Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia, USA is a part of Gwinnett County Public Schools. Peachtree Ridge is one of only two Gwinnett County Public Schools to use block scheduling; the other is Shiloh High School.

History

Built on 66 forested acres, Peachtree Ridge High School (PRHS) lies along a series of rolling hills known as Peachtree Ridge. This natural barrier once separated the Cherokee Indians, who lived along the Chattahoochee River and its tributaries, and the Lower Creek Indians, who inhabited the southern portions of Gwinnett County amidst the Yellow, Brushy Fork, Alcovy, and Appalachee river valleys.
The section of the county in which PRHS is located was long ago known simply as Bethel. Lebanon Church also once stood nearby. The school is situated several miles southwest of Suwanee Old Town, once inhabited by Cherokee but believed to have been established by Shawnee Indians. It is believed that Native Americans lived in this area hundreds of years prior to the town’s establishment. The name “Suwanee” is said to be the Anglo version of Shawnee.

PRHS is located near the old and historical Peachtree Road, which was built during the War of 1812, less than a half dozen years before the Cherokee tribe ceded land in the area to the federal government. The road connected Fort Standing Peachtree at the Chattahoochee to Fort Daniel at an important junction leading to the old’Hog Mountain settlement. The road continued east and south, connecting with the Hightower Trail used by settlers, soldiers, and pack trains.

A few hundred yards east of the school stands the 180-year-old Goodwin family home. Built in 1823 it is reputed to be the oldest house in Suwanee. The house and property were acquired and held by the Gilbert family for most of the past 150 years before changing hands.

PRHS is constructed on land sold by the heirs of Eugene B. Baynes. Beginning in 1948, Mr. Baynes acquired hundreds of acres of land in the area through dozens of purchases of both large and small tracts. Behind the school property lays Lake Louella and on the west side of the property runs the unpaved Lake Louella Road, both of which were named after Mrs. Louise Ella Baynes.

Construction of the PRHS main facility commenced in March 2001. PRHS was constructed in order to relieve overcrowding at three neighboring high schools. When its doors opened for the 2003-2004 academic year, almost all of the sophomores, juniors, and seniors came from either Duluth High School in Duluth, Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, and North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee.

The school officially opened for classes on Monday, August 11, 2003, with enrollment topping 1,900 students. By November of the same year, another of athletic facilities (field house) were nearing completion.

Recent events

Robotics

The high school’s robotics team, team 1261, (Website) was recognized for being part of the three-team alliance to win the Peachtree Regional division FIRST Robotics Competition in 2005. This feat was accomplished once again in 2006, making the school one of very few to win twice in a row. The competitions were both held at the Gwinnett Civic Center. In 2006, the team also won the prized Safety Award for demonstrating qualities which exemplify staying safe in the sometimes-dangerous robot-building and -running environment. After winning, the team also went to the national competition (which also hosts some international teams from nations such as Israel, United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and Germany) where it has yet to achieve even higher goals.

Awarded 2006 Governor’s Cup

Peachtree Ridge was awarded the Governor’s cup for the most improvement in SAT scores for AAAAA schools in the county. Georgia governor Sonny Perdue visited the school and presented the Cup.

2006-2007 GHSA State Football Co-Champions

In the Georgia Dome, Peachtree Ridge pulled out another victory to advance to the 5-A State Championship game, beating Warner Robins High School 13-7. In the GHSA Championship game, the Lions came back from a 14-3 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, to tie the Roswell Hornets. Since the game ended in a tie, Peachtree Ridge and Roswell High School are both State Champions, both being awarded State Champion Trophies, and both teams receiving State Champion Rings. The Ridge is one of the first teams to win the State Championship game in the schools fourth year of existence.

2006-2007 GSHL State Ice Hockey Champions

The Peachtree Ridge hockey team had a successful year in its inaugural season 2007, following in the success of other sports at Peachtree Ridge, the team ended the regular season with 8 Wins, 3 Losses and 3 Ties, which was good enough for 3rd in the GSHL “A” Division. In the playoffs, the team continued it’s success posting victories over Collins Hill and North Gwinnett twice, with the only loss coming at the hands of Brookwood. In this span the team outscored the opposition 22 to 6, leading the way were Stephen Musso with 9 points, Alex Green with 8 points, Michael McKinney with 8 points and Captain Alex Chitty with 6 points. Although these 4 players have led the team in the playoffs, this has been a complete team effort, every player on this team has contributed either on the bench or on the ice and for that they deserve recognition. After posting a 3 Wins and 1 Loss playoff record, Peachtree Ridge gained a birth in the GSHL “A” State Championship versus Middle Georgia, who had eliminated Brookwood from the playoffs the night before.

The Championship game played at the Marietta Ice Center , was highlighted by the stellar play of the goalies from both teams. Middle Georgia took the lead half way through the first period, but Peachtree Ridge fought back Stephen Musso tipped in a Drew Gibson shot to tie it up with 41 seconds left in the first. From there on it was a goaltending dual with both goalies coming up with big saves. The third period started the same way, when Middle Georgia took a penalty and Drew Gibson, was able to score from the point with assists from Stephen Musso and Stephen Cook. Then with 3:45 left Stephen Musso finished the scoring with assists from Alex Green and Zach Stanton, giving the team a 3 -1 victory and the “A” Division State Championship.

Drink Vending Machines Boycott

As of the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, the drink vending machines throughout the school have been boycotted due to the increase in price. The previous year, drinks were priced at a reasonable price of $1.00. It is rumored that the price has increased in order to pay for three new plasma screen TV’s which many students believe were a waste of money, however, this rumor has been proven false as Coca-Cola was behind the price increase The drink machine boycott has led to the creation of a Facebook group exclusive to the Peachtree Ridge High School Network. It has been said the school’s principal, Dr. Flynt is planning to meet with Coca-Cola about the price.

The Roar

The Roar, earned first place in the general excellence category at an awards ceremony sponsored by the Gwinnett Daily Post. The Roar Staff was led by adviser Tom Myers and Co-Editors-in-Chief Andrew Barnhart and Alexa Sherman. Anthony Herro and Kevin Bennett were recognized for maintaining the best sports section in the County. As a staff, The Roar was recognized with the best news section, best layout/design, honorable mention for best sports section, and first place in general excellence. http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=32&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=27817&change_well_id=2

Competition Cheerleading

Peachtree Ridge’s competition cheerleading team, also known as “Blue Pride” has achieved great success since the opening of the school in August 2003. In the teams second year, Blue Pride won the 7-5A Co-ed Region championship title, and were awarded runner-up in the 5A Co-ed division at the GHSA state competition. In the teams third year of existence, Blue Pride achieved tremendous success. The team had an undefeated season and were the 5A GHSA State Champions as well as the 7-5A region champions. In their fourth year, Blue Pride achieved another 5A GHSA State title, resulting in the first true Back-to-Back State Championship title in all girl, 5A GHSA state competition hisroty.

References

External links

• Official website
• Robotics Team official website
• Peachtree Ridge Roaring Lions Marching Band
• Peachtree Ridge Football
• Peachtree Ridge Hockey

Bold text

Links

• Faithful Steward Links with Quicken, Quickbooks, Peachtree, MYOB Quickbooks 2005 and later Simple Start Edition does not support the accounting link. Peachtree First Accounting does not support this accounting link.
• Peachtree City Community Websites and Links Find A Place to Live in Peachtree City: Peachtree City Links Peachtree East Shopping Center Permits Pets Phone Service Photo Album Picnic Areas