Humphreys HS (formerly Humphreys MS/HS) History
Opened: 2013
OPEN
In 2011, construction began on the new high school. The construction was completed in 2013. Humphreys High School began as Humphreys Middle High School in August 2013 with 342 students in grades six through twelve. The school opened in old elementary buildings, which later became district offices. The Middle/High School moved to the new building in January 2014. Humphreys students had attended Humphreys American School for grades K–8 and Osan American High School for grades 9–12.
The school mascot is the Blackhawk, and the school colors are black and gold. The game mascot is referred to as Blaze the Blackhawk. The school motto is “Blackhawks soar above the rest”.
When the school opened, it had a full complement of sports, including football, cheerleading, girls’ volleyball, boys’ volleyball, tennis, cross country, girls’ basketball, boys’ basketball, wrestling, softball, track and field and boys’ and girls’ soccer. The following year, swimming and baseball were added to the sports options. Sports teams competed in the KAIAC (Korean–American Interscholastic Activities Conference) and the Far East Conference. The first group includes DoDEA and international schools, and the second has schools sponsored by DoDEA.
Student activities are varied and include the Student Government Association, National Honor Society, drama, choir, band, JROTC, AVID, journalism, Culture Club, and Students2Students. The school also participates in Far East events such as Visual Arts Festival, Journalism, Model United Nations, Drama Festival, Jazz Festival, and Linguafest. The middle school students had their own student council and an extensive intramural program that included football, matball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, and wrestling. A Gay/Straight Alliance was added for the 2015-16 school year. Literature and creativity club and a chess club were added for the 2017-18 year. In 2018-19, the e-Sports club was begun, and the school added a bowling club, KEY club, step team, movie review club, and junior varsity teams during the 2019-20 school year. The high school was designated as a D1 school for the 2019-20 school year.
Humphreys had a unique tradition for the homecoming parade. Each class created a float from a shopping cart. The class walked behind the “cart float” to and from the elementary school.
According to the 2016 yearbook:
Ms. Shelly Kennedy and Ms. DJ LaFon have been the Principal and Assistant Principal, respectively, of Humphreys Middle High School, since its inception in the fall of 2013.
We unexpectedly started in the post’s old elementary school building; we moved (an entire school) to a new location in the middle of the school year; the hallways were too long; the temperatures were either too hot or cold; technology wouldn’t work properly. We have dealt with every issue imaginable that goes along with inhabiting a new building, but as “Blackhawks,” we’ve learned to soar...
Despite the challenges we’ve faced, we have taken initiative. We have skillfully created, powerfully adapted, and gracefully adjusted. Each year, we’ve soared... to new and sometimes unexpected heights.
To build any organization of this magnitude is no easy task; under the leadership of Ms. Kennedy and Ms. LaFon and the dedicated faculty and staff members, HMHS has continued to carry out its vision, “helping students to be life-long learners” and equipping them “with skills for success in a changing world.”
HMHS has definitely made its mark on the DoDDS Pacific map. As more changes lie ahead for HMHS and the Camp Humphreys community, we will continue to do what we do best.
In 2016 Humphreys High School and Middle School became separate schools with different administrations and staff but continued to share the same building. In 2018-19 the high school had over 530 students and sixty staff members. During the next year, the school expanded due to the closure of Seoul American Middle High School and the military operations of USAG Yongsan being moved to Camp Humphreys.
Maria Buchwald was the principal for the 2016-17 school year followed by the administrative team of James Herb and Erin Grazak. The administrators for the 2023-24 school year were Amanda Schwerdt, principal, and Hetty Flanery, assistant principal. The enrollment for grades nine through twelve was 730 students.
Humphrey High School began as a small middle/high school and has become one of the largest high schools in the Pacific.
Information based on internet sources and school yearbooks