Mansfield High School (Massachusetts)

Mansfield High School
Address
250 East Street
Mansfield, Massachusetts, 02048
United States
Coordinates 42°1′46″N 71°12′26″W / 42.02944°N 71.20722°WCoordinates: 42°1′46″N 71°12′26″W / 42.02944°N 71.20722°W
Information
Type Public
Established 1872
School district Mansfield Public Schools
Principal Mr. Michael Connolly
Asst. Principal Mrs. Dawn Stockwell
Grades 9 to 12
Enrollment 1,394
Color(s) Green, White & Black             
Athletics conference Hockomock League
Nickname Hornets
Rival North Attleboro, Foxborough
Average SAT scores 538 verbal
564 math
540 writing
1642 total (2014)[1]
Website Mansfield High School

Mansfield High School (MHS) is a four-year, comprehensive public high school located in Mansfield, Massachusetts. MHS is the only high school in the Mansfield Public Schools system and it serves 1,481 students in grades nine though twelve.

Administration

Mansfield High School is administered by a principal and two assistant principals.

Principal

Mrs. Brenda J Hodges

Assistant Principals

Mansfield High School has two assistant principals to help meet the demands of its students.
Mrs. Brenda J Hodges
Mrs. Brenda J Hodges

Academics

Faculty

Mansfield High School (2008–2009) employs 105 teachers with 83 teaching within the eight core academic departments. This leads to an overall student to teacher ratio of 22.1 to 1, which is higher than the 16.2 to 1 state-wide student to teacher ratio. Below is a list of the current (2008–2009) department chairpersons.

Business – Brenda Hodges
English – Cynthia Carli
Fine Arts – Scott Brigante
Foreign Language – Leslie Gildersleeve
Guidance - Daniel Fitzgerald
Mathematics – Christine Kalinowski
Science – Tuula Laskorski
Social Studies – William Hocking
Wellness – Joseph Russo

Graduation requirements

For the current graduating class, the Class of 2009, students are required to complete and pass courses totaling 135 credits. Thirty of those must be passed during the students’ senior year. In addition to credit requirements, students must also pass the state-required MCAS exam. There are also departmental requirements for graduation, listed below.

English – Students must take and pass four English courses usually consisting of English 9, English 10, English 11, and English 12. However in place of English 11 and English 12 students may opt to take AP English to obtain college credit.
Mathematics – Students must take and pass three Mathematics courses in order to graduate, although many students take four courses. Most students usually take geometry, algebra II, pre-calculus, and calculus. However students may opt to take AP Calculus to obtain college credit.
Social Studies – Students must take and pass three Social Studies courses in order to graduate. There are a wide variety of courses to choose from in this department, however many students usually take Western Civilization I and II, and U.S. History to meet this requirement. However many students take AP U.S. History to obtain college credit.
Science – Students must take and pass three science courses during their tenure at Mansfield High School in order to graduate. Many students take biology, chemistry, and physics to meet this requirement. Also, students may opt to take AP Physics or AP Biology to obtain college credit.
Physical Education – Students must take and pass two physical education classes to meet the graduation requirements. This usually consists of two gym classes’ freshman and sophomore years, although students may now use sports participation as a means of meeting the requirement.

Courses

Mansfield High School offers a wide variety of courses, in addition to the so-called “core” classes. Standard classes in English, Math, Social Studies, Foreign Language, and Science are offered, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. In every department there are courses that go above and beyond helping to not only gain the interest of students, but to teach them real life skills for college and every day living. Also, MHS has a set of advanced placement courses that allow students to begin their college education while still receiving high school credit. Below is a list of the advanced placement, and most notable courses.

Levels

Advanced Placement – Offers students the ability to earn college credit. These courses are more difficult and require more dedication than the average high school course. Advanced Placement (AP) courses culminate with an exam administered by the College Board which determines how much credit the student receives.
Honors – These courses contain challenging material designed for the motivated student. They are more difficult that the standard College Preparatory classes.
College Preparatory – These courses prepare students for traditional college level education.
Comprehensive – These courses are designed to prepare students for junior (two-year) college or work after high school.
Advanced placement

Mansfield High School offers advanced placement courses in English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Calculus AB, Biology, Chemistry, Physics C, U.S. History, European History, Spanish Language and Composition, French Language and Composition, and Art History. However each student can take at most seven advanced placement courses during their stay at MHS.

Grading

Students at Mansfield High School are graded on a 0-100 scale, where an A is 90-100, a B is 80-89, a C is 70-79, a D is 65-69, and anything below a 65 is considered failing. Students are awarded credit for each successful passing of a course, however if a student is absent from the course too many times, credits may be deducted.

Class rank

Class rank is determined by calculating a student’s course-weighed grade point average over an extended 4.0 scale. Rank is calculated once a year, with the rank calculated after a students sixth semester (junior year) being reported to colleges. Valedictorian and Salutatorian are determined by calculating class rank after the completion of a seventh semester.

Rank is calculated by first converting a final grade to the 4.0 scale, then weighting it depending on what level each course taken is at. That average is then multiplied by the number of credits a student earned and then divided by the total number of possible credits for the course. This result is the student's weighted GPA. This process is repeated for each class and then the sum of all class GPAs are averaged to result in an overall GPA. It is possible to get over a 4.0 GPA once weighting of the student's final grade has occurred.

Performing arts

Below are the three areas in which Mansfield High School specializes for students to enroll in the Performing Arts.

Choir - The choir is currently directed by Sheila Newton. She puts on several concerts per year, including the Holiday Concert and Spring Concert, and also directs and produces the school's fall play and spring musical.
Orchestra - The orchestra is directed by Mary Casale. She is the director of both the middle and high school orchestra. She performs with her group several times per year, including the Holiday Concert.
Band - The Band Program is under the direction of Matthew McGuire, graduate of MHS and Berklee College of Music. This includes Marching Band, Jazz Band, and a Concert Band. This is not to be confused with the extracurricular band programs, which includes a World Champion Percussion Ensemble (WGI, PSCO), and a competitive Winter Colorguard (2010 NESBA Champions). The Marching Band performs at many school events, including the MIAA Super Bowl, supporting the MHS Football team. The Percussion Ensemble and Winter Colorguard compete in the New England Scholastic Band Association and Winterguard International.
Percussion Ensemble - The Mansfield High School Percussion Ensemble is under the direction of Matthew McGuire, graduate of MHS and Berklee College of Music. The ensemble has competed at WGI World Championships in 2007 (PSCO Gold Medalists), 2008 (PSCO Gold Medalists; received the highest score in indoor percussion history, 98.9, which was then outscored in 2012), 2009 (PSCW Silver Medalists) 2012 (PSCO Silver Medalists, PSA Finalist), 2013 (PSCO Bronze Medalists) and 2014 (PSCO Silver Medalists). Their programs include Echoes of Metheny, Pat's Stuff, My Spanish Heart, Four Years in Four Minutes, Goodnight, Sheltered, Third Wind: The Music of Pat Metheny, Sketches of a Latin Groove", "The Way Up". The group also holds NESBA Championships in PSCO 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2013, and NESBA Championships in PSAA in 2010, 2011, and 2012. The Percussion Ensemble rehearses once a week in the summer, twice a week in fall, and three times a week in Winter and Spring. This ensemble has been asked to play at various school events including the NEASC Accreditation Meeting.

Athletics

Below is a list of the athletic programs offered at Mansfield, and the seasons when they are held.

Fall – Cheerleading, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Golf, Soccer, and Volleyball.
Winter – Basketball, Cheerleading, Gymnastics, Ice Hockey, Indoor Track, Swimming, and Wrestling
Spring – Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Tennis, and Track and Field.



Football

Mansfield High School offers 25 different varsity level sports. All sports have junior varsity and varsity levels and the heavily participated sports have a freshman level as well. Mansfield sports teams are known as the Hornets and the school colors are Green, White and Black. In recent years, the athletic complexes around Mansfield have been revamped. Mansfield had an artificial turf football field installed behind the high school along with a rubber track in 2001 and dubbed Alumni Field. A new baseball complex was constructed in 2005, located across the street, in front of the Jordan Jackson Elementary school. Mansfield's athletic facilities are considered among one of the best high school athletic facilities in Massachusetts. The football, basketball and cross-country teams are among the state's most successful. Mansfield competes in the Hockomock League, which is arguably considered the toughest and most competitive athletic conference in the state. The football team won the Hockomock League Championship 6 years in a row from 2003 – 2008, and won it 4 years in a row from 2010 - 2013. The 2013 Mansfield football season was an especially successful and memorable season, as they began the season by playing Dunbar High School of Baltimore, MD in a nationally televised game that was sponsored by Under Armour. Dunbar is annually a national powerhouse in football and came into the game as the 3-time defending Maryland State Champions. Mansfield defeated Dunbar in a stunning last second 29-26 upset win. The Hornets then ran the table throughout the season, eventually finishing the season undefeated at 13-0, won their 7th State Championship, and finished the season as the #1 ranked team in Massachusetts and the New England region. They have also made it to the State Championship game 10 times, winning the State Title 7 times (1992, 1994, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2013). The Mansfield football team is considered as one of the best programs in Massachusetts & New England on a yearly basis.

Track & Field

The indoor track team is one of the best in the country and has won 3 straight Indoor Track State Championships, along with 11 straight Hockomock League Championships in the same sport. Their coach, Julie Collins, is known as one of the best coaches in the sport of running and is often given credit for coming up with great strategies to win, even with not the best runners. Some former Mansfield runners are national champion Ryan Collins of Wisconsin, UCLA freshman Shane Collins, and Villanova recruit Josh Lampron. The latter won an individual National Championship in the mile in Outdoor Track. Mansfield also has an assistant coach, Coach Pete Schuder, who handles the Mansfield Track & Field website.

Basketball

Mansfield's boy's basketball team has also become recognized as one of the premier programs in the state as well. In the 2012 - 2013 season, the boy's basketball team finished with an undefeated regular season and made it all the way to the Division 1 State Championship, but lost the game. they finished the season was the #1 ranked boy's basketball team in Massachusetts.

Sport links

References

  1. ↑ http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/sat_perf.aspx
  2. ↑ experience at the school

External links