Winter Park High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Winter Park High School
Location
Winter Park, Florida, USA
Information
School district Orange County
Superintendent Ronald Blocker
Principal William R. Gordon II
Enrollment

3600
Faculty 169
Type Public magnet school/ Public High School
Mascot Willie the Wildcat
Color(s) Orange and black
Established 1927
Homepage http://www.wphs.ocps.net/

Winter Park High School is a school in Winter Park, Florida and one of seventeen public high schools in Orange County. Winter Park High School is a magnet school for the International Baccalaureate program.

Contents

[edit] History

Winter Park High School was constructed at 528 Huntington Avenue in 1923. It was one of the first high schools in Orange County, Florida. The school remained in this location until construction began in 1969 at the present location. Renovations at the main campus began in 2004 and are completed. The original campus remains in use to this day as the Winter Park High School Ninth Grade Center, a campus exclusively used by ninth-grade students.

[edit] Sports

[edit] Athletic teams (as of 2006)

[edit] School rankings

For the second year in a row, Winter Park High School was awarded a "B" rating for the 2006-2007 school year. "B" was the highest grade awarded for any Orange County high school. The Florida Department of Education gave the school a "B" rating in the 2005-2006 school year. Previously, the school had an "A" rating in 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005.

[edit] Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps

The Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps unit at Winter Park High School is the largest campus organization with over 200 members actively participating. The unit has been honored as an Area Seven distinguished unit for all but one of its thirteen years in existence. The unit's competition teams consistently are state finalists.

[edit] Naval Science Instructors

Commander David Haynes, U.S. Navy (Retired)

Senior Chief Petty Officer Joel Matthias, U.S. Navy (Retired)

[edit] Model United Nations Club

Secretary-General Casey M.

The Winter Park High School Model United Nations club is a forum for debate on various international issues. Delegates from WPHSMUN participated in KnightMUN (a conference hosted by the University of Central Florida) and FHSMUN conferences in the 2007-2008 school year; at FHSMUN, the club received five individual and two delegation awards.

[edit] Performing Arts

Winter Park High School has a notable Performing Arts program. It was named a 2004-2007 Music Demonstration School by the Florida Department of Education. The Band, Orchestra, and Choral programs consistently receive "Superior" ratings at State Performance Assessments and all three are recognized nationally as top rated public high school performing arts programs. The Performing Arts Department Chair is Director of Bands, Mr. Joel Moody.

[edit] Drama

Director Kit Haskett

Student President Lor B.

The Winter Park High School Drama department is directed by Christopher Haskett. Many students participate, often crossing over from the other performing arts disciplines. The three most recent plays, M*A*S*H, To Kill A Mockingbird and It's A Wonderful Life were all enormous successes.[citation needed] In addition to school wide plays, students enroll in daytime drama classes where they learn the essentials of acting and of stagecraft. Many students excelled at their District performances this year, earning the superior ratings necessary to move on to state.

[edit] Orchestra

Director Laurie Bitters

Student President Zena P.

The various ensembles in the orchestra program have a long history of superior ratings at both State and District Music Performance Assessments sponsored by the Florida Orchestra Association. The program consists of four orchestras: Concert Orchestra, which is a ninth grade orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, which is open to all 10-12 grade students, Winter Park Philharmonic ("Park Phil"), which is available to 9-12 grade students by audition, and Lyric Strings, which is available to 10-12 grade students by audition. Freshmen who are selected to be in the Park Philharmonic must take another music class, usually the Concert orchestra but a band or chorus class in some cases. Under the previous direction of Charles Laux, the Winter Park Philharmonic was selected to perform at the 60th Annual Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago in December 2006.

[edit] Chorus

Directors Matthew Swope & Sherlee Huang

Student President Danielle S.

The Choral Department at Winter Park High School comprises six choirs and various ensembles. The non-auditioned choirs are the Freshman Women’s Chorus, the Wildcat Men’s Ensemble, and Cantabile. There are three advanced level choirs in the Choral Department: Park Singers, Belle Chanson, and Concert Choir. The Winter Park Chorus Department has performed at Disney Epcot's Candlelight Processional, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and many community and school events. Its students have participated in the American Choral Director Association's Honor Choir, the Florida All-State SSAA, SATB, and Sight-reading choirs, and Orange County Public Schools honor choirs.

[edit] Band

Directors Joel Moody & Sean Wahrmund

Student President Grant L.

The Band Program serves 165 students and consists of six performing ensembles: The Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Color Guard, and the "Sound of the Wildcats" Marching Band. The Marching Band has had performances across the country including the 2005 Autozone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee; the 2002 Blue Cross/Blue Shield Fiesta Bowl Marching Band Championship and Parade in Phoenix, Arizona; and the 2000 Sylvania Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. The band has recently been invited to participate in the Fiesta Bowl in 2009. In addition, The "Sound of the Wildcats" holds the distinction of being one of the few high school bands in the country to have an original school fight song (most bands borrow college fight songs).[citation needed]

The Wind Ensemble has recently performed at the 2002 Bands of America National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana; was the feature ensemble at the "President's Concert" of the Florida Music Educator's Association Conference in Tampa in 2007; and performed at the prestigious 60th Annual Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to ensemble activities, individual musical achievement is stressed within the membership of the band program. A vast majority of the students study privately and participate in solo and ensemble assessments at the district and state levels. Students also participate in the All-State and All-County bands and various Honor Bands throughout the year.

[edit] Ninth Grade Center

Built in 1923 in Mediterranean Revival style at a cost of $137,000, the Winter Park High School Ninth Grade Center originally measured only 10 acres. Over time, the school began to grow, and before long, it became overcrowded. In 1969, a second campus was constructed less than three miles away, and the Ninth Grade Center became a secondary campus, used only for ninth grade students. Now the freshman campus, with about 1,020 students, is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Freshman students wishing to participate in extracurricular activities (band, orchestra, sports, etc.) or classes not offered at the Ninth Grade Center can take a bus before their last class or after school to the main campus. The Ninth Grade Center's schedule is offset ten minutes earlier to accommodate the bus ride. The campus offers a wide array of courses and prepares students for an excellent Winter Park High experience.

[edit] References in Popular Magazines

In 2008, Winter Park High School was listed at 160 in Newsweek's 1,200 Top U.S. Schools, with the criteria being which schools have the largest percentage of students taking Honors AP or IB exams.

[edit] External links