North Mecklenburg High School
Encyclopedia
North Mecklenburg High School (or simply North Meck, or North) is a high school
in Huntersville, North Carolina
. The school
was founded in 1951 as an all-white school. It integrated in the 1960s. With over 3000 students, it was the largest school population-wise in North Carolina
during the 2005-2006 school year. The current principal is Matthew Hayes. The school has had 4 principals in the 2010-2011 school year- Matthew Hayes, Charity Bell, Mark Matthews, and Joseph Burch. Mr. Burch replaced retired principal Jimmy K. Poole in 2005 and became principal of Cato Middle College in November 2010.
There are many nicknames for the school, the most common being North Meck and North. An older nickname was Redneck Tech.
The school mascot
is the Viking
, and school colors are royal blue and white. The original mascot was a Rebel who was often seen flying a confederate flag during the period in which the school was segregated. Along with the Rebel, the original school colors of red and black were also changed when the school was integrated.
The official school song
is to the tune of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
's Hark The Sound
, the fight song
is to the tune of Ohio State's Across the Field, and the dance is named "The Boogaloo". These are performed at pep rallies and sporting events.
development courses. The school has one of two auto tech courses in North Carolina. Eighty-six percent of graduates attend four-year colleges, universities, or junior colleges.
North Meck is known for its fan support at sporting events, especially basketball. North Meck's cross-town rival
is Hopewell High School and Hough High School. Older North Mecklenburg alumni consider Zebulon B. Vance High School and West Charlotte High School to be their rivals. Mallard Creek High School
, only a few miles from North Meck, took 1,000 students from North Meck's student population just as Hopewell and Vance did, making Mallard Creek the 3rd and newest rival to North Meck since 1997. W.A. Hough High School (Originally named Bailey because the school resides on Bailey street, then re-named in honor of former North Meck Principal W.A. Hough) opened in 2010 in nearby Cornelius, North Carolina. As Vance, Hopewell, and Mallard Creek did, the new school accepted a large portion of North Meck students, making them the 4th newest North Meck rival in 12 years. Because of the new conference re-alignment in 2009, North Meck played Lake Norman High School for the first time in school history in all sporting events. Lake Norman's former Head Football Coach, Scott Sherrill, was a former player and Head Coach at North Meck who left the school to become Lake Norman's first football coach in 2002. Their first meeting in football, and Coach Sherrill's first return to North Meck as an opponent, created a new rivalry game called "The Backyard Brawl" similar to Pittsburgh and West Virginia's annual football rivalry. The men's basketball teams developed a rivalry because former North Meck student-athletes transferred to LNHS to play for Lake Norman's Mens Basketball team. Recently several state championship titles have been won by North Meck's sports teams. In 2009 Swimming was the title winner while in 2010 Women's Soccer became the first team to win the title from the west side of North Carolina in 13 years.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Huntersville, North Carolina
Huntersville, North Carolina
Huntersville is a large town in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties, North Carolina, United States. The population was 46,773 at the 2010 census, which makes Huntersville the 19th largest city in North Carolina. It is located about 12 miles north of uptown Charlotte. It is thought that the town...
. The school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
was founded in 1951 as an all-white school. It integrated in the 1960s. With over 3000 students, it was the largest school population-wise in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
during the 2005-2006 school year. The current principal is Matthew Hayes. The school has had 4 principals in the 2010-2011 school year- Matthew Hayes, Charity Bell, Mark Matthews, and Joseph Burch. Mr. Burch replaced retired principal Jimmy K. Poole in 2005 and became principal of Cato Middle College in November 2010.
There are many nicknames for the school, the most common being North Meck and North. An older nickname was Redneck Tech.
The school mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
, and school colors are royal blue and white. The original mascot was a Rebel who was often seen flying a confederate flag during the period in which the school was segregated. Along with the Rebel, the original school colors of red and black were also changed when the school was integrated.
The official school song
School song
A school song, alma mater, school hymn or school anthem is the patronal song of a school. In England, this tradition is particularly strong in public schools and grammar schools.-Australia:*Melbourne High School - Honour the Work...
is to the tune of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
's Hark The Sound
Hark The Sound
"Hark The Sound" is the alma mater of the University of North Carolina, written by William Starr Myers of the class of 1897. It is sung at the end of athletic events and other university gatherings, and is set to the music of "Annie Lisle"....
, the fight song
Fight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
is to the tune of Ohio State's Across the Field, and the dance is named "The Boogaloo". These are performed at pep rallies and sporting events.
History
North Mecklenburg High School first opened its doors to students on September 4, 1951. Students came from five local schools in Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Long Creek, and Derita, forming a student body of just 500, with a senior class of 126, and a faculty of only 19. Marion Bird became the first principal, the Rebel was adopted as the mascot, and red and black were chosen as the school colors. By 1952, the students began class councils and student body councils. Organizations like Key Club have been around since the first decade of North Meck. In 1957, North Meck won its first State Championship in baseball. In 1958 North Mecklenburg High School hosted its first foreign exchange student: Tapu Putanen from Finland. In 1960 North Mecklenburg High School hosted its second foreign exchange student: Hans Achterhuis from Holland.Buildings
The school is an outdoor campus, with walkways connecting different halls together. Most halls have a specific academic purpose, from C-hall (English), to H-hall (History), to S-hall (Science), and so forth. Since the opening of J hall in 2009, some of the classes have been moved around. S hall is now foreign language, J hall is the host to Science on the upper floor and math courses and visual arts on the lower level. North Meck's halls are lettered A, B, C, D, E, H, J, L, N, and S.Curriculum
North Mecklenburg High School offers a comprehensive program including International Baccalaureate which is the most rigorous program at north meck, Advanced Placement, Academically Gifted, and advanced classes, fine arts programs, Air Force JROTC, and a variety of workforceWorkforce
The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
development courses. The school has one of two auto tech courses in North Carolina. Eighty-six percent of graduates attend four-year colleges, universities, or junior colleges.
School day
Most of North operates on a semester schedule, which began during the 2006-2007 school year. Previously, the entire school operated on a block schedule, with classes alternating between "A Day" and "B Day" schedules. Now, only Juniors and Seniors in the IB or AP program use "A Day/B Day." Due to the large number of students, there are four lunch periods (A/B/C/D) each day. Lunch periods are determined by which building a student is in during third block or by Mr. Hayes' grade system. A-lunch is supposed to be 9th grade lunch, B-lunch is supposed to be 10th grade lunch, and C-lunch and D-lunch are supposed to be combined 11th and 12th grade lunches, but it doesn't actually work that way. The 2010-2011 school year was also a year of transition for the students schedule wise: going from 7 to 5 minute class changes among many others.Viking News Network
Viking News Network, or VNN, is the school's Closed Circuit TV news program, airing on Channel 7. VNN is shown during second block and is a valuable source of announcements and news of current events for the students at North Mecklenburg. In the 2008-2009 school year the equipment to record VNN was changed from a Casablanca Avio to a NewTek TriCaster, resulting in a higher quality newscast. Until the 2010-2011 school year it was handled by North Meck's Engineering and Scientific & Technical Visualization classes but with the departure of the teacher to the new Hough High School, it came under the jurisdiction of the school's Theater teacher and is now an afterschool activity for the time being. Plans are to transfer VNN to a new TV Production class that may begin during the 2011-2012 school year.Extracurricular activities
Beginning in 2009, North Mecklenburg competes in the I-Meck (Iredell-Mecklenburg County) conference with the following local high schools:- Lake Norman High SchoolLake Norman High SchoolLake Norman High School is located in Mooresville, North Carolina. The school is a part of the Iredell-Statesville school system. The name of the school comes from nearby Lake Norman. Lake Norman High was built to relieve over crowding at near-by South Iredell High School...
"Wildcats" - Mooresville High School "Blue Devils"
- North Mecklenburg High School "Vikings"
- Hopewell High SchoolHopewell High School (North Carolina)Hopewell High School is located in the fast growing area of northern Mecklenburg County, serving the areas of Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson. The school was founded in 2001 and has a state-of-the-art building housing the latest computer technology...
"Titans" - Zebulon B. Vance High School "Cougars"
- West Charlotte High School "Lions"
- Mallard Creek High SchoolMallard Creek High SchoolMallard Creek High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the 21st high school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools...
"Mavericks" - W.A. Hough High School "Huskies"
North Meck is known for its fan support at sporting events, especially basketball. North Meck's cross-town rival
Sports rivalry
A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the...
is Hopewell High School and Hough High School. Older North Mecklenburg alumni consider Zebulon B. Vance High School and West Charlotte High School to be their rivals. Mallard Creek High School
Mallard Creek High School
Mallard Creek High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the 21st high school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools...
, only a few miles from North Meck, took 1,000 students from North Meck's student population just as Hopewell and Vance did, making Mallard Creek the 3rd and newest rival to North Meck since 1997. W.A. Hough High School (Originally named Bailey because the school resides on Bailey street, then re-named in honor of former North Meck Principal W.A. Hough) opened in 2010 in nearby Cornelius, North Carolina. As Vance, Hopewell, and Mallard Creek did, the new school accepted a large portion of North Meck students, making them the 4th newest North Meck rival in 12 years. Because of the new conference re-alignment in 2009, North Meck played Lake Norman High School for the first time in school history in all sporting events. Lake Norman's former Head Football Coach, Scott Sherrill, was a former player and Head Coach at North Meck who left the school to become Lake Norman's first football coach in 2002. Their first meeting in football, and Coach Sherrill's first return to North Meck as an opponent, created a new rivalry game called "The Backyard Brawl" similar to Pittsburgh and West Virginia's annual football rivalry. The men's basketball teams developed a rivalry because former North Meck student-athletes transferred to LNHS to play for Lake Norman's Mens Basketball team. Recently several state championship titles have been won by North Meck's sports teams. In 2009 Swimming was the title winner while in 2010 Women's Soccer became the first team to win the title from the west side of North Carolina in 13 years.
Debate & Speech Team
The Debate and Speech team has a rich history and although is not as known as other organizations at the school brings in countless awards. The school, a member of the National Forensics League, is active in both North and South Carolina, as well as in the national scene. The team has been gaining in skill and power and is begniing to gein recognition as a force to be dealt with in Individual Events as of the 2010-2011 school year. Also, the team hosts an annual tournament held in October. The tournament, also coupled with the Carolina Cup Challenge is in its 8th year and has been growing in size from year to year. The Carolina Cup Challenge is a sub tournament held at North Meck, every team from the Carolinas submits up to six competitors to compete in the Challenge, the team with the highest number of points at the end of the tournament gets to keep the travelling trophy--after 5 wins the state gets to retire it. The 2010 winner was Pinecrest High School. Also, the team does volunteer work teaching a debate program from March to May at nearby JM Alexander Middle School.Notable Alumni
- DeMarco JohnsonDeMarco JohnsonDeMarco Antonio Johnson is an American professional basketball player.At 6'9", 245 lb forward, Johnson attended and played collegiately for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and was selected by the New York Knicks with the 9th pick of the 2nd round of the 1998 NBA Draft...
, former star of the Charlotte 49ersCharlotte 49ersThe Charlotte 49ers represent the NCAA Division I sports teams of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Charlotte joined the Atlantic 10 in 2005. The 49ers field 16 teams, 8 men and 8 women....
basketball team, Drafted 2nd round by NBA's New York KnicksNew York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in 1998 - Bishop Eddie L. Long, Senior PastorPastorThe word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of New Birth Missionary Baptist ChurchNew Birth Missionary Baptist ChurchNew Birth Missionary Baptist Church is a megachurch run by senior pastor Bishop Eddie Long in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, near Lithonia. When Long started as pastor for New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in 1987, there were just 300 church members...
in Lithonia, GA - Andrea StinsonAndrea StinsonAndrea Stinson is a retired professional basketball player from the United States, playing from 1998-2005 for the Charlotte Sting and the Detroit Shock...
, Detroit ShockDetroit ShockThe Detroit Shock was a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006 and 2008 WNBA champion...
WNBA Player - Tony WikeTony WikeTony Wike is a voice actor and broadcaster based in Atlanta.Most recently, he was morning anchor and reporter for radio station in Gainesville, GA, where he won the 2008 Georgia AP award for Best Newscast in Class B. He also is a freelance voiceover announcer for clients such as Ringling Bros....
, actor, radio personality and journalist. - Jamie SkeenJamie SkeenJamie Skeen is an American professional basketball player. He is listed at 2.032m , 242 lbs and he plays at the power forward position.He currently plays for the ASVEL Basket in Villeurbanne France....
, basketball player, VCU, formally at Wake Forest University, currently playing with Asvel Basket in Villeurbanne (Lyon) France - Stephen Haas, runner, Indiana University (IU), currently sponsored by New Balance