Walled Lake Western High School

Walled Lake Western High School
Address
600 Beck Road
Walled Lake, Michigan, 48390
United States
Coordinates 42°31′48″N 83°30′57″W / 42.53000°N 83.51583°WCoordinates: 42°31′48″N 83°30′57″W / 42.53000°N 83.51583°W
Information
Type Public High School
Motto Academic Excellence for a Global Society
Established August, 1969
School district Walled Lake Consolidated Schools
Principal Joseph Bell
Grades 9–12
Number of students 1,411[1]
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Royal Blue & Silver
Mascot Warriors
Rivals Walled Lake Central
Walled Lake Northern
Accreditation North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [2]
Feeder schools James R Geisler Middle School
Sarah Banks Middle School
Walnut Creek Middle School
Affiliations Lakes Conference North Division
Website School website

Walled Lake Western High School (also known as “Walled Lake Western”, “Western”, or “WLW”), is a secondary school of the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, located in Commerce Township, Michigan in Greater Detroit.[3]

The school serves portions of the township,[3][4] most of Walled Lake,[4][5] most of Wixom[4][6] and portions of Novi.[4][7]

History

Opened in 1969, Walled Lake Western was the second high school in Walled Lake. Western's mascot is the Warrior and the school colors are Royal Blue and Silver (Scarlet was integrated as a school color from 1983 to 2004). Kirsten Haglund, who graduated in 2006, was named Miss America 2008. The International Baccalaureate program started in the 2012-2013 school year for grades 11 and 12.

Academics

In 2009, Walled Lake Western High School was ranked in the top 5% of all schools in the nation by Newsweek magazine. The ranking is calculated by the “number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008 divided by the number of graduating seniors."[8] Beginning in the fall of 2013, Western will begin the International Baccalaureate Diploma program for 11th and 12th grade students as an alternative to AP Testing.

Performing arts

Between 1990 and 2007, over 3,900 students have been a part of the Walled Lake Western Choirs. Each year WLW features about 10 choirs and ensembles. Between 1990 and 2009, WLW Choirs have received Superior and Excellent Awards over 265 times. These awards are received through choir festivals such as MSVMA District Festivals, MSVMA State Solo and Ensemble festival, and Michigan Youth Arts Festival.[9] Walled Lake Western High School also produces a professional quality musical annually. WLW has produced musicals such as Annie, Les Miserables, and Hairspray.[10] In 2010, Walled Lake Western Performing Arts was one of the first high schools in the country to perform Hairspray, a Tony Award winning musical-comedy.[11] In the fall of 2011, Western also performed Phantom of the Opera.

Athletics

Warrior Stadium in the summertime.

Western belongs to the Kensington Lakes Activities Association. In 1984, the Warriors baseball team captured the school's first state championship. The football team won the state title in 1996, and again in 1999 (USA Today 11th ranked in country).[12][13] Their field is known as Warrior Stadium due to the school's nickname.

Notable alumni

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Student Count Snapshot". mischooldata.org. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  2. ↑ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Retrieved 2010-02-17.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Zoning Map." (Map) Commerce Township, Michigan. Retrieved on November 8, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Western H.S." (Archive) Walled Lake Consolidated School District. Retrieved on November 8, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Community Facilities." (Archive) City of Walled Lake. Retrieved on November 8, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Street Map." (Archive) City of Wixom. Retrieved on November 8, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Elementary Attendance Areas." (Archive) City of Novi. Retrieved on November 8, 2012.
  8. ↑ Murray, Diana Dillaber (June 13, 2009). "16 Oakland schools make Newsweek’s top 1,500 list". The Oakland Press. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  9. ↑ WLW Choirs. "About our choirs: History". Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  10. ↑ WLW Choirs. "WLW Musical". Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  11. ↑ WLW Musical (November 8, 2010). "Walled Lake Western Performs Hairspray". Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Yearly Champions, Baseball". MHSAA.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Yearly Champions, Football". MHSAA.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "Profile: David Booth #7 Left Wing". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved November 12, 2011.

External links