Oviedo High School

Oviedo High School is a grade 9-12 public secondary school set on a 52-acre (210,000 m²) campus in Oviedo, Florida, a growing community situated in southeastern Seminole County operated by Seminole County Public Schools. The “Oviedo School” was established in 1932 as a comprehensive K-through-12 educational facility; members of the first graduating class received their diplomas in 1935. The secondary grades separated from the elementary in 1948, and the upper level, which moved to the current site in 1969, became Oviedo High School, now one of the oldest schools in Central Florida. The school recently underwent a $50 million renovation project. The school newspaper is the "Lion's Tale", an award-winning paper recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and the Florida Scholastic Press Association. Six out of the last eight years Oviedo High School has been rated an “A” school by the Governor's A+ Plan for Education, more than any other high school in Seminole County.

Area profile

In the past ten years, the city of Oviedo and its surrounding area, which together constitute the Oviedo High School attendance zone, have dramatically changed from a primarily agrarian support community of approximately 5,000 people to a full service, suburban community of nearly 50,000.

Some of the most prominent cultural and commercial influences upon this community include post-secondary institutions, research industries, major tourist attractions and film production agencies. Amongst the post-secondary educational institutions considered “local” by the community are Seminole and Valencia community colleges, Rollins College, the University of Central Florida, and Stetson University.

Demographics

Oviedo H.S. students are drawn from the cities of Oviedo and Winter Springs as well as from suburban residential neighborhoods of unincorporated Seminole County. For the 2008-2009 school year, the population of Oviedo High School will plummet because of student transferring to Hagerty High School. The student population may be down to less than 2,000 attending students.

Starting with the 2009-2010 school year, Oviedo High School is allowing open enrollment for students in other Seminole County schools in an effort to boost attendance.^[1]

Fine Arts department

The Oviedo High School Lion Band was established in 1954 and is currently composed of the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble and the 200+ member "Marching Lion" Band. Awards in marching competitions include Grand Champions of the First and Second Annual University Classic (2005 & 2006), the Azalea Marching Festival (2006), the Echoes of Excellence Superregional Competition in Middleburg, Florida (2007 & 2010), and placing fifth in their division at the Florida State competition in 2009 and also placing forth in the division and fifth over all in 2010. Oviedo will be competing in BOA (Bands of America) in October 2011, located in Atlanta.

Oviedo High currently has 4 award winning choirs: Concert, Bravo, Bel Cantos, and Horizons.

The Oviedo Drama Department puts on three productions each year. At the 2010 Jan district festival they received five Best in Shows, and at 2010 State Thespian Festival they received three Critic's Choice Awards. At the 2011 State Thespian Festival the students earned two Critic's Choice Awards and were honored to represent District 5 in the opening ceremonies. At the 2012 Festival they earned an additional Critic's Choice.^[2]

Athletics

The school's athletic teams are known as the Lions. The school offers Bowling, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Swimming, and Volleyball, as Fall sports. It offers Basketball, Soccer, and Wrestling as Winter sports. It offers Lacrosse, Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, and Water Polo as Spring sports.

Oviedo is classified by the Florida High School Athletic Association as a Class 5A high school. In February 2007 the school's wrestling team won its fourth consecutive state championship, becoming the only team ever in the history of Florida high school wrestling to win four straight titles in the big schools division (2004–2007). The team won eighty-four consecutive dual meet events from 2004 to 2008.

The Oviedo Lions have an in-town rivalry with Hagerty High School. The Lions also have a rivalry with Winter Springs High School and Lake Brantley High School.

In May 2011, Oviedo High School was fined $57,000 (the fine was originally $280,000, but was reduced because of their cooperation with the FHSAA) and the school's head volleyball coach and entire wrestling staff were fired after the volleyball and wrestling teams had players who lived outside the district, violating eligibility requirements.^[3] The violations involved at least one volleyball player and five wrestlers and include falsifying addresses, athletes transferring to Oviedo and living with assistant coaches in order to circumvent location mandates, and recruiting through a club program run by the volleyball coach. The FHSAA also banned the wrestling team from regional, district, and state competition for three years. The volleyball team was put on probation for two years. The athletic director and assistant athletic director lost their jobs. The fines come out of the athletic fund instead of taxpayer resources.^[4] The volleyball and wrestling teams were forced to forfeit all their wins from the 2010-11 season. The wrestling team was also placed on probation for four years.^[5] The fines and sanctions are the harshest in Florida history. In June 2012, the FHSAA removed the remaining two years of Oveido's postseason ban in wrestling, allowing team members to compete for regional and state honors, while keeping the school on probation for two years. The coaches involved and illegally enrolled students were no longer at the school.

Notable alumni

• Jennifer Barringer - professional runner and Olympian^[6]
• Mark Bellhorn - professional baseball player^[7]
• Cindy Elavsky - syndicated columnist^{[citation needed]}
• Tom Rhodes - comedian^{[citation needed]}
• Monty Sopp - professional wrestler^{[citation needed]}
• Ken Yeager - telecommunication industry magnate^{[citation needed]}
• Blake Bortles - professional football player

JROTC

Oviedo is also known for its NJROTC program, which is run by SNSI USMC Colonel (Ret.) Joseph Nardo, NSI Master Chief Marteney, and NSI Senior Chief Ferry. The program currently has 200 students enrolled. The NJROTC unit has hosted the NJROTC Florida State Championships annually since 2006. Their current website is http://www.ohs-njrotc.com, this is a resource for cadets that are currently enrolled in the NJROTC program at Oviedo High School.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oviedo High School.

• Oviedo High School (official website)
• Florida High School Athletic Association
• Seminole County Public Schools