Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School

Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
Address
201 East Germantown Pike
Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, Montgomery Country, 19462
United States of America
Information
School type Public, 4 year
School district Colonial School District
Principal Heather Nuneviller
Grades 9-12
Gender Co-educational
Athletics PIAA
District 1
Athletics conference Suburban One League
Mascot The Patriot
Website School Website

Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School is a high school in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Colonial School District, with a current enrollment of approximately 1,600 students.

Contents

PWHS Principal

Heather Nuneviller took over for Dr. Monica Sullivan on 6/30/2010. Mrs. Nuneviller, from Lancaster, was previously the Principal at Manheim Township Middle School in Manheim Township, Pennsylvania. Nuneviller currently resides in Plymouth Meeting with her family.

Introduction

Plymouth-Whitemarsh is a public high school in the Philadelphia region, and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and offers more than 200 courses, including 24 Advanced Placement (AP) courses audited by the College Board and more than 30 honors level courses. A technical education program is available through the Central Montco Technical High School.

CITV

Established in 1988, Colonial Instructional Television (CITV) is the official television network of the Colonial School District. The director of CITV is John Quinn along with other station managers: Assistant Director is Kim Newell, the TV Sports Broadcasting/TV Production instructor Chris McWilliams, and the CITV Secretary Deborah Tornetta (also the PW cheerleader head coach). CITV produces numerous broadcasts which include such programs as board meetings, public advertisements, concerts, and Plymouth Whitemarsh sporting events, many of which are produced entirely by students.

Notable CITV Alumni include announcer Scott S.D. Weiss, PW class of 2011, who announced his 100th CITV Sports broadcast on 4/14/2011, and graduated in June 2011. He finished with 108 CITV sports broadcasts. CITV has also won numerous Telly Awards, and even awards at various Greenfield Youth Film Festivals. During a 2011 spring Temple University film festival, PW class of 2013 Richie Vose received two awards for screen writing. In addition, Scott Weiss' mentors Josh Hoffman and Lee Wexler- both class of 2008- announced several sporting event from 2007-2008.

Notable CITV broadcasts include the 2010 PIAA AAAA District 1 Boys Basketball championship at the Penn State University. For those who live in the Colonial School District area, CITV is broadcast on channel 28 on both Verizon Fios and Comcast.

Current education goals and programs

PWHS is in the third year of a comprehensive reform process designed to ensure that graduates are well prepared for college and careers in the 21st century. The goal of the initiative, known as Plymouth Whitemarsh Graduates, is "Prepared for Every Possibility" (PW PrEP). The initiative ensures that all PWHS students develop the analytical and problem-solving skills needed for success in college and career, with the recognition that the skills now needed for work, college and active informed citizenship are essentially the same.

Through a College and Career Counseling Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, new programs are in place to ensure students’ post-secondary success in today’s competitive global economy. Career pathways in high priority occupational areas guide students toward integrated groupings of courses across various departments. The College Board’s College Ed program has become the foundation of a career awareness advisory program in the freshman and sophomore years. Job shadowing and supervised internships in each of the career pathways make the junior and senior years more relevant in the years following schooling.

AVID

The Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program is another new option for some PWHS students. The Colonial School District is the first district in Pennsylvania to implement AVID: a highly structured college prep system that prepares students who have not previously succeeded in a college preparatory path for admission to four-year universities and colleges. AVID is for bright students who might be under-achieving, under-served in the college system or first generation college students.

“AVID is a high expectations and high supports program,” said PWHS Assistant Principal Dan Balek. “As the students move through their high school careers, they are mentored by the AVID teacher, are exposed to fundamental skills such as time management and organization, and higher-level skills such as Cornell Notes and effective questioning techniques to meet their individual needs as learners. The AVID program houses all the necessary components needed to prepare students for the rigors of post-secondary education.”

Role of technology

All classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards, digital projectors and document cameras. Polycom videoconferencing technology brings the world to PWHS students through activities such as a narrated autopsy and conversations with noted authors. The school’s wireless capacity enables students’ daily use of the 20 laptop carts available in social studies, science and English language arts classrooms. Other computer labs facilitate the study of world languages, technology enhanced math instruction, and a broad array of computer programming, computer application, and digital media courses such as 3D animation, advanced photography and digital imaging, and Web design and development.

The computer science department at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School has also been increasingly on the cutting edge of new technology with its installation of a Microsoft Surface as well as newly introduced classes for mobile application development.[1]

State-of-the-art classroom laboratories in the modern science wing are now home to new forensic science and engineering courses, and students are applying skills learned in their science and technology courses in national competitions such as Science Olympiad and FIRST Robotics.

Standardized test results

Advanced Placement Testing

In May 2007, 261 students participated in 383 AP examinations. Seventy-four percent earned a score of 3.0 or higher. Since 2004, the number of students taking college-level AP exams has risen significantly and the percentage of students scoring 3.0 or higher has increased 14 percent. The College Board recognized nearly four dozen PWHS students as AP Scholars for their exceptional achievement on the 2007 AP Exams. Two students qualified for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4.0 or higher (out of a 5.0 scale) on all AP exams taken and grades of 4.0 or higher on eight or more of these exams. Twelve students qualified for an AP Scholar with Distinction Award for earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3.0 or higher on five or more of the exams, with one of the two achieving a straight 5.0 on all ten exams taken. Seven students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3.0 or higher on four or more of the exams. Twenty-six students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with grades of 3.0 or higher.

SAT Reasoning Test

PWHS students also realized considerable increases on the 2007 SAT Reasoning Test. While national averages dropped across the board, PWHS students saw double-digit increases in their writing and critical reading scores and scored significantly higher than the state and national averages.

In 2007, SAT mean scores for the top 100 ranked PWHS students were 665 in math, 638 in critical reading and 645 in writing for a combined mean score of 1948. That is 119 points higher than in 2006.

The top 20 ranked students scored 140 points higher than their counterparts of the year before. In 2007, the top 20 averaged 730 in math, 720 in critical reading and 730 in writing for a total of 2180.

Pennsylvania System of Schools Assessment Testing

Students continue to improve on the Pennsylvania System of Schools Assessment (PSSA). In 2002, 54.3 percent of 11th-graders scored at the proficient or advanced levels in math. In 2007, 71 percent of PWHS juniors were advanced or proficient in math.

Notable alumni

Sports teams

Marching band

The Plymouth Whitemarsh High School Marching Band (know as the PW Marching Colonials) won National Championships in 1976, 1977 and 1978; as well as, State Championships in 1971, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1998. More recently, they were the 2007 Cavalcade of Bands American Open Class Bronze medalist. They also received the 2008 American Open Class silver medalist with a score of 93.5: behind first place Hatboro-Horsham who received a score of 93.7. The Marching Colonials also claim the 2009 Independence Open Class silver medalist and the Silver medal winner at the 2010 state championships.

Indoor

The indoor guard competes in the Tournament of Bands indoor circuit and the Cavalcade of Bands indoor circuit. The PW Indoor Guard captured Cavalcade Championships in 2005 and 2006. The indoor drumline competes in the Mid-Atlantic Percussion Society and the Cavalcade of Bands indoor circuit. The PW Indoor Drumline won Cavalcade Championships in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. Both indoor groups also participate in Winter Guard International. The 2009 and 2010 PW Indoor Drumlines also were WGI Regional Finalists. In the 2010 outdoor season, they captured best guard at USSBA nationals in Annapolis MD. The 2011 PW Indoor Guard completed an undefeated season, earning a number one ranking in Pennsylvania and U.S.A.

Jazz

The jazz band performs for community events and participates in the Cavalcade of Bands jazz circuit. The Jazz Band won Cavalcade Division B Championships in 1999, 2000 and 2005.

Concert

The Concert Band annually performs Winter and Spring Concerts. Individual members audition to participate in District, Region and All-State Band. PW students have participated in All-State Band in 1985, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010. The Saxophone Quartet performed in the PA Music Educators Association State Convention in 2005 and 2008. PW also hosted numerous county band festivals and District Band in 2009.

Colonial Players

The Colonial Players are an extra curricular theatre program founded in 1977 that strives to produce professional-quality musicals and plays. They serve primarily to enhance live theatre performances in the local community and to give students an opportunity to express themselves. All proceeds received by the Players come mainly from the sale of tickets to productions as well as public donations and advertisement sales. Currently, the productions are directed by Mickey Engel, Melissa Downer, Valerie Cucinotta, and Brian Weiner and supported by a number of professional designers, some of whom are alumni of the program. The musical productions earn critic acclaim by the Greater Philadelphia Cappies, a high school theatre awards program, much like the Tony Awards and took home their first Cappie award in 2006 in Props and Effects for the design of an oversized piano in Big, The Musical. In 2009, the Colonial Players earned 13 Cappie nominations for their production of Little Shop of Horrors, "Best Show" being among them. In 2008, the Colonial Players prepared an original drama, titled Talking to Yourself in Public, written by Dutch Godshalk. In the 2010-2011 season, the Players presented Arthur Miller's The Crucible and Titanic the Musical.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alfredth/archive/2010/05/07/point-them-in-a-direction-and-get-out-of-the-way.aspx
  2. ^ MIT (2007). "Center for Bits and Atoms - Executive Summary". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://cba.mit.edu/about/index.html. Retrieved December 21, 2007. 
  3. ^ Pennsylvania Basketball Website (2007). "Pennsylvania High School Basketball Records". Pennsylvania Basketball Website. http://www.pahoops.org/records.htm. Retrieved December 21, 2007. 
  4. ^ Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (2007). "PIAA Champions" (.pdf). Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc.. http://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/basketball_past_champs.pdf. Retrieved December 21, 2007. 
  5. ^ http://www.garnetvalleyspringmusical.com/docs/Cappies_2009_final.doc
  6. ^ http://www.colonialplayers.org/

External links

American Conference
Continental Conference
National Conference