Robert H. Goddard High School (''Goddard High School'', GHS) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

senior high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Roswell,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, United States. It is a part of the

Roswell Independent School District The Roswell Independent School District is a public school district based in Roswell, New Mexico, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country p ...

. Established in 1965, the school is named after

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

pioneer

Robert Hutchings Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard successfully lau ...

. The colors of GHS are

navy blue Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color ...

Columbia blue Columbia blue is a light blue color named after Columbia University. The color itself derives from the official hue of the Philolexian Society, the university's oldest student organization. Although Columbia blue is often identified with Pantone ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, and the school mascot is the Rocket.

History

The majority of classrooms at GHS are located underground. The school was completed in 1965 at the height of the

Cold war The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

Walker Air Force Base Walker Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Roswell, New Mexico. It was opened in 1941 as an Army Air Corps flying school and was active during Worl ...

, located on the south side of Roswell, was considered a major target for Soviet ballistic missiles. The classrooms were built underground so that the school could serve as a

bomb shelter A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb. Types of shelter Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives. Air ...

in the event of nuclear war. The gymnasiums, cafeteria, auditorium, and other larger rooms were built above ground, on top of the classrooms.

Academics

Student body statistics

Athletics

GHS competes in the

New Mexico Activities Association The New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates interscholastic programs for junior and senior high schools in New Mexico. It hosts the statewide sports championship games each year. History NMAA was or ...

, as a AAAA school in District 4. Their district includes Artesia High School and Roswell High School. GHS has won 50 state championships since 1967.

Notable alumni

* Brandon Claussen, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player (

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

) *

Nancy Lopez Nancy Marie Lopez (born January 6, 1957) is an American former professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three major championships. Amateur career Lopez won the New Mexico Women's ...

(1975), professional golfer * Gerina (Mendoza) Piller (2003), professional golfer

References

External links

Official school webpage

Goddard Rockets Football
{{Coord, 33, 25, 28, N, 104, 30, 48, W, display=title Roswell, New Mexico Schools in Chaves County, New Mexico Public high schools in New Mexico