From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Putnam City North High School
School type	public school
Established	1978
Staff	321
Students	approximately 2100
Location	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA

Contents 1 History of the School 2 The Campus 3 Student Organizations 4 External links

Putnam City North High School is a public high school situated in Northwest Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is one of four high schools in the Putnam City Public Schools district, and offers an education for students in grades 9 through 12. Upon completion of their high school education, most PC North students go on to various colleges and universities around the nation, particularly the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

According to Putnam City North's website, the school's doors opened on August 24, 1978 as the third high school in the Putnam City district, after Putnam City High School and Putnam City West High School. The student body originally started out at 750 sophomores and juniors and has expanded to approximately 2200 students in grades 9-12 for the 2004-2005 school year. A very notable alumni is former safety and captain of the OSU football team Trent Fisher.

Putnam City North's campus is located at 11800 N. Rockwell in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It comprises the main building, which includes classrooms, offices, a cafeteria, the main gym, a practice gym, a weight room, and the Performing Arts Center; a front amphitheater; an athletic field house, which offers athletes a weight room and locker facilities; a football field, used for Freshmen and Junior Varsity games; tennis courts, with an adjacent T-building, a baseball field; a soccer field; a softball field; and two main parking lots, with additional parking in front of the school, and along the road on the south side of the campus, also called "Sophomore Row."

The main building contains four main hallways, A, B, (newly built) C, and H Halls, with a commons area between A and B Halls. Various satellite halls radiate in a ladder-like fashion across A and B Halls, and are lettered from B to S. The commons area is divided into the Upper and Lower Commons and is used as an eating area during lunch. The Upper Commons houses the College and Career office, the Leadership office (also called the S.U.N. office), a teacher workroom, and a conference room. Aside from its official duties, the Upper Commons has also are used for various school dances, including the Blacklight Dance and the "Iced Out" Dance.

The Performing Arts Center be a vast theater boasting 17450 seats in the main seating area and the mezzanine balcony seating area. The PAC underwent restoration late in the 2005-2006 school year, which included tearing out all existing seats and carpet for cleaning and replacement. The PC North PAC be considered one of the best scholastic Performing Arts Centers in Oklahoma.

The athletic facilities at Putnam City North High School also exemplify the school's dedication to excellence. The weight rooms can be used by students with teacher approval and supervision, and the basketball gym provides ample seating for both basketball games and volleyball matches, as well as a central area for the school's pep assemblies.

The football field, which been recently converted from grass into artificial turf in the summer of 2006, are located to the East of the main building and are used for practices, as well as Freshmen and Junior Varsity games. A track surrounds the field and is used for track practice and some meets, as well as for cross country practice. Varsity football games are played at Putnam City Stadium, which is shared with Putnam City Original and Putnam City West High Schools.

The baseball field and softball field lie to the east of the football field, with a smaller practice football field between them. The soccer field lies east of the baseball and softball fields. The tennis courts are situated to the southeast of the football field, bordering "Sophomore Row."

With funding from the MAPS for Kids project undertaken by the City of Oklahoma City, Putnam City North High School started construction on a new wing to replace various T-buildings late in the 2005-2006 school year. MAPS for Kids provided money to many metropolitan area school districts for renovation of facilities and supplies. The new wing houses the administrative offices, which was previously located in the Commons Area in B Hall. Construction is completed just before the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, with teachers being able to move into their classrooms on August 11th.

Parking facilities at Putnam City North are a source of much controversy and angst amongst the student body. It is the opinion of many students that adequate parking is not available, a fact aggravated by the new wing construction, which temporarily eliminated nearly half of the main parking lot's spaces. There are two main parking lots, one located on the east side of the school, and the other to the north. There are also some visitor and teacher parking places in the front of the school on the west side. There used to be additional student parking on "Sophomore Row," a small road to the south of the school. However, "Sophomore Row" parking was recently revoked. Juniors and Seniors have the opportunity to bid for parking spaces each semester and, based on the amount of their bid, receive a personal reserved parking space.

Putnam City North has many opportunities for students to be involved, most notably in one of its many student organizations. The many clubs and organizations at the school offer something of interest to almost everybody and can provide a great way to meet friends who share common interests. There is a club/organization fair held each year at the Freshman/New Student orientation just before school starts, where each organization can showcase its program to prospective members.

PC North's Students United at North, or S.U.N. is PC North's Student Council, made up of officers (S.U.N. officers), class representatives, and class officers. It is these students who run the student government and direct many of the school's events, including pep assemblies, dances, the annual Cancer Carnival, and other activities. Anyone who meets the established criteria can run to be a class representative, class officer, or S.U.N. officer. These positions are chosen through an election by secret ballot. S.U.N.'s most notable activities each year are the Jamaican Me Crazy dance, Blacklight Dance, the numerous pep assemblies each year, Match Maker, and the Blacklight Skit. S.U.N. also leads many of the spirit activities during the football and basketball seasons.

At the end of the 2005-2006 school year a few frustrated students attempted to overthrow the student government. They created a counter party know simply as SUAN: Students United Against North. This coup was unsucessful due to the student body's closed mind when it comes to muckraking and/or opposition to the dominate student government.

National Honor Society, or NHS, also has a strong presence at Putnam City North High School. It is composed of Juniors and Seniors who meet a set criteria of academic excellence. The most popular NHS event of the year is the annual Bachelor's Auction, which raises a large sum of money for local charities.

Key Club, and International community service organization, gives students an opportunity to serve their community. Many service activities are held each week and usually one every weekend. Key Club attends two major events every year- Weekend of a Lifetime, a leadership retreat, and the Texas-Oklahoma District Convention.

Other school organizations include Science Club, Spanish Club, Latin Club, French Club, Mu Alpha Theta, OSCA (Organization of Students for Cultural Awareness), DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), PTSA (Parent-Teacher-Student Association), Panther Pals (which sends high school students to area middle schools to give younger students a glimpse of high school life), Debate Club, CAWS and many others. Anyone interested in joining a club or organization is encouraged to attend the club and organization fair at the Freshman/New Student Orientation Night, or talk to the corresponding coach or sponsor.

Putnam City North is also home to some of Oklahoma's finest high school musical groups, featuring a full-sized marching band, two concert bands, multiple orchestras and choirs, as well as several smaller branched musical groups.

PCN's band program has well over 100 members. PCN takes two concert bands to contests, the Symphonic Band and the Wind Ensemble. Both frequently receive superior ratings.

The Putnam City North Marching Band, or "Panther Pride," is a nationally recognized competitive corps-style band. In 2005-2006, they competed for the first time at Bands of America, at a super-regional in St. Louis. The band placed 15th, missing finals by just a fraction of a point. Also, during the 2005-2006 school year, the band launched an Indoor Percussion Ensemble (Winter Drumline) for the first time in the school's history, placing first at all of the regional contests it competed in. A pep-band is formed during basketball season, and a jazz band is slated to be formed for the 2006-2007 season.

The Putnam City North Philharmonic Orchestra is a full symphony consisting of more than 70 members. Students rehearse on a daily basis for several hours. In addition to competing on a local circuit, they are highly regarded on a nationwide scale. They have competed at the Midwestern Festival, performed at the OMEA convention several times, consistently earned all 'superior' ratings at the State Orchestra Contest, and also competed at the National Festival of Gold in Boston twice-in 2001 and 2005. They won the national title in the spring of 2001 under the direction of Jim Waddelow. PCN students often make up a large percentage of the Oklahoma All-State Orchestra. PCN Orchestra competed at the Big D Classic in Dallas in the spring of 2006 and swept the festival earning all 'superior' ratings, Best in Class, and Best in Festival.

• Putnam City North's Website
• Putnam City North's Spanish Club Website
• Putnam City School District Website
• Putnam City North Band
• Putnam City North Drumline
• Putnam City North Baseball
• Putnam City North Class of 1986