Matoaca High School

Matoaca High School
Address
17700 Longhouse Lane
Chesterfield, Virginia, 23832
Information
School type Public, high school
Founded 1963
School district Chesterfield County Public Schools
Superintendent Dr. Marcus J. Newsome
Principal Mr. Stephen Cunningham
Assistant Principal Dr. Scott Birmingham
Mrs. Stephanie LaSmith
Mrs. Gail Ledbetter
Mrs. Leslie Waller
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,824 (2009-2010)
Campus Suburban
Color(s)                Red, White, Black
Mascot Warriors
Rival Schools Thomas Dale High School
Petersburg High School
Specialty Program Information Technology
Athletic Conference Virginia High School League
Central Region
Central District
Website Official Site

Matoaca High School is an American secondary school in the Matoaca community of unincorporated Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. This is the newer campus of the school; the old school campus was converted into a middle school, known currently as Matoaca Middle School. The school's mascot is the Warrior. Matoaca is well known for its sports and its technology specialty center.

This school has a technology specialty program for students to learn about the computer industry, through teaching classes such as Oracle I and II, Cisco, and IT1 and 2 (Prep classes for Network+ and A+ certifications). Matoaca used to be the only school in Chesterfield County that distributes laptop computers for their students' use, but due to "students [failing] to show any academic gains compared with those in schools without laptops" the school discontinued their use for those not in the Specialty Center program.[1]

History and tradition

Alma Mater

Hail to thee our Alma Mater,
dear old red and white.
Honoring you with our spirit,
standing in your might.
Through the years we'll cherish you
as we have in the past.
ALMA MATER praise be nigh,
our dear Matoaca High.

Specialty Center

Matoaca High School specializes in technology. At the school, students enrolled in the Technology Center will be able to have Dell laptops and use them in their classes. However, current students will not receive laptops unless they are in the specialty center.

Laptop Program

Matoaca's program for providing students with laptops ended after the class of 2006 left the school. Students enrolled in the school during the 2006 school year were able to continue using their laptops until the end of their senior years. Teachers and Specialty Center students are still issued laptops.

The program was ended after the significant growth in the school's general student population exceeded the campus's official capacity, in addition to prohibitive costs. The money was instead used for transportation in Chesterfield County, which was seen as a higher priority at the time of the program's termination. Following the graduation of the 2006 class, the school held an end-of-term sale in June, which allowed any student to purchase a retired Dell laptop for approximately $600. Remaining laptops were distributed to other parts of Chesterfield County. Following these events, only specialty center students are granted laptops.

Clubs and Organizations

Matoaca offers numerous clubs and organizations for students to join and explore their interests. These clubs and organizations are categorized in the following five ways: Curriculum-Based Clubs, Honor Clubs, School-Sponsored Clubs, Student-Interest Clubs, and World Language Clubs.

The curriculum-based clubs are:

The honor clubs consist of:

The school-sponsored clubs are:

The Student-Interest Clubs consist of:

Finally, the world language clubs are listed as:

Other extracurricular groups at Matoaca High School include marching band, color guard, dance team, and cheerleading.[2]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ Hu, Winnie (4 May 2007). "Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.matoacahs.mychesterfieldschools.com/pages/Matoaca_HS/School_Activities/Page_Menu/Clubs
  3. ↑ Buettner, Michael (June 6, 2012). "Schools’ outstanding alumni honored by foundation". Chesterfield Observer. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  4. ↑ White, Jeff. "Farrior and Miller Carry UVa Banner in Super Bowl XLV". University of Virginia Athletics. Retrieved March 12, 2014.

External links