| Quincy Senior High School |
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Quincy Senior High School is the regional public high school for Quincy, Illinois . It is located at 3322 Maine Street in Quincy. HISTORY The first school dedicated to high school students in Quincy, Illinois opened in 1891 at the corned of 12th and Maine. This school served students until 1933 when the "new" Quincy Senior High (10-12) opened at 14th and Maine in 1933. The building sits along Historic Maine Street in Quincy and is five stories tall, with mosaic details enscripted on the walls. In 1937, eighth and ninth graders were added to the building to relieve crowding at elementary schools. At this time Webster School and the former high school at 12th and Maine also housed students. As years went on, it was apparent that the 8-12 setup was not working and a change was needed. The school board decided to build a state of the art high school at 30th and Maine (the site of Baldwin Park) and to convert the current building into a 7-9 junior high school. The third Quincy Senior High opened at 30th and Maine in 1957. Enrollment again started to climb in the Quincy Schools and another building would be needed. It was decided to construct a second high school to the east of the current high school (the site of the former Gem City Drive In). The new school was named Quincy Senior High II and would house students in grades 11 and 12. The current high school would house house grades 9 & 10 and be renamed Senior High I, and the junior high would include just seventh and eighth graders. All of these changes happened in 1973. In the 1980's, the district experienced several finance problems and enrollment drops. Because of this, the entire district was reorganized. Senior High I closed in 1982. Tenth grade was moved to Senior High II and ninth grade was moved back to Quincy Junior High. Senior High I was converted into Baldwin Intermediate School for grades 4-6 . BASKETBALL History Blue Devil basketball is widely regarded as one of the elite programs in the state of Illinois. Quincy holds many Illinois state records, including state tournament appearances (29), regional titles (57), sectional titles (30), state tournament games won (44), tournament games lost (30), tournament games played (74), and state tropies won (13). The Blue Devils have claimed two Illinois state championships in their history. The first was in 1934, capping off a 31-2 season with a 39-27 victory over Thornton High School in the championship. The second championship came in 1981. The Blue Devils were led by future Iowa standout Michael Payne and Illinois legend Bruce Douglas . The Devils compiled an astounding 33-0 record, winning their final four state tournament games by a staggering average of 28.25 points. The Blue Devils also were named the National Champions of high school basketball by USA Today that year. The Blue Devils didn't lose again until the state semifinal game in 1982, compiling a 64-game winning streak, which was a record at the time. Quincy is also the fourth-winningest high school basketball program in the country, with 1809 wins since its first game on December 23, 1907. [http://www.nfhs.org/StaticContent/PDFs/Record%20Book/Basketball.pdf Tradition On Friday and Saturday nights during basketball season, thousands of Quincyans flock to Blue Devil Gymnasium in Baldwin School to watch the games. Quincy's pregame ritual makes it one of the most intimidating places to play in the state of Illinois. Before the national anthem, all the lights in the gym are turned off. The visiting team's lineup is announced with a single light illuminating their team. After the fifth starter is announced, that light is extinguished, and the pep band begins to play an ominous medley of the theme from The Phantom Of The Opera and Maynard Ferguson's "Conquistador." Then, a student clad in blue shorts, a blue cape, and blue devil horns, emerges from the locker room carrying a flaming trident. He runs around the perimeter of the court, inciting loud cheers from the crowd. The devil stands at mid-court while the starting lineup is announced. As he goes back to the locker room, the lights are turned back on, and the players are ready for the opening tip-off. Recently, Quincy Herald-Whig sportswriter Matt Schuckman authored a book entitled "Stand Up and Cheer: A Century of Blue Devil Basketball," chronicling the history of the program. FINE ARTS Art The many talented artists of QHS showcase their displays many times during the year. Various works of art can be seen throughout the lobby of A Building, in front of the auditorium. Music The music department is one of the biggest departments of the school and is held in high esteem. The Music Department consists of Director of Music Education ''Kathleen Dooley '', Band Director '''''Christopher Beason''''', Choir Director '''''Dan Sherman''''', and Orchestra Director '''''Marci Rowell Wentzel'''''. Band: The band is one of the most important groups in the music department. From late July through October, the Quincy Senior High Marching Blue Devil Band, Colorguard, and Q-City Pommers put all of their energy and effort into a spectacular field show, which they showcase at every home football game and marching competition, along with competing in parades. Numerous awards have been won by the band and are too numerous to list, so we'll get that up at another time, maybe. After marching season is over after the last competition of the year, Quincy Senior High's own Octoberfest, concert season begins. The band is split up into two bands according to audition: The Wind Ensemble, directed by Chris Beason, and the Concert Band, directed by Debbie Johnson. The band was split up because there are generally too many people, with the Wind Ensemble having more challenging music than the Concert Band. Pep Band season goes on at this time too, with the band being split in two again to play at the home boys' basketball games. Theatre The Theatre department puts on Musicals as well as two Play s, the musical in the fall and the plays in winter and spring. The musicals usually tend to be by far the biggest production, with more performances and a live Pit Orchestra . EXTERNAL LINKS |
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