Hays High School

Early beginnings

Hays High School was founded as a school in 1872. A school library was built in 1886 and the school was officially instituted a year later. In 1893, the Alumni Association was formed. During the same year, the first literary society (Alpha) was established. Additional literary societies were established over the next several years. In the early 1890s, bookcases were purchased for use in each classroom. In 1921, many library books were gathered and catalogued according to the Dewey Decimal System. By 1937, the school had over 3,700 volumes and the library held 34 people. The current library has approximately 15,000 books and provides seating for 80. The school newspaper, "The Guidon", began in 1902. The newspapers were available to students for 2 cents each and helped the student body stay informed about issues. The football program began in 1902. The first game was played against Lacrosse High School and resulted in a 5-2 victory. The first yearbook was published two years later in 1904. The baseball and tennis programs also began in 1904. At the time, the tennis program was known as the "Junior Tennis Club". During this time, football and baseball games could only be scheduled for Saturdays, which proved to be inconvenient for the programs and the competing schools.

Manual training was required for all students during the early 20th Century. All students were required to devote at least two hours per week to manual training. This was done through the Hays High Manual Training Department which consisted of planning, fitting and squaring, making crosses and squares, dove-tailing, and wood carving. Twelve benches, a grindstone, and a tool chest were all provided to students.

12th Street era

In 1916, a new brick high school building was constructed at 323 W. 12th Street at a cost of $65,000. The building began being used as the new high school in the fall of 1917. In 1925, a new athletic field, known as Shively Field, was purchased for $4,000. The field was named after former superintendent C.A. Shively, who served as superintendent of schools from 1914-1928. The original building, located at the corner of 12th and Ash, was torn down in 1939 and an addition was made to the west building. The addition added a vocational agriculture shop, library, chemistry laboratory, home economics laboratory, and a wood shop. In addition, the 12th Street Auditorium was also constructed. Between 1939 and 1941, the school became the Hays Junior-Senior High School, as seventh and eighth grades joined the school. The seventh and eighth grades moved to the newly constructed Hays Junior High School in 1964.

Athletics

Hays High School has a long and storied athletics history. The Indians have won a total of 19 state championships in various sports. Athletic programs compete in the 5A division according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association and the school is a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Currently, Hays High offers athletic programs including baseball, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, basketball, wrestling, cross country, football, and volleyball.

Hays High School offers the following sports:

Forensics

Hays High School earned state championships in 4-Speaker Debate in 1989 and 2-Speaker Debate in 2009. State Speech Championships were obtained in 1987 under coach Henry Wolf and 1994 under coach Jeff Haney.

Music

Hays High School is known for their music programs as well as band and orchestra. Hays High also has various vocal classes and programs available.

Chamber Singers

Since the 1960s, the school's premier choral ensemble, known as "Chamber Singers" have been performing at community events, as well as Disney World. The ensemble, currently under the direction of Johnny Matlock, perform an annual "Dinner Show" to raise funds for travel to different parts of the nation.

Musicals

Hays High has performed various musicals annually, with the past three years being AIDA, Lil' Abner, and as of this year, All Shook Up. For the past three years Hays High's musicals have won local awards as well as nominations.