Wayzata High School
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2009) |
| Wayzata High School | |
|---|---|
| "Trojan Head" Logo | |
| Location | |
 | |
| , | |
| Coordinates | 45°2′44″N 93°30′35″W / 45.04556°N 93.50972°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | Character and Scholarship for Life |
| Established | 1857 |
| Principal | Mike Trewick |
| Number of students | 3,237 (06-07) |
| Mascot | Trojans |
| Colors | Royal Blue and Gold |
| Website | wayzata.k12.mn.us/whs |
Wayzata High School is located in Plymouth, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The high school, operated by the Wayzata School District, has approximately 3,500 students, from grades 9 to 12. The current principal is Mike Trewick. Despite being named Wayzata High School, the high school is not actually located in Wayzata. It receives its name from the school district, not the city in which it resides. Newsweek ranked the school #940 in their 2008 "List of the 1300 Top High Schools in America."[1]
Wayzata High School is one of the largest public high schools in Minnesota and also one of the largest in the country.[citation needed] Its interior measures 487,000 square feet (45,200 m2) and cost $58 million to build.[2] Construction was completed in August 1997.
Wayzata High School is part of the Classic Lake Conference, an athletic conference that also includes Minnetonka High School, Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, Edina High School, and Hopkins High School.
Academics
Classes are run on a block schedule of four periods of approximately 86 minutes each, starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 2:20 p.m. The block schedule consists of only four daily classes. Because of the length of a block schedule structured class, a one semester class is equal to taking the class all year. The block schedule allows students to focus more on their four classes rather than having eight or nine classes at some high schools. It also allows students to "double up" and take two years worth of a subject in one year. The majority of students have the same four classes every day during a semester, though many may have some changes between terms due to one-term courses or three-term courses. Some exceptions to this are students in some band, orchestra, and choir classes, who alternate one class with their respective music class every other day.
As of the 2008-2009 school year, Wayzata High School offers 21 Advanced Placement classes[3]. An advantage to using the block schedule is the ability to take essay tests in class that are composed of questions from past Advanced Placement exams, giving a feel for what the actual tests will be like.
Extra-curricular Activities
Academic extracurricular activities of notable mention include debate, Math Team, SkillsUSA, DECA, BPA, Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, Knowledge Master Open, and Quiz Bowl. All of these teams have high rankings in state leagues.[citation needed] The Wayzata Math Team won championships in the Minnesota State High School Mathematics League in 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2008 and was runner-up in 1999 and 2007. In 2006, the Wayzata Math Team placed third in state. It has also won the conference for the past 16 years. In 2006-07, the Wayzata Debate Team also won the Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Novice State Debate Tournaments. In 2007-08 the Wayzata Debate Team won the Varsity State Debate Tournament, and in 2008-09 they won the Junior Varsity State Debate Tournament.[citation needed]
Athletics
In 2005, the Wayzata Trojans won their first ever state football title 28-24 over Cretin-Derham Hall High School[4]. It is considered by many to be the greatest game played in Prep Bowl Finals history. In 2008, another state football championship followed, as the Trojans defeated Blaine High School 27-7, capping an undefeated season.[5] In 2008 the Trojans won the state men's cross country meet[6]. This is the Wayzata cross country team's fifth cross country title in school history[7], the most of any Wayzata school sports teams[8]. The cross country team qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals meet in both 2007 and 2008[9]. They are widely-considered as the top team in the state of Minnesota[10].
Wayzata is part of the Classic Lake Conference in the Minnesota State High School League.
State Championships
| State Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
| Fall | Football | 2 | 2005, 2008 |
| Soccer, Boys | 2 | 1985, 2005 | |
| Cross Country, Boys | 5 | 1992, 1993, 2000, 2007, 2008 | |
| Soccer, Girls | 4 | 1991, 1996, 2000, 2002 | |
| Winter | Basketball, Boys | 1 | 1959 |
| Wrestling | 3 | 1941, 1951, 1952, 1977 | |
| Dance Team J/F | 4 | 1991, 2006, 2007, 2009 | |
| Skiing, Nordic Girls | 1 | 1980 | |
| Spring | Golf, Boys | 2 | 1994, 1998 |
| Synchronized Swimming | 2 | 2007, 2008 | |
| Tennis, Boys | 2 | 1993, 1999 | |
| Track and Field, Boys | 4 | 1977, 1980, 1984, 1995 | |
| Track and Field, Girls | 1 | 2007 | |
| Adapted Bowling | 3 | 2006, 2007, 2008 | |
| Total | 36 | ||
Notable alumni
- Kyle Menken (2001),meatball lover, dragon slayer and dungeon master
- Marion Barber III (2001), running back for the Dallas Cowboys[11]
- Dominique Barber (2004), former safety for University of Minnesota, younger brother of Marion, drafted by Houston Texans
- François-Henri Deserable (2005), French author and professional ice-hockey player
- Andrew Peterson(2003), Defender for the Columbus Crew
- Dick Beardsley, marathon runner, 2nd place in 1982 Boston Marathon
- David Bromstad (1992), interior designer and HGTV television show host
- Shawn Daivari (2002), professional wrestler
- David Gaither, former Minnesota State Senator, and currently Governor Tim Pawlenty's Chief of Staff[12]
- Ben Hamilton, offensive lineman for the Denver Broncos [13]
- Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator (DFL) representing Minnesota [14]
- James Laurinaitis (2005) - Linebacker, Ohio State Buckeyes, 2006 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Winner [15]
- Benjamin Salisbury (1998), former child actor [16]
- Kimberly Elise, actress (John Q, The Manchurian Candidate)
- Jim Kieley (1982) Practice Manager U.S. Enterprise Services at Microsoft Corporation
- Tim Herron, professional golfer [17]
- The Histronic, Minneapolis based livetronica band formed by 2002 graduates Kevin Dorsey, Matt Mantle, and Bill Finn. Press: "This is the best jamband album I have heard in 2008." - David Paul Kleinman jambands.com
- Kirsten Gronfield, actress on TBS sitcom 10 Items or Less[citation needed]
References
- ^ "The Top of the Class". The complete list of the 1,300 top U.S. schools. Newsweek. 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ Wayzata High School Construction, [1]
- ^ Iverson, Sue. "Wayzata High School -- Advanced Placement". Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Minnesota State High School League, 2005 State Football Tournament
- ^ "Wayzata finishes perfect season"
- ^ http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/activitypage.asp?actnum=404
- ^ http://www.wayzata-xc.org/state.meet.history.pdf
- ^ http://www.wayzata-xc.org/state.meet.history.pdf
- ^ http://www.runnerspace.com/nxn
- ^ http://www.raceberryjam.com/mshslccpoll.html
- ^ Marion Barber reference,[2]
- ^ "Gaither, David C." [3]
- ^ Ben Hamilton reference,[4]
- ^ Amy Klobuchar reference, [5]
- ^ James Laurinaitis reference, [6]
- ^ Benjamin Salisbury,[7]
- ^ "Getting schooled by Lil' Lumpy"[8]