- Ottawa Senior High School
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Ottawa Senior High School
Ottawa High SchoolLocation Ottawa, Franklin County, 66067
United StatesInformation School type Public Established 1917 School district 290 Superintendent Dean Katt Principal Rick Johnson Grades 9-12 Enrollment 699 Average class size 14:1 Classes offered College & College Prep Color(s) Red and White (Unofficially Black) Rival Paola High School Newspaper The Review Yearbook 'The Record' Affiliation Kansas State High School Activities Association, 4A Website School Website Ottawa Senior High School, or Ottawa High School, is a public high school located in Ottawa, Kansas, serving students in grades 9-12. Its athletic teams, known as the Cyclones, compete in the Frontier Athletic League. The principal is Rick Johnson, the assistant principal is Ryan Cobbs, and the athletic director is Brad Graf. The current enrollment of the school is approximately 689 students, and the school has 102 teachers, secretaries, paras, and nurses. Ottawa Middle School is the main feeder school to Ottawa Senior High School.
Contents
History
The USD 290 school district was established on November 12, 1864 by Jacob Sumstine.[1] The first term of Ottawa Public School (then the only school in the county) was held from 1864-1865 in the upstairs of a building on Second Street and Main Street. The first school building was built in 1866 and served until 1872.[1] A newer school, referred to as Central School was built at Fifth Street and Main Street and served until 1898 when it was renamed Washington School. This school ceased to exist in 1927. In 1917, adjacent to Washington School, a new building designed by architect George Washburn's son officially became Ottawa Senior High School.[1] This new school served the community for 51 years before a new school on Ash Street replaced it in 1968. Later, in 1978, wood and metal shops were added. The latest addition was created in 1990.
Academics
Ottawa High School
Ottawa High School operates on a 7:45am to 3:10pm school day with 7 classes each day. Ottawa Senior High School offers a wide variety of classes geared towards the specific abilities and interests of its students. In addition to the standard curriculum, the school also has various courses geared towards the preparation of students for college or university-level education. These “College Preparatory” courses are offered in English, Government and Economics.
Ottawa High School also offers college classes via Neosho County Community College, classes on the Spanish and French languages,[2] and visual and performing arts classes such as basic/advanced art, clay construction,[3] debate, forensics, theatre,[4] band, and various vocal classes.[5] Ottawa High also has a newspaper class that electronically publishes The Review,[4] with physical copies released near the end of each semester,[4] a now-defunct videography class that produced The Nutshell, and a yearbook class that annually puts out The Record.[4]
Mission Statement
The mission of Ottawa High School is to build relationships with students while educating through rigor and relevance, resulting in life-long learners.
Extracurricular activities
The extracurricular activities offered at Ottawa Senior High School are many and varied. The Cyclones compete in the Frontier League and are classified as a 4A school according to the KSHSAA. Throughout its history, Ottawa High School has won several state championships in various sports and activities.
Athletics
Ottawa High School offers the following sports:
- Fall[6]
- Football
- Volleyball
- Boys' Cross-Country
- Girls' Cross-Country
- Boys' Soccer
- Girls' Tennis
- Cheerleading
- Winter[6]
- Boys' Basketball
- Girls' Basketball
- Wrestling
- Winter Cheerleading
- Spring[6]
- Baseball
- Boys' Golf
- Boys' Tennis
- Girls' Soccer
- Softball
- Boys' Track and Field
- Girls' Track and Field
State Championships
State Championships Season Sport Number of Championships Year Fall Cross Country, Girls 7 1981, 1985, 1987, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999[7] Cross Country, Boys 1 1972[7] Winter Basketball, Boys 1 1971[8] Indoor Track & Field, Boys 1 1970[9] Spring Track and Field, Boys 4 1948, 1970, 1971, 2000[9] Track and Field, Girls 3 1981, 1982, 1983[9] Softball 1 2003[10] Total 18 Performing arts
Band
The 2010-2011 Ottawa High Marching Cyclones conducted by senior drum major Paul ThomasThe Ottawa High School band program has several state recognized performers every year, qualifying either individually or in ensemble groups. The marching band, known as the Ottawa High Marching Cyclones, perform every year at the University of Kansas' Band Day and the Baker Marching Festival. The band program received a prestigious one rating at Baker in 2005 and 2006, under the direction of Chris Reynolds. The concert band competes in the state large ensemble competition annually and received one (superior) ratings most recently in 2008, 2010 and 2011.The band is currently under the direction of Courtney Williams.
Chorus
The Ottawa High School chorus program consists of a woman's chorus, a men's chorus, an a cappella choir, and an elite show choir. The chorus regularly competes in the state large ensemble competition as well as having several smaller ensembles and solos compete annually. The chorus is currently under the direction of Lori Underwood with accompaniment by Becky Kunard.
Ottawa High School has one competition show choir known as the Cytones. The Cytones compete in the Missouri show choir league since Kansas does not have show choir competitions. The Cytones also compete at the state small ensemble competition every year. The show choir currently consists of ten male and ten female members.
Drama and theatre
Fall musical and spring play
Every year the Ottawa High School music department presents a fall musical. The performance consists of a student cast, stage crew, tech crew, and pit and is put on at the Ottawa Municipal Auditorium. It is directed by Lori Underwood with pit direction by Courtney Williams.
Ottawa High School puts on a play every spring at the Ottawa Municipal Auditorium with a student cast and crew. It is directed by Chanlynn Allen.
Debate and Forensics
Many Ottawa students participate in speaking and acting competitions throughout the school year. During the fall, Ottawa's Debate team is active, and during the spring the Forensics teams is active. Both teams, composed of 9th–12th graders, compete on Saturdays at area high schools. Ottawa annually hosts both debate and forensics tournaments. When competing nationally, Ottawa competes in the National Catholic Forensic League. The debate team is under the direction of Shaun Denton, and the forensics team is under direction of Angela Flax.
The Nutshell
As mentioned in the Academic section, OHS once had a weekly program called "The Nutshell." The show was produced during the 2003-2004 and 2007-2008 school years. After several years of degradation, only two students remained in the videography class: Grant Neal and Caleb Mitchell. The two decided to start a weekly show that would highlight the various aspects of life at OHS. The Nutshell aired during seminar and gave the students something to watch before a block of silence and homework. After roughly 10 episodes, the show was ended due to a difference in opinion over subject matter between the supervising teacher and the students. The shows was resurrected in 2007, but was subsequently ended following the elimination of the videography class. Since then, the show also had numerous airings on Ottawa community television.
Other
Ottawa High School students actively participate in Student Council (commonly abbreviated to STUCO). Ottawa High School also has a state-qualifying Scholar's Bowl team, a branch of the National Honor Society, a state-qualifying chess team, and a successful Science Olympiad competition team.
Notable alumni
- Steve Grogan, former New England Patriots quarterback, led Ottawa to a runner-up place in state football and to a state championship in basketball
- Lisa Morrisey, contestant on season 15 of The Bachelor
- Don Harrison, news anchor, one of the original anchors of CNN Headline News
- Stanley Sheldon, bassist and vocalist for Peter Frampton, most notably on Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive! album
- David Mills, prominent American Idol "reject" in the beginning Season 6[11]
- Brett Staneart, recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team and Writers Guild Award (Guiding Light)[12]
- Kearsten Peoples, current Kansas record holder for high school girls' shot put (51'10 3/4")[13] and state record holder for discus (166' 7")[14]
- Andrew Miller, Professional Baseball player for the Rio Grande Valley Whitewings, Las Cruces Vaqueros and Ruidoso Oso's.
References
- ^ a b c Yeamans, Diane (1989). My Ottawa Book. Ottawa, Kansas.
- ^ "Ottawa High School - Foreign Language". USD 290. http://www.usd290.org/ohs/academics/fl.html. Retrieved 2010/08/23.
- ^ "Ottawa High School - Art Courses". USD 290. http://www.usd290.org/ohs/academics/art.html. Retrieved 2010/08/23.
- ^ a b c d "Ottawa High School - Language Arts". USD 290. http://www.usd290.org/ohs/academics/la.html. Retrieved 2010/08/23.
- ^ "Ottawa High School - Music Courses". USD 290. http://www.usd290.org/ohs/academics/music.html. Retrieved 2010/08/23.
- ^ a b c "Ottawa High School - Athletcs". USD 290. http://www.usd290.org/ohs/athletics/. Retrieved 2010/09/30.
- ^ a b KSHAA. KSHSAA Cross Country. KSHAA.org. pp. 11–13. http://www.kshsaa.org/Public/CrossCountry/PDF/CompleteHistory.pdf.
- ^ KSHAA. History of Boys State Basketball Winners. KSHAA.org. pp. 1. http://www.kshsaa.org/Public/Basketball/PDF/CompleteHistory.pdf.
- ^ a b c KSHAA. KSHSAA Track & Field. KSHAA.org. pp. 31–34. http://www.kshsaa.org/Public/Track/PDF/CompleteHistory.pdf.
- ^ KSHAA. KSHSAA Girls State Softball Tournaments. KSHAA.org. pp. 35. http://www.kshsaa.org/Public/Softball/PDF/CompleteHistory.pdf.
- ^ Niccum, Jon (2007/02/02). "‘Idol’ worship". Lawrence-Journal World (Lawrence, Kansas). http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/feb/02/idol_worship/. Retrieved 2010/09/30.
- ^ Allan, Jeremiah (Feb. 4, 2007). "Standing on the Picket Line", The Campus, Ottawa University. Retrieved 2010/09/30.
- ^ Gillespie, Jimmy (May 28, 2010). "Kehl improves school record, finishes third" (Web). Baldwin City Signal. http://signal.baldwincity.com/news/2010/may/28/state-track-blog/?breaking. Retrieved Feb. 2, 2007.
- ^ Maycock, Brent (May 29, 2010). "Ottawa's Peoples does it again" (Web). CJOnline. http://cjonline.com/sports/track_field/2010-05-29/ottawas_peoples_does_it_again. Retrieved 06/01/2010.
Coordinates: 38°36′43″N 95°15′59″W / 38.61194°N 95.26639°W
External links
Categories:- High schools in Kansas
- Schools in Franklin County, Kansas
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