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Winter Park High School

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Winter Park High School
Location
Map
Winter Park
,
Florida

United States
Coordinates28°35′04″N 81°19′21″W / 28.584521°N 81.322565°W / 28.584521; -81.322565
Information
TypePublic magnet school/ Public High School
Established1927
School districtOrange County
SuperintendentRonald Blocker
PrincipalWilliam R. Gordon II
Faculty169
Enrollment3600
Color(s)Orange and black
MascotWillie the Wildcat
Websitehttp://www.wphs.ocps.net/

Winter Park High School located in Winter Park, Florida is one of seventeen public high schools in Orange County. Winter Park High School is a magnet school for the International Baccalaureate program.

History

Winter Park High School was constructed at 528 Huntington Avenue in 1923. It was one of the first high schools in Orange County. The school remained in this location until construction began in 1969 at the present location. Renovations at the main campus began in 2004 and are completed. The original campus remains in use to this day as the Winter Park High School Ninth Grade Center, a campus exclusively used by ninth-grade students.

Sports

Athletic teams[1]

School rankings

In 2007-2008 Winter Park regained the grade of "A" as given by the FDE. For the two years in a row, Winter Park High School was awarded a "B" rating. "B" was the highest grade awarded for any Orange County high school. The Florida Department of Education gave the school a "B" rating in the 2005-2006 school year. Previously, the school had an "A" rating in 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. The school received an "A" as of the 2007-2008 school year.

Clubs[1]

The Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps unit at Winter Park High School is the largest campus organization with over 300 members actively participating. The unit has been honored as an Area Seven distinguished unit for all but one of its thirteen years in existence. The unit's competition teams consistently are state finalists.

Model United Nations club

The Winter Park High School Model United Nations club is a forum for debate on various international issues. Delegates from WPHSMUN participated in KnightMUN (a conference hosted by the University of Central Florida) and FHSMUN conferences in the 2007-2008 school year; at FHSMUN, the club received five individual and two delegation awards.

Performing Arts

Winter Park High School has a notable Performing Arts program. It was named a 2004-2007 Music Demonstration School by the Florida Department of Education. The Band, Orchestra, and Choral programs consistently receive "Superior" ratings at State Performance Assessments and all three are recognized nationally as top rated public high school performing arts programs. The Performing Arts Department Chair is Director of Bands, Mr. Joel Moody.

Drama

Director Kit Haskett

The Winter Park High School Drama department is directed by Christopher Haskett. Thespian Troupe 850 is an honor society that works together inside and out of the department for competitions and the community. In 2008, a group of students in the department wrote, directed, and performed a one-act play entitled "A Work in Progress" that received an excellent rating at District Competition in January. Students also work together to produce two main stage two-act productions each year. Recent productions include To Kill a Mockingbird, M*A*S*H, Steel Magnolias, and Arsenic and Old Lace. In 2008, students in the department performed a night of one-act plays, include the aforementioned "A Work in Progress", and "The Plutonium Brain!", a science fiction comedy written by students Jacob Wise and McAlister Grant, which won the award for "Best-in-Show" in the Playwriting category at Thespian District 5 Competition in 2008. In 2009, another night of one-acts was performed, this time including a sequel to "Plutonium Brain" entitled "Plutonium Beach Barty", also by Jacob Wise and McAlister Grant, and "Reserved Seating" for which Wise and Grant received the "Best-in-Show" awards in the Playwriting category at both Thespian District 5 competition and Florida State Thespian Competition.

Orchestra

Director Laurie Bitters

The various ensembles in the orchestra program have a long history of superior ratings at both State and District Music Performance Assessments sponsored by the Florida Orchestra Association.[citation needed] The program consists of four orchestras: Concert Orchestra, which is a ninth grade orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, which is open to all 10-12 grade students, Winter Park Philharmonic ("Park Phil"), which is available to 9-12 grade students by audition, and Lyric Strings, which is available to 10-12 grade students by audition. Under the previous direction of Charles Laux, the Winter Park Philharmonic was selected to perform at the 60th Annual Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago in December 2006.

Chorus

Directors Matthew Swope & Sherlee Huang Glomb

The Choral Department at Winter Park High School comprises six choirs and various ensembles. The non-auditioned choirs are the Freshman Women’s Chorus, the Wildcat Men’s Ensemble, and Cantabile. There are three advanced level choirs in the Choral Department: Park Singers, Belle Chanson, and Concert Choir. The Winter Park Chorus Department has performed at Disney Epcot's Candlelight Processional, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and many community and school events. Its students have participated in the American Choral Director Association's Honor Choir, the Florida All-State SSAA, SATB, and Sight-reading choirs, and Orange County Public Schools honor choirs.

Band

Directors Joel Moody & Francis Franqui

The Band Program services over 250 students and consists of six performing ensembles: The Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Color Guard, and the "Sound of the Wildcats" Marching Band. The Marching Band has had performances across the country including the 2005 Autozone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee; the 2002 Blue Cross/Blue Shield Fiesta Bowl Marching Band Championship and Parade in Phoenix, Arizona; and the 2000 Sylvania Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. The band also performed in the 2009 fiesta bowl parade and participated in the 2009 Music Performance Assesment (MPA) at the fiesta bowl. In addition, The "Sound of the Wildcats" holds the distinction of being one of the few high school bands in the country to have an original school fight song. The Wind Ensemble performed at the 2002 Bands of America National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana; was the feature ensemble at the "President's Concert" of the Florida Music Educator's Association Conference in Tampa in 2007; and performed at the prestigious 60th Annual Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to ensemble activities, individual musical achievement is stressed within the membership of the band program. Students also participate in the All-State and All-County bands and various Honor Bands throughout the year.

Ninth Grade Center

Built in 1923 in Mediterranean Revival style at a cost of $137,000, the Winter Park High School Ninth Grade Center originally measured only 10 acres. Over time, the school's population began to grow, and before long, it became overcrowded. In 1969, a second campus was constructed less than three miles away, and the Ninth Grade Center became a secondary campus, used only for ninth grade students. Now the freshman campus, with about 1,020 students, is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Freshman students wishing to participate in extracurricular activities (band, orchestra, sports, etc.) or classes not offered at the Ninth Grade Center can take a bus before their 2nd period from the main campus to the Ninth Grade Center. The Ninth Grade Center's schedule is offset eighteen minutes later[2][3] to accommodate the bus ride. The campus offers a wide array of courses and prepares students for an excellent Winter Park High experience.

In 2008, Winter Park High School was listed at 160 in Newsweek's 1,200 Top U.S. Schools, with the criteria being which schools have the largest percentage of students taking Honors AP or IB exams.[4]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ a b WPHS Planner 2008. Winter Park High School.
  2. ^ "Main Campus Bell Schedule" (PDF). OCPS.
  3. ^ "Freshman Bell Schedule" (PDF). OCPS.
  4. ^ http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=newsweeks%20top%20schools&sa=N&tab=wf&um=1
  5. ^ Philadelphia Soul game notes, OurSportsCentral.com
  6. ^ [1]
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