Thornton Fractional South High School

During the 1940's and 50's students who resided in the Lansing-Lynwood area attended Thornton Fractional Township High School located in Calumet City. By the late 1950's, as the post war baby boom continued to fuel the growth and expansion of new housing in the Lansing-Lynwood area, the need for another high school seemed obvious. In 1954 voters of Burnham, Calumet City and Lansing approved the building of a new school in Lansing to ease the overcrowding at the Thornton Fractional building in Calumet City. By 1956 plans had been developed and construction began for a new high school to be located at 186th and Burnham Avenue. On April 6, 1957 a cornerstone for the new building was formally laid and a time capsule was placed in the cornerstone to preserve the memories of that time. On February 3, 1958 the new school known as Thornton Fractional South was completed. The new building cost approximately 2 million dollars and was equipped with state of the art classrooms, a pool and a gymnasium. The first group of students began attending South during the spring of 1958. There were no seniors among this group and they were affectionately called Rebels because they had chosen to leave their friends behind at the old Thornton Fractional building in Calumet City.

The School Board set the boundaries of the new T.F South High School as south of the Little Calumet River, east of Torrence Avenue, west of the Indiana border and north of 211th street (now known as Lynwood). During the 1959 school year, students of T.F. South were asked their opinion on school matters. At an assembly it was officially announced that the T.F. South High School colors would be red and gray, athletic teams would be referred to as the Rebels, the school newspaper would be called the "Rebel Rouser", and the yearbook would be named "Postscript". Even though some students in certain programs and activities during this time were bused to the North campus the first graduating class of T.F. South was the class of 1959.

By 1964, T.F. South High School was almost filled to its capacity of 1600 students. To help ease the overcrowding a number of junior and senior students, along with some faculty, volunteered to go on an early bird schedule until 1965 when additional shop classrooms, a lobby area, and a small gymnasium were added. By the early 1970's, T.F. South had grown to over 2000 students. Students attended school on shifts until the Center for Science and Technology was built. The Spirit Rock was a gift of the Class of 1971 and has remained on campus for students to spray paint as a rite of passage from the early Seventies until present day.

Currently, T.F. South has an enrollment of just over 1600 and proudly serves the communities of Lansing and Lynwood. By August 2005, a massive expansion project of 12 new classrooms, an 18,000 square foot gymnasium, a band room addition and a cafeteria addition will allow us to continue to educate the next generation of "Rebels." A tradition of academic excellence, loyalty and school spirit are the trademarks of T. F. South High School. From the excitement of the cannon exploding at a Friday night football game, to award-winning curricular and extracurricular programs, T.F. South continues to receive outstanding support from the towns of Lansing and Lynwood that make T.F. South a true Community School!