Liberty High School (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

Liberty High School is a public high school located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

Liberty is the larger of two public high schools in the Bethlehem Area School District, with Freedom High School being the other. Liberty's current attendance area includes students from most of Bethlehem, all of Fountain Hill, Freemansburg, and Hanover Township.

In the current academic year, 3,006 students attend Liberty High School. It employs a staff of 153 full-time teachers, and 5 part-time teachers.

History

Liberty High School was built in 1918 and opened in 1923. [ [http://www-lhs.beth.k12.pa.us/profile.htm LHS Profile ] ] Originally named Bethlehem High School, it is located in the geographical center of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Up until Liberty's recent remodel, the school was composed of three classroom buildings, two buildings with four floors and one science center with two. Also, there were many additions added over the years including a pool, 2 gyms, and an indoor track.

Renovations

Liberty High School has undergone numerous renovations since it was first built in 1918. One during the late 1960s when it sister school Freedom High School was built, with the most recent being in 2005. It is expected to be completed by 2009 however, the Commons Building (main building) was reopened in Spring 2007. During these renovations, Liberty High School has made a second campus called "freshman campus", for 9th graders to attend. This is located a few blocks away from the actual high school main campus. The freshman campus building used to be the old Northeast Middle School, also part of the Bethlehem Area School District.

Athletics

The school's athletic teams compete in the Lehigh Valley Conference, which also includes high schools from Allentown, Easton, Emmaus, and other Lehigh Valley locations. Liberty's primary athletic rivalry is with Freedom High School, its cross-city Bethlehem rival. The two schools compete each year for "The Bell." The team that wins the most head-to-head meetings between each school in each sport retains "The Bell." Liberty has held "The Bell" for over 17 straight years. Freedom High School held "The Bell" for just about every year before that. The school's athletic accomplishments include:

*2001 Baseball District 11 AAAA Champs.
*2002 Baseball District 11 AAAA Champs, second in Pennsylvania states.
*2007 Baseball District 11 AAAA Champs.

Football

After years of mediocrity, coach Tim Moncman led the Hurricanes back to prominence with appearances in the 2005 and 2006 PIAA-AAAA football championships with star quarterback Dan Persa under center. Liberty lost both games, the first to McKeesport High School and the second to Upper St. Clair, but the two PIAA East titles stand as high accomplishments for the team. In 2007, the Hurricanes lost to Hazleton in the East region playoffs, but transfer Brendan Beal signified Liberty's first top-level recruit yet. The future Florida Gator linebacker was named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in football. [ [http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-hurricanes.5614346dec17,0,5193574.story?coll=all-sports-hed Topic Galleries - themorningcall.com ] ] .

Rifle

Liberty High School also has a competitive rifle shooting team. The team shoots .22 long rifle, German made, Anschutz rifles. The team shoots, in matches, against several other high schools in Northeastern, PA.

Girls Lacrosse

Liberty Girls Lacrosse Club, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded by Joe Sexton, MD in 2003. Its founding was sparked by the enthusiasm of approximately 25 girls at Liberty High School. In March 2007, 51 girls joined the club, and for three years there has been a Varsity and Junior Varsity level team. It is the first organized team for girls' lacrosse in the Bethlehem Area School District. Mostly consisting of players from Liberty High School, the club also invites other girls from neighboring schools to participate who have nowhere else to play. The mission of the club includes introducing the sport of lacrosse into the PIAA interscholastic competitive level in the Bethlehem Area School District.

Athletic Scholarship Awards

Trevor Van Ackeren was the 2007 Wendy's High School Heisman National winner. Trevor excelled in Track and Field, Soccer, Football, Basketball, Cross-Country and the Classroom.cite web
url = http://www.wendyshighschoolheisman.com/students/2007national/index.asp
title = Wendy Heisman 2007 | Wendy's High School Heisman]

Band

The Liberty High School Grenadier Band is a 220-member band with a long, successful tradition as one of the nation's premier high school bands. Modeled after the band of the Coldstream Guards, the LHSGB is the only American high school band to have performed with the Guards in concert. They take a trip to England every four years, as well as places like Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On their last trip to England the band got in trouble for partying with the guards. In 2009, the band will perform in the tournament of roses parade.

"Scholastic Scrimmage"

Liberty High School traditionally has fared well in Pennsylvania's "Scholastic Scrimmage" contest, where Pennsylvania high schools compete against each other in an academic trivia contest. Liberty has won the contest three times (1982, 1984, and 1994) and placed second five times (1989, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2008).

Notable alumni

*Chuck Bednarik, former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member.
*Pete Carril, former basketball coach, Basketball Hall of Fame member.
*Alexandra Chando, actress, "As the World Turns".
*Jimmy DeGrasso, heavy metal drummer, Megadeth.
*Jonathan Frakes, actor and director, "".
*Mike Hartenstine, former professional football player, Chicago Bears.
*Gary Lavelle, former professional baseball pitcher, San Francisco Giants.
*Barry W. Lynn, political activist and executive director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
*Paul F. McHale, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Security and former Member of Congress.
*Billy Packer, college basketball television sportscaster, CBS.
*Sheetal Sheth, actress, "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World".

References

External links

* [http://www-lhs.beth.k12.pa.us/ Liberty High School Official Web Site] .
* [http://www.highschoolsports.net/defaultcal_300.cfm?school=PA180183799 Liberty High School athletics schedule and scores at HighSchoolSports.net]
* [http://www.lviac.net/liberty.asp Liberty High School Page at Lehigh Valley Conference Official Website] .
* [http://www.hurricanefootball.org/ Liberty High School Official Football Web Site] .
* [http://mysite.verizon.net/vze23jhj/lhsgbopc/index.html Liberty High School Grenadier Band and Orchestra Parents] .
* [http://www.libertylacrosse.org Liberty Girls Lacrosse Club Website] .

Navbox
name = Lehigh Valley Conference
title = Lehigh Valley Conference (LVC)
state = autocollapse
titlestyle = color: #ffffff; background-color: #193980;
bodystyle = vertical-align: middle;
groupstyle = color: #ffffff; background-color:#193980; text-align: center;
liststyle = text-align: center;
group1 =
list1 = nowrap begin
Allen High School•wrap
Allentown Central Catholic High School•wrap
Bethlehem Catholic High School•wrap
Dieruff High School•wrap
Easton Area High School•wrap
Emmaus High School•wrap
Freedom High School•wrap
Liberty High School•wrap
Nazareth Area High School•wrap
Northampton Area High School•wrap
Parkland High School•wrap
Whitehall High School•wrap