Lake Orion High School - Lake Orion High School

Lake Orion High School is a public secondary institution located in Orion Township, Michigan, United States. It is a part of Lake Orion Community Schools.

The large campus (377,757 square feet) features a centralized commons area, which serves as a distribution center to the wings. The commons area features the cafeteria and student store, as well as the main office. Each wing contains classrooms, computer labs, student lockers, and faculty offices. The school building is the third largest in the state of Michigan, behind Saline High School in Pittsfield Township, and Anchor Bay High School in New Baltimore.

The campus also features a gymnasium, natatorium, and auditorium, all of which are suitable for state-level competitions or productions. The Information Resource Center is a library with computers, tech-ed labs, and studio classrooms.

The immediate area around the school has been developed into residential neighborhoods, but is still dominated by Bald Mountain Recreation Area to the north, east, and southeast.

As of the 2013-2014 school year, Lake Orion High School has the 10th largest enrollment in the state of Michigan, and the second largest in Oakland County after Clarkston High School (when Clarkston off-campus freshmen are included). Since opening at the current location in 1997, LOHS has added close to 1,000 students to its enrollment.

History

The first building to house Lake Orion students was built in 1893 and served grades K-12. It was demolished in the 1930s by a Works Progress Administration project after a new school building was in place.

In 1927 a new building was constructed that would house K-12 students for the next 30 years. Located within the Village of Lake Orion, the building is still in use today as the Ehman Center, and is used by various non-profit enterprises (the property is zoned as non-commercial). It was the home of a Boys & Girls Clubs of America chapter in the 1990s and early 2000s; the chapter has since moved.

The next building to house LOHS is located near the current school, and is now used as a Community Education Resource Center. It is commonly referred to as the "CERC Building". Opened in 1957, it housed classes for high school students for 40 years. During the 1980s and 1990s the building became so limited in space that it eventually only served grades 10-12, and also required the use of portable classrooms. During that time, the building was known as Lake Orion Senior High School, and was fed by Lake Orion Junior High School (grades 7, 8 and 9). In 1994, Lake Orion and Orion Township residents approved a millage for a new high school, a new elementary school, new buses, and improvements to existing buildings.

The current site of LOHS opened in the fall of 1997, with much of the school uncompleted as construction was behind schedule. Students began classes while construction crews completed the main entrance, gym, weight room, auditorium, parking lot, baseball fields, and natatorium. As a result, students and staff used secondary entrances and were bused to the former high school for gym classes (and the first pep rally to include all four classes in years).

Beginning in 1999, LOHS was named a National Blue Ribbon School. In 2000, LOHS was honored as a New American High School showcase site. Both honors are bestowed by the United States Department of Education. In 2001, LOHS was named one of the top 100 "wired" high schools nationally by The Princeton Review and FamilyPC magazine.

Athletics

LOHS offers 29 varsity sports, and competes in the Oakland Activities Association (OAA). At the state level, the school is classified as "Class A" or "Division 1", competing against those schools with the largest enrollments. Historically, LOHS began competing against schools with the smallest enrollments in the early half of the 20th century. As the area's population grew and enrollment increased, LOHS began moving up in classification until permanently being classified as Division 1 or Class A in the 1970s. Recently, Lake Orion has added boys' ice hockey (2001), boys' and girls' lacrosse (2007), boys' and girls' bowling, and girls' competitive dance to the list of varsity sports offered.

The grounds surrounding the school feature Dragon Stadium, which houses the football field and track. The football field is composed of AstroTurf GameDay Grass XPe, an artificial surface constructed to resemble grass. A separate soccer field is located next to the stadium. There are several baseball and softball diamonds, some of which feature dugouts or bleacher seating. Lighted tennis courts are located adjacent to the school. Many of these facilities are suitable for regional, statewide, and AAU competitions.

The athletic teams are known as "The Dragons". The "Dragons" (or Lady Dragons) name is used by all athletic teams at all educational levels throughout the school system. The chief rival to Lake Orion is the Clarkston High School Wolves, located in the township directly west of Orion. The two districts border one another and share many of the same demographics and enrollment. A previous rival to Lake Orion was Oxford High School, located in the township directly north. Beginning with the 2010 fall sports season, Lake Orion again faced Oxford in sporting events, as Oxford moved to the OAA. The football teams compete for the "Double-O" trophy each season.

The boys' and girls' ski teams compete at Pine Knob. The ice hockey team predominately competes at the Detroit Skating Club.

Lake Orion baseball has had eight players drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft. From 1996-1998, the baseball team was coached by former major leaguer Dave Collins.

The Lake Orion soccer field served as home field for the Michigan Bucks of the USL Premier Development League in 2007 and 2008.

State Championships

• 1925 - Boys' Basketball (Class E)
• 1957 - Football (Class B) (pre-playoff, selected by the Detroit Times)
• 1990 - Wrestling (Class A/Division 1)
• 2007 - Girls' Golf (Division 1)
• 2007 - Baseball (Division 1)
• 2008 - Power Lifting (Club) (Class A)
• 2009 - Power Lifting (Club) (Class A)
• 2010 - Football (Division 1)
• 2012 - Boys' Track (Division 1)

Individual awards

• 2002 - Randy Frye - Mr. Baseball (Michigan)
• 2002 - Randy Frye - Baseball - Gatorade State Player of the Year (Michigan)
• 2003 - Billy Weaver - Soccer - Mr. Soccer (Michigan)
• 2003 - Billy Weaver - Soccer - NSCAA State Player of the Year (Michigan)

Notable alumni

• Matthew Blackmer, pair skater
• Nicole Curtis, host of DIY and HGTV's home renovation show Rehab Addict
• Matthew Dear, electronic avant-pop musician
• Andrew J. Feustel, NASA astronaut
• Mike Friedman, professional racing cyclist
• Tom Gillis, professional golfer
• Sebastian Harris, professional soccer player
• Jeff Heath, professional football player
• Frederick Henderson, former CEO of General Motors
• Zak Keasey, former professional football player
• Chris "Hot Wings" Michels, syndicated radio show host
• Jamie Milam, professional hockey player
• Troy Milam, professional hockey player
• Raymond Plouhar, staff sergeant, USMC
• Ron Tripp, World Sambo and Judo Champion; President of USA Judo
• Seth Troxler, record producer, DJ
• Cynthia Watros, actress

References

External links

• Lake Orion High School website