Chelmsford High School a public high school located in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts built in 1974. Before 1974 the high school was located in the current McCarthy Middle School building. It serves as the public high school for students in grades nine through 12. It is part of a central campus that includes 4 of the town's 7 schools. The three other schools at the central campus are the C. Edith McCarthy Middle School, the Col. Moses S. Parker Middle School, and the Charles D. Harrington Elementary School. The town's three other schools, located throughout the town, are the Byam Elementary School, the Center Elementary School, and the South Row Elementary School.
The school is based on a three-house system. The houses are all named after Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and John Greenleaf Whittier, three famous New England writers. When the school was built, there was an additional house named for Emily Dickinson. After a decade, the school branched out from the house system; the classes were no longer strictly divided into house hallways. Now, the house structure mainly serves administrative functions. Each house has two to three guidance counselors, a dean, and an office. All students are assigned a house the year preceding their entrance into the school.
The school has recently undergone extensive renovation. The renovations included a complete overhaul of all existing science classrooms as well as the construction of a second science wing in the space formerly used for district administration offices. New ceilings and floor tiles, electrical and HVAC upgrades, and a 1,000 seat state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center (P.A.C.) were added as well. The construction, completed in 2007, gave Chelmsford High School its own auditorium for the first time in its (then) 33 year history. Previously, any performances put on by the high school were held in the 600 seat auditorium of neighboring McCarthy Middle School, the town's former high school. The new P.A.C. serves as a forum for functions such as the performances by the school's music and theater programs, and various assemblies.
Further facility upgrades completed in 2008 include new enclosed stairwells at the end of the two large classroom wings to improve building flow from floor to floor, as well as a renovated library media center. New lockers have also been installed in all sections of the building.
The athletic teams from CHS compete in the Merrimack Valley Conference. Most recently, the football team won the 2007 Eastern Massachusetts Division 1A Super Bowl. Their arch rivals are their neighbors to the east, Billerica, whom they play every year in football on Thanksgiving Day. Other rivals include Lowell, Dracut, Andover, Tewksbury and an out of conference rival, the Acton-Boxboro Colonials.
Famous quotes containing the words high and/or school:
“Nature never rhymes her children, nor makes two men alike. When we see a great man, we fancy a resemblance to some historical person, and predict the sequel of his character and fortune, a result which he is sure to disappoint. None will ever solve the problem of his character according to our prejudice, but only in his high unprecedented way.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“When we were at school we were taught to sing the songs of the Europeans. How many of us were taught the songs of the Wanyamwezi or of the Wahehe? Many of us have learnt to dance the rumba, or the cha cha, to rock and roll and to twist and even to dance the waltz and foxtrot. But how many of us can dance, or have even heard of the gombe sugu, the mangala, nyang’umumi, kiduo, or lele mama?”
—Julius K. Nyerere (b. 1922)