Weymouth High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (September 2006) |
| Established | 1969 |
|---|---|
| Type | High School |
| Principal | Marilyn Slattery |
| Students | 2112 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA |
| Colors | Maroon and Gold |
| Mascot | Wildcat |
| Newspaper | The Wild Cat |
| Website | Weymouth High School |
Weymouth High School (WHS) is a comprehensive public high school located in Weymouth, Massachusetts that serves students in grades nine through twelve. Weymouth High School also offers a Career and Technical Education Program. The courses offered in the CTE Program are: Aesthetics, Allied Health, Architectural Design, Automotive Technology, Early Childhood Education, Information Technology, Construction Technology, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, Graphic Communications and Sheet Metal.
Mission statement: The Weymouth High School Community is committed to providing a safe, supportive and respectful learning environment where all students are encouraged to work toward their potential in becoming responsible, life-long learners and productive citizens in a global society.
Contents |
[edit] About The Building
There are some terms that pertain to Weymouth High that one should know.
- The Maroon House (also known as The "Maroon Building" or "Old Building", as it was first constructed before the expansion). This half of the school contains the English, History and Art / Music wings, as well as the gymnasium(which has one of two weight rooms), the auditorium and the Maroon Cafeteria.This building also includes "the dungeon", a weight room that is in a remote part of the school. Recently added was a trophy case to display awards teams in the school have obtained.
- The Physical Education department has 4 full time members. 9th and 10th grade students are required to take .4 credits each year. 11th and 12th grade students must pass .2 each year as a graduation requirement.
- The Gold House; this addition resides on where South Intermediate School's track once was. It houses the Mathematics, Science, Vocational, and Foreign Language wings, as well as the Planetarium, the Library Media Center and the Gold Cafeteria. this also has a cardio room, a bakery, a bank, a restaurant, and a salon.
- The connector, as it is called informally, which is one of two long, wide corridors that connect the two Houses. It leads from south of the gym in the Maroon House to the intersection of the Math and Science wings. This connector joins the 2000 level of the gold builing with the 100 level of the maroon.
- The north connector (also called simply the "new connector"), is the second corridor that acts as the passage from the English wing to the Science wing.
[edit] Athletics
During the 2006–2007 school year, Weymouth High School enjoyed much athletic success. The football team went a surprising 9-3, winning the Bay State Carey Division, and making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
In the winter, the Boys Hockey team enjoyed even more success, becoming an underdog public school that made it to the state's coveted Super Eight championship, which determines the state champion. They surprised many people by going 3-0-0 in Round Robin play and advancing deep into the playoff rounds. After beating off four Catholic schools (Malden Catholic, Catholic Memorial, Central Catholic, and Austin Prep), the Boston Globe notoriously labeled Weymouth as a "Public Nuisance," both for the noise they made on the ice and the rowdiness of their fans. In the championship game against BC High, Weymouth suffered a crushing defeat, losing 6-1.
Led by a strong senior class of 2007, the school saw many teams play well, including Boys and Girls Crosscountry, Boys and Girls Soccer, Wrestling, Boys Basketball, Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Lacrosse, and Winter and Spring Boys and Girls Track.
Weymouth wrestling won their most recent state title in 2001. Weymouth football was once considered a national powerhouse with a storied past including 1 national title and 11 state titles.
In 2006, Weymouth captured their first ever NESBA and USSBA Massachusetts marching band championships, including winning the high music and percussion captions, with their show titled "Bernstein!"
In January 2007 Boy's Basketball player Tommy Deegan reached his 1,000th point, becoming the first player in Weymouth to do so since the expansion. Weymouth basketball will never be the same without the class of 08. Also in the 2007 sports season, Junior of the time, Michael Cristoferi set the High Schools 300m hurdles Record, making him the fastest hurlder to pass through Weymouth High School.
[edit] Schedule Structure
In a full-length school day at WHS is broken up into 5 50 minute blocks and one 90 minute "power" or floating block. The blocks, labeled A through G, follow a modified drop and rotate pattern allowing all students, both Career and Technical and standard path, to access classes. There are 6 days in the full schedule, each with a unique order of classes. Vocational students in WHS have much different schedules. The blocks remain floating but students remain in their voc. classes for periods at a time.
[edit] History
Originally, Weymouth High served as the junior high school in Weymouth, serving the students from 8th and 9th grade. It only consisted of the Maroon House (not called that at the time). Because of the upcoming expansion in 2002, (see below), this school was extended into 7th to 9th as South Intermediate School was demolished. Actually prior to WHS becoming a junior high school it was Weymouth South High School and the high school in the North end of town was Weymouth North High School.
[edit] Expansion
In 2002, it was decided that Weymouth High was too small to contain its current students and upcoming student classes. The school board wrote up a plan for an addition that would roughly double the size of the school. This added on a new cafeteria and a new football field. It would also turned the old library into what is now known as the Humanities Center. To make room for all of this, the nearby South Intermediate School was demolished and the old track and field area destroyed.
This expansion cost the school approximately USD$22 million[1], and took about two years to complete.
[edit] Graduation
Weymouth High requires passing the MCAS and a minimum of 20 credits to graduate. A credit is rewarded each time a class is passed with an average letter grade of D- or higher, or at least 60%. The amount of credits is dependent on how often the class is taken. For example, a Calculus course that meets every day for the year will reward the student with 1 credit if that student passes. In classes that do not meet every day or that are only a semester long, such as Psychology, which is only for half the year, will receive reduced credits. In this case, Psychology meets every day in a 6-day cycle for either the first two or last two quarters of the term, so the passing student would receive .5 credits.
For the past 6 years Weymouth has received Academic Support Grant money to tutor students who have failed the Math and/or English MCAS exam. We have small numbers that need support for the retests. A six week program is run for these students immediately prior to the exams. The students generally come from studies to tutoring. The student to teacher ratio is often 1:1 or 1:2. This individualized approach has been very successfull.
The minimum amount of courses that one must take are as follows (note that these all must be taken from 9th to 12th grade):[2]
- 4 credits of History courses (US History II required)
- 4 credits of English courses (English 9, 10, 11 & senior electives required)
- 3 credits of Mathematics courses (Mathematics course in grade 10 required)
- 3 credits of Science courses (Biology course required to be taken in grade 9 or 10)
- 1.5 credits of Unified Arts
- 1.2 credits of Physical Education (CTE students are required to take .4 credits)
- 0.3 credits of Health Education
[edit] Science Department
The Weymouth High School Science Department's 20 members are currently housed in the new Gold Building Science Wing. Designed to meet current state safety regulations, the new laboratories are outfitted specifically for the needs of the subject taught within. Currently, the department offers courses in Anatomy-Physiology, Astronomy-Geology, Biochemistry, Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Integrated Science, Physics, and Science of Sports. Many courses are available at the academic, college prep, and honors. Biology and Physics can be taken as AP classes.
[edit] Alumni Association
The Weymouth High Schools' Alumni Association is an independent, open-membership organization which was created and is operated by persons who have graduated from a Weymouth public high school during the period, 1900 to the present. Membership is open to all graduates of Weymouth High School, Weymouth North High School, Weymouth South High School, Weymouth Vocational-Technical High School, Weymouth Evening High School and Weymouth High School/Vocational Technical High School.
[edit] Construction Technologies
The construction technology department is the gateway to one of the highest paid, in demand, occupations in the United States today. Entering students get an comprehensive introduction to hand and power tools. Safety is the most important aspect of the initial curriculum. The student will then progress to construction techniques and eventually residential house construction and re-modeling. Off site projects are common in the third and fourth year of study. The fourth year students are encouraged to obtain co-operative work placements. Post secondary articulation agreements are in place and all construction technology students are directed whenever possible to study and work for years thirteen and fourteen. These students are expected to understand how to profit from their skills as well as the ability to be good carpenters. Business classes make a fine addition to all of the students four year course of study.
[edit] Allied Health
The Allied Health Department is in it's 4th year of existance at WHS and is going strong. It is a 4 year sequence that leads students into entry level positions within the medical field. Upon graduation, students are certified by the American Heart Association in CPR, 1st Aide, and AED, they are also certified by the American Red Cross as a Nurse Aide, and certified by the National Healthcare Association in EKG and Phlebotomy. The Allied Health Department works in conjunction with Weymouth Healthcare Center, South Shore Hospital, Brockton Hospital, Children's Hospital Boston, and Brigham & Women's Hospital Boston to give students into a glimpse into every aspect in healthcare. WHS Allied Health also has an articulation agreement with Quincy College Nursing & Allied Health division. For more information visit our website or contact 781-337-7500 ext. 2030 or the CTE program director.
[edit] Business and Technology
The curriculum of the Business and Technology Department is structured to give students the opportunity to explore and learn a variety of technology-based business skills necessary to meet their career goals, prepare for advanced study, and to become better consumers and investors. Students completing business technology courses develop computer and business skills currently used in today’s world. These courses serve as keystones for success in advanced courses at the college level, for building future career leadership ability through an understanding of the various fields of business, and for using technology to achieve personal goals.
[edit] Graphic Communications
Introduction This program teaches students about the Graphic Communications industry. Students learn the concepts of design using the latest graphic design technology. Students also learn about the printing process at the Print Shop at WHS, which is operated as a simulated small business that students participate in daily operations. Students gain valuable, employable technical skills while working on personal projects, real-live design jobs and printing production jobs all leading towards a final portfolio and PrintED® certification in Graphic Communications.
[edit] Physical Education
Athletic competition can be one of the most rewarding activities students will experience during their high school years. Honor, dedication, commitment, integrity, perseverance, interdependence, and self-reliance are several of the important life skills and virtues student athletes can strengthen by participating in the various sports programs available at school. Although academic and vocational achievement are the cornerstones of a valuable education, athletic involvement serves as a positive and healthy complement to the classroom experience - providing students with additional opportunities for physical and mental growth.
All of our WHS sport programs are team-oriented. With that, comes the responsibility of each participant to consider the needs of the team. Additionally, our student-athletes not only represent their team and their school, but more importantly, their community as well. As a result, by participating in the WHS athletic program, our students agree to maintain a high standard of respectful, positive, and healthy behavior - both on and off campus.
Facilities Students complete design work in our state-of-the-art Apple® computer lab employing the latest software, products, and technologies. The print shop at WHS is a modern full service facility with state-of-the-art graphics equipment from leading manufacturers such as Heidelberg, Challenge and AB Dick.
Career Opportunities • Graphic Designer • Marketing Specialist • Art Director • Pre-Press Technician • Page-Layout Artist • Materials Handler • Creative Director • Print Buyer • Production Manager • Press Operator • Production Artist
WHS Graphic Communiation Department also has an articulation agreement with Center for Digital Imaging @ Boston University. For more information visit our website or contact 781-337-7500 ext. 4773 or the CTE program director.
Family & Consumer Science
The goal for the Family and Consumer Science Program is to empower students to take charge of their lives, to maximize their potential, and to function independently and interdependently. The courses are designed to prepare Weymouth students to think critically as they solve family and consumer problems in their lives. By empowering the individual student with the knowledge of life management skills, we aim to provide students with the behavioral skills, knowledge and attitudes to become resilient, healthy, and productive members of the community.
