North Penn High School
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| Established | 1955 |
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| Type | Public high school |
| Principal | Mr. Burton Hynes |
| Students | 3,423 |
| Grades | 10–12 |
| Location | 1340 Valley Forge Rd., Lansdale, Pennsylvania,, United States |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Navy and Columbia Blue |
| Mascot | Knight |
| Yearbook | 'The Accolade' |
| Newspaper | 'Knight Crier' |
| Website | [1] |
North Penn High School is a part of the North Penn School District and is located in Towamencin Township, Pennsylvania, about a mile outside of Lansdale borough, 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia, along Valley Forge Road (PA Route 363). It operates under the Principal Burton T. Hynes and the school colors are Navy and Columbia blue.
When North Penn High School was created in 1955 to serve a newly consolidated school district, it incorporated students from three former schools: Hatfield High School, Lansdale High School, and North Wales High School. The original North Penn High School building was the one that had served as Lansdale High School since the 1930s. The former Hatfield and North Wales buildings were eventually converted to elementary schools. The North Wales building is still used for this purpose today. The Hatfield building, later renamed the Laudenslager School, was eventually replaced by a newer building. The old school was then sold by the North Penn School District, and now serves as the home of the Biblical Theological Seminary.
The current North Penn High School was constructed in 1971 because of severe overcrowding at the original school. The former high school building, located on Penn Street in Lansdale, is now Penndale Middle School. The students of Penndale Middle School, Pennbrook Middle School, and Pennfield Middle School graduate to North Penn High School.
North Penn High School is among the largest statewide, with student enrollment for the 2005-2006 school year at 3,423.[1] Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are represented at the high school, while freshmen (commonly the first year of high school) are enrolled in one of the three aforementioned middle schools.
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[edit] Honors
The school hosted the 75th Anniversary National Association of Student Councils (NASC) national conference from June 24-28, 2006, where students from 49 states, as well as Australia, Canada, and Puerto Rico attended.[2]
North Penn High School and Knapp Elementary School both celebrated their 50th anniversaries in the year of 2005.[3]
North Penn High School's International Thespian troupe was the first high school to start a Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) high school chapter in the world.[citation needed] BC/EFA is a charity in which Broadway actors, and now high schools, can raise money which gets sent to this charity to fight AIDS. North Penn has an annual gala to raise money in addition to auctioning off many pieces of Broadway memorabilia.
In the 2001-2002 school year, the high school participated in the Y100 Food Drive for the first time, and won 1st place. As a prize, Saves the Day played a free, private concert for them.[citation needed] In the 2006-2007 school year, the high school participated in the WMMR Preston and Steve Food Drive and donated over 2 tons of food. They won 1st place, and as a result, were awarded an OK Go concert.
In 2006, The North Penn Marching Knights won the USSBA Grand National Championship at the Naval Academy, and they also won their 10th consecutive state championship.
On Friday, April 18, 2008 Former President Bill Clinton visited North Penn High School. Due to the schools large community, and its student body, it was chosen as one of the places that a representative of the Clinton campaign would speak.
[edit] Sports
In 2005,2006,& 2007 Sports Illustrated distinguished North Penn as the best athletic program in Pennsylvania, noting that the school has "won 45 state championships over the last 10 years" and "is a power in football and is also dominant in boys' swimming." The school is also prominent in boys' and girls' water polo, and boys' winter track, spring track, and cross country.[4]
Former North Penn football coach Mike Pettine is now on the coaching staff of the Baltimore Ravens. Alumnus Mark Will-Weber is a successful distance runner and writer. After coaching prominent Division III teams at Moravian College, and authoring The Quotable Runner, he now teaches writing at Moravian.
[edit] Marching Knights
The North Penn Marching Knights was formed in December of 1971. Since then, they have received many awards and honors. A few of the places that they have performed at are the Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, and the Fiesta Bowl.[5] Their major motion picture credits include both "Blow Out" and "Rocky V". The Marching Knights have held Bands of America Regional Finalist titles for 10 consecutive years and have won 10 consecutive USSBA state championships. In 2006, the North Penn Marching Knights was the first band to receive the title of USSBA Grand National Champion. In 2007, the North Penn Marching Knights placed third place in the USSBA northern state championships. They did come back to win 1st place at USSBA Group 6 Grand National Championships 2007.
[edit] In the media
In 1999 ESPN featured the football team in a documentary entitled "The Season."[6]
The school's football team was featured in the 1999 film "The Last Game." The movie includes a storyline about North Penn's former rivalry with neighboring Central Bucks West High School.
In 2004 the school made national news and was the subject of a show on MTV due to the elaborate senior class prank pulled by Thomas McDonald, Brendan Mulvihill, Marty Sandeen, Andrew Molholt, Jay Habre, and 50+ participants they recruited over the course of the entire 2003-2004 academic year. On the night of June 6, the rear and cafeteria courtyards of the school's grounds were forked with over 40,000 plastic forks. At graduation, Dr. Hassler, the superintendent, threw forks onto the field to congratulate the senior class on their brilliant and harmless senior prank. [7]
On Friday, April 18, 2008, former President Bill Clinton delivered a speech on the steps of North Penn High School at a rally for Hillary Clinton's presidency. The Pennsylvania primary was Tuesday April 22. PA Representative Allyson Schwartz was also present.
[edit] Alma mater
North Penn High School's alma mater shares the same tune as that of the Pennsylvania State University. The lyrics are as follows:
- As Knights, who in the olden times,
- Would pledge their loyalty
- To keep their honor shining,
- and ever true to be.
- We enter here at North Penn High,
- With hearts resolved to dare.
- Our noblest aim to bring to fame
- Our Alma Mater Fair.
[edit] Contact information
North Penn High School
1340 Valley Forge Road
Lansdale, PA 19446
Phone: 215-368-9800
Fax: 215-855-0632
[edit] Current administration
Principal
Burton T. Hynes
Assistant Principals
Shaun Dougherty
Karen Holmes
Annie Laurie Hens
Amy Schwartz
Amy L. Linn
Donald Walsh
North Penn High School Currently runs off of one main principal, and five assistant principals; one assistant principal for each home office, or "HOOF"
[edit] Notable alumni
- Andrew Bryniarski - Film and television actor. Appeared as Leatherface in the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- John Oates - Member of the musical duo Hall & Oates
- Liza Weil - Television and theater actress, Paris Geller on Gilmore Girls
- Jay Caufield - Former NHL Player. Won Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991/1992 season.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ NPHS. North Penn High School. Schoolwires, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
- ^ Bryan King (2006-01-26). North Penn High School Presents.... Genesis X Designs.
- ^ Robert Hassler (2005-09-06). Letter from the Superintendent. NPHS.
- ^ Doug Huff (2005-05-16). Best Sports High Schools. Sports Illustrated.
- ^ North Penn Marching Knights History.
- ^ Mike Scandura. Coaches Spotlight: Mike Pettine. NFLHS.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
- ^ Sammy Davis (2004-09-21). Forking, A Potential Threat. The Temple News.
