Francis Howell High School

Francis Howell High School is a four-year public high school located in Weldon Spring, Missouri. Approximately 1800 students from Defiance, Foristell, New Melle, O'Fallon, Saint Peters, Saint Charles, Weldon Spring, and Wentzville attend school at Howell.

History

Founded by Francis Howell in 1881, by David Lanham. Francis Howell High School opened under the name of Howell Institute in Howell's Prairie. Originally, Francis Howell was a school where children could come to learn the basics of education and move up into high school.

After building up the school district, the district finally became Francis Howell School Consolidated District Number 2. On September 28, 1915, the Consolidated District Number 2 school board voted to name the new high school building "Francis Howell High School." On February 15, 1916, the new Francis Howell High School was dedicated.

The current Francis Howell High School is located between Highway 94 South and Highway D. The property was originally purchased in 1949 from the United States of America under the jurisdiction of the War Assets Administration. Army barracks buildings, which were located on the property, were used by the high school for several years following until they were later demolished in 1991. There are still army barracks buildings being used at the Francis Howell School District Administrative Annex, which adjoins Francis Howell High School to the west.

Today, Francis Howell High School is a large suburban high school due to large population growth in southern St. Charles County. The original Francis Howell mascot was the "Dragoons", a horse riding soldier. Since at least the late 1960s, they have been known as the "Vikings".

Construction on a new academic building began in the summer of 2009 and was completed in 2011. The new building features a new cafeteria, media center and classrooms.

Clubs and activities

• FIRST Robotics Competition Team
• Anime Club
• Baseball
• Boys and Girls basketball
• Boys and Girls swimming
• Choir
• Boys and Girls Golf
• Cross Country
• Cheerleading
• DECA
• FBLA
• World Language Clubs
• Film Club
• Football
• Marching band
• Indoor Percussion
• Color Guard
• National Honor Society
• Boys and Girls soccer
• Gifted Education
• Scholar Bowl
• Science Competition Club
• Swimming
• Student Council
• Students Against Destructive Decisions
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Track
• Boys and Girls Volleyball
• Wrestling
• Youth In Government
• International Club
• Gay/Straight Alliance
• Speech and Debate Club
• Adventure Club

Choir

Francis Howell High currently has 5 choirs, under the instruction of Karey Fitzpatrick: The Mixed Choir, Treble Choir (auditioned women's choir), Concert Choir (auditioned mixed ensemble), Treblemakers (auditioned women's a cappella group), and Chamber Choir (auditioned mixed ensemble).

Football

The Vikings Football team^[1] has a storied past in Saint Charles county and are enjoying a resurgence under head coach Bryan Koch including 3 final four appearances in the last four years (2011-2014). Since Koch has taken over, Howell athletes have earned an estimated $2 million in scholarships.^[2] Since 2010, Francis Howell has produced 13 First-Team All-State players, 26 First-Team All-District players and 51 First-Team All-Conference players. Howell's long record of success in football includes:

• Conference Championships in 1971, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014
• District Championships in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
• Sectional Championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
• Final Four in 2011, 2012, 2014
• State runner up in 2012

Notable players:

• Calvin Munson (2012) was team captain and team MVP. Named First Team All-State,^[3] and First-Team All-District LB by the Missouri Football Coaches Association. Named Missouri Defensive POY by the Missouri Football Coaches Association and was All-Metro Defensive POY,^[4] by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Munson earned First Team All-GAC Conference honors and was GAC Defensive POY. Munson also played baseball and was the 935th overall pick in the 31st round of the MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals in June 2013,^[5] but chose football over baseball.^[6] Munson accepted a scholarship to play college football at San Diego State University.^[7]
• Sutton Smith (2014) was team captain and team MVP. Named First Team All-State RB by the Missouri Football Coaches Association,^[8] and the Miisouri Sports Writers Association.^[9] Named First Team All-District by the Missouri Football Coaches Association,^[10] and First-Team All-GAC Conference. Smith received the inaugural Tony Van Zant Award,^[11] as voted by the Missouri – Illinois Football Coaches as the area’s best player. Named Large School Player of the Year,^[12] by USA Today / Channel 5 (KSDK) and All-Metro Offensive Player,^[13] of the Year by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Smith earned GAC Offensive POY and Academic All-Conference honors with a 3.4 GPA. Prior to the 2014 season Smith played on the ST. Louis Rams HSPD Team,^[14] that finished third in the National 7on7 tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana.^[15] Smith accepted a scholarship to play college football at Northern Illinois University.^[16]

Limelight Theater

Francis Howell's drama club, currently known as Limelight Theater, has been producing plays since 1971, when it was founded by English and Drama teacher Ed Stockwell^[17] with the purpose "to establish a form of communication for any student and enable entertainment oriented individuals a chance to specialize." Since then, they have performed two or three plays a year. Currently under the direction of Charles Mueller

Marching band

Francis Howell High School, founded in 1881, has the oldest high school band program west of the Mississippi. The current marching band has 95 participants. The Marching band performs at every varsity home football game, as well as at competitions around the midwest.

Color Guard/ Winter Guard

The Francis Howell color guard has been a leader in entertainment and exciting, theatrical programs in the state of Missouri. The Francis Howell "A" winter guard is one of the top Winter Guards in the state of Missouri. Competing in Scholastic A, the guard received the 2012 Bronze medal in MCCGA finals held in Springfield, Missouri. The Francis Howell "B" Winter Guard received the silver medal in Regional A class in 2012. In 2013 Francis Howell "A" received a gold medal in Scholastic A. Then in 2014 "A" received a silver medal. Francis Howell "B" received a Bronze medal in 2014. The Francis Howell "A" guard has been to Winter Guard International, in Dayton Ohio, in the years 2013 and 2014. Both times making it to semi-finals in mid twenties spot. The guard is currently under the direction of Mark Martin and Bryan White.

Indoor Percussion

The Winter Drumline is one of the top Indoor Percussion Ensembles in the State of Missouri. The award winning Drumline captured second place in the Midwest in 2014 (2014 MCCGA Percussion Finals).

Wrestling

The Francis Howell Wrestling Team has been one of the more accomplished wrestling programs in Missouri since 1981. The Vikings have been consistent contenders for the large school championships in that era. Their alumni include Freestyle World Champion Sam Henson. The wrestling team is the most award-winning extracurricular group at Francis Howell High School.

Fight song

The school's fight song is based upon "Are You From Dixie", a song made popular by Grand Ol Opry singer Grandpa Jones.

Notable alumni

• Dave Weckl 1978 Jazz Drummer
• Jeff Hartwig 1985 Pole Vault American Indoor Record Holder, 1996 and 2008 US Olympic teams
• Sammie Henson 1989 2x NCAA Wrestling Champion, 1998 World Champion, 2000 Olympic Freestyle Silver Medalist
• Mark Parkinson 1991; current Missouri 105th (formerly known as 16th) district state representative
• Joe Smith 1991, former Missouri 14th district state representative
• Matt Dillahunty 1987 President of the Atheist Community of Austin, Tx and Activist.
• Michael Pohrer 1981 Internationally Syndicated Cartoonist ^[18]

References

External links

• Frances Howell High School
• Francis Howell High School Football
• Francis Howell High School Wrestling
• Francis Howell Viking Marching Band