- Olympic Heights Community High School
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Olympic Heights Community High School 
Address 20101 Lyons Road
South Florida
Boca Raton, Florida, Palm Beach County, 33434, United States Of AmericaInformation School type Public, High School Established 1991 School district Palm Beach County School District Authority Frank Rodriguez School number 2181[1] Grades 9-12 Number of students 1504[2] Mascot Lion Team name Mighty Lions Rival West Boca Raton Bulls, Spanish River Sharks Newspaper The Torch Website School's Official Website Olympic Heights Community High School is a public high school, located at 20101 Lyons Road, serving west Boca Raton, parts of Boynton Beach and parts of Delray Beach as part of the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida.
Contents
Academies
Olympic Heights offers a number of "academies", or specializations within the school itself. These academies are Early Childhood and Teacher Education, Engineering and Technology (Project Lead The Way), Hospitality and Tourism, and Finance & Resort Management.
Students applying to any of the programs must meet the following eligibility criteria:
-2.0 GPA (Not required for Tourism, Hospitality, & Resort Management)
-3 Favorable Teacher Recommendations (Teacher recommendations must be sent to the school to which student is applying)All forms and other information can be found on the Palm Beach County School District website.
There are also two in-house academies: Culinary and Fashion Design.
Athletics
Although the school's sports teams have captured a number of state titles, Olympic Heights is perhaps best known for the girls volleyball team's unprecedented run of success, as the team won a state record seven straight state titles from 1996-2002 under Coach Ginny Kelly.
Football
Olympic Heights football achieved remarkable success early in the school's history, going 10-0 in its second year of existence (1992) and 10-0 in its 3rd season (1993). Ultimately, Olympic Heights tied a Florida state record of 27 straight regular season victories from 1992-1994. These Teams were directed by Ray Buscemi and then Frank Kunf.
From 1995 until 2003 the program was run by Head Coach Willie Dodaro who kept up the success of the program going on to win the last District Title by the lions in 1997 as well as the last playoff game won in 2002. Coach Dodaro also saw many of his players go on to college and play such as QB's T.J. Jackson (Virginia Tech) and James Pinkney (East Carolina). 2009-2010 school year was the last year the Lions had reached the playoffs. They went to Merritt Island in the first round. With a eventual loss, the program suffered greatly by losing the seniors, their passion, and leadership. The next year the Lions did not make the playoffs. Long live class of 2010 for many years to come. This program was destroyed by the old coach, the AD and now ex-principle Rodriguez. In Feb. 2011, Mitch Henghold resigned after six seasons as head football coach.Wrestling
The Olympic Heights Wrestling team has flourished under head Coach D'Annunzio (1995–2008). In his thirteen seasons as coach, the Lions have gone undefeated three times (1999, 2004, & 2008), been Palm Beach County Champions three times, District Champions seven times.
Basketball
In 2004 the Olympic Heights basketball team made it to the final four in the 6A division for the state of Florida. The Lions were coached by Joe Nappi and were led by Seniors Sean Alarcon, James Lopez, Fitzroy Anthony, Josh Lamons, Matt Irisarri, Matt Rosenberg, Chad Ross, and Corey Renken, and Juniors Matt Torres, Steven Cusimano, Teo Fiddelman, and Mark Currier. The Lions played the second-ranked team in the State (Palm Beach Lakes) and won by over 20 points to make it into the Final Four. The Lions finished in fourth place after losing on a buzzer beating three to opponents South Miami.
Olympic Heights State Titles
Hip-Hop Dance Team
The Olympic Heights Hip-Hop Dance team was started by two students; Dara Smith & Rachel Bentley in 2002. The dance team was awarded first place and an elite gold medal at the StarPower dance competition in 2004. The Hip Hop team then started to decline in ranks and in popularity in 2010
The Torch
Main article: The Torch, OHHSA newspaper run by the students of OHHS and supervised by David Keithley.
Marching Band
The Olympic Heights Mighty Lion Marching Band won the State Championship two years in a row. In the 2004 Marching Season, the Lions won the Class A Championship with their show titled "Category V" and they won once again in 2005 with their show entitled "Vesuvius".
Social Studies Academic Games
The Social Studies Academic Games team at Olympic Heights was founded in the late 1990's and enjoyed a string of success under Coach Brad Bluhm. The team has seen several players advance to the national finals, including Jariel Bortnick (1st place nationally in 1999) and Michael Christ (1st place in Palm Beach County) in 2007.
Notable alumni
- Chloe Dolandis - Professional singer, songwriter, and television personality.
- Jevon Tarantino - Member of the 2008 Olympics diving team in Beijing, China. 2004 NCAA Champion (University of Tennessee), 2004 SEC Champion (University of Tennessee), 2 Time High School State Champion
- Central McClellion - Professional football player, Kansas City Chiefs
- Pedro Heizer - Sports Editor of The Boca Raton Tribune and a published sportswriter
- Megan Hauserman Reality TV Star- Beauty and the Geek 3, Rock of Love 2, and Megan Wants a Millionaire
- Ryland Blackinton - Member of Cobra Starship
- Alex Suarez- Member of Cobra Starship
- Shannon Woodward - Actress, Raising Hope, The Riches
- Thomas Gregg- Former Professional baseball player, Baltimore Orioles organization
- Mike Bruno- Professional Mixed martial arts(MMA) fighter, Submission Grappler North American Grappling Association Champion
Theater
The Olympic Heights Theatre Department was established in 1991, and has grown to hold a significant place in the Boca Raton community, most notably under the leadership of former director, Jacquie Hasko. Among other accomplishments, the department, Thespian Troupe 4992, has won several State Championships, produced over 40 mainstages, performed at hundreds of community centers, brought home dozens of Cappies and Critics Choice Awards, raised significant sums for Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS, and graduated many students who have gone on to careers as professionals in the arts.
School Rating
Each year the school is rated by the students performance on the FCAT.
Gender Event Year(s) Girls Volleyball 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Boys Soccer 1994,2000, 2002 Year School Grade 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Little Lion's Preschool
Olympic Heights has an on-site preschool serving children aged three to five. The preschool, run by Diana Saker, offers early childhood education. The high school students enrolled in the Early Childhood and Teacher Education academy are able to work as teachers in the preschool, where they carry out lesson plans with the children.
External links
- Official Website of Olympic Heights Community High School
- Official Website of the Olympic Heights Performing Arts Theater
- Official Website of the Olympic Heights Mighty Lions Marching Band
- Official Website of the Olympic Heights Wrestling Team
- Official Blog of the Olympic Heights Mighty Lion Marching Band
- Official Website of the Palm Beach County School District
- Official Website of the Olympic Heights Football Team
- Official Facebook Fan Page of The Torch, The Student Newspaper of OHHS
References
- ^ "http://www.palmbeachschools.org/PDFs/Schools%20by%20Numerical.pdf". http://www.palmbeachschools.org/PDFs/Schools%20by%20Numerical.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
- ^ "Olympic Heights Community High". http://www.palmbeachschools.org/Schools/OlympicHeights.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ "Search 2009 FCAT Results for Florida Schools". 2009. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/sfl-db-school-grades-2008,0,2305644,results.formprofile?Lib=turbine_cdb_lib%3Aresult_doc_id+result_doc_rank+document_id+cdb_num+cdb_01_txt+cdb_02_txt+cdb_03_txt+cdb_04_txt+cdb_05_txt+cdb_06_txt+cdb_07_txt+cdb_08_txt+cdb_09_txt+cdb_10_txt+cdb_11_txt+cdb_12_txt+cdb_13_txt+cdb_14_txt+cdb_15_txt+cdb_16_txt+cdb_17_txt+cdb_18_txt+cdb_19_txt+cdb_20_txt+cdb_21_txt+cdb_22_txt+cdb_23_txt+cdb_24_txt+cdb_25_txt+cdb_26_txt&SortBy=COMPOSITE_RANK+asc%2Ccdb_03_txt&PageSize=50&Page=1&MinCoarseRank=500&QueryType=CONCEPT&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_03_txt=Olympic+Heights&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_17_txt=3&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_02_txt=Palm+Beach. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
Coordinates: 26°22′43″N 80°11′13″W / 26.378544°N 80.186824°W
Categories:- High schools in Palm Beach County, Florida
- Educational institutions established in 1991
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