Ravenwood High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Ravenwood High School
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type = Public
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principal = Dr. Pamela Vaden
asst principal = Robin Dickerson
Reggie Mason
Javier Nuñez
Leigh Webb
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enrollment = >1300
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address =
city = Brentwood
state = Tennessee
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country = United States of America
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colors =
athletics =
mascot = Raptor, represented by the Red Tail Hawk.
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National_ranking =
website = www.wcs.edu/rhs/
nickname =

Ravenwood High School is a public high school located in Brentwood, Tennessee, which serves the eastern-most part of Williamson County and is known for its high test scores, athletics, and fine arts programs.

Opened in 2002, the $24 million facility, designed by architect Charlie Johnson, progressively grew its student body, beginning with only 540 students in grades nine and ten, 32 teachers, and 7 staff members. Currently enrolling 1,830 students, Ravenwood aims "to become a model of successful community collaboration with the purpose of developing all learners to be able to work, learn and lead in the 21st century."cite web|accessdate=2008-06-09
url=http://www.wcs.edu/district/schools/ravenwood.htm
title=Ravenwood High School
work=Directory of Schools
publisher=Williamson County Schools] The mission of Ravenwood is "to develop a community of learners that cultivates the intellect, ability, and character of each person within it."cite web
accessdate=
url=http://www.wcs.edu/rhs/About/mission.htm
title=Mission, Vision
publisher=Ravenwood High School] The school colors are red, black, and gold. The mascot is the Raptor, a bird of prey represented by the Red Tail Hawk.

Administration & Faculty

Dr. Pamela Vaden has served as the principal of Ravenwood since its inception. Before arriving at Ravenwood, she served as assistant principal at Brentwood High School. Dr. Vaden received her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt's Peabody College. Three assistant principals, Dr. Reggie Mason, Leigh Webb, Robin Dickerson, and Lily Leffler aid Dr. Vaden with the day-to-day administration of the school.cite web|accessdate=2008-06-09
url=http://www.wcs.edu/district/schools/ravenwood.htm
title=Ravenwood High School
work=Directory of Schools
publisher=Williamson County Schools] cite web|accessdate=2008-06-09
url=http://www.wcs.edu/rhs/facultystaff.htm
title=RHS Faculty and Staff
publisher=Ravenwood High School]

Academics

Most students at Ravenwood take four academic classes, two electives, one directed study, and a lunch/advocate period. Credits are distributed along a fairly standard path, with most students taking English, mathematics, foreign language, science, and social studies. One year of physical education is also required. Ravenwood has the slightly unrealistic idea that all students that attend this school will go to college, so there are no culinary arts, shop, or auto classes (etc) offered in this school. The standard high school diploma requires twenty-two credits. In addition, two honors diplomas are offered, the Williamson County Honors Diploma and the Ravenwood Honors Diploma. Ravenwood ranks students using weighted GPAs.

There are 15 Advanced Placement (AP) courses that are offered at Ravenwood; however, right now there are no International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. AP classes are fairly popular among students as 33% of 10th though 12th graders are enrolled in at least one AP class. In 2005, 62% of students scored a 3 or higher on end-of-course AP tests, and in 2006, 77% of students scored a 3 or higher.cite web|accessdate=
url=http://www.wcs.edu/rhs/About/achievements.htm
title=Ravenwood Report Card
publisher=Ravenwood High School]

Drama And Forensics

Ravenwood High School holds many talents not only in sports but also in the arts as well. The Theatre department at Ravenwood practices Excellence in every Play and Musical that they set out to do. Last year they put on the plays Macbeth and West Side Story in which both plays they received excellent reviews and set a bar for High School Theatre. This year they are doing The Importance Of Being Ernest and Anticipates to start working on their Spring Musical Footloose The Musical

Band

The Ravenwood High School Marching Band, led by Mark Kinzer, participates in many contests throughout the region and regularly receives superior marks in the categories of Performance and Presentation. In addition to the school marching band, Ravenwood also is home to a wind orchestra which received numerous awards even in its early years of conception. This year their show is entitled "Inner Self" and consists of 4 movements named Confidence, Vulnerability, Realization, and Acceptance. The band has competed in the Columbia Invitational in Columbia, Tennessee (2nd in class; 9th overall) and the BOA regional in Murray, Kentucky (11th overall), and plans to attend the Music City Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee and the prestigious Contest of Champions in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Choir

In addition to the band program, Ravenwood also has a choir program directed by Jamey Kelley. The choir quickly rose to be one of the top groups in the area, receiving repeated superior marks at the various contests and festivals they attended.cn|date=January 2008 The choir classes include separate Men's and Women's choirs, a Choraliers chorus, a Chorale chorus, and an extracurricular group called Forte.

Extracurricular Activities

In addition to sports, Ravenwood has numerous teams, clubs, and organizations covering many interests. Extracurricular activities include:
* Anime Club
* Art & Photography Club
* Astronomy Club
* Book Club
* Crash
* Coffee House Theology
* Color Guard
* Culinary Arts Club
* Distributive Education Club of America (DECA)
* Drama & Forensics
* Environmental Club
* Equestrian Club
* Expolorer Post
* Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
* Film Club
* French Club
* Future Business Leaders of America Club (FBLA)
* German Club
* Habitat for Humanity
* Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA)
* Interact Club
* International Council
* Junior Classical League (JCL)
* Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC)
* Knitwits Club
* Latin Club
* Marching Band
* Mock Trial
* Model UN
* Mu Alpha Theta
* National Honor Society
* Newspaper Staff ('The Black & Red')
* Red Cross Club
* Science Club
* Sign Language Club
* SkillsUSA
* Spanish Club
* Students Taking a Right Stand (STARS) Student Executive Council (SEC)
* Student Council
* Songwriter's Club
* Techno Club
* Together Educators Are Children's Hope (TEACH)
* Victory Club
* Winter Guard
* Winter Running Club
* Yearbook Staff ('The Eye of the Raptor')
* Youth Legislature
The 2005-2006 Ravenwood Mock Trial team was the first team ever to win both first and second place in the regional tournament, along with receiving the awards for Best Witness and Best Attorney.cn|date=January 2008 Ravenwood advanced on to the state competition and received sixth place. Harry Watson, a junior at the time, was also rewarded the Best Defense Witness Award for the state.

The Ravenwood National Forensics League competes at many local and district wide tournaments. Along with a two-time district-winning Reader's Theatre, individuals at Ravenwood have placed first in numerous events at state level, including Dramatic, After Dinner Speaking, and Duet Acting. The Duet Acting team of Mitch Miller and Lindsey Stegall placed in the top sixty in the national level with their piece "Bus Stop", the first time anyone at Ravenwood competed nationally.cn|date=January 2008

Facilities

Ravenwood includes 51 classrooms, 7 computer labs, 10 science labs, a TV production facility, band and choral rooms, art rooms, counseling center, state-of-the art media center, full production theater, weight room, practice gymnasium, and a full-size gymnasium, as well as a bank, retail (i.e. CANDY) store, and cafeteria. Outdoor facilities include a football stadium with a surrounding track, practice football field, baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, and several multi-purpose fields for soccer, lacrosse, and rugby.

Student Body

Ravenwood High School is populated primarily through Woodland and Sunset Middle Schools, which are in turn populated by Kenrose, Nolensville, Sunset, and Crockett Elementary Schools.

Sports

Ravenwood provides many various athletic teams in which students are invited to participate. TSSAA-sponsored sports include:
* Baseball
* Basketball
* Bowling
* Cheerleading
* Cross Country
* Dance
* Football
* Golf
* Soccer
* Softball
* Tennis
* Track & Field
* Volleyball
* Wrestling

Ravenwood is home to many club sports, including:
* Hockey
* Lacrosse
* Rugby
* Swimming
* Ultimate Frisbee
* Ping Pong (Table Tennis) Club

Testing

The ACT exam is a graduation requirement, and students are urged towards a class ACT goal at an annual pep rally. The 2005 average ACT score of Ravenwood was a 22.5, and in 2006, the average score was 23.8. In addition, all sophomores are required to take the PLAN, a pre-ACT course. In 2006, the average composite PLAN score for the sophomore class was 20.4, compared to the state average of 18.2 and the national average of 16.5. PSAT and SAT testing is common, but not required. In the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) writing assessment, the 91% of students passed in 2005 and 94% in 2006. In 2006, Tennessee Gateway scores were also very high, with 95.7% passing Algebra I, 99.7% passing English II, and 99.7% passing Biology.cite web|accessdate=
url=http://www.wcs.edu/rhs/About/achievements.htm
title=Ravenwood Report Card
publisher=Ravenwood High School] There were six National Merit Semi-Finalists in the class of 2006 and one National Merit Semi-Finalist in 2005.

All test scores are recorded on a supplement to the school transcript and sent in to colleges.

References

External Links

* [http://www.wcs.edu/rhs Ravenwood High School]
* [http://www.wcs.edu/district/schools/ravenwood.htm Ravenwood School Profile]
* [http://www.wcs.edu Williamson Country Schools]
* [http://www.ravenwoodraptors.net Ravenwood Athletics Photos]
* [http://www.ravenwoodband.com/ Ravenwood Band]
* [http://www.ravenwoodfootball.com Ravenwood Football]
* [http://www.ravenwoodhockey.com Ravenwood Hockey]
* [http://coachadam.com/ Ravenwood Lacrosse]
* [http://www.coachpeck.com/ Ravenwood Wrestling]