Mars Area High School
| Mars Area High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 520 Route 228 Mars, PA 16046 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | ...to create and sustain an educational environment that allows all students the opportunity to realize their maximum learning potential. |
| Established | 1967 |
| School district | Mars Area School District |
| Principal | Mr. Todd Kolson |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | approx. 1050 |
| Color(s) |
Navy, Gold |
| Athletics conference | AA-AAA |
| Mascot | Fightin' Planet |
| Website | MHS |
Mars Area High School is a high school located in Mars, Pennsylvania.
Mars High offers a full program of courses that includes more than 120 selections plus a wide variety of extracurricular activities and interscholastic sports. The flexible curriculum presents students with options including early entry into college, eight Advanced Placement (AP) college level courses, 13 Advanced courses and enrollment in the Butler Vocational/Technical School. Mars Area High School’s 2013 graduating class had approximately 230 students. Approximately 80 to 85 percent of graduates go on to four-year college or universities and 10 to 15 percent move on to two-year schools. Mars Area High School’s total 2012-2013 enrollment for ninth through 12th grades is 1034 pupils.
Mars Area School District’s total Kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year is 3,236 students. The District is located in a rapidly growing rural/suburban area in Butler County, north of Pittsburgh, Pa. and is situated in a 50-square-mile (130 km2) area that includes Mars and Valencia boroughs as well as Adams and Middlesex townships.
The high school ranks 58th out of 123 high schools in western Pennsylvania for academic achievement based on three years of PSSA results on: math, reading, writing and one year of science, by the Pittsburgh Business Times in May 2009.[1]
Broadcast Media
Mars' Broadcast Media department produces the YouTube show Room 133. The show's anti-bullying episodes are filmed like the television show The Office and are shown every other Wednesday during morning homeroom at the high school as part of Planet Peace, Mars Area's anti-bullying effort, which has received grants through Highmark's Healthy High Five program.
Sports
The Mars sports teams include American football, hockey, girls volleyball, baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls tennis, girls and boys golf, wrestling, track, swimming, cross country, girls and boys soccer, and competitive marching band.
In recent years, the boys' soccer team has achieved a great amount of success, with three successive trips to the WPIAL (District 7) Finals in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The Fightin' Planets won back to back WPIAL Championships in 2008 and 2009. Also the boys Ice Hockey team have won back-to-back Penguin Cups (2009 and 2010) and were the 2010 Pennsylvania State Champions.
The Mars girls' soccer team has also had a huge amount of success in recent years. They took control of the Section and won the Section title in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. They were also one of few teams to win three consecutive WPIAL titles in the years of 2010, 2011, and 2012. In 2011 the girls won the PIAA State Championship.
Music
The Mars High School Marching Band is a thirteen time PIMBA/PFCJ Class Champion, a five time BOA Regional Finalist, a BOA Regional Class AA Champion, and a BOA Grand Nationals Semifinalist. The band has over 300 trophies on display in the high school band room, mostly from 2000-2013 (meaning that a large number of trophies from the 80's and 90's have either been stored or recycled).
The band is the current PIMBA Class AA Champion as of 2014. They won first place with their show "The Phantom of the Opera", maintaining an undefeated season in both 2013 and 2014, a feat which, prior to 2013, had not been accomplished since their 2003 season.
References
- ↑ Guide to Western Pennsylvania Schools - 11th grade Rankings, Pittsburgh Business Times, May 15, 2009