School type High school Opened 1950 Principal Sharon Kollar Phone +1 734-762-8350 Colors Blue, Orange | Established 1950 Superintendent Derek Fisher Mascot Cougar Number of students 1,500 | |
School district Garden City Public Schools Address 6500 Middlebelt Rd, Garden City, MI 48135, USA | ||
Garden City High School is a public high school located in Garden City, Michigan, United States. It has been in continuous operation since 1950. The current Mascot, and also the names of the school athletic teams, are known as the Cougars. The principal is Sharon Kollar.
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1950-1964
The first classes began in the fall of 1950 and the first graduating class was in spring 1952. The school mascot was the Panther and the school colors were Royal Blue and Gray, as indicated in the school's 1st year book (The Blue And Gray, 1952). The colors of Royal Blue, Gray and/or White also were in use.
1964-1982
By the early 1960s Garden City had grown to the point it needed a second high school, and West Senior High School was constructed and opened in 1964. It was nicknamed Garden City West. At this point in time, Garden City High School began going by the name Garden City East.
1982–Present
Garden City East (the current location of Garden City High School) and Garden City West (the current location of Garden City Middle School) consolidated during the 1982-1983 school year, and no longer went by the nickname Garden City East and Garden City West. Prior to this consolidation, Garden City East was known as the Panthers with the colors Royal Blue and White. Garden City West was known as the Tigers and were Black and Orange. When the 2 schools consolidated, the first graduating class chose the new colors and mascot. The seniors coming from West chose the mascot (the Cougar) and the seniors from East chose the colors (Royal Blue and Orange). The senior classes went from approximately 300 students at each school, to a total of a little over 600 students in the graduating class of 1983. In 2008, Garden City High School made the decision to switch to the trimester academic system, which saw advantages as well as disadvantages. In 2015, due to a lack of money, the Garden City School Board made the decision to switch back to the traditional semester system for the 2015-2016 school year and beyond.
Athletics
Garden City High School became the MEGA Blue District Champions in 2006 on the basketball court & the state champions of softball of 2008. In 2009 they became part of the brand new conference known as the Western Wayne Athletic Conference (WWAC). Garden City Varsity Pompon team won High Kick Championships in 2006, 2012, and 2016, Hip Hop Championships in 2004-2008, 2010-2016 as well as State Championships in 1984, 1991, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2016. The Varsity pompon team also competed at UDA Nationals in 2008 and 2010 where they placed in the top 5. Historically, the varsity football team has struggled having only made the playoffs three times ever. The Varsity team's most recent and so far only championship was the 1992 NWSL championship. The JV Football team however has been historically more successful. Their most recent championship was the WWAC Red Division Championship in 2011. After the 2012 and 2013 seasons saw 2 and 3 wins respectively, the JV team bounced back with two straight 6 win seasons in 2014 and 2015. The Varsity team recently found more success than years past. They finished 6-3 in 2011 and made the Michigan State Playoffs for the first time since 2000. They then finished 5-4 in 2012 to complete the team's second straight winning season, but missing the playoffs. In 2013, the team finished 4-5, their first losing record since 2010. The 2014 season saw their second straight losing season with a 3-6 record. This was the first time since a streak of losing seasons that lasted from 2004-2010 that Cougars Varsity Football completed consecutive losing seasons. The drought continued in 2015 and 2016 with their third and fourth straight losing records, as the Cougars finished 2-7 for both those seasons. 2016 saw longtime assistant coach Jim Baker replace longtime head coach Scott Murray, who left to become an assistant coach at Plymouth High School. Since the 2012-13 MHSAA Hockey season, GCHS has had a unified hockey team with traditional rival Crestwood. Players of the team received Crestwood Hockey jackets, rather than a traditional GCHS Varsity Letter. The Garden City Football Field is used for football and soccer. Garden City Varsity Tennis has been dominant in recent years, as they won the WWAC championships of 2013, 2014, and 2015.