Parkway South High School

Infobox School | name = Parkway South High School
motto = “Home of the Patriots”
established = 1976
type = Public
principal = Gary S. Mazzola
enrollment = 2007-2008 school year: 1,950
free_label = Grades
free_text = 9–12
free_label2 = Operated by
free_text2 = Parkway School District
free_label3 = Colors
free_text3 = Red, White, and Blue
free_label4 = Fight Song
free_text4 = Yankee Doodle
location = 801 Hanna Rd. Ballwin, St. Louis County, MO, USA
website = http://www.pshwired.netParkway South High School is a secondary school in the Parkway School District in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It was opened in 1976, the year of the 200th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. For this reason, the school mascot is the Patriot and the colors are red, white, and blue. It has also been called "The Bicentennial School". Parkway South is the largest of the Parkway high schools. Its feeder schools are Parkway South Middle School and Parkway Southwest Middle School.

Academics

Parkway South has a system of block scheduling where students have four 90-minute classes each day. Students alternate between a 'Red Day' and a 'Blue Day' schedule. Red Days are Blocks 1, 3, 5, and 7, while Blue Days are 2, 4, 6, and 8. Academic Lab (4th Block) is a time when students can visit teachers for various academic help, such as making up tests, checking homework, getting help, etc. During some Academic Lab periods, compulsory administrative tasks must be completed by students instead of the usual routine. South uses the honors grading system where students have the opportunity to earn and 'H' grade (which earns 5.0 Grade Points). Earning an 'A' in an honors class is a 4.5, B: 3.5, C: 2.5 and so on. South's elective opportunities include: Fine Arts, Business, Foreign Language, Technology, and Family and Consumer Science..

Some extracurricular clubs are AFS (American Foreign Intercultural Program), Amnesty International, Anime and Manga Club, Art Club, Aviation Club, Beta Chi Pi, Book Club, Chess Club, Dance Club, DECA, Drama Club, EXCEL, FBLA, Fishing Club, Five Finger Discount Improvisational Theater Team, Foreign Language Clubs (French, German, Spanish), Hip Hop Dance Club, Horizon (Gay-Straight Alliance), Key Club, KPAT, Math Club, Meat Club, Movie Club, NHS (National Honor Society), NAHS (National Art Honor Society), Quiz Bowl, Robotics Club, Patriot Renaissance, Sign Language Club, STUCO, Ski/Snowboard Club, YIG (Youth in Government), and many more.

All clubs are teacher sponsored and students have the ability to start their own clubs with permission of the administration and the written consent of a teacher sponsor.

Athletics

Originally Parkway South was a part of the Suburban South conference with the rest of the Parkway high schools, but South switched in 2004 and currently competes in the Suburban West Conference, a conference of schools primarily from West County St. Louis. Parkway South has won 13 state championships. The hockey team, a club team, also won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. Including these two championships, South has won 15 state titles. There have also been numerous state champions in various sports.

Boys Basketball

Traditionally, basketball has not been a strong sport at South. As of late the team has shown improvement especially in 2006 with the oncoming of a new coach. The team earned a number 1 seed in districts and lost in the first round arguably due to injury. In 2007 and 2008 the boys team had strong seasons and lost both years in the state tournament in the quarterfinal round. The team is coached by Mitch Stevens.

wimming Teams

The Men's [http://prepsports3.stltoday.com/swimmingboys/07/stats/teamschedule201.shtm] and Women's [http://prepsports3.stltoday.com/swimminggirls/08/stats/teamschedule201.shtm] Swimming teams boast a fine tradition of excellence. The Men's team won the state championship meet three years in a row (1999-2001), and boasted a second place finish twice (2002-2003). In recent years the Men's team has remained a force in the Suburban West Conference. Contrary to the Men's team, the Women's Swim team has been on the rise and has managed a top three finish at the state championship meet each of the last five years.

Notable alumni

*Atiyyah Ellison- defensive tackle in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers.
*Greg Raymer- 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event champion
*Eric Stanger- Director of Talk Programming for ABC Radio Networks
*Danny Bell- Starting Shortstop for the 2008 district championship team and future MIzzou walk-on.

References

External links

* [http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/southsr/parkwaysouth/index.html Homepage]
* [http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/southsr/parkwaysouth/pages/parent/newsletters/07_08/ParkwayCalendar0809.pdf 08-09 School Calendar]