Iowa City West High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Iowa City West High School
address = 2901 Melrose Avenue
type = Public
established = 1968
grades = 9-12
students = approx. 1775
principal= Dr. Jerry Arganbright
website = [http://www.iowa-city.k12.ia.us/Schools/West/ http://www.iowa-city.k12.ia.us/Schools/West/]
affiliation = Mississippi Valley Conference
colors = Forest Green and Gold
mascot = Trojans/Women of Troy
yearbook = The Epic
newspaper = West Side Story
student section = Army of Troy
city = Iowa City
state = Iowa
country = USA
picture =
image_caption =

seealso|West High School "for schools of the same name"

Iowa City West High School is a public high school in Iowa City, Iowa. It is currently home to over 1900 students, in grades 9 through 12, and nearly 200 teachers, administration, and support staff. All boys athletic teams are called "The Trojans," while all girls teams are called "The Women of Troy."

History

West High opened its doors for the first time in the fall of 1968, its construction relieving the enrollment requirements of a growing city. The first principal was Edwin K. Barker. The first student council president was Tom Karson. Gina Gelman, a senior in the first graduating class of 1969, composed the new school's fight song, which is set to the tune of the University of Houston fight song. The school's newspaper was named the "West Side Story" and its yearbook was named the "Epic." When it opened, the high school handled grades 10 through 12, with the 9th grade students remaining in the local school district's Junior High Schools.

Present

Recently, West High School's enrollment has reached its maximum capacity of over 1800 students. Because of this, incoming students from non-"feeder schools" (such as Northwest Junior High or North Central Junior High) are required to attend West High's cross-town rival, Iowa City High School.

West High School provides many musical opportunities to its students. There are multiple classes for band, choir, and orchestra. Extracurricular musical activities include select choirs, show choir, jazz band, musicals, and others. West is known to have an outstanding music program.

West High School students are noted for excellence in academics. A vast majority of the students that take Advanced Placement exams receive college credit for those classes and West High traditionally is one of the leading schools in the state in terms of National Merit Scholars.

Sports

West High School, a 4A school, offers a variety of sports including boys and girls basketball, football, boys and girls soccer, baseball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls track and field, softball, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls tennis, and boys and girls golf. There are sports-related clubs that often meet to play, for example, ultimate frisbee. The 2008 football team finished the season 1-8 with the head coach Mike Cooper resigning at the end of the season. The Trojan wrestling team, led by national champ and two time all-American Mark Reiland, has garnered national attention winning back-to-back team titles at the State Tournament in Des Moines. Led by Nick and Nate Moore, Derek St. John, Grant Gambrall, and Dylan Carew, they are currently ranked #6 in the nation by W.I.N. Magazine. [ [http://www.win-magazine.com/Rankings/Brute%20Rankings%20Current%20High%20School.html Untitled Page ] ]

Extracurriculars

"Favonius"

This club creates a monthly book-like compilation of poetry, drawings, and stories. The members often hold writing contests to increase entries for publication, usually for a monetary reward. The club is named after Favonius the Roman god of the west wind.

French Club

This club is for all students that take French or for students that are interested in French culture. The group often has hot chocolate and croissants in the morning to get more people interested in the club. They also have competitions to create a certain French food that is picked to be made.

panish Club

Like the French club, the Spanish club is for all students that take or are interested in the language.

German Club

This club, like the other language clubs, is for all students that take or are interested in the language.

West High Math Team

The West High Math Team has won numerous awards at local and regional math competitions. It is a seven-time winner of the GPML Midwest Regional Math Competition (covering six states).Fact|date=February 2008

West High Forensics

The West High Speech and Debate, or Forensics, team has many participants and consistently gains national recognition.
West High Forensics is a member of the National Forensics League, the Iowa High School Forensics Association and the Iowa High School Speech Association. The Director of Speech and Debate is Cynthia Woodhouse, who also has published a book on Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Fact|date=February 2008

"West Side Story"

West High's student-run, student-produced newspaper, the "West Side Story" has gained national recognition as an innovative, professional-quality newsmagazine.Fact|date=February 2008 It is produced monthly.

Academic Decathlon

The West High Academic Decathlon team was reconstituted in 2006 after several years of being on hiatus. The team qualified for state in its first year by a slight margin but due to schedule complications was unable to send a team. In 2007, its second year, it fielded two teams for regionals. The teams placed second and third behind the perennial victor Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School. One team represented the school at state competition and placed a close second behind Jefferson. Fact|date=February 2008In 2008, the team went to Washington D.C. to compete.

Drama Club

The West High drama club regularly presents plays such as "Into the Woods", "Midsummer's Night Dream", "Anything Goes", and "Les Miserables", as well as "West High Story", a play written by the school's students and depicting the experiences of students at West High School.Fact|date=February 2008

Prominent alumni

* Nate Kaeding, current All-Pro place kicker for the San Diego Chargers
* Bart Watson, one-time star of the Stanford University ultimate frisbee team and player on Team USA, fielded in the World Ultimate Frisbee Championships [ [http://www.upa.org/files/usa2005.htm List of 2005 Team USA Ultimate Frisbee Team Members ] ]
* Laura Leighton, who starred on FOX's "Melrose Place." [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0500359/bio Laura Leighton Biography ] ]
* Glen Worley, former college basketball player at the University of Iowa.
* Erin O'Conner, professional volleyball player in Kuusamo, Finland.

References

External links

* [http://www.iowa-city.k12.ia.us/Schools/West/ West High's home page]