Woodbridge High School (Virginia)
Coordinates: 38°40′52.76″N 77°18′13.82″W / 38.6813222°N 77.3038389°W
| Woodbridge Senior High School | |
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| Address | |
| 3001 Old Bridge Road Woodbridge, Virginia 22192 |
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| Information | |
| School type | Public, high school |
| Founded | 1964 |
| School district | Prince William County Public Schools |
| School number | (703) 497-8000 |
| Principal | David Huckestein |
| Assistant principals | Debbie Floris, Ryan Ferrera, Shelia Coleman, Virginia M. Kubiak, Michele Sullivan |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 2,546 |
| Average class size | English: 26 Math: 21 Science: 24 Social Studies: 22 |
| Hours in school day | 6 hours 30 minutes |
| Color(s) | Green And Gold |
| Mascot | Viking |
| Specialty | Center for the Fine and Performing Arts |
| Website | http://woodbridge.hs.groupfusion.net/ |
Woodbridge Senior High School is a public secondary school located in unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia, United States.
The school was founded in 1942 in the Marumsco Hills Subdivision due to extensive development of the Woodbridge community by Cecil D. Hylton. Classes were originally held at 2201 York Drive (now Woodbridge Middle School). Classes moved to the current building (3001 Old Bridge Road) in 1974. The first class to graduate having attended the full four years at the current building was the class of 1978.
Among others, the school runs the Center of Fine and Performing Arts, which includes concentrations in creative writing, dance, vocal music, instrumental music, visual arts, and theatre.
Woodbridge Senior High School's football program is regarded as one of the state's best. The Vikings have made the Virginia AAA Division 6 playoffs in the past seven consecutive years (2004-2010), including a trip to the AAA Division 6 State Championship game in 2007.
In 2008, Newsweek Magazine ranked Woodbridge 44th on its annual list of "Best High Schools in America."[1]
Students, alumni and friends of Woodbridge High School sometimes refer to it by its nickname, "The Bridge". "The Bridge" is written on the basketball court and refers to how the strong legacy of academics at WSHS "bridges" the gap between young adults and their potential.
Woodbridge High School is also home to the national-award-winning literary arts magazine, Eddas, named for the collection of Norse poetry. It is also home to the state-ranked school newspaper The Valkyrie.
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[edit] Geography
Woodbridge High School is located at 38°40′55″N 77°18′7″W / 38.68194°N 77.30194°W (38.682187, -77.302150). Woodbridge High School is of similar design as nearby Gar-Field High School, which was also built in the mid-1970s.
[edit] Student life
[edit] Homecoming
Homecoming is an honored tradition at Woodbridge and "Spirit Week" is part of the Homecoming celebration. Each of the five days has a different theme. The themes for "Spirit Week" are chosen by the Student Council. On Friday of "Spirit Week", the Pep Rally is held in the gym allowing all the students and faculty to watch or participate. The Homecoming Parade is later held that afternoon, usually going down Antietam Road to the school. The Homecoming Parade floats made by clubs/organizations from the school. Later that Friday evening, the Homecoming Game is held at the WSHS football field and the Homecoming Parade float winners are announced, as well as the Homecoming King and Queen. The Homecoming Prince and Princesses are announced usually during Spirit Week, before the Friday of Spirit Week. On the Saturday of Spirit Week, the Homecoming Dance is held at night.
[edit] Famous Alumni
- Tony Lilly NFL Football (Denver Broncos)
- Russell Davis NFL Football (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Matt Lehr NFL Football
- R. Alan King Military Veteran (Panama and Iraq) and author of Twice Armed: An American Soldiers Battle for Hearts and Minds in Iraq - Winner of 2008 William E. Colby Award
- Kris McCray MMA Fighter
- Lauren "Zui Suicide" Watts Model, Reality television personality
- John Driscoll Actor, Guiding Light, and The Young and the Restless
[edit] Clubs and activities
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[edit] Newspaper
Woodbridge's school-wide newspaper is known as "The Valkyrie." "The Valkyrie" is written solely by students who are enrolled in the journalism course. Stories covered include local and international news, school events, performing arts, opinion/editorial, athletic development, etc.
[edit] Yearbook
Yearbook (Photojournalism/Yearbook as placed on schedules) is a course offered to students who try out and show interest in photography and writing. The "Valhalla" yearbook has earned many honors by judges at competitions. Individuals of the Valhalla staff have consistently won gold, silver, and bronze medals from the Virginia High School League for categories such as Theme, Layout, Copy, etc. 2009 is the first year it is offered in all-color. Valhalla means "Viking Heaven".
[edit] Specialty programs
[edit] Center for the Fine and Performing Arts
Woodbridge is home to the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, a four-year specialty program that's part of the Prince William County Schools Specialty program. Any student in Prince William County can audition to attend Woodbridge instead of their base high school to study their art. The application process begins in January and includes a portfolio, an audition, teacher recommendations, and grade transcripts.[2]
The concentration areas are creative writing, dance, vocal music, instrumental music, theater,and visual arts. Television Productions was formerly included as part of the program, but was recently dropped due to lack of participation. Besides taking the six required credits for their concentration area, students in the CFPA must maintain a certain grade point average in their academic classes, and focus on the humanities in their English and social studies classes. Students are also able to take Master Classes, hear guest speakers, and go on field trips, and earn 'points' for going to art events outside of school, such as concerts and plays. One hundred points are needed to graduate with a CFPA diploma.
Arts After Dark, the CFPA open house, is held once a year in May, giving students an opportunity to share their art with the community. Senior Showcases are also held at the end of the year. Other student performances are held throughout the year.
The program is currently run by Carol Ann Rethmel.
[edit] Army JROTC
Woodbridge offers JROTC classes. Students are required to wear uniforms once a week. The WSHS Junior ROTC currently holds the status of Honor Unit with Distinction; the highest unit award in Army Junior ROTC. The JROTC Program also has several teams within the program, which include the Armed Drill Team, the Unarmed Drill Team, the Rifle Team, the Raider Team, and the Army JROTC Color Guard.
[edit] Project Lead the Way
As part of Project Lead the Way, Woodbridge offers classes in engineering. Classes recommended to freshman include Digital Electronics and Introduction to Engineering Design. Advanced classes include Principals of Engineering and Civil Engineering and Architecture. Students applying for the program must receive a recommendation from their math teacher. [1]
[edit] Cosmetology
Cosmetology is also offered at Woodbridge.[3]
[edit] Test scores
Woodbridge Senior High School is a fully accredited high school based on its performance on the Virginia Standards of Learning tests. Its SAT average in 2005 was a 1,008 (510 in Verbal; 498 in Math).
[edit] Renovations
In Summer 2005, Woodbridge Senior High School underwent extensive renovation throughout the building. The math pods were completely renovated, and work on the social studies pods began. Trailers to house students displaced by the renovation were parked near the school tennis courts. Classes were rotated out of their usual classrooms and into these trailers in two month cycles. The trailers were cold and wind-battered.
Students came back to school in the Fall of 2005 to find that they had no ceilings, as the tiles had been taken out for replacement, and since this revealed electrical wires and mechanical equipment, there were concerns about a detrimental effect on the learning environment. However, wiring and machinery was carefully secured and no injuries or ill health effects were reported. The only incidents of electrocution were the students' own faults.
During the 2006 academic year, the social studies, English, and foreign language pods were renovated, along with other classrooms including JROTC, and during the summer of 2006, the art classrooms and science pods were renovated due to the inadequacy of trailers as makeshift classrooms for those areas of study.
The renovation was completed during the summer of 2007, but not finished until 2009.
[edit] Sports
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[edit] See also
- Official Website
- Prince William County Public Schools
- Woodbridge High School Profile
- Woodbridge High School Data
[edit] References
- ^ "America's Top Public High Schools 2008". Newsweek. http://highschools.newsweek.com/topschools_cdn/2008/-location/1/.
- ^ "Center for the Fine and Performing Arts". Woodbridge Senior High School. September 19, 2007. http://cfpa.woodbridge.hs.groupfusion.net/modules/groups/group_pages.phtml?gid=125538&nid=20014&sessionid=d995cfac4b19a380567eb53a1a38fd15.
- ^ "Cosmetology". Woodbridge Senior High School. http://woodbridge.hs.groupfusion.net/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=11360&sessionid=d995cfac4b19a380567eb53a1a38fd15.
- ^ vikingsathletics.org - Men's Championships
- ^ vikingsathletics.org - Women's Championships
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