Woodland Hills High School

Woodland Hills High School
Location
2550 Greensburg Pike Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Information
Type	Public
Established	1987
School district	Woodland Hills School District
Principal	Mr. Daniel Segui Stephens
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,300
Color(s)	Turquoise, Black, White
Mascot	Wolverine
Website	http://www.whsd.net/school_home.aspx?schoolid=1

Woodland Hills High School is a secondary school teaching students in the grades (9-12) for the Woodland Hills School District located in Churchill, Pennsylvania. It is the result of a 1981 court-ordered desegregation merger. Before the merger the building was the location of the Churchill Area High School. It services the communities of Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant, Churchill, East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Forest Hills, North Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Turtle Creek, and Wilkins Township.

Graduation Rate
2011 - 96% of seniors starting the 2010-2011 school year graduated.

Academic achievement

The Woodland Hills High School's Class of 2011 had the following academic and extracurricular accomplishments:

The online school newspaper "Woodland Hills Update" was named 2nd best online school newspaper in PA

1st place team out of 17 in the Equations Competition with individual students placing 3rd and 4th overall out of 81 students

3rd place team out of 21 team competitors in the Propaganda Tournament with individual students placing 3rd and 4th respectively out of 120 competing students

3rd place out of a field of 17 schools in the Fair Child Challenge at Phipps Conservatory. Numerous individual awards were also given to the students. This project was a joint venture with Gifted students and A. P. Environmental students

Out of 33 schools participating in Science Olympiad, WHHS students were distinguished in this field by securing six individual medals

The Mock Trial team advanced to the semi-finals and enjoyed recognition along the way with awards given to individual participants for excellence in their performance. Next year, the team will have a courtroom to practice in through the generosity of the district attorneys office. This gift was a recognition of a long history of success in mock trial competition in Allegheny County.

The Phantom of the Opera was nominated for 12 Gene Kelly awards and won for best crew, best scenic design, best costume design, best lighting design, best director and best musical.

"Graphiti" literary magazine created an issue dedicated to 25 years of publishing excellence.

96 percent of the seniors who began this school year have graduated

48 percent will attend a 4 year college or university

36 percent will attend a 2 year college or technical school

4 percent will go on to the workforce

7 percent will attend the military

The Class of 2011 earned more than $3.7 million in academic scholarships

Dual enrollment

The high school offers a Dual Enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offers a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books.^[1] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.^[2]

Sports

The Woodland Hills football program is known for turning out many football players. The school had eight graduates in the NFL, the most of any school in the United States: Jason Taylor, Steve Breaston, Lousaka Polite, Ryan Mundy, Shawntae Spencer, Rob Gronkowski, Terrence Johnson and Darrin Walls.^[3]

Woodland Hills High School is known locally for the "Wolvarena", their stadium in Turtle Creek which was voted "best stadium to watch a high school football game" in Pennsylvania. The Wolvarena was also voted "Most Intimidating High School Stadium in Western Pennsylvania".

Woodland Hills High School also has sporting activities such as Rifle, Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Field-hockey, Bowling, Rugby, Ultimate, and many other club sports.

Performing arts

Woodland Hills is particularly known for their strong Performing Arts and Music programs. Every year the spring musical receives nominations from the Gene Kelly Awards.

1988 - Fiddler on the Roof 1989 - Hello, Dolly! 1990 - Anything Goes 1991 - Guys and Dolls* 1992 - Li'l Abner* 1993 - Peter Pan* 1994 - Annie Get Your Gun 1995 - Jesus Christ Superstar 1996 - The Mystery of Edwin Drood 1997 - The Music Man* 1998 - Man of La Mancha* 1999 - The Pirates of Penzance*

2000 - The King and I 2001 - On the Twentieth Century 2002 - Evita 2003 - Hello, Dolly!* 2004 - Anything Goes 2005 - Seussical the Musical 2006 - Pippin 2007 - Les Misérables 2008 - Beauty and the Beast 2009 - The Wizard of Oz* 2010 - Annie 2011 - The Phantom of the Opera*

*Denotes Gene Kelly Award for Best Musical

Other events include the winter show done by the Performing Arts Class, of which recent productions have included: An Evening of One Act Plays, Solos, The Dining Room, Disney's High School Musical, and Chicago.

Woodland Hills is proud of its Marching Band and Visual Ensemble. It's under the direction of Mr. Thomas Crone. The group practices throughout the summer months, concluding with two weeks of camp in August before school begins to perfect the field drill and music. The season generally kicks off with a community parade through Edgewood, and a Parent's Preview, where all the band parents can come to see their sons/daughters perform the complete Marching Band field show for the first time at the Wolvarena. The WHHS Band performs at all football games. They are proud to compete in local PIMBA band competitions, as well as traveling out of state to compete at various other national competitions, including The Fiesta Bowl and The Gator Bowl. The WHHS Band staff is made up of both professional and non-professional instructors in both paid and unpaid positions, but it is the WHHS Band Students themselves that take on a great deal of responsibility in ensuring that the band runs smoothly under the direction of their drum majors and the director. Talent over the years has been highly recognized. Standout's include: Donovan Smith, Maura McDaniel and Jared Patrick Hanley

Gifted Department

The Gifted and Talented Education department currently has three teachers: Mr. James Clawson (Language Arts), Mr. Jeffery Snyder (Technology), and Mrs. Jodi Blasi (Science).

The Gifted Department is particularly strong in the Science Olympiad competitions as well as their selection of particular students to Hometown High-Q. The WHHS Gifted Department also produces a yearly award-winning magazine - Graphiti - which features student literature and artwork. The Gifted Department also offers classes in American Sign Language, Creative Writing, Robotics and a Theater Workshop.

One particularly strong part of the Gifted department is their Mock Trial team. They have been Allegheny county champs for three of the past four years and made it all the way to semi-finals at the state level in 2009. The Mock Trial team is coached by Mr. Kevin McGuire.

References

1. ^ http://www.scribd.com/doc/24901214/Pennsylvania-Department-of-Education-Dual-Enrollment-Guidelines-2010-2011 Pennsylvania Department of Education - Dual Enrollment Guidelines.
2. ^ Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement. site accessed March 2010. http://www.patrac.org/
3. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Friday-night-stars-California-and-Texas-produce?urn=nfl-272416

External link

• www.churchillareahighschool.com
• District website

Coordinates: 40°26′11″N 79°51′23″W / 40.4363°N 79.8564°W / 40.4363; -79.8564