William Mason High School (Mason, Ohio)
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| William Mason High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 6100 Mason-Montgomery Road Mason, Ohio Mason, Ohio, (Warren County) 45040 United States |
|
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| Information | |
| School type | Public, Coeducational |
| Opened | First graduating class, 1886 (current building, 2002) |
| School district | Mason City Schools |
| Superintendent | Dr.Gail Kist-Kline |
| CEEB Code | 363275 |
| Principal | Dave Hyatt |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 3,300 students (2013) |
| Hours in school day | 7 |
| Color(s) | Green and White |
| Song | The Green and White |
| Fight song | Stand Up and Cheer Tusk |
| Athletics conference | Greater Miami Conference |
| Mascot | Comet |
| Team name | Mason Comets |
| Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[1] |
| Newspaper | The Chronicle |
| Website | http://www.masoncomets.org |
William Mason High School, also known as Mason High School (WMHS or MHS), is a four-year public high school located in the Mason City School District in Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. Its enrollment makes it the largest high school in Ohio, serving more than 3,300 students in grades 9 through 12 in a 620,000 square-foot, three-story facility on a 73-acre campus.[2]
Contents
History
The school's first graduating class was in 1886, with 7 students at commencement at Mason's Opera House. In the following years, graduating classes consisted of 10, 3 (all girls), 3 (all girls), and, in 1890, 14, according to "Around Mason, Ohio: A Story", 1982, by Rose Marie Springman. At the school's 50th commencement in 1935, the school graduated 27. In 1959, the long-time high school on North East Street became a K-8 school with the building of a new high school on Mason-Montgomery Road (the site of the current Mason Middle School). Indoor athletics continued to be held at the old building until a new gym was added to the high school in 1967.
Academics
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 are a member of the Greater Miami Conference for athletics. The current facility was built in 2002 and recently added a $30 million addition to its school, which was completed in 2010. The school has well-known 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.
Mason City Schools is consistently rated one of the top school districts in the state, with a perfect rating of 26 out of 26 indicators on the 2011-2012 Ohio Report Card, according to the district's website, MasonOhioSchools.com. The district earned "Excellent with Distinction" from the Ohio Department of Education and had the sixth-highest Performance Index Score in the state. Also in 2011-2012, the high school had 16 National Merit Semifinalists, and six National Merit Scholars.
The school earned national recognition in 2013 when it was named the "Kindest School in America" for its students' documented completion of thousands of acts of kindness as part of the "26 Acts of Kindness" campaign, inspired in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings.
Technology
Each classroom has a projector, DVD player, VCR, synchronized atomic clocks, a computer for each teacher, 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. During the 2014 school year there was the addition of about 14 Desktop Mac computers for a classroom (integrated media)
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. The building now has wi-fi for mobile devices on a password connection. Mason High School also has over 100 iPads for student use. A new area of the building is the Learning Commons, this is an interactive learning environment that has computer work areas, team building areas, and places for students to study. The building has the most updated security features including a background check system for visitors, over 100 security cameras that both school administrators and local law enforcement can see. 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.
Academic Clubs and Teams
Mason High School is home to several academically competitive clubs, including Speech & Debate, Mock Trial, Science Olympiad, MathCounts, and an Academic Quizbowl Team, who was named champion of the Greater Miami Conference for the 2014-2015 school year.[3]
Athletics
As a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the Mason High School Athletic Department sponsors numerous sports. The Comets participate in the Greater Miami Conference. Previously, Mason was a charter member of the Fort Ancient Valley Conference from 1965-66 to 2006-07.[4] Mason has won the All Sports Trophy for 12 consecutive years — the past seven in the GMC,[5] and prior to that, five more in the FAVC, where the Comets won a total of 21 All Sports Trophies between 1967–68 and 2006–07, according to GoMasonComets.com, the school's official athletics site.
Athletic facilities include:
- Dwire Field at Atrium Stadium: Seating for 6,800, synthetic turf football field, 8-lane all-weather track, Jumbotron scoreboard, three concession stands, two press boxes. Hosts state playoff football games. Named for Walter Dwire, MHS class of 1936 who was the first inductee into the Mason Athletic Hall of Fame, and was Mason's athletic director when the football program was started and the field built in 1962.
- Mason Arena: Seating for 3,200 (with auxiliary gym that seats 1,000), center-court scoreboard, 4 corner scoreboards. Hosts state playoff games.
- Multipurpose Field (soccer, lacrosse): Seating for 1,240, synthetic turf.
- Natatorium: Seating for 600, 11 lanes, movable floor. Hosts state playoff meets.
- Softball fields: three, including main stadium with permanent seating/brick facade. Hosts state playoff games.
- Baseball field: one with permanent seating/brick facade.
- Tennis: Seating for 100, 16 hard courts.
- Atrium Fitness Center: State-of-the-art training and fitness center.
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 H.O.P.E. Club. Most recently, Mason's Science Olympiad placed third at the state competition, after nationally ranked schools, Centerville and Mentor.
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 at various varsity sporting events with its highly successful "Black Hole" student section, formed in the 2007-2008 school year. The Black Hole has been featured in local newspapers including The Cincinnati Enquirer.[6]
Performing arts
The school's Drama Club performs two plays in the fall and winter, 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.
The Instrumental Music Department encompasses six concert bands (concert white, green, silver, winds, symphonic band, and wind symphony), four orchestras, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band, Chamber Strings, Winter Guard, Winter Percussion, and AP Music Theory. The Mason Band Program was awarded the John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Flag of Honor on May 24, 2008. In 2011, the William Mason High School Marching Band was the recipient of the John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Shield, the highest honor a marching band can receive.[7] MHS is one of only 15 schools to ever receive both awards.
Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships/Team
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Division I
- Boys Soccer, 2013
- Boys Cross Country, 2014,[8] 2008
- Girls Golf, 2010, 2009, 2008[9]
- Girls Basketball, 2000[9]
- Girls Track and Field, 2004[9]
- Girls Cross Country, 2013, 2012[9]
Non-OHSAA State Championships/Team
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- Boys Lacrosse, 2004
- Girls Water Polo, 2013
Notable alumni and staff
- Dan Patrick (class of 1974), NBC Sports anchor and studio host of Football Night in America since 2008; host of his own nationally syndicated daily radio show The Dan Patrick Show since 2007, which is also simulcast on NBC Sports Network and formerly simulcast on Fox Sports Net and Comcast Sports Net 2010-2012; and Sports Illustrated senior writer. Former ESPN SportsCenter anchor 1989-2006 and former CNN sports anchor 1983-1989.[10]
- Brant Daugherty (class of 2004), Actor, "Army Wives",[11] "Pretty Little Liars", "Days of Our Lives". In 2013 he appeared as a star/contestant on one of the highest-rated primetime TV shows, ABC's Dancing with the Stars.[12]
- Josh Kline (class of 2008), NFL New England Patriots' offensive lineman (2013–present) and member of winning Patriots' team in Super Bowl XLIX.[13]
- Percy Coleman (class of 1894), Major League Baseball pitcher, St. Louis Browns (1897) and Cincinnati Reds (1898).
- Kadar Brock (class of 1997), abstract artist, editor of W Magazine, host of nationally syndicated public television art show.
- Angela Bizzarri (class of 2006), NCAA champion, Big Ten champion, and All-American cross country and track runner at the University of Illinois and 8-time Ohio state champion in cross country and track at Mason High School.
References
- ↑ [1][dead link]
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