Upper School

List of 7 items.

• Class Schedules

  Upper School Hours
  
  

  7:30 am	Upper School opens
  7:45 am	Supervision begins
  	Teachers available for help
  8:30 am-3:00 pm	Classes in session
  3:15-4:00 pm	Teachers available for help and after-school activities
  5:00 pm	Upper School closes unless evening event is scheduled

  
  
  

  	M, T, W, F Schedule
  Period #1	8:30-9:45 am
  Community Block	9:45-10:10 am
  Period #2	10:10-11:25 am
  Lunch	11:25 am-12:20 pm
  Period #3	12:20-1:35 pm
  Passing Period	1:35-1:45 pm
  Period #4	1:45-3:00 pm

  
  
  

  	Thurs. Schedule
  Period #1	8:30-9:40 am
  Community Block	9:40-10:35 am
  Period #2	10:35-11:45 am
  Lunch	11:45 am-12:40 pm
  Period #3	12:40-1:50 pm
  Passing Period	1:50-2:00 pm
  Period #4	2:00-3:10 pm

• Advisory System

  The Heritage Hall advisory program provides each student with a personal partnership with one faculty member who will assist that student in achieving the mission of the School. The faculty member will monitor the student’s progress in all facets of school life and assist the student in making goals, plans, and decisions. The advisor will act as a mentor and an advocate for the student, helping the student to achieve his or her personal best in academic and non-academic areas.

   

  Advisors meet weekly with their advisees, either in small groups or in individual meetings. In addition to monitoring the students’ academic progress, advisors are trained to use a variety of creative techniques to discuss personal goal setting and ethical decision-making. Advisors also serve as a liaison between the School and their advisees’ parents. Parents are encouraged to call their child’s advisor with questions about the School or concerns about their child’s academic or personal progress in school. Close bonds typically develop between advisor and advisee and remain well beyond the Heritage Hall years.

• Service Learning

  Requirements
  All upper school students are required to perform a minimum of 25 hours of service per year and a minimum of 100 hours required for graduation.

  • Seniors must complete 75 hours of the required 100 before the fall semester of their senior year. Seniors who have not completed this requirement will not be granted senior privileges (off-campus lunch and off-campus study hall) until hours are complete. Seniors must complete all 100 hours by the end of the March spring break of their senior year to be eligible for graduation.
  • Students entering their sophomore or junior years will be required to complete their hours (10th grade: 25 hours, 11th grade: 50 hours) before the fall semester. Students who have not completed this requirement will not be granted their respective class privileges. Specifically, juniors will not have off-campus lunch and sophomores will not have common study hall. As requirements are completed, all privileges will be reinstated for the remainder of the semester.

  
  

  Service hours will be granted for volunteer experiences completed with nonprofit agencies that have been pre-approved by the Director of Service Learning. An excess of service hours in one school year may not be carried over to the next year. No service learning hours will be given for hours earned while missing academic class time or participating in an activity associated with an academic class.
  
  

  In place of this requirement, seniors have the Service Learning Capstone option. This gives seniors the opportunity to investigate a key area of social concern (poverty, justice, health, family, prejudice), conduct interviews, perform service in the area of interest, and ultimately compose a major research paper and presentation proposing a way to address the issue.

• Honor Societies

  Cum Laude Society
  

  Encourages and recognizes superior scholarship. Members are selected based on GPA on a 100 point scale, designation as a Challenge Scholar, and standing in the School.

   

  National Honor Society

  Juniors with a minimum cumulative GPA of 90% for five semesters
  
  

  Mu Alpha Theta
  

  Enrolled in a sixth semester of college prep math with a minimum of four math grades of at least 90% (with no math grades lower than an 80%) and a minimum GPA of 85%
  
  National Chinese Honor Society
  Minimum semester grade of 85% in at least four semesters of Chinese and a minimum cumulative average of 80% in all other subjects.
  
  

  National French Honor Society
  

  Minimum semester grade of 90% over last three semesters of French and minimum cumulative average of 80% in all other subjects
  
  

  National Junior Classical League
  

  Minimum semester grade of 90% over last three semesters of Latin
  
  

  National Spanish Honor Society
  

  Minimum semester grade of 90% over three consecutive semesters of Spanish

• Student Activities

  Upper School students have a wide variety of in-school and after-school activities from which to choose. Students must elect one after-school activity, to include athletics or health and fitness, during each semester of their 9th, 10th, and 11th grade years; the senior year activity is optional. Upper School students must participate in at least two semesters of athletics.
  
  Upper School Clubs and After-School Activities
  

  Academic	Academic Team Engineering Club Science Olympiad
  Broadcasting	ChargerVision
  Fine Arts	Art Club Drama Musicals Pep Band Revues Stagecraft
  Oral Communications	Debate Model United Nations
  Service	Adopt-A-Grandparent Program Community Service Diversity Club GSA Hall of Representatives Pep Club Student Council
  World Languages	Chinese Club French Club Spanish Club

  
  These offerings are subject to change.
  

• Debate

  Heritage Hall is home to the most successful, active debate program in the state. In addition to competing with the best debate teams in the country at the most prestigious tournaments on the national circuit, Heritage Hall debaters attend OSSAA-sanctioned Oklahoma tournaments, and have earned an impressive 18 (6A) OSSAA state championships (10 since 2004).
  
  

  Under the direction of a dedicated, full-time coach and part-time assistants who ensure quality training, our competitive academic debate program stresses critical thinking, advocacy, philosophy, politics, research, and communication. Policy debate (two-person team) is the oldest form of academic debate and is our program’s main focus.
  
  

  Debate gives students a competitive edge in college like nothing else. Recent Heritage Hall debate team members say that debate played a large role in scholarship offers and/or admission to the following colleges and universities:
  
  

  Amherst College Boston College Cal Berkeley Emory Georgetown Harvard

  MIT Northwestern The University of Oklahoma University of Southern California University of Texas Honors College Wake Forest

  
  
  

  Heritage Hall’s competitive academic debate program is designed to give to students an edge by teaching advanced critical thinking, advocacy, philosophy, politics, research, and communication skills. We are home to the most successful, active policy debate program in the state. Charger debaters compete on the state and national stage. We compete in state as a Class 6A member of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association speech and debate circuit. We compete on the national debate circuit by traveling to out-of-state tournaments at prestigious universities and nationally recognized high schools. The national circuit culminates with two major tournaments: the National Speech and Debate Association national championships and the prestigious Tournament of Champions. Heritage Hall frequently qualifies for these championships and debaters from our School have the opportunity to test themselves against the best in the country.
  
  No other school in Oklahoma offers students in policy debate this breadth of experience.
  

  
  Highlights:

  • More than 60 HH debaters have qualified for the National Forensics League debate national championships (NSDA), with numerous Top 25 finishes, and a 1st place policy debate national championship in 2020.
  • Ted W. Belch Award-winning coach (2020).
  • Heritage Hall debate has earned 18 (6A) OSSAA state championships (10 since 2004).
  • Since 2004, nine HH debaters have qualified for the Tournament of Champions (TOC), the most prestigious tournament on the national circuit.
  • HH debaters are frequently recruited to attend and debate at prestigious colleges and universities.
  • Our debate program hosts the J.W. Patterson Invitational Debate Tournament that serves as a national qualifier to the TOC. It is the only debate tournament in Oklahoma that has been given this honor.

• Independent Studies Program

  Self-Directed Work Outside of Class

  In an effort to encourage students to pursue an academic interest that both extends beyond and still embraces the rigor and principles of core curriculum, Heritage Hall offers the Independent Studies Program (ISP) to the highly self-motivated, intellectually curious students who understand that serious scholarship and intellectual purpose requires discipline and active engagement. The work required is completed primarily through self-direction, involves work done outside of the regular class schedule, and is assessed based upon both the quality of the final work, and the documented effort put forth during the process.
  
  

  Topics of Interest from All Disciplines
  This opportunity is available to eligible rising juniors and seniors with two full years in good academic standing at Heritage Hall. Sophomores and juniors submit a proposal and required forms in the spring semester to the ISP director. The topic of interest can come from any formal chaired discipline - science, math, art, literature, philosophy, history, music, technology, world languages, drama, or leadership - and must be defended in person.
  
  Over the past several years, ISP scholars have examined a wide range of topics such as:
  

  • "The Sustainability of the Health Industry"
  • "Solving the Human Rights Crisis in Vietnam"
  • "The Achievability of a Zero Waste Lifestyle"
  • "Injury Prevention in Ballet"
  • "Bacteriophage Lysis in Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria"
  • "Bushido and Samurai Warrior Ethos' Influence on the Japanese Military Mindset and Culture During the Showa Dynasty"
  • "What Comes, Goes: A Short Film"
  • "Women's Fashion Throughout Historical Moments"
  • "Metamorphosis: Moments that Change Your Identity: An Art Series"
  • "How to Execute Data Management and Harness Its Utility"

  
  Program Highlights
  

  • Students have opportunities to develop relationships not only with faculty advisors but also with mentors in the community.
  • Several members of the administration serve on the ISP Committee to serve and advise students throughout the year.
  • Participating students master skills in research methods, professional presentations, time management, and self-discipline.
  • ISP scholars often work closely with the ISP Director and the college counselors to include their work in college essays and personal portfolios.
  • From being awarded the Rensselaer Medal to being named a Presidential Scholar, Heritage Hall students have been recognized on numerous occasions for their academic research and scholarly achievements.