• Grade 9 | 284[3] |
• Grade 10 | 296[3] |
• Grade 11 | 313[3] |
• Grade 12 | 332[3] |
• Ungraded | 14[3] |
Student to teacher ratio | 18.05[3] |
Schedule type | Semester |
Schedule | 7 50-minute periods |
Campus size | 23 acres[4] |
Campus type | Suburban |
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°23′26″N 82°54′14″W / 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: March 31, 2022 |
Martin Luther King Jr. in Grosse Pointe | |
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Coordinates | 42°23′27″N 82°54′14″W / 42.390753°N 82.903830°W |
Designated | 2018 |
Reference no. | S754 |
Communities served and feeder patterns
editThe 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
editStudent assessments | |
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2021–22 school year[11] Change vs. prior year[11] | |
M-STEP 11th grade proficiency rates (Science / Social Studies) | |
Advanced % | 37.5 / 22.5 |
Proficient % | 29.6 / 36.5 |
PR. Proficient % | 12.1 / 33.6 |
Not Proficient % | 20.8 / 7.5 |
Average test scores | |
SAT Total | 1116.1 ( −37.6) |
In 2009, Newsweek ranked Grosse Pointe South in the top 2% of high school in the United States.[12] In 2010, Newsweek ranked Grosse Pointe South 920th nationally (fifth in Michigan).[13]
Martin Luther King Jr. visit and speech
editGrosse 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" three weeks before his assassination.[14]
To honor the 50th anniversary of the event the Grosse Pointe News partnered with 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.[15] 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®.[15]
Hosting an NBA game
editGrosse Pointe High School hosted game 1 of the NBA's Western Divisional Semi-finals vs the Detroit Pistons and Minneapolis Lakers on March 12, 1960. The Pistons were forced to play at the high school because nobody booked Olympia Stadium for the playoffs.
The game was a good one with the Lakers winning 113–112. [16]
Extracurricular activities
editAthletics
editAs 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
editThe boys' tennis team won the class A state championship in 1945 and 1946 and tied with Monroe High School in 1947.[17] 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.[18]
Performing arts
editPointe Players is Grosse Pointe South's student theater organization.[19]
GPSHS has four show choirs: Pointe Singers varsity choir, Serendipity junior varsity, Rhapsody in Blue traditional concert choir, and the extracurricular female-only Tower Belles.[20] Pointe Singers, Serendipity, and Rhapsody in Blue are competitive, with Pointe Singers winning a national-level competition in 2019.[21]
Robotics
editThe South Sun Devils is the solar car team, competing since 2013 in The Solar Car Challenge in Dallas, Texas. The team fundraised, designed, built, and raced their street-legal car on Texas Motor Speedway followed by a road test challenge.[22]
Notable alumni
edit- Ayokay — producer and DJ[23]
- Terrence 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. Key figure in the development of the iPod and iPhone.
- Reid Fragel – Former NFL player
- 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
- Will Johnson – cornerback for the Michigan Wolverines[24]
- 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[23]
- Brianne Nadeau – Councilmember on the Council of the District of Columbia
- Catie DeLoof – American Olympian bronze medalist in the 4x100 meter freestyle
- Emilea Zingas – Figure skater, 2023 U.S. Nationals Pewter Medalist
- John Brannon (musician) – American vocalist for the bands Negative Approach, Laughing Hyenas, and Easy Action.[25][26]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Grosse Pointe Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ "Grosse Pointe South" (PDF). Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Search for Public Schools - Grosse Pointe South High School (262574006220)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ "History of South High School / History". Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- ^ "South Profile 2018-2019.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ a b "GPPSS-DistrictMap" (PDF). Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- ^ a b "District Map." Grosse Pointe Public School System. Retrieved on January 8, 2017.
- ^ "Zoning Map Archived January 8, 2017, at the Wayback Machine." City of Grosse Pointe Farms. Retrieved on January 8, 2017.
- ^ "Zoning Map[permanent dead link]." Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. Retrieved on January 8, 2017.
- ^ "Zoning Map Archived November 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine." Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Retrieved on January 8, 2017.
- ^ a b "MI School Data Annual Education Report". MI School Data. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "America's Top Public High Schools 2008 – Newsweek and The Daily Beast". Newsweek.
- ^ "America's Best High Schools: The List". Newsweek. June 13, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ "The Other America". Grosse Pointe Historical Society. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
- ^ a b GPN Staff (January 23, 2019). "Commemorating MLK at 'The High'". Grosse Pointe News. Pointe News Incorporated. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ "Detroit Pistons History". nbahoopsonline.com. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
- ^ "Boys' Tennis Team Champions". Michigan High School Athletic Association. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
- ^ "Girls' Tennis Team Champions". Michigan High School Athletic Association. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
- ^ Brush, Mary Anne (November 6, 2019). "South Pointe Players present murder caper". Grosse Pointe News. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ "SCC: Viewing School – Grosse Pointe South High School". Show Choir Community. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ Guthrie, Grace (May 22, 2019). "Spotlight: Grosse Pointe South Choir wins National Championship". Click on Detroit. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ Brunedell, Mike (May 4, 2015). "G.P. South solar car club set for battle in Texas". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ a b "Grosse Pointe Musicians Score Major Record Label Contract: Listen". Patch. September 9, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- ^ "Will Johnson – Football". University of Michigan Athletics.
- ^ "twitter.com".
- ^ "THIRD MAN RECORDS ANNOUNCES STATIC's TOOTHPASTE AND PILLS DUE SEPTEMBER 10, 2021".
- 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.
{{cite book}}
: 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.
External links
editFurther reading
edit- Kilar, Jeremy W., and Bradley F. Smith (Jan./Feb. 2023). "Reflecting on 'The Other America': Martin Luther King Jr. in Grosse Pointe." Michigan History vol. 107, no. 1, pp. 36+. Lansing, Michigan: Historical Society of Michigan. Accessed Gale OneFile