William Mason High School (Mason, Ohio)

William Mason High School
Address
6100 Mason-Montgomery Road Mason, Ohio, (Warren County), 45040 United States
Coordinates	39°21′3″N 84°18′26″W
Information
School type	Public, Coeducational
Opened	2002 (current building)
Superintendent	Dr.Gail Kist-Kline
Principal	Mindy McCarty-Stewart
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	3,200 + students  (2009)
Color(s)	Green and White
Song	The Green and White
Team name	Comets
Accreditation(s)	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Website	http://www.masoncomets.org

William Mason High School, also known as Mason High School, (MHS) is a four-year public high school located in the Mason City School District in Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. It serves more than 3,000 students in grades 9 through 12, supported by classroom teachers, media specialists, technologists, administrators, counselors and an array of staff members, special educators, volunteers and aides.

As of 2011, MHS offers 186 courses and is nationally recognized for "offering one of the most extensive learning experiences available," according to the district's website. Mason Schools are accredited by the North Central Association and a member of the Greater Miami Conference for its athletics. MHS was built in 2002 and recently added a 30 million-dollar new addition to its school, which was completed in 2010. The school has world-class art, music and sports programs. The school also has a student-run bank, Comet Savings & Loan, and a student-run school store, the Comet Zone, both of which are open year-round.

Technology

Each classroom has a projector, DVD player, VCR, synchronized atomic clocks, a telephone with voicemail for each teacher and cable hookup, as well as multi-media computers (depending on the type of classroom). There are 28 computer labs in the building, and they have between 13 and 25 instructional software ranging from photography, media production, math, accounting, CAD/CAM, biology, etc. supporting hands-on project-based instruction. There are approximately 1,100 computers in the school. The entire building has wireless internet capability, including a lecture hall and a 1,200 seat auditorium with a theatrical sound system and lighting.

Mason City Schools has one of the fastest school networks in Ohio, operating over 1,700 times faster than the standard home Internet connection while supporting over 3,200 classroom computers. There are approximately 3 students per computer in the district. The district also supports individual teacher pages for posting of work assignments and other class information. Parents have secure web access to student grades, transportation information, lunch account balances, and more.

Extracurricular activities

More than 85 percent of students at Mason High School are involved in extracurriculars. As a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, Mason High School Athletic Department sponsors numerous sports, such as a wrestling program, American football, tennis, gymnastics, cheerleading, cross country, swimming, basketball, wrestling, track, baseball, softball, Cross Country, and soccer. These sports teams, known as the Comets, participate in the Greater Miami Conference. Previously, Mason was a charter member of the Fort Ancient Valley Conference from 1964 to 2006.

Other activities include award-winning such as Dance Team, Speech and Debate and the Science Olympiad team. The school has a National Honor Society and a Student Government appointed to make a difference in students' communities, along with other leadership clubs such as Mason African-American Students for Change and HOPE Club.

The school has a strong media outlet in its monthly campus student newspaper The Chronicle - a completely student-run publication which has won awards from the National Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association - and MBC Newsmakers, a monthly broadcast show presented to the entire campus. Also present in the school are The Masonian yearbook and Writer's Block, the literary magazine.

MHS promotes school spirit with its highly successful "Black Hole" varsity basketball student section, formed in the 2007-2008 school year. The Black Hole has been featured in local newspapers The Pulse-Journal[1], and The Cincinnati Enquirer[2]

The school's marching band performs competitively in the style of modern drum corps. Its 2007 show, "From Nothing", was Class Champion at the Youngstown Regional Competition, and made it to the semifinal round of the BOA Grand Nationals. The 2008 show, entitled "Meditation", also went to BOA Grand Nationals, and included a violin solo by Peter Chen. In 2009, the show "Between Heaven and Earth" placed twentieth, and in 2010 the show "Underworld" placed fourteenth and was .08 points away from making finals at BOA Grand National Championships. Most recently, Mason's Band reached Grand National Finals with their 2011 show "A Winter's Solstice" and placed 10th overall out of 92 bands.

The Instrumental Music Department encompasses 5 concert bands, 4 orchestras, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band, Chamber Strings, Winter Guard, Winter Percussion, Woodwind Class, Brass Class, Percussion Class, Guitar Class, and Music Theory. The program's staff includes band directors Robert Bass, Micah Ewing, and Avious Jackson as well as orchestra directors Stephanie Jones and Brian Frey. The Marching Band is composed of over 200 students, making it the largest student organization Mason High School offers. The Wind Symphony has performed at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, The National Concert Band Festival, Ohio Music Education Association State Conventions, and at various colleges such as Bowling Green State University, University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, and Northern Kentucky University. The Mason Band Program was awarded the John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Flag of Honor on May 24, 2008, and its Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band played at Carnegie Hall in 2011; the Symphony and Concert orchestras played at Lincoln Center in 2009, and its Symphony and Philharmonic orchestras will play at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center in 2012.

The school's Drama Club performs one show per trimester, culminating in a spring musical each year. Mason High School is a member of the Cappies of Greater Cincinnati, and its winter 2009 play "Noises Off" won the Best Play Cappie. Its outstanding theater facilities include a complete auditorium, scene and costume shop, Green Room and newly-constructed black box theater space, which has sold out during every fall production since its unveiling in the fall of 2009.

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

Further information: Ohio High School Athletic Association

• Boys Cross Country - 2008
• Girls Golf - 2008, 2009, 2010
• Girls Basketball - 2000
• Girls Track and Field–2004

Notable alumni and staff

• Brant Daugherty, Actor.
• Dan Patrick, ESPN sportscaster and Sports Illustrated senior writer.
• Dustin Center, Professional MMA Fighter and 4x All American Wrestler.
• Rachel Slezak Educator and noted vegan chef.

Alma Mater & Fight Song

Alma Mater

While we wear the green and white

While we wear the green and white

We'll remember the days we spent together

While we wear the green and white

Verse 1

When our high school days are over,

Those days so fair and bright.

We'll remember the days we spent together,

While we wore the green and white.

Refrain

While we wear the green and white

While we wear the green and white

We'll remember the days we spent together

While we wear the green and white

Verse 2

In life's stern field of action,

We strive to do it right.

For the sake of the days we spent together,

When we wore the green and white.

Refrain

While we wear the green and white

While we wear the green and white

We'll remember the days we spent together

While we wear the green and white

Fight Song

Stand up and cheer

Let our school be known to all

Mason's bound to win

And our opponents sure to fall!

GO BIG GREEN

Rise all you loyal fans

cheer with us tonight!

Go big green

Go big green

Green and white let's fight!