Wellesley High School
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| Wellesley High School |
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| Established | 1938 |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Principal | Ms. Rena Mirkin |
| Students | approx. 1200 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | Wellesley, Massachusetts USA |
| Colors | Red and black |
| Mascot | Pirate |
| Newspaper | The Bradford |
| Website | Wellesley High School |
Wellesley High School is a public high school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, educating grades 9 through 12. Its current principal is Ms. Rena Mirkin, who plans to retire at the end of the 2006-2007 schoolyear. Its two assistant principals are Lynn Novogroski and Jamie Chisum. As of 2006, it has over 1200 students and is one of the most academically challenging public high schools in Massachusetts. [citation needed]
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[edit] History and current state
Originally built as a public works project in 1938 during the Great Depression, the school was designed by Perry Shaw and Hepburn and built by M. Spinelli and Sons Co., Inc. The building has been modified with several additions throughout its existence, most recently with a new fitness center. Currently the older parts of the building have systems issues, are outdated, worn out, and below standard. As of October, 2005, options for a new building or refurbishment are being explored by the town. [citation needed]
Of the class of 2004, 92% of students planned on attending four-year colleges, while the remaining 8% planned on attending two-year college, specialized school, or post-graduate school[1]. Many graduates attend some of the most selective and prestigious institutions in the nation. Wellesley High has been a major feeder school to the NESCAC colleges [citation needed].
[edit] Governing bodies
- Students: Student Congress
- Teachers: Faculty Senate
- Legislative: School Council
- District Wide: School Committee
- Class Officers
- Senior Class
- Junior Class
- Sophomore Class
- Freshman Class
[edit] Extracurricular activities
[edit] Sports
Wellesley has a strong athletic program, participating in the Bay State Conference and consistently sending various sports teams to the Eastern Massachusetts playoffs. In 2005-2006, the Wellesley Varsity girls ice hockey team won the state championship. The Boys lacrosse team made it to three straight state finals between 2004 and 2006, managing to capture the title of state champions in 2006. The Girls and Boys teams have won many Bay State Conference All Sports awards, with the boys teams winning the award for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons, and the girls winning the award for each school year from 2000 to 2006.
[edit] Wellesley Raiders
The Wellesley Football Team was formally known as the Red Raiders, but was changed to simply the Raiders (Pirates) in the 1990s due the name's racial insensitivity.[citation needed] The 2006 football team finished with a record of 6-5.
The school continues to participate in the oldest high school football rivalry in the nation between Wellesley and Needham.[2] The game is played every Thanksgiving and began its tradition in 1882. In the most recent game, the Raiders won by a score of 14-6. Wellesley also leads the all time series against the Needham Rockets.
[edit] Performing arts
- Band
- 1 o'Clock Jazz Band
- 2 o'Clock Jazz Band - The 2 o'clock Jazz Band is one of the best high school jazz bands in the region and in 2006 was a finalist at the Essentially Ellington Jazz Band Competition and Festival in New York City for the second year in a row.[citation needed]
- Concert Band
- Wind Ensemble
- Orchestra (strings)
- Drama Program - In 2006, Wellesley's drama program self-scripted a show through improvisation which was entered in the Massachusetts State Drama Festival. This show, "Der Waffle Haus, Ergo Leggo My Ego", went on to win first place and represent Massachusetts in the New England Drama Festival.[citation needed]
- Technical Theatre - "Sound & Light Crew"
- Choral Program
- Brooks Brothers
- Song Sisters
- Concert Choir
- A Cappella- The Wellesley High School A Capella group is an auditionsonly choir and is host to Acastock, an A Cappella festival featuring many college and some high school A Cappella groups.
- Rice Street Singers- The Rice Street Singers is an audition-only jazz choir who won a gold medal and ranked first place in the UNH Jazz Festival in 2005-6. [citation needed]
[edit] Departments and programs
[edit] Foreign languages
The Foreign Language program at Wellesley High School regularly engage in exchange programs with students of Spanish, French, and German speaking countries. The German program was involved in an exchange with Students from Munich, Germany in the 2005-6 school year. Twenty-eight students and two teachers visited Wellesley High School from October 21 to November 12, 2005. Wellesley students returned the visit in the spring of 2006. The Spanish program welcomed students from Chile in the fall of 2006 and WHS students returned the visit that winter. The school also offers classes in Latin.
[edit] Social studies
The social studies department offers several elective majors, available for junior and senior students. These include Russian History, Theory of Knowledge, East Asian History, Economic Theory, Political Science, and Sociology. The department offers two advanced placement courses: AP Psychology and AP United States History.
In 2005, one of the best-known teachers in the school, Jon Hamilton, retired after decades of teaching. He was the speaker for the class of 2005's graduation and remains as the head coach of the varsity golf team. [citation needed]
[edit] Mathematics
Standard mathematics classes are offered through AP Calculus BC, and there is also a separate Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP) track through junior year.
[edit] Art
Along with elective courses leveled by ability in jewelry making, ceramics, film-making, photography, digital art, and newly-added scrapbooking, the school offers a five-credit honors course for serious artists called "Drawing and Painting Intensive". The course is taught by artist and teacher Dr. Robert Callahan, and, in addition to assigning weekly homework assignments, is counted towards students' GPA.
[edit] Partnership with Wellesley College
Students at WHS may take classes at Wellesley College without paying tuition, barring that the classes at Wellesley College are not offered at WHS. Students typically take advantage of this opportunity for math and language classes.
[edit] METCO Program
Wellesley is a member of the METCO Program, which allows for inner-city Boston students to attend the high school.
[edit] Technology Education (Tech-Ed)
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Along with many other elective classes, Wellesley offers students a unique hands on approach to learning. The automotive shop provides students with an automotive lift and a three bay garage, enabling students to work on cars by dissecting and learning the inner workings of small engines along with larger four cycle engines. The wood shop allows students to express their creativity along with learning life long skills to build and repair wooden objects ranging from building furniture to framing the walls of a house.
The back of the automotive shop also houses the design and technology program, an architectural and drafting program. This lab is equipped with 16 computers and a 36 inch drafting plotter (drafting printer) fully networked and loaded with Chief Architect 9.5 and Punch Professional 4000, both programs used by professional architecture firms. Ken Bertrand, the teacher of all three of subjects, has done away with the "old-school" lecturing of the subjects and engages students to learn by encouraging curiosity, setting a higher standard of learning and the desire to learn.
Currently, these programs have over 165 students enrolled and are continually increasing. Dr. Matt King, superintendent of Wellesley Public Schools, pushed towards closing the shops in 2005 in hopes to create more classrooms for regular school curriculum. However, his efforts failed after hearing an almost unanimous uproar from the community; they were outraged that students who struggled learning by textbook and lecture - as well as those who enjoyed the shops as a creative outlet - be denied the ability to learn hands-on concepts to prepare them for hands-on jobs in life, such as automotive mechanics, craftsmen, tradesmen, and architects. Although Matt King heard the voice of the community opposing to the closing of the shops, he continued his pursuit to try to create more preparatory classrooms, and is currently struggling with the community in his last year as superintendent. [citation needed]
[edit] Notable alumni and teachers
- American poet Sylvia Plath, former Wellesley resident, remains an influence on the town and school. Ms. Plath attempted suicide while living on Elmwood Road, a story which she retold in her acclaimed work, The Bell Jar.
- Wellesley High School graduate Jane Curtin went on to join the original cast of Saturday Night Live.
- Richard Preston, a 1978 graduate, wrote the best seller, The Hot Zone, later the basis of the movie Outbreak.
- Duncan M. Rogers, a 1982 graduate, is an actor and award winning filmmaker.
- Billy Squier, a 1968 graduate, became a sell-out rock star during the late seventies and early eighties. He has since faded from the pop charts.
- Craig Mustard, an English teacher currently at WHS, also works as a Boston Red Sox commentator on WEEI 850 sports radio for the weekend show, "Mustard and Johnson".
- David McCullough, Jr., another English teacher currently at WHS, is the son of the renowned historian David McCullough.
- Jess Hatch, a teacher of business at WHS, is the son of Senator Orrin Hatch.
- Jay Harrington, a 1988 graduate, is an actor in Los Angeles and was recently seen on Desperate Housewives.
[edit] Parking
School parking is rountinely an issue as the school employs two full time parking clerks to ticket illegally parked cars and maintain civility in the parking lot. Back in the 1960s and early 1970s, there were always plenty of free spaces because very few students drove cars to school. Today, however, many students have cars, and few are willing to walk to school. In response to this, the school gives the spaces to seniors and rations out the remaining spaces using a lottery system.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Wellesley High School Profile
- ^ Paine, Thomas M., New England Milestones, Sport, Innovation Odyssey
