Briar Woods High School

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Briar Woods High School
Address
22525 Belmont Ridge Road
Ashburn, Virginia 20148
Information
School district Loudoun County Public Schools
Principal Edward Starzenski
Enrollment

1,101 (2007)

School type Public high school
Grades 9–12
Language English
Campus Suburban
Mascot Falcon
Color(s) Navy Blue and Orange
Founded 2005
Communities served Brambleton
Broadlands
Arcola
Rival School Freedom High School
Athletic Conference Dulles District
Region II
Homepage

Briar Woods High School is a public secondary school located in Ashburn, an unincorporated area in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, and is part of Loudoun County Public Schools. The school is located in the Brambleton community and also serves students who live in Broadlands and Arcola.

Contents

[edit] History

BWHS Main Entrance
BWHS Main Entrance

Briar Woods High School opened on August 29, 2005 with its student body coming from Stone Hill Middle School and Eagle Ridge Middle School. The first and current principal is Edward Starzenski who served as principal of Loudoun County High School from 1989 to 2004. The school was officially dedicated on October 14, 2005 at a ceremony presided over by school district superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III.[1] In 2006, Briar Woods celebrated its first Homecoming, despite the lack of a returning class.

[edit] Demographics

In 2006-2007 Briar Woods High School's student population was 67% White; 10% Black; 7% Hispanic; and 16% Asian.

[edit] Curriculum

See Main Discussion: Loudoun County Public Schools – Curriculum

[edit] Test scores

Briar Woods is a fully accredited high school by the Virginia Department of Education. Briar Woods High School recorded SAT results for the first time this year. Briar Woods’ scores included 506 in critical reading, 491 in math and 485 in writing. .

[edit] Yearly Traditions

Still being a new high school, Briar Woods has had to, and continues to, make new traditions. Some of these include Multicultural Night, the Kiss the Lobster contest, Fractured Fairytales, and painting the class rocks.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

[edit] Art

The Briar Woods Art Department, in cooperation with the Art Club, has created numerous murals inside the school building. In 2008, the Art classes had their first trip to New York.

[edit] Athletics

Briar Woods is a member of the AA Dulles District and Region II.The golf team won the Dulles District tournament in the fall of 2006 before eventually losing to Western Albemarle at the Region II Championship. In 2007, the same team won the AA Dulles District and the Region II tournament, earning them the school's first state bid. At states, they finished seventh out of eight. The Spring 2007 tennis team also won the district championship and advanced to the Region II championship, where they were defeated by Western Albemarle.

After playing a junior varsity schedule the year the school opened, the football team posted a 6-4 record as an independent team in 2006, marking the best first year varsity record in Loudoun County history.[citation needed]

In 2007, the Briar Woods Falcons got a record breaking score of 7-3 for a 3rd year varsity football program in the district. This 2007 Falcon football team was the first to take the Falcons to the regional Football playoffs.

[edit] Drama

Briar Woods High School’s department’s production company is the Black Forest Productions. Productions have included The Music Man. The Wizard of Oz, Dracula, "Fractured Fairy Tales", Crazy For You, and the International Thespian Society production of Jekyll and Hyde.[citation needed]

[edit] Music

Briar Woods has four bands: the Symphonic-Winds Band, the Symphonic Band, the Falcon Regiment Marching Band, and a Jazz Band. The Briar Woods band has had the honor of performing at Carnege Hall. Other music groups include the 3 guitar classes, the Briar Woods chorus, the Falcon Singers (advanced, mixed choir), and the Bel Canto Women (select women's choir)as well as an all strings orchestra conducted by Hector Zavala.

[edit] Student Council

The Briar Woods High School SCA (Student Council Association) is a member of the VSCA (Virginia Student Councils Association) and the NASC (National Association of Student Councils).

[edit] Clubs

Briar Woods High School has many active clubs and organizations including commonalities such as the NHS, DECA, FBLA, and Key Club. The school also has an It's Academic group, cultural societies including Spanish, German, French, and Latin, and special interest activities: Art, Drama, International Thespian Society, Forensics, Literary Magazine, International Thespian Society, Drama Club, Book Club, Philosophy, Bible, VFEA (Virginia Future Educators Association), Science and Math, International, PEER, Dance Team (B-Woods Dance Company), Anime Club, and Library Teen Assistants' Organization.

[edit] Philosophy Club

The purpose of the Philosophy Club is to explore Eastern and Western philosophies and to gain a broad appreciation for the subject. At each meeting, members select topics for debate. They can range from discussions about religion, science, political science, and social theories to contemplating the mysteries of the living world.

[edit] Library Teen Assistants' Organization

More commonly known as the Library Club, this group was founded in the 2007-2008 school year to provide willing students with an organized way of assisting in the Library. Some of the tasks members perform include reshelving books, organizing shelves, decorating for the seasons, and unpacking new books. And it is quite easy to see that someone in the library has taken the liberty to edit this site, deleting information about each activity and adding more info about activities that meet in the library.

[edit] Anime Club

Now in its third year, the Briar Woods Anime Club has devoured manga and anime by the boxful. They have watched most of Miyazaki's works and typically watch one full series of Anime episodes (not including movie nights) per year. Favorites include Princess Mononoke and Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children. Once a month the club holds an Anime Pizza Movie Night to watch full length movies. This takes place in the library on a projector screen. All meetings are timed to allow students to catch the activity bus home.

[edit] References

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ Briar Woods Dedicates Itself to the Future, Opportunities. Loudoun County Public Schools (2005-10-26). Retrieved on 2007-01-24.

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links