Whitinsville Christian School

Infobox School
name = Whitinsville Christian School


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established = 1924
closed =
type = Christian day school
affiliation = Christian Schools International
district =
grades = K-12
president =
principal = Mary Masselink (elementary) Don Godeke (middle) Chris VanderBaan (high)
head of school = Lance Engbers
dean =
faculty = 60
staff =
students = 640
enrollment =
athletics =
conference =
colors = blue and white
colours =
mascot = Crusader
campus type = suburban
campus size = 6-7 acres
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location = 279 Linwood Avenue Whitinsville, Massachusetts
country = USA
coordinates = Coord|42|06|23.5|N|71|39|13.6|W|display=inline,title
website = http://www.wcs.mec.edu/

Whitinsville Christian School is a K-12 Christian day school, one of the oldest in Massachusetts. The school is organized into an elementary school (grades K-5), a middle school (grades 6-8) and a high school (grades 9-12). It is a member of Christian Schools International and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

History

In 1907, a group of fathers from the Christian Reformed Church of Whitinsville organized a Society for Christian Instruction. It was their desire and purpose to educate their children in a school where the Scripture was central to all of learning. In 1924, the Society was incorporated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an educational institution. Classes began in 1928 in the basement of the Dutch Christian Reformed Church on Willow Street in Whitinsville.

In 1966, a 28 acre (11 hectares) site was purchased from the Whitin Machine Works, and on March 30, 1968, ground was broken for a new school building, which was completed in November, 1969. In August 2006, the school, located at 279 Linwood Avenue in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, serves about 640 students with about 60 faculty and staff.

Music

WCS also has an orchestra program for students in grades K-12. The students are taught using the Suzuki method. Over 125 students participate in the WCS strings program. Every two years the most advanced members of the orchestra go on a tour to play their instruments and interact with the people in that area. Many trips are to places in the U.S., although past trips have included the Dominican Republic in 2005 and England in 1998. Many middle and high school students audition for the Central District orchestra, which is composed of musicians from the Central Massachusetts area. Two musicians from WCS made it to the All-Eastern level orchestra, and one student has gone on to the National Honors Orchestra.

WCS also has a high school band which plays regularly. The band goes on a Band Tour late in the school year, performing in several Massachusetts locations.

ports

The school's sports facilities were updated in 2005-2006. At the end of the 2005-06 school year a track was completed. It circles the varsity soccer field that was added the year before. In 2005 the softball field was built in the memory of the late Karen Taylor. The school also has six tennis courts that were built in the memory of Kaitlin Sperry Koopman.

The boys varsity basketball team was the 2004-2005 division 3 state championship winner, and they have been district champions three years in a row: 2004, 2005, 2006. The school's teams are known for their refusal to play on Sunday.

The cross country running team has lost only one dual meet in the last 9 seasons and they have made it to states for 9 years in a row.

Tennis is also one of the school's sports. Last year (2005-2006,) the boy's varsity tennis team went far in their division. WCS has a middle school and varsity team for both boys and girls. They hope to have a strong upcoming team in future years, as the sport is becoming popular amongst students.

The school has varsity, junior varsity, and middle school volleyball teams open to girls only, and they play both public and private schools in the area. The varsity team most recently reached the districts in 2005 and 2006.

The school's soccer program includes varsity boys, junior varsity boys and varsity girls teams, which reached the districts in 2006 for the second time in this school's history.

High school classes offered

As of 2008-09:^denotes required courses./denotes semester courses.'denotes classes with Honors components.%denotes courses with both Level 1 and Level 2 classes. Level 1 is harder and moves quicker. Level 2 students cannot move up to Level 1 without approval from the administration.

cience

*Physical science^
*Health/^
*Biology^
*Chemistry'
*Genetics^
*Physics/
*Kinesiology/
*Anatomy/
*Ecology/
*Marine Biology/ (summer course, compressed to three weeks)

Mathematics

*Algebra I^% & II%
*Geometry^%
*Trigonometry/Pre-calc
*AP Calculus'
*Discrete Math/
*Statistics/

History & Social Sciences

*U.S. History^
*European History^
*Cold War History/
*American Government/^
*Psychology/
*Philosophy/

Bible

Four Bible classes, one semester each, are required for graduation. Juniors and Seniors can choose which Bible class they want to take; this decision is usually based on avoidance of schedule conflicts.
*Hermeneutics/^
*Christian Life/^
*Biblical Palestine/
*C. S. Lewis/
*Marriage and Family/
*New Testament Theology/
*Foundations/
*(Evening) Jesus the Rabbi/

English

*English 9^
*English 10^
*American Literature^
*British Literature^'
*Creative Writing/
*Speech/^
*Academic Writing/^
*Junior Paper^
*Senior Paper^

Technology

*Computer Applications I/^ & II/^
*Java Programming/*
*(Evening) Java/
*Spreadsheeting

panish

*Spanish I^ & II & III' & IV'
*(Evening) Spanish I

Fine Arts

*Band/
*Choir/
*Orchestra/
*Music Theory I/ & II/
*Music Composition/
*Design Fundamentals/
*Drawing/
*Printmaking/
*Sculpture/
*Photography/
*Painting/
*Senior Art Studio/

Misc.

*Architectural Design/
*Accounting I & II
*Business Law/
*Economics/
*PE 9/^ & 10/^
*World Cultures/

Extracurricular Activities

*Sports - m=boys only, f=girls only, b=both
**Basketball-b
**Baseball-m
**Softball-f
**Cross Country-b
**Outdoor Track-b
**Indoor Track-b
**Tennis-b
**Soccer-b
**Volleyball-f
*Debate club
*Robotics Club- FIRST team 663, students given 6 weeks to design, build, program and test a robot costing as much as $4500, plus another $5000 for registration and the Kit of Parts.
*Drama Club- Stages two productions each year.
*Student Council is in charge of Spirit Week and the dances.
*Class Officers are responsible for hosting class events and raising money for the class fund.
*Yearbook Committee
*Chapel Committee
*Crusader Outreach
*Choir
*Band
*Orchestra

Performance

WCS students score near the 90th percentile on standardized tests. Over 90% of students earn college degrees.

External links

* [http://www.wcs.mec.edu/ Official school website]
* [http://www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/13526 Private School Review - Whitinsville Christian School]
* [http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/ma/private/2180 greatschools - Whitinsville Christian School]
* [http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/home.asp?mode=o&ot=11&o=2849 Massachusetts Dept of Education - Whitinsville Christian School]