Hartford Public High School

		Hartford Public High School "The Second Oldest Secondary School in the United States" Since 1638

About Academies Alumni Athletics History Home Library Links Teacher Resources		Teacher Resources The Hartford Public High School Museum & Archive Student Projects History Research articles about HPHS in the Hartford Courant online: choose a period of time and subject (ex. 1930-1940’s, graduations, the war effort, women’s athletics, etc.). Design a history dvd with images of the school buildings which housed the Latin School (1638-1740), Hartford Grammar School (1740-1847), and the Hartford Public High School (1847-2008). Reactivate the exhibit on the Nook Farm community of Forest Street . This exhibit was a joint effort with the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in the 1980’s. We have materials and we can work with the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center . Write an article on the major changes in the curriculum of the school from 1900 to 2000. Living Graduates Interview an alumnus who graduated from HPHS before 2000 and write an essay about how this person has made a difference with his/her life. Creative Writing Write a creative essay based on a student of the Hartford Grammar School (1638-1847) or HPHS (1847-1900). For example, we have graduates who fought on the Union side and the Confederate side of the Civil War: an interesting thought that they may have met once again during the conflict. The famous financier J.P. Morgan attended for two years, and the son of Gideon Welles, Lincoln ’s Secretary of War, is a graduate. Other graduates went off to foreign lands to establish schools, practice medicine, and to do missionary work. Research HPHS faculty and alumni authors from 1870 to the present. Pick a theme: novels, textbooks, scientific works, etc. Transcribe examples of student writing from the 1980’s and 1990’s onto cd’s: senior essays, valedictorian speeches are in manuscript in the Museum Collection. Public Relations Plan a building tour route for visitors to the school and organize a cadre of student guides. Design a student handout on the history of HPHS. Students at HPHS Write an article on the changing ethnic patterns of students at HPHS from 1850 up through 2007. Hartford ’s neighborhoods reflected the ethnic origins of the city population. Write an article about African-American students at HPHS from 1850 to 1950. Write an essay on HPHS persons who achieved national/ world fame (ex. J. P. Morgan, William Gillette, Admiral Harry S. Knapp, Donald C. Johanson, Franklin Chang Diaz, etc.). Design a permanent exhibit featuring notable alumni of the school (see website <hartfordpublic.com> alumni page and link). Science and Technology There are over 100 pieces of antique science equipment in the Museum collection. They were used in the science classes at the old HPHS. Pick 3 of these and research their manufacturer and function (name, age, construction, manufacturer, etc.) Connect with the CT Science Center, Yale, Harvard, and MIT science museums for extended research. Art & Architecture Research one of the portraits in the Museum collection with emphasis on the subject and the painter. Create a digital record of student artwork in the classbooks from 1896 up to the present. Create a powerpoint presentation on the architectural fragments in the Architectural Sculpture Garden . Archival Prepare a sketch on the archival conservation techniques used in the HPHS Museum . Work with the CT Historical Society and the Hartford History Center at the Hartford Public Library.


Last Updated: 01/12/2013		Comments? Contact the Webmaster at: hphsweb@yahoo.com