| Winter Springs High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 130 Tuskawilla Road Winter Springs, Florida |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1997 |
| School district | Seminole County Public Schools |
| Principal | Dr. Michael Blasewitz |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | 2410 |
| Color(s) | Purple & Gold |
| Mascot | Bear |
| Newspaper | The Bear Truth http://www.winterspringshs.scps.k12.fl.us/newspaper/ |
| Website | http://www.wshsbears.com/ |
Winter Springs High School, is a high school in Winter Springs, Florida. It was founded in 1997 as the seventh full-time high school in Seminole County. The school is operated by Seminole County Public Schools.
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Winter Springs High School first opened in 1997 as the latest high school of Seminole County. Plans had gotten under way three years earlier as a result of overcrowding at Oviedo, Lake Howell and Lyman High Schools. The small community of Winter Springs successfully lobbied to have the school built in their town as a way of creating a "town identity and center, and not just be an outgrowth of the surrounding cities".
Although, the school first opened in 1997 as Winter Springs High School, the school had first opened its doors as a temporary home to the student body, faculty and staff of nearby Lake Howell High School the previous year while the Lake Howell campus underwent major renovations.
A.W. Epps was the school's first principal. When the school opened in 1997, it housed only 9th and 10th grade students. The school housed grades 9-11 in 1998-1999, and the first class graduated in 1999-2000. Dr. Elise Gruber became principal in 2000, and was succeeded by Dr. Michael R. Blasewitz in 2004. The school's bell schedule has been adjusted to a modified block format, to accommodate student needs.
Winter Springs High School sponsors many interscholastic sports teams including football, cross country, volleyball, golf, track and field, lacrosse, wrestling, swimming, water polo, bowling, baseball, basketball, soccer, weightlifting, softball and tennis. The Winter Springs teams compete at the A.W. Epps Sports Complex, named after the high school's first principal.
District championships: 0 (Have been district runner-up 4 times)
Playoff appearances: 5 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009)
The WSHS Boys Basketball team has won back to back district championships, making the State Final Four in 2007 and the Final 16 Regional Final Round in 2008 before losing to Winter Park High School. In the 2009-2010 season, the team won their third straight district championship, but were soundly defeated by the eventual State Champion Winter Park Wildcats.
Girls Basketball won the school's only two state championships going back to back in 1999 and 2000. Following a rebuilding winless 2008-2009 campaign, the team rebounded strongly to finish over .500 and compete well in the district playoffs.
The Wrestling team won the 2001, 2009, 2010 and 2011 FHSAA District Championship and well as the 2010 and 2011 FHSAA Regional Championship. In 2011 the Winter Springs Bears finished 3rd in the state with 112 team points and 6 state place winners (both school records). "THE SUPER SIX" Brothers Eric O'Neill and Robert O'Neill won state championships this year becoming the seventh pairs of brothers to both win state titles. Other state placers include, Areil Serrano (4th), Kyle Gach (5th), Ryan Petro (2nd), and Scott Accomando (4th).
The Bears baseball program began in the spring of 1998 the same year the school opened. Inaugural Head Coach Harold Hitt quickly placed the program in the spotlight when in 1999, in only its second year of competition, the Bears managed a Class 3A District 13 runner-up finish. The Bears would go on to upset West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman 4-2 in the first round of regional play and thus capture its first ever playoff victory. After taking heavily favored Miami Gulliver Prep into extra innings in the Regional Semi-Final game, the Bears would end what was a very successful season. WSHS baseball has continued its success through the years under Jeff Perez. Perez followed Hitt as Head Coach, taking over in 2000, and still remains just the 2nd coach to ever lead the Bear sluggers. In his tenure Perez has sent several players to the college level with a few of them having come back to now coach in the program. He has 2 district championships as well as a district runner-up bid. In 2007 he assembled what would be the best team in Winter Springs history. The talent rich group finished 27-2, the best record in history, and earned rankings as high as 4th in the state and 11th nationally while capturing the 6A District 3 championship.
This school is ranked #334 on Newsweek's 2008 list of the Best High Schools in America.[2].
The Winter Springs High School Band of Gold is under the direction of J. Adam McIntyre and Drum Majors Sam Hendley and Neal Romberg. Their 2011 Halftime show is themed around The Who. In April 2011, the Band of Gold was invited to perform at Stetson University's prestigious band invintational, performing a repertoire that included Symphony No. 3 (Saint-Saëns). The previous year, the Band of Gold won the highly coveted Otto Kraushaar Award for the third straight year. The Band also received straight superiors in both marching and concert MPAs. The Band of Gold traveled to Washington, D.C. in January 2009 for the inauguration of President Obama, as well as performing at the President's Park in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The Winter Springs High School Chorus program is under the leadership of Kara Knowles. The program currently includes the Combined Women's (which includes the beginner, intermediate, and advanced women), Men's, Mixed Concert (which includes the men and advanced women), and Advanced Women's choirs.
In 2004, Winter Springs High School gained national attention for its excellent Safe-School Ambassador program and was featured in a segment on MSNBC. In 2005, Winter Springs High School gained national attention yet again when several Winter Springs students, riding in a limousine to prom, stopped the drunk driver and called police. This story gained national headlines, and the students were featured on several national talk shows as well as NBC, CBS, and ABC. [3] In 2005 the school was recognized as having the second largest number of National Merit semifinalists (19) in the state of Florida. The story was featured on the front page of the Orlando Sentinel.
In 2007, Kenneth Colonel, a graduate of the class of 2007, was named the National Champion at the National Forensic League National Speech and Debate Tournament in the Student Congress House of Representatives.[1]
In 2009, Robert Colonel, brother of national champion Kenneth Colonel and a graduate of the class of 2009, was named the State Champion at the Florida Forensics League State Speech and Debate Tournament in Student Congress. Later in 2009 he was also named National Champion at the National Forensic League National Speech and Debate Tournament in the Student Congress Senate.[2]
In 2007, Winter Springs High School Culinary Bears placed in two events at the 7th Annual Prostart Competition. Students were coached by Chef Jay Judy. There were over 50 schools throughout the state competing. This was the first time Winter Springs High School has ever placed in this competition. In 2009 Winter Springs Culinary Bears again placed highly in the Prostart Culinary Competition but earned top marks in an event for the first time. Winter Springs earned 3rd place overall in the state.