Winter Springs High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Winter Springs High School, is a high school in Winter Springs, Florida. It was founded in 1997 as the seventh full-time high school in Seminole County.
| Winter Springs High School | |
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| 130 Tuskawilla Road Winter Springs, Florida |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1997 |
| School district | Seminole County Public Schools |
| Principal | Dr. Michael Blasewitz |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | 2410 |
| Color(s) | Purple & Gold |
| Mascot | Grizzly Bear |
| Website | http://www.wshsbears.com/ |
Contents |
[edit] History
Winter Springs High School first opened in 1997 as the latest high school of Seminole County. Plans had gotten under way three years earlier as a result of overcrowding at Oviedo, Lake Howell and Lyman High Schools. The small community of Winter Springs successfully lobbied to have the school built in their town as a way of creating a "town identity and center, and not just be an outgrowth of the surrounding cities". [2]
A.W. Epps was the school's first principal. When the school opened in 1997, it housed only 9th and 10th grade students. The school housed grades 9-11 in 1998-1999, and the first class graduated in 1999-2000. Dr. Elise Gruber became principal in 2000, and was succeeded by Dr. Michael R. Blasewitz in 2004. The school's bell schedule has been adjusted to a modified block format, to accommodate student needs.
[edit] Sports
Winter Springs High School sponsors many interscholastic sports teams including football, cross country, volleyball, golf, track and field, lacrosse, wrestling, swimming, water polo, bowling, baseball, basketball, soccer, weightlifting, softball and tennis. The Winter Springs teams compete at the A.W. Epps Sports Complex, named after the high school's first principal.
[edit] Football
District championships: 0 (Have been district runner-up 4 times)
Playoff appearances: 4 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005)
- Despite a 3-7 record, the 2009 WSHS football team made the state playoffs in their first year in division 5A before losing to an unbeaten Lakeland team.
[edit] Basketball
The WSHS Basketball team has won back to back district championships, making the State Final Four in 2007 and the Final 16 Regional Final Round in 2008 before losing to Winter Park High School.
[edit] Wrestling
The Wrestling team won the 2008 district championship.
[edit] School rankings
The Florida Department of Education gave the school an "A" rating in the 2003-2004 school year. It also had an A rating in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. In addition, the school is a Florida 5-star school and is also accredited by the Florida Department of Education.
This school is ranked #334 on Newsweek's 2008 list of the Best High Schools in America.[3].
[edit] Band
The Winter Springs High School Band of Gold is under the direction of J Adam McIntyre and Drum Majors Lindsay Morris and Alli Grubbs. The 2009 halftime show will be safari themed, titled, "into the Jungle". In April 2008, the Band of Gold won the highly coveted Otto Kraushaar Award for the first time in 4 years. The Band of Gold traveled to Washington, D.C. in January 2009 for the inauguration of President Obama, as well as performing at the President's Park in Williamsburg, Virginia.
[edit] National Prominence
In 2004, Winter Springs High School gained national attention for its excellent Safe-School Ambassador program and was featured in a segment on MSNBC. In 2005, Winter Springs High School gained national attention yet again when several Winter Springs students, riding in a limousine to prom, stopped the drunk driver and called police. This story gained national headlines, and the students were featured on several national talk shows as well as NBC, CBS, and ABC. [4] In 2005 the school was recognized as having the second largest number of National Merit semifinalists (19) in the state of Florida. The story was featured on the front page of the Orlando Sentinel.
In 2007, Kenneth Colonel, a graduate of the class of 2007, was named the National Champion at the National Forensic League National Speech and Debate Tournament in the Student Congress House of Representatives.[1]
In 2009, Robert Colonel, brother of national champion Kenneth Colonel and a graduate of the class of 2009, was named the State Champion at the Florida Forensics League State Speech and Debate Tournament in Student Congress. Later in 2009 he was also named National Champion at the National Forensic League National Speech and Debate Tournament in the Student Congress Senate. [2]
[edit] Culinary
In 2007, Winter Springs High School Culinary Bears placed in two events at the 7th Annual Prostart Competition. Seniors Matt Ponziano, Scott Ward, and Junior Taylor Tharp all received 5th place in the Waiters Relay Competition. Senior Joseph Kelly placed 4th in Edible Centerpiece. (Students were coached by Chef Jay Judy) there were over 50 schools throughout the state competing. This was the first time Winter Springs High School has ever placed in this competition. In 2009 Winter Springs Culinary Bears again placed highly in the Prostart Culinary Competition but earned top marks in an event for the first time. Juniors Julie More, Chelsea Middleton and Jan Van Oene placed first in the Waiters Relay competition. Winter Springs earned 3rd place overall in the state. 2009 Team members incuded Seniors Jeffrey Patton, Joey Williams, Leah Tapely, and Juniors Dillon Alspaini, Julie More, Chelsea Middleton and Jan Van Oene.
[edit] External links
- ^ "Winter Springs grad wins war of words." Orlando Sentinel. 24 July 2007.
- ^ [1] Orlando Sentinel. 22 June 2009.
- Seminole County Public Schools - WSHS
- Winter Springs High School official website
- School Advisory Council report on Winter Springs (PDF)
