Northern Lehigh High School is a public

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 ...

located in

Slatington, Pennsylvania Slatington is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, it had a population of 4,232. Slatington is located northwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania ...

. It is the only high school in the Northern Lehigh School District. Students in grades 9 through 12 from Slatington, Walnutport, and Washington Township in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

region of eastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

attend the high school. As of the 2020-21 school year, the school had an enrollment of 478 students, according to National Center for Education Statistics data. Northern Lehigh competes in the District XI athletic division of the

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. The PIAA's main ...

and is a member of the

Colonial League The Colonial League is an athletic conference consisting of 14 high schools mostly from the Lehigh Valley portion of eastern Pennsylvania. It is part of PIAA District 11, District XI of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The C ...

History

The current high school building was completed in 1981. An addition was added in 2000 for a new library and art room. Prior buildings, which housed the school include: *Lincoln Building (1890–1915) (Chestnut Alley & Kuntz Street) *"Old High School at Main Street" (1916–1958) (2nd & Main Streets)Northern Lehigh Century of Excellence 1911-1920
/ref> *(Currently) Northern Lehigh Middle School (1958–1981) (Top of Kuehner Hill; Bulldog Lane) *(Currently) Northern Lehigh High School (1982–present) (Bulldog Lane & Snyder Avenue) The high school had been known as Slatington High School until the name was changed to Northern Lehigh High School in 1981, with the first class graduating in 1982.

Academics

Northern Lehigh High School operates on a semester system. The school year has two semesters, each with four 86 minute class periods. Students are also offered the opportunity to take vocational training at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute and can take college courses offered through

Lehigh Carbon Community College Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC), often pronounced "L-tri-C," is a public community college in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The school serves as the primary granter of associate degre ...

Athletics

Main rivals

Northern Lehigh's main sports rivalries are closely aligned with geographic proximity. Northern Lehigh and

Palmerton High School Palmerton Area High School is a four-year public high school in Palmerton, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Palmerton Area High School is the sole high school operated by Palmerton Area School District. In the 2021–2022 schoo ...

have had a strong rivalry for decades. From 1946-74, both school's football teams met for a Thanksgiving Day game, and the teams still end their regular seasons each year by playing one another. A natural rivalry has also developed with Northwestern Lehigh High School, which was once a part of Northern Lehigh School District until the 1950s.

Teams

Northern Lehigh fields teams for interscholastic competition in a number of sports including,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

, football, boys and girls

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

PIAA state champions

Since its founding, Northern Lehigh High School has won PIAA state championships in the following sports and seasons: *Softball: 1988 ("AA"), 96 ("AA") *Wrestling: 1985 ("AA"), 2005 ("AA")

PIAA state qualifiers

Northern Lehigh High School has qualified for the PIAA state tournament in the following sports and years: *Boys Basketball: 1982, 2007, 08, 12 *Girls Basketball: 1992, 93, 2010, 11 *Boys Cross Country: 1974, 78, 79, 80, 87, 89, 92, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 2001, 09 *Girls Cross Country: 1975, 85, 86, 2007 *Football: 1999, 2003, 10 *Softball:1988, 96, 98, 2000, 01 *Wrestling: 1985, 99, 2000, 05, 06, 08, 15

PIAA Eastern PA champions

*Boys Basketball: 1982 *Football: 2003 *Softball:1988, 96, 98 *Wrestling: 1999, 2000, 05, 06

Eastern Conference Playoff AA champions

*Football: 2014

District XI champions

Northern Lehigh High School has won PIAA District 11 championships in the following sports and seasons: *Boys Basketball: 1954, 2008 *Baseball: 1954 *Boys Cross Country: 1980, 92, 95, 97, 99 *Girls Cross Country: 1975, 85 *Football: 1999, 2003, 10 *Softball: 1993, 94, 96, 98, 00, 01, 19 *Wrestling: 1986, 97, 98, 99, 2000, 05, 06, 09, 15

Colonial League champions

Northern Lehigh High School joined the

in 1994. Their Colonial League championships since include: *Baseball: 2010 *Boys Basketball: 2007, 08, 10 *Boys Cross Country: 1994, 95, 97, 99 *Field Hockey: 2013 *Football: 1999, 2002, 03, 05, 10 *Softball: 1994, 2010, 2018 *Boys Track: 1999, 2004 *Wrestling: 1997, 98, 99, 04, 05, 06

Centennial League champions

Northern Lehigh High School joined the Centennial League in 1975 and was in the league through the end of the 1993 season. Their Centennial championships during this period include: *Baseball: 1984, 85, 86 *Boys Basketball: 1978, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 88 *Girls Basketball: 1984 *Boys Cross Country: 1977, 78, 79, 80, 81, 86, 87, 88, 89, 92, 93 *Girls Cross Country: 1985, 86, 87 *Football: 1981 *Softball:1988, 89, 92, 93, 94, 95 *Boys Track: 1978, 79, 81 *Wrestling: 1982, 83, 90

Lehigh Valley champions

*Boys Basketball: 1926, 27, 53, 54 *Baseball: 1939, 51, 53, 54 *Football: 1968, 69, 74 *Boys Track: 1966 *Girls Track: 1975

Ring of Honor

Beginning in 2007, each year six individuals who have made a significant impact on athletics at either Northern Lehigh High School or Slatington High School. The honor has included former athletes, coaches, and members of the community who have made contributions to promote high school athletics.

Notable individual accomplishments

*On January 7, 2012, Northern Lehigh High School's Aimee Oertner achieved a quintuple

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

(a performance in which a player accumulates a double-digit number total in all five statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots) in a single game. In 2012, this feat had only been accomplished two other times in basketball history. *On October 3, 2018, David Oertner earned his 1000th win as the Northern Lehigh cross country coach. He is also the father of Aimee Oertner and was her high school basketball coach. As of 2018, he had over 90 seasons of coaching as a head or assistant coach of various sports at Northern Lehigh High School.

Arts

Marching Band

*Tournament of Bands Chapter II Champions (Group 1): 1999, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019 *Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Championships Finalists: 1997, 98, 99, 2000, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 *Tournament of Bands Top 5 Finish at Atlantic Coast Championships: 2011 – 4th of 30 group 1 bands; 2013 – 3rd of 23 bands; 2015 – 4th of 26 bands;2016 – 5th of 19 bands;2017-5th of 20 bands; 2018-4th of 20 bands; 2019-4th of 20 bands *Tournament of Bands Chapter II High Percussion (Group 1): 1999, 2005, 2007, 2009 *Tournament of Bands ACC Section champions: 2013 Woodwinds

Freddy Awards

*Outstanding Performance by an Orchestra: 2011, "Once On This Island" *Outstanding Use of Scenery: 2011, "Once On This Island" *Outstanding Use of Scenery: 2013, "Little Shop of Horrors" *Outstanding Featured Performance by an Actor: 2014, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" *Outstanding Featured Performance by an Actor-Won by Pierce McGowan:2017, " Disney's Beauty and the Beast" *Outstanding Performance by a Male Ensemble Member-won by Pierce McGowan:2018, “Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” *Outstanding Overall Production By a SmallerSchool:2018,“Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

NLHS alma mater

The lyrics to the song were written by Charles Schoffstall, a commercial teacher between 1917 and 1920. It is played to the tune of

Annie Lisle "Annie Lisle" is an 1857 ballad by Boston, Massachusetts songwriter H. S. Thompson, first published by Moulton & Clark of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and later by Oliver Ditson & Co. It is about the death of a young maiden, by what some have s ...

. Lyrics: ''Just above the winding Lehigh''
''Midst the mountains grand''
''Stands our dear old Alma Mater''
''Famed throughout the land.'' ''Far and wide through we may sojourn,''
''Still our hearts are true,''
''To our dear old Alma Mater,''
''Dear old white and blue'' Chorus:
''High school, high school, our own high school''
''Dear N.L.H.S.''
''When afar from the we wander,''
''Thy dear name we bless.''

Former school mascots

*Early 1930s – Blue and White Warriors *1939–1941 – Blue and White Raiders *1941–1968 – Slatington Slaters *1968–1981 – Slatington Bulldogs

Notable alumni

Sigrid Close Sigrid Close (born 1971) is a professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. Her primary research interest is the space environment with particular focus on meteoroids, meteors, and orbital debris, and their int ...

, professor, aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University and recipient of the

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. The White ...

George Hennessey George Hennessey (October 28, 1907 – January 15, 1988) was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1937 to 1945. Born in Slatington, Pennsylvania, he played for the St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies, ...

, former professional baseball player, Chicago Cubs,

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

and Philadelphia Phillies * Charles Johnson, former professional baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies * Thomas R. Morgan, former assistant commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps

References

The Express-Times ''The Express-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in Easton, Pennsylvania. The newspaper provides national news and extensive local news coverage of the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, ''The Express-Times'' is the lon ...

'' {{authority control 1981 establishments in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1981 Public high schools in Pennsylvania Schools in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania