West Warwick High School

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Coordinates: 41°42′32″N 71°30′58″W / 41.709°N 71.516°W / 41.709; -71.516
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West Warwick High School
West Warwick Wizards logo
West Warwick Wizards logo
Address
Map
1 Webster Knight Dr

West Warwick
,
Kent County
,
Rhode Island
02893

United States
Coordinates41°42′32″N 71°30′58″W / 41.709°N 71.516°W / 41.709; -71.516
Information
TypePublic high school
MottoChoose love
Founded1965
School districtWest Warwick Public Schools
NCES District ID4401140
SuperintendentKaren Tarasevich
CEEB code400265
NCES School ID440114000318
PrincipalJessica Hassell
Faculty88
Grades9–12
GenderCoeducational
Enrollment1,001 (2020-21)[1]
Student to teacher ratio13:1
Campus typeSuburban
Color(s)    Orange and Black
MascotWizard
NicknameWizards
RivalCoventry[2]
USNWR ranking7,534
NewspaperThe Magic Word
Websitesites.google.com/westwarwickpublicschools.com/westwarwickhighschool

West Warwick High School (abbreviated as WWHS) is a public high school in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States.[3] In 2022, the school ranked 29th out of 62 in Rhode Island by US News.[4]

Academics

Below is a following list of career opportunities at the school's Career and Technical Center;

Athletics

The school has a long tradition of excellence in Rhode Island Interscholastic Sports and is a member of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. Most recently, the Wizard's football team won the Rhode Island Division II State Championship in December 2014. Also the girls soccer team won back-to-back State Championships in 2013 and 2014. Hundreds of students participate in numerous sports throughout the year.[5]

List of sports programs

West Warwick High School's sports teams play in divisions II and III and consist of both male, female, and co-ed teams alongside the teams' JV counterparts.

Boys sports

  • Basketball – Plays in Division II, most recently finishing 6–16 in 2021. They have won six Division II Championships in 1969, 1971, 1978, 1983, 1984, and most recently in 1994.
  • Soccer – Plays in Division II, most recently finishing 1–12–2 in 2022. They have won one Division IV Championship in 2004.
  • Cross country
  • Tennis – Plays in Division II. They have won one Division III Championship in 2015 and they have also won one Division II Championship in 2017.
  • Volleyball – Plays in Division II, most recently finishing 10–9 in 2021.
  • Indoor track – Most recently were 2017 Division II champions. They also won in 2016.
  • Outdoor track – They have won three Division III Championships, winning in 1999, 2016, and most recently in 2017.

Girls sports

  • Soccer – Plays in Division II, most recently finishing 5–9–1 in 2022. They have won five Division III Championships, winning in 1989, 2000, 2001, 2013, and most recently in 2014. They also have two Division II Championships in 1990 and 1991.
  • Basketball – Plays in Division II, most recently finishing 22–5 and Division II runnerups in 2021. They have won one Division II Championship in 1989, they have also won two Division I Championships in 1991 and most recently in 1992.
  • Softball – Plays in Division II, most recently finishing 12–7 in 2021. They were State Champions in 1989 and 1992, they also won the Division II Championship in 2003.
  • Tennis – They most recently won the Division IV Championship in 2005.
  • Indoor track
  • Outdoor track
  • Cross country

Co-ed sports

  • Football – Plays in Division III, most recently finishing 7–4 in 2022. They have won nineteen Division II Championships in 1936, 1937, 1939, 1949, 1950, 1951–1954, 1956, 1957 , 1959, 1962, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2002, and most recently in 2013. They have won one Division I Championship in 1983. Every year on Thanksgiving, West Warwick plays their rivals Coventry. West Warwick currently leads the series all time with 45 wins, Coventry has 12 wins, and the teams have tied twice. Coventry has won the last four match-ups, most recently winning 34–0.[6]
  • Baseball – Plays in Division II, most recently finishing 8–13 in 2021. They have won two Division I Championships in 1938 and 1961. They have won five Division II Championships, winning in 1945, 1946, 1949, 2001, and most recently in 2002.
  • Hockey – Plays in Division III, most recently finishing 9–9–1 in 2021. They have won four Division III Championships in 1982, 1988, 2013, and most recently in 2020.
  • Golf – They have won ten golf Championships. They were State Champions in 1940, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1959, 1961–1963, 1969, and most recently in 1970.
  • Cheerleading – In 2015 they were Medium School Champions. In 2016 and 2017 they were Large School Champions. In 2019 and 2020 they have won the State Championship and the Co-Ed Division Championship. Also in 2019 they were New England Co-Ed Champions. In 2021, the cheerleading team won the Division III Championship, Co-Ed Division Championship, Division II Championship, and Fall State Champions. In 2022, they won the Winter Co-Ed Division Championship, Winter State Championship, New England Co-Ed Division Championship, Division II Championship, and Fall State Championship.
  • Unified basketball – Play in the Central Division, most recently finishing 1–3 in 2021.[7]
  • Gymnastics – They have won three Division II Championships in 2004, 2012, and most recently in 2019.
  • Wrestling – They have won two Division III Championships in 1992 and 1993.

Hazing allegations

On November 16, 2022, reports were released about hazing allegations regarding the West Warwick football team and the school itself, mainly having to due with the junior varsity players and team.[8][9] The superintendent was notified of the alleged incident and suspended seven football players as a result on November 10.[10] It is in question whether or not the team will now be able to play in their next football game. The school had hired a private investigator.[11] The current head coach of the team has been connected to the North Smithfield High School's hazing allegations as well, as he was previously the head coach for the team prior to the reports being released.[12][13] A closed-door parent meeting held on November 17, 2022, proved to not be beneficial as parents were left with more questions than answers.[14] The annual Thanksgiving day game against Coventry High School was played despite ongoing investigations being conducted on both teams.[15] The game resulted in a 34–0 win for the Oakers.

Matthew Dennison

On February 13, 2022, a drunk driver hit Matthew Dennison, a senior, and another student, leaving Dennison in critical condition. The man was arrested and charged with DUI following the crash.[16] On March 10, 2022, after spending 27 days in a coma, Dennison passed away at seventeen years old.[17] On March 17, 2022, his funeral services were held and attended by West Warwick High School students and staff along with Dennison's former teammates on Exeter/West Greenwich hockey team.[18] The Boston Bruins honored Dennision during one of their games shortly after his passing.[19] After a few months, a memorial was approved to be erected in the honor of the 17-year-old hockey captain.[20]

Clubs and activities

Performing arts

The performing arts, have helped to bring national status to the school in recent years. The West Warwick High School Jazz Ensemble "A" Band has won numerous awards including placing in the Finals of the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival in 2002 to 2007, 2009, and 2012 to 2014; winning the prestigious festival in 2007 and 2014.[21] The Concert Band and Concert Chorale have competed and won local and national awards and titles the past twenty years. Currently, the West Warwick High School Music Department is the largest in the state, with more than 600 students participating annually.

The West Warwick High School Players produce musical productions and have performed since 2009, performing High School Musical (2009), Footloose (2010), Aida (2011), Grease (2012), Legally Blonde (2013), In the Heights (2014), Big Fish (2015), The Addams Family (2016), Catch Me If You Can (2017), Shrek the Musical (2018), 9 to 5 (2019), Chicago (2020), Songs for a New World (2021), SpongeBob SquarePants (2022), and Frozen (2023).[22] In 2015, they were the first and only Rhode Island high school to participate in the Connecticut High School Theater Awards, the regional division of the National High School Musical Theater Awards (NHSMTA).

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "West Warwick High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "Coventry vs. West Warwick". rihssports.com. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  3. ^ "WWHS". WWPS.
  4. ^ "West Warwick High School". US News.
  5. ^ "RI Interscholastic League".
  6. ^ Eric, Rueb. "Here are the final scores from Thursday's busy day of Thanksgiving Day football across Rhode Island". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  7. ^ "2022 Unified Basketball League Standings". rihssports.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Allegations against West Warwick football players under investigation". WPRI.com. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  9. ^ NEWS, NBC 10 (2022-11-17). "West Warwick parents frustrated with investigation into hazing allegations". WJAR. Retrieved 2022-11-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ NEWS, NBC 10 (2022-11-16). "Several West Warwick football players suspended from team amid hazing allegations". WJAR. Retrieved 2022-11-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "West Warwick addresses hazing allegations against football team behind closed doors". ABC6. 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  12. ^ World, 247 News Around The (2021-11-02). "West Warwick High School hires 2019 D3 Superbowl winner Wes Pennington". 247 News Around The World. Retrieved 2022-11-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Incident sparks investigation of West Warwick football players. Here's what we know". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  14. ^ "Parents frustrated with investigation into West Warwick football players". WPRI.com. 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  15. ^ Benoit, Katie (2022-11-24). "Coventry-West Warwick football rivalry goes on despite investigations". WJAR. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  16. ^ Sisson, Carl. "Man charged with DUI after crash injures 2 teens". wpri.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  17. ^ Doiron, Sarah; DaSilva, Melanie; Pitts, Amanda. "'It's an unspeakable loss': West Warwick teen critically injured in suspected DUI crash dies". wpri.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  18. ^ Bentley, Jimmy. "Funeral Services Set For West Warwick Teen Killed In Crash". patch.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  19. ^ Levin, Jake. "Bruins remember RI high school hockey player killed in crash". nbcsports.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  20. ^ Dymowski, Cal. "Memorial area for Matthew Dennison, others in the works". turnto10.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Berklee HS Jazz Festival".
  22. ^ "WWHS Players".

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Warwick_High_School&oldid=1124784128"