| Bexley High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 326 South Cassingham Road Bexley, Ohio, (Franklin County), 43209 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public, Coeducational high school |
| Superintendent | Michael Johnson[1] |
| Principal | Harley Williams |
| Teaching staff | 57 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Color(s) | Royal Blue and White [1] |
| Athletics conference | Mid-State League[1] |
| Team name | Lions[1] |
| Accreditation(s) | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [2] |
| Newspaper | The Torch |
| Yearbook | Bexleo |
| Music Dpt. Chair | Amy Blosser |
| History Dpt. Chair | Brian Verde |
| Science Dpt. Chair | Jack Minot |
| English Dpt. Chair | Jeff Smallwood |
| Athletic Director | Molly Feesler[1] |
| Website | www.bexleyschools.org |
Bexley High School is a public high school located in Bexley, Ohio, an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It is in the Bexley City School District. In school year 2008-2009, BHS earned the second highest Performance Index score of any public high school in the state of Ohio. The graduation rate for the 2009-10 school year was 99.5%. Its principal is Harley Williams.
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In school year 2008-2009, BHS earned the second highest Performance Index (PI) score of any public high school in the state of Ohio. In school year 2009-2010, BHS earned the 11th best PI score of any grade 9-12 high school in the state as well as the 3rd best average ACT score of any high school in the state. The Bexley City School District is one of the top 5% in the nation based on test scores.[3]
Bexley runs a comprehensive athletics program, including teams in the following areas: Basketball, Baseball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Volleyball and Wrestling. Bexley purchased artificial grass instead of regular grass for athletes to perform on in the winter of 2003. Teams have won Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships[4] in:
Molly Feesler is the Athletic Director at Bexley City Schools following the resignation of John Morgan (who had been director since 2002). Mr. Morgan has taken the assistant principal position at Central Crossing High School. Ms. Feesler comes to Bexley with 20+ years of experience as a teacher, coach and administrator. Ms. Feesler holds a Master of Education from Ohio University and Educational Administration Licensure from Ashland University in Columbus. She has taught Mathematics in the Pickerington Local School District since 2000. Prior to her service in Pickerington, Ms. Feesler was Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus. DeSales won six state championships during her five year tenure as Athletic Director.
In 2007, the Bexley Lions football hired John Smith, former Head Coach at Springfield High School (New Middletown, Ohio which is in northeastern Ohio near Youngstown). Heading into his fifth year of coaching the lions John Smith has gone 17-24 (.415) including Bexley's first playoff game in school history on November 1, 2008.
After another disappointing season in 2009, it is clear that Bexley Volleyball is not where it wants to be. After setting a school record for wins in the 2007 season, going 25-2, Bexley has not had any successful seasons since. Reasons for this include poor team chemistry and mourning the loss of their hugely successful 2007 senior and junior class.
Both the Men's and Women's soccer programs are outstanding, and are widely known around the state and region. Between the men and the women they have combined for 12 State Final Fours since 1999.
The Men's team has won two state championships in its history (2003 and 2005) and have had multiple Final Four and Regional Final finishes. They have also had a flurry of All District, All State, and All Americans recipients. The Men's program won their league championship for 15 straight seasons, until the streak was snapped in 2008. The team is currently coached by former Bexley player and OWU graduate Greg Kullman.
The Women have been one of the most consistent teams, regardless of sport (in the state) since coach Scott Dempsey took over. They were state finalists in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006,State Runner-Ups in 1999, and State Champions in 2009 (although they were defeated in the championship game, the opposing team was playing with an ineligible player, forcing them to forfeit the championship). The Women have also had multiple All District, All State, and All American recipients.
Bexley's most hated opponent is the Columbus Academy Vikings. This rivlary stems from Columbus Academy being just eight miles from Bexley High School before Academy's move to Gahanna,Ohio. Other rivals of Bexley include the Licking Valley Panthers, the Bishop Hartley Hawks, the Whitehall Yearling High School Rams and the St. Charles Cardinals.
The Choral program at Bexley High School has been extremely successful for the past decade. The Choral department is broken up into 5 separate choirs. Each choir has a distinct difference from the next, and each focus on different things. All five choirs are directed by Amy Blosser and accompanied on the piano by Casey Cook-Westfall.
Men's and Women's glee are the "entry" choirs of the five. These two choirs focus on basic music theory and sight-reading of short, simple pieces of music. Another focus of Men and Women's Glee is tone quality, as in earlier choirs this was not stressed and in cases, not mentioned at all. The members of the two Glee choirs are mostly first year freshman, unless an older student is trying out choir for the first time. Also, rare exceptions have been made where participants are "held back" in Men's or Women's Glee as they are not ready to progress.
The Symphonic Choir is considered to be the only mid-level choir of the five. (Men's and Women's glee being the lowest, and Women's Chorale and Vocal Ensemble being the elite.) The main focus while in Symphonic Choir is leaving the lower level music and progressing to tougher music to sight-read. Symphonic Choir is usually the student's first opportunity to be in a mixed choir, and the learning curve of this task is also stressed. The majority of Symphonic members are second year choral members, with exceptions of first year members who are either selected because of a schedule conflict, or the feeling by the director that they are too talented to begin in Men's or Women's Glee.
An all women's choir, Women's Chorale is the first of the two elite choirs in Bexley High School. There are students who participate in both the Vocal Ensemble, and Women's Chorale. This is usually very rare, with only three students attempting this in the 2009-2010 school year. Women's Chorale has performed very well recently at the OMEA District and State competitions in the A category, most recently receiving a "Superior" rating, the highest rating. Members of Women's Chorale tend to either be third year students just coming out of the Symphonic Choir, second year members who performed very well in Women's Glee, and a few fourth-year members.
The most prestigious choir in the Bexley High School choral program, it is the goal of most members of the choral program to make it into the Vocal Ensemble. Vocal Ensemble performs in the SSAATTBB (Two Soprano, two Alto, two Tenor, and two Bass sections) format. The Vocal Ensemble has been dominant in the recent years in the OMEA competitions since Amy Blosser became the choral director. Competing in the AA category, the highest category, they have received a "Superior" rating (the highest rating possible) the last 5 years at the competitions. Members of The Vocal Ensemble are well known for their dedication to the choir, as most of the members also participate in the Autumn play and the Spring musical. Every year the choir travels on tour to either a place in the country, or as in every three years, they tour overseas. The 2007 tour was to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 2008 tour was to Chicago, Illinois, and their 2010 tour is to New York City to sing in the legendary Carnegie Hall. In their overseas tour in the summer of 2006, the choir traveled to various nations in Europe. The Vocal Ensemble is not unlike a high school varsity football team in that, after every year they lose a significant amount of members because of graduation. The Men's section of the group has lost a significant amount of their members after the 2006-2007 school year as only one member of both Bass sections remains. Because of this, a large amount of men who were either first or second year members in the 2006-2007 year were accepted as members of The Vocal Ensemble for the upcoming year. Despite these losses, the 2007-2008 Vocal Ensemble still posted unanimous "Superior" ratings at the 2008 state competition. Members of the Vocal Ensemble can range from a second year member who was outstanding in their first year, to third and fourth year choral members. The 2008-2009 Vocal Ensemble toured across Europe in Vienna, Austria, where they sang in the famous St. Stephen's Cathedral, Budapest, Hungary, and Krakow, Poland. The posting of the members of Vocal Ensemble for the upcoming year is very anticipated by most choir members, and has the possibility of being the highlight of a student's high school career.
This extracurricular group is made up of men from the Vocal Ensemble and Symphonic Choir. They sing at school functions and some community events as well. They rehearse at the school on weekends and do not receive high school academic credit for participation in the group.
From 1979 to 2007, Jeffrey Schneider was the long-term director of bands at Bexley High School. Following his retirement, the Bexley High School Band is currently under the direction of Andrew Johnson with Assistant Director William Yale Manchester.
High School Band consists of three separate fields of study starting with the Marching Band during the football season. Students will learn to play various styles of music including rock, pop, funk, and blues while learning to march and play at the same time. Marching Band is a Co-Curricular Board of Education supported class, which follows district policies and students receive a grade for the class. The marching band is also featured in Bexley's 4th of July Parade and Veteran's Day Parade in Downtown Columbus. The band has also performed in Orlando, FL for the Disney Parade.
Concert Band begins at the conclusion of the football season. Students will learn to play various styles of music and instruments that are not available for Marching Band. Concerts are graded performances, including OMEA Contests, and opportunities for OMEA Solo and Ensemble. The Concert Band is a Co-Curricular, Board of Education supported class where students receive a grade and credit for participation. Students must have participated in the Marching Season or have special permission from the Director to be eligible for participation in the Concert Band.
Pep Band is a rewarding, low stress opportunity to perform for Men's and Women's home Varsity Basketball games. Students will perform various styles of music including rock, pop, funk, and jazz. Pep Band is considered an extension of the Concert Band where performances/attendance are graded. Grades will be based on percentages of participation as it has in previous years.
Jazz Band meets in the evenings on a volunteer basis. The Jazz Band performs in the evenings, usually on the same evenings as the Concert Band. Musicians will learn to play and listen to various jazz styles and performers. No experience is necessary to join the Jazz Band and most instruments are accepted in the Jazz Band.
Since 2003, Sandra Crandall has been the director of the Bexley High School Orchestra. Orchestra is split up into two classes: Concert Orchestra, which is the entry-level orchestra and Sinfonia Orchestra, which is the highest level performance group in the orchestra program at Bexley. During the summer, is Orchestra Camp (parallel to Band Camp, which occurs at the time) which has been in session since 1975.
The Bexley Concert Orchestra is a high school entry level group. This ensemble concentrates on building the necessary technical skills for an advanced performance level. The class meets daily and is assessed quarterly. Playing tests, class participation, class preparation, home practice and concert attendance are all assessment criteria. Membership is open to all high school students who play stringed instruments. Bexley Concert Orchestra members are encouraged to participate in OMEA solo and ensemble contest and participate in OMEA large group orchestra state contest as an ensemble. Attendance at all performances is required.
Bexley Sinfonia is the highest level performance group in the orchestra program. The ensemble performs complex and difficult orchestral literature. The class meets daily and is assessed quarterly. Playing tests, class participation, class preparation, home practice and concert attendance are all assessment criteria. Membership is selective and based upon student audition. Music selection will cover a wide variety of styles. Bexley Sinfonia members are encouraged to participate in OMEA solo and ensemble contest and perform at OMEA large group orchestra state contest. They are also members of the Bexley Full Orchestra. This class requires occasional rehearsals outside of the school day. Two unexcused absences from performances may result in dismissal from the group. Attendance at all performances is required.
To Alma Mater Bexley
To Thee our praise we bring
To thee whose hallowed halls we tread
Our toast to thee we sing
Tho' friends and hopes may fade away
Our blue and white will live forever
And as the season swiftly go,
Thy name and praise shall ring.
(written by Bexley resident Dr. Jules Duga)
Go Bexley Lions down the field
Bring honor to your name
And fight the battle for us all
It's ever onward in the game.
We'll back our team with rousing cheers.
Sound glories to the sky
And win or lose we'll always stay Loyal to Bexley High.
Onward Bexley, Onward Bexley, fight on for our fame
Send the ball right down the field, a touchdown every time. Rah! Rah! Rah!
Onward Bexley, Onward Bexley fight on for our fame.
Fight lions, fight and win this football game.