James Madison Memorial High School

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James Madison Memorial High School
Green Spartan Head
Established	1966
Type	Public secondary
Principal	Bruce Dahmen
Students	2,200- 2,400
Grades	9–12
Location	Madison, Wisconsin USA
Oversight	Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD)
Colors	Green and White
Mascot	Bruce the Spartan
Yearbook	The Olympian
Newspaper	The Sword and Shield (official), The Independent.
Website	http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/jmm/

James Madison Memorial High School is a public school located in Madison, Wisconsin, teaching students grades 9-12. It is a part of the Madison Metropolitan School District. One of four Madison public high schools, it is commonly known as just "Memorial", or sometimes as "JMM."

1 Academics
2 Administration
3 Athletics
4 School newspapers
5 Notable Alumni
6 References
7 External link

[edit] Academics

JMM is one of the stronger high schools in the state, with high ACT scores^{[citation needed]}. The schools boasts strengths in sports, electives, extracurriculars, and academic teams, among others. The school is noted for its planetarium, which was featured in Seventeen magazine several years back in their School Days section.^{[citation needed]} JMM is also one of the few schools in the state which offers Chinese language classes.

Memorial is extremely strong in their Forensics program, led by head coach Tom Hardin. The Memorial team won state championships in 2002, 2003, 2004, and shared the title with Appleton East in 2006. This program incorporates both public speaking and acting, and has produced a significant number of individual event champions in recent years. Memorial has also received praise for its drama department. ^[1]

The Memorial Art Department has one of the most diversified curriculums in the state offering eighteen different courses in a variety of media. The Art Department recently efforted a fundraising effort to upgrade the Computer Art Lab which was successful so they are now able to offer their students today's cutting edge software on top-of-the-line Dell graphics computers. Memorial student-artists have won numerous art awards in numerous venues. One present directional tenet for the art department is to provide more visibility to the visual arts in the Memorial community. The John Currie Art Gallery has helped bring many inspiring artists and their artworks to Memorial High School.

[edit] Administration

As of spring 2007, the school's principal is Bruce Dahmen. Assistant principals are Mr. Radloff, Mr. Hartman, Mr. Hendrickson, and Dr. Comstock. The Athletic Director is Tim Ritchie.

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Boys Hockey

All led by now retired head coach Vic Levine (512 wins and 22 of 29 state tournament appearances), Memorial has collected 6 WIAA state championships; 1976-1977, 1979-1980, 1985, 1988, 1998, 2000.

[edit] Boys Soccer

Led by head coach Ben Voss, Memorial clinched it's only state championship in 2006 by defeating Brookfield East 2-0. The Spartans finished the season 27-2 and ranked 7th nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. This team was led by six D-1 college recruits, and motivational bench player Mike Fose. Fose was a fan favorite and had a dedicated fan following called the "MFFC", or "Mike Fose Fan Club". Fose plans to attend the University of Iowa next fall, pending his acceptance.^[2].

[edit] Boys Swimming

In 2004-2005, the boys swim team was ranked 10th in America according to Splash magazine^{[citation needed]}. Head coach Tim Richie proceeded now assistant Gary Kolpin in 2004 upon retirement after 30+ years in the position. Memorial has won 8 state boys team swimming championships. In 2007 The boys swim team won state for the third year in a row, including a new state record in the 200 Free Relay event led by Mike Hanson, Sam Stone, Kevin Booske, and Spencer Loch.

[edit] School newspapers

The official school newspaper is The Sword and Shield. Independent newspapers, The Spartacus and the Aficionado have both discontinued distribution.

The Independent was created after the 1990-91 school year by The Sword and Shield staff in response to censorship of the school's paper by Principal Carolyn Taylor. The Independent has a tradition of printing yearly April Fools editions, which have been published under names such s The Inebriated and The Indyan. Past controversy over the April Fools edition have lead to The Independent being temporarily banned, sparking the creation of The Spartacus in 2003.

[edit] Notable Alumni

Tyrone Braxton, NFL defensive back, Denver Broncos (1987-1993, 1995-1999), Miami Dolphins (1994)
Rick Graf, NFL player, Miami Dolphins (1987-1990), Houston Oilers (1991-1992), Washington Redskins (1993)
Mark Johnson, NHL player for various clubs, star of the Miracle On Ice team at the 1980 Lake Placid games, head coach of the University of Wisconsin women's hockey team, and of the American National Women's Hockey Team.
Todd Nelson, NHL player, Phoenix Cardinals
Ari Herstand, Musician with albums "Baby Eyes" and "One Take" who has played at Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Summerfest, Austin, Texas's SXSW, and had his music played on MTV as well as over 250 radio stations.
Wesley Matthews- Current Men's Basketball Player for the University of Marquette

[edit] References

^ Howard, Sarah (November 2004), "Thank you, MTC: Memorial's Fall Play Once Again a Success", The Independent XIV (3): 13
^ National Soccer Coaches Association of America high school rankings[1]".