Woodford County High School (Kentucky)

Infobox School
name = Woodford County High School (WCHS)


caption =
motto =
established = 1964
closed =
type = Public
affiliation =
district = Woodford County Schools
grades = 9-12
president =
principal = Head: Mr. Rob Akers; Associate: Mr. Bob Gibson, Mrs. Jennifer Forgy, Mr. Dan Cassity (Ret.)
head of school =
dean =
faculty = ~35
staff = ~60
students = ~1200
enrollment =
athletics = Football (boys), Basketball, Soccer, Baseball (boys), Softball (girls), Swimming, Volleyball (girls), Wrestling, Cross-country, Track and Field, Diving, Tennis
conference = KHSAA
colors = Yellow █ and Black █
colours =
nickname = Yellowjackets
campus type = Suburban
campus size =
free_label =
free_text =
free_label2 =
free_text2 =
free_label3 =
free_text3 =
streetaddress = 180 Frankfort Street
city = Versailles
state = KY
zipcode = 40383
country = United States
coordinates =
information = Phone: [phone]
website = http://wchs.woodfordschools.org

Woodford County High School is a public high school located in Versailles, Kentucky. It serves grades 9-12 and since the 1970s is the only public high school in Woodford County.

History

At one time, there were three (3) high schools in Woodford County: Midway High School, Versailles High School and Simmons High School. Simmons was an all black school and in the 1950s Simmons was shut down and its students attended either Midway High School or Versailles HS. Midway High School was shut down in the early 1960s, but continued as an elementary until 1992 and was later converted into apartments. The old Versailles HS building became Woodford County Junior High (later renamed WC Middle School) when the current Woodford County High School building was constructed in 1964. Since that time, WCHS has been the only high school serving Woodford County.

Notable Alumni

Notable alumni include US Rep. Ben Chandler, former Arizona Cardinal Mike Gentry, country music singer John Conlee, former Broadway dancer/performer Joni Schenck and her sister, current NYCMH Rockette and Broadway dancer/performer Megan Schenck, and 2006 America's Junior Miss Taylor Phillips.

Mission/Goals

The Woodford County High School community will create and nurture a positive and safe learning environment of mutual respect, open communication, and high standards where all participants will exhibit the ability to be life-long learners equipped to successfully challenge the future.

Athletics

WCHS has many sports teams including Volleyball, Cheerleading, Wrestling, Cross country running, Track and Field, Football, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball Baseball, Softball, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Swimming, Diving, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee,and Golf. The wrestling team is nationally known and won state in the 2005-2006 season. They have won 14 state championships in their history, more than any other school in the state. Notable wrestlers in WCHS history include four time State Champion Joe Carr, and three-timers Richard Starks, Chris Dunn, Ian Horn, and Jeff Fitch. The cross country team had an amazing 2006 season placing 2^nd in state. Woodford's Varsity men included Chris Rice, Cullen Kuntz, David Grieshaber, Andrew Baker, Jacob Kuntz, Chad Scott, and Noah Vasilakes. The football team had a good season making the playoffs in the 2006 season. In the first round they upset the 10-0 Lafayette Generals, before falling to the Henry Clay Blue Devils in the second round. The soccer teams are also prominent. In 2004, the girl's team made it to the state finals, where they fell to the Notre Dame Lady Pandas. The Girls Soccer team was disqualified from the 2006 district tournament due to a scheduling technicality. They incidentally played 18 games, one more than the maximum 17.

Academics

WCHS was ranked 1137th on "Newsweek"'s list of the 1,300 top schools in the nation, with only 11 other Kentucky schools making the list. WCHS slipped from 1095th place in 2006. In 2005, WCHS met all NCLB goals. Scoring overall in the 45th percentile in math, and 40th in reading. They also met most of the Kentucky Department of Education goals scoring a 79.6 Overall, the highest being Practical Living/Vocational Studies (90.1607) and the lowest being Writing (66.8237).

Clubs/Organizations

*ASA
*Band
*Book
*Choir
*Creative Writing
*ECHO
*FBLA
*FCA
*FCCLA
*FEA
*FFA
*Film
*French Club
*HOSA
*Key Club
*Media
*NHS/Beta
*Pep Club
*SADD
*SEEK
*Spanish
*Spanish Honors Club
*Student Council
*Tech X (Pilot Program)
*Theatre
*TSA
*YMCA Club
*Jewish Club
*YAC Club

Woodford County High School Band

In the bands first year of competitive marching (2005) they did not make state, but they did attend two competitions, one in exhibition and the other scoring 73.9. The band had a sudden director change as ex-director Rex Peyton left for a job at West Jessamine High School just weeks before band camp. The school quickly found a replacement, and about 6 days later hired Mr. Matthew J. Skaggs, to replace Mr. Rex Peyton. There was almost no time to create a show, however, the band still managed to attend two competitions, one in exhibition and the other for a score. (2006 Beechwood Festival of Bands (Fort Mitchell) Score: 55.90. Second Place in the AAAA class). The band program at WCHS has had 3 different directors in the past 4 years.

The 2007 program is space themed. It includes selections such as the Apollo 13 theme, excerpts from Jupiter by Gustav Holst, the theme from E.T., and Gemini. The band debuted their new uniforms and a partially redesigned show in the Lincoln Days Invitational Marching Band Competition, in LaRue County, Kentucky, where they scored a 65.29.

The 2008 program is written by Key Poulan and is "Earth: Construction in Four Movements". Featuring songs entitled; Air, Fire, Water and Land. The band is for the first time competing in the largest in-state class (Division 5A KMEA) as well as competing in the midstates band conference where they are classified in the smaller 4A division.

Fight song

The fight song is a slightly modified version of the theme from Shaft, although the band now plays the fight song in the proper key, the words however are rarely, if ever sung:

Modified:On, on, WCHS, we are right for the fight today,Hold that ball and hit that line; Ev'ry Yellowjacket star will shine;We'll fight, fight, fight, for the yellow and blackAs we roll to that goal, Varsity,And we'll kick, pass and run, 'till the battle is won,And we'll bring home the victory.

Original:On, on, U of K, we are right for the fight today,Hold that ball and hit that line; Ev'ry Wildcat star will shine;We'll fight, fight, fight, for the blue and whiteAs we roll to that goal, Varsity,And we'll kick, pass and run, 'till the battle is won,And we'll bring home the victory.

External links

* [http://wchs.woodfordschools.org/ Woodford County High School Homepage]
* [http://www.education.ky.gov/oaa/implement/School_Report_Card/documents/20052006/Woodford_County/Woodford_County_Woodford_County_High_School.htm CATS Testing Scores]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532678/site/newsweek// Newsweeks Top 1300 Public High Schools]
* [http://dlmedia.uky.edu/classes/uknews/track39.ram UK's Fight Song (Same as WCHS')]

Notes

Percentages are NOT based on percentage of questions answered correctly; it is based on the percentage of students scoring a proficient or better.