South Kingstown High School

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Coordinates: 41°26′47″N 71°29′43″W / 41.44642°N 71.49517°W / 41.44642; -71.49517
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South Kingstown High School
South Kingstown High School main entrance
Address
Map
215 Columbia Street
Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879[1]

South Kingstown
,
Rhode Island

United States
Coordinates41°26′47″N 71°29′43″W / 41.44642°N 71.49517°W / 41.44642; -71.49517
Information
TypePublic[1]
Motto"Home of the Rebels"
Established1880
FounderRowland G. Hazard
School boardSouth Kingstown School Board
School districtSouth Kingstown School Department
SuperintendentMark Prince
PrincipalChip McGair
Teaching staff107 [1]
Grades9–12[1]
Enrollment950 (2019-20)[2]
CampusSuburban[1]
Color(s)Navy and White    
MascotThe Rebel
NicknameThe Rebels [3]
RivalNorth Kingstown High School
National ranking1,553
YearbookThe Anchor
Websitehttp://hs.skschools.net/ [1] http://www.skrebellion.com/ [1]
SKHS announcement board during the COVID-19 outbreak
Main Entrance of South Kingstown High School

South Kingstown High School (SKHS), originally known as the Wakefield High School is a public high school located in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Approximately 931 students attend South Kingstown High School in grades 9–12. South Kingstown High School is ranked 6th in the state of Rhode Island with an Advanced Placement (AP) participation rate of 54%.[4] The school was established in 1880 and has changed buildings three times.

History[edit]

Early history[edit]

Original South Kingstown High School built in 1880, now the School Street Apartments.

South Kingstown High School was originally located at Narragansett Pier, formerly a part of South Kingstown. The school was then moved to the Columbia Building, also called the Times Building in Wakefield at the intersection of Columbia Street, Main Street, and Woodruff Avenue, in 1878.[5] The high school remained in the Columbia Building until the building burnt down in a fire on April 10, 1880.[6][7] South Kingstown High School continued to serve as Narragansett's High School even after the two towns split in 1903, up until 1974, when Narragansett High School was built.[8]

South Kingstown High School was officially established in 1880. The original building was built with funds provided by Rowland G. Hazard and located at 153 School Street, a street intersecting with Columbia Street. In 1909, when construction started on the new Hazard School building, the entire building was moved to 38 School Street and converted into residential apartment buildings where it remains today under the name "School Street Apartments".[9]

In 1909, construction began on the new Hazard School building, which was completed on September 10, 1911.[7] The Hazard School building was built in the Tudor Revival architectural style, and is still on the property, however it ceased operations as a High School in 1954, following the construction of the current South Kingstown High School building, and is now used as a building for the South Kingstown School District Technological Department. The building was previously used as an elementary school until 1993, and again as a pre-school until 2013.

In 1932, a war memorial and flagpole designed by Albert E. Tickell was dedicated, commemorating major foreign wars the United States took part in, including the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, and World War I. The memorial fell into disrepair, but was refurbished and restored in 2018.[10][11]

Planning of the current high school building began in 1946 and construction officially began in 1952, following the South Kingstown Town Council approving a $600,000 bond to construct a new building.[12] Construction completed in 1954, and the building is currently still in use. The building underwent major renovations in 1987 and 1996.[13]

Contemporary history[edit]

In 2016, a team of Local Educational Agents from the Rhode Island Department of Education fined the school for having evidence of high amounts of mold, mercury, oil, and other hazardous material exposed to faculty and students.[14]

Chip McGair was appointed and confirmed by the South Kingstown School Committee as the new principal of the school in 2019, following the resignation of former principal Robert Mezzanotte who served from 2015 to 2019, following his acceptance of the position of principal of Lincoln High School.[15] McGair was honored as "Outstanding First Principal for 2021", an award bestowed by the Rhode Island Association of School Principals in 2021 after being nominated by vice principal Jon Rapport.[16]

On September 27, 2022, an anonymous shooting threat was sent to the school which caused South Kingstown Superintendent of Schools to shut down every school in the district on September 28, saying "All threats are taken seriously until deemed otherwise. Out of an abundance of caution, schools were closed on Wednesday.". The school launched a joint investigation into the threat with the South Kingstown Police Department, as well as the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office, the Rhode Island State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[17][18][19][20][21] A suspect was identified on September 28 and it was announced that the schools would reopen on September 29. South Kingstown Chief of Police, Matthew Moynihan, stated that the suspect was a student at the high school.[21][22][23]

Athletics[edit]

South Kingstown High School is the home of the Rebels, a Division 1 athletics department (except the hockey team which has recently moved to Division 2 from Division 3 after going 15–0–1 and making it to the state title game). The Rebels are particularly renowned for their formerly nationally ranked boys' soccer team, which made it to the state finals in 2007, the girls' and boys' track and field teams, both of which have been Class B Champions (and in 2009, the girls' track and field team overcame the La Salle Rams and Hope Blue Waves to become the girls' state champions[24]), the boys' volleyball team, which won the state championship in 2009, 2012 and 2016, and the boys' tennis team, which defeated the Bishop Hendricken Hawks to win its 14th consecutive state championship in 2012. The tennis team would go on to win championships in 2015 and 2016.[25] SKHS won the Division 1 Championship Cup in 2009 for its demonstrated athletic prowess. South Kingstown High School additionally has a wide variety of varsity and intramural sports.

Criticism of the school's mascot[edit]

Stone Carved Sign, Gift from the Class of 1988


Following the Charleston church shooting, the issue of renaming the High School's mascot was brought up to the South Kingstown School Committee, of which nothing came of. Jim Vincent, the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's chapter in Providence, Rhode Island, was quoted saying he was not concerned with changing the name of the mascot.[26]

In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests, a petition was started on Change.org to rename the school's mascot, but again, nothing came of it.

Music and the Arts[edit]

The South Kingstown High School music department consists of various vocal and instrumental groups, including Chorus, eSKape, Jazz Band, Concert Band, and the Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra at South Kingstown High School is the last true high school orchestra with string instruments, wind instruments, brass instruments, and percussion in Rhode Island. The Jazz Band has competed in the RIMEA Jazz Festival and Berklee High School Jazz Festival for many years. In 2017, the South Kingstown High School Jazz Band placed 2nd in their division at Berklee High School Jazz Festival under the direction of Fritz Benz. The Berklee High School Jazz Festival is one of the most respected and competitive high school music programs in the United States.[27]

SKpades[edit]

Every year, the current junior class puts on a production called SKpades. SKpades is a variety show that traditionally combines a parody of a popular television show or movie along with skits that poke fun at some teachers, students, and aspects of life at South Kingstown High School. Recent themes have included The Hunger Games, The Godfather, 007, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, Scooby-Doo, The Lorax, Twilight Zone, The Lion King, Harry Potter, and the Wizard of Oz and television shows (such as Saturday Night Live). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SKpades did not happen in the 2019–20 and 2020-21 school years, but resumed with two productions in the 2021–22 school year, one by the senior class and one by the junior class. Ryan Pandolfini and Aidan O'Sullivan played Principal Chip McGair in the 2022 and 2023 SKpades, respectively.[citation needed]

Theatre Arts[edit]

South Kingstown High School has strong academic and extracurricular theatre programs. According to the high school's official website,[28] there are 5 credit-earning theatre courses that are taught by Ryan Muir. Additionally, there is a highly active Drama Club at SKHS, called the Rebel Theatre Group. The Rebel Theatre Group does several productions throughout the year, including "Testing Testing 1234" which is a collaboration with the Contemporary Theatre Company.[29] The Rebel Theatre Group is best known for the large-scale musical production that takes place in February of each year. Recent productions included Newsies, The Adams Family,[30] The Sound of Music, Young Frankenstein, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Shrek the Musical, and Bye Bye Birdie. SKHS also regularly participates in the Rhode Island Drama Festival,[31] which is the biggest high school theatre competition in Rhode Island. Finally, the Rebel Theatre Group will finish out the year with a smaller-scale production in the spring. Recent productions have included popular shows like Almost Maine and student-written/student-directed shows like Demetri.jpg and the Honest to Goodness Truth, a one-act comedy written and directed by two members of the class of 2018. "Legally Blonde" was the latest show performed by the Rebel Theatre Group, and opened in February 2023.[32]

Notable alumni[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "South Kingstown High School Profile Page". Archived from the original on 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  2. ^ "South Kingstown High".
  3. ^ "South Kingstown High School Faculty and Staff". hs.skschools.net/. 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-16."
  4. ^ "Best High Schools US News Ranking: South Kingstown High School". US News.
  5. ^ ""Educational Institute"". Narragansett Times and Washington County Advertiser. April 18, 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  6. ^ ""Times Building Burns"". Narragansett Times and Washington County Advertiser. April 4, 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  7. ^ a b Historic and Architectural Resources of South Kingstown, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report (PDF) (2nd ed.). Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission. 1984. p. 90.
  8. ^ "History of NHS... So Far". nhs.nssk12.org. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  9. ^ Historic and Architectural Resources of South Kingstown, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report (PDF) (2nd ed.). Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission. 1984. p. 97.
  10. ^ GRAVELLE, KENDRA. "War monument at Hazard School needs attention". RICentral.com. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  11. ^ skplhistory (2019-01-09). "South Kingstown in World War I". SKPL History. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  12. ^ ""Review of School Building Program"". The Narragansett Times. April 10, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  13. ^ "South Kingstown Public Schools Recommended Capital Improvement Plan Period Beginning July 1, 2020" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Rhode Island Department of Education LEA Summary 2016" (PDF).
  15. ^ Writer, Ryan Blessing Staff. "School Committee appoints McGair as new SKHS principal". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  16. ^ Howell, John. "Chip McGair named Outstanding First Principal for 2021". Warwick Beacon. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  17. ^ "South Kingstown schools closed Wednesday after threats". WPRI.com. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  18. ^ Parker, Paul Edward. "South Kingstown schools closed Wednesday after online threat". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  19. ^ "'It is scary': South Kingstown schools closed Wednesday after threats". ABC6. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  20. ^ Writer, Ryan Blessing Staff. "SK police investigating threats of violence that shut down high school". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  21. ^ a b "South Kingstown schools to reopen Thursday after police ID threat suspect". WPRI.com. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  22. ^ "South Kingstown schools to reopen Thursday". ABC6. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  23. ^ NEWS, NBC 10 (2022-09-28). "South Kingstown schools will reopen Thursday". WJAR. Retrieved 2022-09-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ "2009 Results - RILL Rhode Island State Outdoor Track & Field Championships". RunnerSpace.com. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  25. ^ Szostak, Mike (28 May 2012). "South Kingstown wins 14th straight state tennis title". Providence Journal. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  26. ^ Nagle, Kate. "Will South Kingstown High School Change Its Rebel Mascot?". GoLocalProv. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  27. ^ "Festival History". festival.berkleejazz.org. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  28. ^ "Fine Arts". hs.skschools.net. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  29. ^ "The Contemporary Theater Company", Wikipedia, 2019-12-17, retrieved 2020-04-20
  30. ^ Independent, Helena Touhey Special to the. "South Kingstown HS Theater Group readies for production of "The Addams Family"". The Independent. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  31. ^ "RHODE ISLAND THEATRE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION". RHODE ISLAND THEATRE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  32. ^ "Rebel Theater Group Presents Legally Blonde The Musical". Rebel Theater Group Presents: Legally Blonde The Musical. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  33. ^ Times, Brendan McGair The Pawtucket (2023-02-09). "Heathy and ready, Brutti set for first spring training". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  34. ^ Andrew Burnap Wins Best Leading Actor In A Play | 2021 Tony Awards | Paramount+, retrieved 2022-03-30
  35. ^ "A Soldierly Salute: Discovering hidden military history in honor of Veteran's Day". RhodyBeat. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  36. ^ Crowning Venture Miss Rhode Island 2023 on what it means to be a woman in finance, retrieved 2024-01-16

External links[edit]

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