Lakeland High School (Michigan)
| Lakeland High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
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1630 Bogie Lake Road White Lake, Michigan, (Oakland County) 48383 United States | |
| Coordinates | 42°37′33″N 83°30′55″W / 42.6259°N 83.5152°WCoordinates: 42°37′33″N 83°30′55″W / 42.6259°N 83.5152°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1976 |
| School district | Huron Valley Schools |
| Superintendent | Jim Baker |
| Principal | Mr. Paul Gmelin |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Gender | Co-Ed |
| Age range | 13-18 |
| Number of students | 1,460 (2012-2013 school year)[1] |
| Hours in school day | 6 class hours |
| Color(s) | Silver, Blue, and White |
| Athletics conference | Kensington Lakes Activities Association - North Division, MHSAA |
| Mascot | Eagles |
| Team name | Eagles |
| Accreditation | Advanced ED Certified |
| Newspaper | "Talon" |
| Yearbook | "Aquila" |
| Class/Div | A |
| Athletic Director | Mr. Gregory Michaels |
| Activities Director | Mr. Scott Rolando |
| Website | Lakeland High School |
Lakeland High School is a secondary school located in White Lake, Michigan. The current principal is Mr. Paul Gmelin and the Associate Principals are Ms. Julie Amann and Mr. Matt Hamill. The Student Activities Director is Scott Rolando. The Athletic Director is Greg Michaels. The Dean of Students is to be determined. Lakeland opened in 1976, and is in the Huron Valley School District. Most of the incoming students come from two of the Huron Valley middle schools, White Lake Middle School and Oak Valley Middle School. The school currently has 1,500 students. Lakeland High School was named one of the top high schools in the United States by Newsweek in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Lakeland was named a Reward School by the State of Michigan in the Summer of 2012, for the 2011-2012 school year. Lakeland is one a select few schools in the State of Michigan to be named a Reward School and is the only school in the Huron Valley School District to be a Reward School. The school's colors are silver, blue, and white, and the sports teams at Lakeland are called the "Eagles". The school has a historic rivalry with the only other high school in the Huron Valley School District, Milford High School. The school has a newer rivalry with the newest Walled Lake high school, Walled Lake Northern High School.
Academic programs and awards
Lakeland Leadership
The Lakeland Leadership class is taught by Student Activities Director Mr. Scott Rolando. This class strives to teach leadership skills and other leadership related topics and issues to students by conducting various large and small scale school events, including such things as Homecoming, the Toys for Tots party for handicapped children, Winterfest, Mock Car Crashes, and by participating in the national "Every 15 Minutes" program to bring light the issues of drinking and driving. The slogan for this class is "Giving Leaders the Ability to Lead". This class is an application only class. Members of this class also participate in the KLAA Lakes Conference activities, such as a Fall Leadership Forum featuring nationally known motivational speakers.
DECA
The Lakeland DECA program is under the direction of business and marketing teacher, Miss Lindsay Rubin. This program offers a chance for students to use their business and marketing skills learned in the business and marketing classes by competing against other students from schools across the state of Michigan and across the country. In the 2010-2011 school year Lakeland DECA took a school record 20 students to the International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida. Many are featured in various national DECA publications where photos were taken at that conference. The Lakeland DECA program has grown in size every year since its inception. It currently has close to 90 members and is considered by many to be one of the top 5 DECA programs in Michigan, based on number of students competing at the State Career Development Conference and how many of those students move on to compete at the International Conference.
Future Problem Solvers
Future Problem Solvers (FPS) was founded in 2002. FPS is a club in which students learn about interesting issues and are motivated by competition with other schools. Recent competition topics for problem solving include nanotechnology, smart clothes, e-commerce, media impact, and artificial intelligence. In the 2008-2009 school year, a Lakeland team won the State Championship in Future Problem Solvers and had the same team place 8th in the world.
Lakeland Eagles Band Program
The band program at Lakeland was started in 1974. A scout from the Orange Bowl caught the band at a local parade in its first year of existence and extended an invitation to participate.
The band is currently under the direction of Mr. Robert Green. The band competes in the Michigan Competitive Band Association, MCBA, and is a regular participant in the MCBA State Championships and the BOA National Championships. The band is the winner of various state awards for marching bands.
In October 1983, the Lakeland Eagles marching band took home two important awards at a multi-school band competition. Awarded were senior drum major, Richard Shanks, who won for "State of Michigan Best Drum Major" and John McCormick for best soloist (trumpet). This was the first time the Eagles marching band attended a band competition and the first time individual members received honors for their performances.
Along with the Lakeland Marching Band, there are two other bands offered to students looking to take Band as a performing arts class. The first of the two is called Symphonic Band. This class is offered for students transitioning from middle school band into the new environment of playing at a high school level. The second of the two is called Wind Ensemble. This is the advanced placement band class that is known for their hard work and commitment to the band program. Along with their traditional concerts, they also play for the well known Toys For Tots party that is thrown for disabled children in the area.
In 2011, the Lakeland Marching Band finished 8th in the State of Michigan in Flight 1 at the MCBA State Championships held at Ford Field in Detroit.
Athletics
Lakeland is home to 28 varsity sports and the Lakeland Athletic Department is currently headed by Mr. Greg Michaels. He is the first full-time athletic director in the school's history. Lakeland has won 5 State Titles since opening in 1976. These include 3 in Cross Country, 1 in Gymnastics, and 1 in Girls' Bowling. Also they have a Regional Championship in boy's bowling in 2011. Lakeland is a member of the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Kensington Lakes Activities Association. They are placed in the North Division. The school is also back to back State Champions in Snowboarding, as of 2011, and a 2007 State Runner-up in Pom Pon. Lakeland's own Garret Zuk is the 2011 MHSAA Division 1 Individual State Champion in Cross Country, the MHSAA 2012 State Champion in the 3200M and is the 2012 Boys Track and Field State of Michigan Athlete of the Year as named by ESPN and Gatorade.
Lakeland Eagles Girls Volleyball
The Lakeland Girls Volleyball program is the 6 times KLAA Lakes Conference Champion, winning titles in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. They were also the 2010 KLAA Association Champions and also were 2011 MHSAA District Champions. They are currently coached by varsity coach Jean Dukic.
Lakeland Eagles Girls Softball
- 1989 State Runner Up Class A [2]
- 1995 State Runner Up Class A [3]
- 2006 State Runner Up Division 1
- 2007 State Runner Up Division 1
- 2008 State Quarter finalist Division 1
- 2009 State Quarter finalist Division 1
- 2010 State Runner Up Division 1
- 2012 State Semi-Finalist Division 1
Lakeland Softball is coached by Mr. Joe Alsup.
Lakeland Eagles Football
The Varsity football program has made leaps and bounds in improvement in the past few years, making the playoffs 3 times in the last 6 years. Before this Lakeland had not made it to the MHSAA playoffs since 1982.
During the 2008 season, under the direction of Varsity Football Coach John Maltese and senior QB Blake Heiman, Lakeland won its first ever MHSAA District Title in football by defeating the Warriors of Birmingham Brother Rice High School. The team was also the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North Division Champions.
Notable alumni
- Steve Hamilton - a 1979 Lakeland High School Graduate. He has written such books as A Cold Day in Paradise and The Hunting Wind. Many of the characters in his books are based on Lakeland High School staff members and students from when he was a student at Lakeland. Steve returned to Lakeland in 2010 to share his experiences with the student body.
- T.J. Lang- current lineman for the Green Bay Packers attended Lakeland as a freshman before transferring to Brother Rice.
International Academy
Since 2006, the International Academy West has occupied the lower level wing of Lakeland High School. It is the western campus of the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, which also has an eastern satellite campus in Troy. It enrolls other students from the Huron Valley School District as well as students from other districts, including South Lyon, Fenton, Waterford, Pontiac, Holly, Clarkston, and students from outside of Oakland County. All their academic classes consist of purely IA West students and are taught by IA West faculty, as the International Baccalaureate classes that form the core of the IA curriculum are not offered at Lakeland. The school's first IB examinations are set to take place in May 2010. The current Associate Principal in charge is Mr. Parrot.