THE SCHOOL NICKNAME

The school nickname is "REBELS" or "REBS". With the word "South" in the name of the school some have made the assumption that "Rebel" referred to the nickname given to soldiers in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The students who attended the school in thos~ early days saw the movie "Rebel Without A Cause", starring James Dean, and the nickname seemed to mean "those who rebelled" in the best sense of the word. In the best sense of the word our country was founded by a group of "rebels" who had the courage to question the authority of the British King and fight for the country that we have today. It is that tradition that "REBELS" is the proud nickname of those who attend or graduated from South High.

THE SCHOOL FLAG

The school flag was designed by Marvin Kershner, a member of the Class of 1958, with the help of Mr. Clyde Roberts, the school's art teacher that year. The flag has three shades of green and white for its colors. In the center of the flag are the letters SHHS in white. These letters are surrounded by a white oval. From each corner of the flag to the oval is a series of three white stars for a total of 12 stars. The SHHS, of course, stands for the name of the school. The twelve stars represent Grades 1 through 12. Kindergarten was only optional and not in all schools in 1958. There was one shade of green behind the SHHS, another shade behind the stars and a third shade in the field outside of the oval and stars. The three shades of green represent elementary, junior high (no middle schools in those days), and high school.
There is no denying that in the past at sporting events some students would wave the Confederate Battle Flag. There came a time when most people realized that this flag was offensive to some students, faculty and the community. Since that flag never really represented the school it has been ban from school property and events.
The school flag designed by Marvin Kershner is a flag that all those associated with the school can be proud and should be displayed at the school, on the playing fields and by the school band.

THE SCHOOL MOTTO AND EMBLEM

The school motto is "FAMA SEMPER VIVAT" This Latin phrase loosely translates to the last line of the school's Alma Mater "May your fame forever live". Or, "May South Hagerstown High School's fame forever live".
This motto is written around the outside of an oval crest along with the date of 1956, the year the school opened. Inside the crest are four imagines: a globe and textbook, a winged shoe, an open scroll and feather pen and a pallet with artist brushes and musical notes.

FUN STUFF

A Volkswagen was carried into the hall outside the band room blocking the door to the band room. The girl who drove the car was in tears. Mr. Kinney was not happy. The eight guys who carried it in also carried it back out without a scratch.
Yes, two students on the Sound and Light Crew did disconnect the television cable that fed the entire school and it took two days for the technicians to track down the problem. Those two seniors spent the week after graduation doing clean up chores at the school as a part of their punishment.
Yes, the band has always turned their hats backwards and marched on the field playing the school's fight song after every win by the football team.
During one Senior Day the seniors on the football team got hold of the sophomore quarterback and stripped him down to his underwear, tied his hands and feet and taped his mouth shut and dropped him at the door of the French teacher's classroom.
The name of the yearbook, Quidnunc, is Latin for "What now?"