Londonderry High School


Londonderry High School is a public secondary school serving grades 9 through 12 in the town of Londonderry, New Hampshire. The school, located on Mammoth Road, is on a parcel of land in the center of town. The main building is. and the separate gymnasium takes up an additional. The current capacity is 2100 students; 1521 are enrolled.

History

The original building was constructed in 1972 as a Junior High School. In 1978, the town voted to create a separate high school for the town's students, instead of sending them to Pinkerton Academy in Derry and Memorial High School in Manchester. The building then became a combination Junior/Senior High School. In 1982, a new Junior High School was built nearby, and the original building adopted its current ninth through twelfth grade system. The school has received several additions, including a separate two-story gymnasium which opened in January 2003.

Administration

School district

Londonderry High School is the only high school in the Londonderry School District under the authority of School Administrative Unit #12 of New Hampshire. The district superintendent is Scott Laliberte.

House system

Londonderry High School is administered through a house system, comprising four houses based on last name. Each assistant principal is in charge of one house; however, they all help with the day-to-day running of the school.

In-school administrators

The principal of the school is Jason Parent.
Assistant Principals are Abbey Sloper, Stephen Secor, Crystal Rich, and Katie Sullivan.

Academics

The school day at Londonderry High School is divided up into eight 47 minute periods. Classes begin at 7:20am and end at 2:14pm. The school offers many different accelerated programs, such as Project Running Start, which helps students transition into tertiary education or careers. AP and Honors credit are offered as well, which are weighted into a student's GPA.

Athletics

Londonderry High School has 36 different athletic teams, ranging from the varsity level to freshman teams, and covering three sports seasons: fall, winter and spring.

Baseball

Londonderry High School's varsity baseball team won its sixth state championship in 2019. The team is coached by Brent Demas.

Cross country

Londonderry High School's boys cross country team has won more New England titles than any other team in the state. They are best known for their 1990-1999 campaign "Team of the 90's" with top runner John Mortimer who was ranked No.1 nationally in high school cross country.

Track and field

Londonderry High School's boys track and field team has totaled over 25 state Class L titles, indoor & outdoor, since the program was initiated in the 1980s. The program has produced four All-Americans and sent numerous athletes to NCAA Division I sports programs. Steve Carroll of the class of 2009 holds the state record in the 400 meter dash.

Soccer

Londonderry High School's boys varsity soccer team won Class L championships in 1990, 1996 and 1999.

Gymnastics

Londonderry High School's gymnastics team placed second in the state and then beat the state champions, Salem High School, in the New England Regionals, placing fourth. The team also won the state championship in 2015, having a slight edge over Pinkerton Academy.

Tennis

Londonderry High School tennis won the state title in 2010 and 2012. The team is coached by Bill Knee.

Hockey

The Londonderry High School ice hockey team is coached by Mike Bears.

Lacrosse

Londonderry's lacrosse program has boys' freshmen, JV, and varsity, and girls' freshmen, JV, and varsity teams.

Football

Londonderry's football program has boys' freshman, JV and varsity. The team is coached by Jim Lauzon.

Rivals

The school's major rivals are the Astros from Pinkerton Academy in Derry, the Blue Devils from Salem High School in Salem, and the Owls from Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow.

Activities

Marching band

Londonderry High School is particularly notable for its Lancer Marching Band and Colorguard, which is the second largest marching band in all of New England and the seventh largest east of the Mississippi, consisting of 280 members. The Lancers have gained fame through performances across the country and around the world, including four performances at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. On October 21, 2016, the band was invited to perform in the 129th Tournament of Roses Parade in 2018.
The band marches in the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade annually. In 2009 they were honored with an invitation to march in Ireland's St. Patrick's Day parade but graciously declined it and performed in New York for a 14th time. The Lancers participated in the pre-game festivities at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China when they marched on the Great Wall of China. The band has traveled to Washington, D.C. and had the honor to march in the 2009 and 2013 inauguration parades for President Barack Obama on January 20 and 21, respectively.
Notable performances:
Londonderry High School holds an annual assembly, during which over a hundred students donate at least eight inches of their hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths to help make wigs for cancer patients.

FIRST Robotics Team 1058 "The PVC Pirates"

Londonderry High School's FIRST Robotics Team 1058 began as the "Dragoons" during the 2003 FRC competition season playing "Stack Attack". During the 2004 season, Team 1058 changed their name to the "PVC Pirates" due to their robot design resembling a sailing ship when fully deployed. This novel design is still remembered by many local FIRST Robotics alumni. Team 1058 has been to the FIRST World Championship competition six times in its fifteen-year history, three of which have occurred in the past three years.
In 2012, Team 1058 won the Granite State Regional Chairman's Award, the most prestigious regional award, due to the team's significant outreach efforts.
In 2014, Team 1058 won the Northeastern District Chairman's Award.
In 2017, Team 1058 seeded first and captained the winning #1 alliance in the Archimedes division at the World Championship in St. Louis, MO, giving them the prestigious opportunity to compete alongside past world champions, and hall of fame teams. In 2019, Team 1058 won the District Chairman's Award at the UNH event after starting two FIRST LEGO League teams at the Londonderry Middle School.

Math team

The LHS math team placed first in the New Hampshire State Mathematics Competition in 1992–1993, 2006–2007, 2007–2008 and 2010–2011. The team finished 12th in the New England Mathematics Competition. The team, then led by Coach Mike Wenger, also finished second in the Tri-State Math League for the year's competition.

Quizbowl

Londonderry has a quizbowl team that participates in the Granite State Challenge television program. The team won the championship in 1984 under the leadership of James Choquette. In the 2006–2007 season the team advanced to the semi-finals before being knocked out by Hanover. The team also competes in the New Hampshire Quiz Bowl League and in 2007 finished first among at-large teams to make the playoffs, and placed fourth out of eight teams. The 2007-2008 team finished first in their division with a victory at their home meet.

Notable alumni