Hall High School (Connecticut)
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| William H. Hall High School |
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| Type | Public high school |
| Principal | Donald J. Slater |
| Students | 1875 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | West Hartford, Connecticut United States |
| District | West Hartford Public Schools |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Mascot | Warriors |
| Newspaper | Hall Highlights |
| Athletic Rival | Conard High School |
William H. Hall High School is a four-year public high school located in West Hartford, Connecticut. It is one of two public high schools in the West Hartford Public Schools, the other being Conard High School. Hall is generally acknowledged to be among the elite public high schools in the nation, and, with Conard, challenges Connecticut's many prestigious boarding schools in academic rigor and distinction. A large proportion of the school's annual graduating class is accepted to elite universities and colleges, including all Ivy League schools (especially Yale), MIT, Georgetown, Duke, Tulane, and Washington University, among others.
Enrollment in grades 9-12 for the 2004-2005 school year was 1875 students.
The current principal is Donald J. Slater, who, in 2004, came back from service in the Second Iraq War.
School colors are blue and white, and the mascot is the "Warrior". This issue has come under fire in recent years as people found it politically incorrect to use Native Americans as a mascot.[citation needed]
Hall has an intense and long running cross-town rivalry with Conard, as both high schools are noted for their superior academics and athletic teams, specifically soccer, lacrosse, baseball, tennis, and cross-country for the Warriors.
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[edit] Controversies
In 2006, two Hall students, Ezra Silk and Ben Kudler, were suspended from the staff of the school newspaper - Hall Highlights - after attempting to publish an article detailing the prevalence of alcohol in the lives of many of the school's high achievers. After a press controversy [1] they were allowed to distribute their paper at Hall, although not through Highlights.
[edit] Clubs and Activities
Hall has a wide variety of athletic programs in sports including football, swimming and diving, cross country,wrestling, hockey, outdoor/indoor track teams, lacrosse, tennis, baseball, softball, field hockey, basketball, Golf, and soccer some more popular sports are played on Varsity JV and Freshman teams. Hall also has several clubs and activities of note including:
- Multicultural Club
- Anime Club
- Ping-Pong Club
- Scrabble Club
- Military History club
- Model UN
- AIDS Awareness
- Literature Club
- Jerry and Larry club (Based primarily upon the watching of Seinfeld)
- Gay Straight Alliance
- Hall Human Rights Coalition [2]
- Asian Cultural Club [3]
- Day Hikers Club
- Jewish Student Union
- Film club
- Debate team
- Math team
- Empty Bowls[4]
- Environmental Club
- SJA (Student Judicial Assembly)
- Student Association (Student Government)
- School Newspaper is The Hall Highlights
- The Radish (a Satire newspaper)
- The Improvisational Comedy Club
- The Answer An Improvisational Comedy troupe
[edit] Accomplishments
- Recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the nation's top high schools. Ranked as number 624 in the nation as of 2006. [5].
- Blue Ribbon School in 1984-85.[1]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Roger Sperry, neuropsychologist and Nobel Prize laureate
- Wavy Gravy, peace activist and "official clown" of the Grateful Dead
- Charlie Kaufman, Academy Award-winning screenwriter (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation., Being John Malkovich)
- David Alan Basche, actor (United 93, War of the Worlds)
- Brian Rosenworcel, musician and member of the band Guster
- Michael Schur, writer and producer (The Office, Saturday Night Live)
- Brad Mehldau, jazz pianist
- Joel Frahm, jazz saxophonist ([6])
- Richie Barshay, jazz percussionist ([7])
- Cheryl Leibert, actress ([8])
- John Daly, journalist and former host of Real TV[citation needed]
- Chris Carrabba, musician and lead singer of the band Dashboard Confessional attended freshman year
