| Manheim Township High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| School Road Lancaster, PA, Lancaster County, 17606 USA |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| School district | Manheim Township School District |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Color(s) | Blue & White |
| Mascot | Blue Streak & Sir Streaksalot the Lion |
| Rival | Hempfield High School |
| Information | (717) 560-3097 |
| Website | http://www.mtwp.net |
Manheim Township High School is a four-year public high school located in Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Manheim Township School District. The school is known for its Quiz Bowl team, which won a national championship in 2000 and for its performing arts group which is locally praised for its high quality productions. In 2008, Manheim Township High School was named one of the Top 505 High Schools in the nation by US World and News Report. Its CEEB Code for SAT registration and college applications is 392865.
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The school was originally built in the 1950s with an addition in 1978. Renovations have been done, as of December 2008.
In 2006 a controversial construction project commenced, extending the newer air-conditioned 1978 side of the building. The project includes a new classroom wing, new gymnasium, fields between the new classroom wing and gymnasium, a new data room, industrial art shops, a cafeteria addition and renovation, the demolition of the wrestling and industrial art shops, a renovation of the majority of the 1978 building, library, and the fields near Oregon Road, an auditorium, the demolition and removal of the 1950s building, construction of a connecting link to replace the 1950s building, technology education and 2 existing gyms, and demolition of existing electric room, pool and locker rooms, shuffleboard hall, convocation hall, nursing and guidance areas, music and stage support, partial tennis court demolition and modification, and Oregon and Valley Road improvements to occur during the summer months while school is in recess.
In 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Education awarded a grant to the High School to buy new technology. The grant was part of Governor Ed Rendell's Classrooms for the Future Program, a $20 million program, which was announced by the governor on September 20, 2006. As part of the grant, the school received several SMART Boards manufactured by Polyvision and Webster Software, as well as several hundred MacBook and Lenovo ThinkPad laptops.
In addition, the school has over 500 desktop and laptop workstations running Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Apple Inc Mac OS X. Every workstation running Windows XP Professional was manufactured by Dell. The school has purchased software such as the complete Macromedia Suite which includes Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX, and Flash MX, all version 6 and with also Adobe Creative Suite 3 software installed on the new MacBooks. In addition, the school has Microsoft Office 2003 installed on every workstation and Microsoft Office 2007 installed on the newer notebooks.
From 2000-2005, the school, in cooperation with the Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13, used Blackboard as a way for the school to interact with students and through the Internet, and to give courses online content. It was also the main method of coursework for the Virditional High School. However, due to the school's new budget, and because of high price demands, Blackboard was eventually removed. As a replacement, the school switched to Moodle as the main way for students to interact with their coursework online.
Starting with the 2005-2006 school year, the school now uses K12 Systems's Sapphire Suite as the primary gradebook and report card generation system. Previously, the school had used InteGrade Pro and EasyGrade Pro. However, the school wanted a way for children and parents to view their grades at home. This suite of software allows for online access of the students current grades through the Parent Portal, and allows teachers and faculty at-home access to their classes gradebooks.
The library uses Follett Software applications for the circulation and catalog.
The main program used for maintaining a database of student info is SASI.
The school is now switching over to OpenOffice.org, rather than Microsoft Office.
Manheim Township houses a strong music program. In April 2008, the school's band, orchestra, and chorus traveled to Boston to participate in the Heritage Festival. All three groups received awards for their performances. Combined, they received the Festival Sweepstakes Award for having the highest total score of all schools participating.
The school is most widely known for its soccer, football, cross country, and lacrosse programs. The boys soccer team was PA state runner up in 2006 and also won 4 straight District III championships during the mid 2000's. On the football field, Township boasts 2007 graduate Pat Bostick. Bostick, who set numerous PA state HS passing records, started at quarterback as a freshman for much of the University of Pittsburgh's 2007 football season. Nick Sizemore, fullback and linebacker, is another recent standout of the Football program. Sizemore currently plays for the University of Kansas. Township's cross country programs, male and female, have both won numerous District III titles (most recently in 2005 and 2006). The Boys were state runner-ups in 1974, 1999, and 2005. Included among the many Division I athletes to come out of the XC program are NCAA All-Americans Brad and Craig Miller.
Township's boys lacrosse program is the standard of lacrosse excellence in central Pennsylvania. During the era of Coach Rich Lefever (2000-2010), the team won 4 LL league titles (2004,2006,2007,2008) and 4 consecutive District III lacrosse championships (2006,2007,2008,2009). Township Lacrosse made it to at least the semi-finals of the PA state lacrosse championship each year from 2006-2010. In 2007, senior attackman Tim Stratton set a national record for most points scored in a high school career. During the 2000's, Township Lacrosse produced 85 All League players, 38 All District players, and 12 District player of the years/ MVPs. In the past decade, 10 Township lacrosse players have been named High School All Americans, while 3 have been selected as High School Academic All Americans. During Lefever's time as coach, 26 Township Lacrosse players went on to play at the NCAA level. Notable alum currently playing NCAA D1 lacrosse include Tim Stratton (Towson), Chris Zielinski (Colgate), Austin Schultz (Bucknell), and Dan Wertz (Ohio State). In the fall of 2010, Rich Lefever was let go by the school as a coach. He is now the Offensive Coordinator at York College. The team is currently coached by UMBC graduate and Major League Lacrosse (Chesapeake Bayhawks) player Kyle Wimer.
Township's girls' lacrosse team has also made recent strides to become one of the most dominant teams in central Pennsylvania. Since becoming an officially recognized PIAA team in 2005, the Lady Blue Streaks have won 2 Lancaster-Lebanon League titles (2007, 2010). Because lacrosse is a relatively new sport to the Central PA area, there have only been two District III Championships, and the Township girls' team has won both of these in 2009 and 2010. The Lady Blue Streaks have advanced the PIAA State Semifinals for two consecutive years, 2009 and 2010. In 2010, Township's only blemish on an otherwise perfect season record (23-1) came at the hands of Springfield Delco in the state semifinals. Springfield Delco went on to lose to favorite Radnor in the state final.
With longtime coach Lisa Lyons stepping down at the conclusion of the 2010 season, new head coach Mark Pinkerton looks to take this program to the next level and perhaps compete for a state championship.
Manheim Township High School has one main high school rival, Hempfield High School.
| Preceded by James Island High School |
National Academic Championship champion 2000 |
Succeeded by Irmo High School |