The Dalles Wahtonka High School

Infobox_School | name = The Dalles-Wahtonka High School
type = Public
principal = Stephen Jupe
conference = Inner Mountain Conference
colors = Crimson and Gold
mascot = The Eagle Indian
location = 220 E. 10th Street
The Dalles, OR 97058
country = USA
information =
website = http://www.nwasco.k12.or.us/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

The Dalles-Wahtonka High School (TDW) is a public high school located in The Dalles, Oregon in the United States. It houses students from both The Dalles and the adjacent town of Mosier. TDW takes students from the public middle school in the district (The Dalles Middle School) and St. Mary's Academy, the local Catholic school.

Campus

In 2004, school districts 9 (which housed Wahtonka High School on the west side of town) and 12 (which had The Dalles High School on the East side) combined to form one school district in The Dalles: SD 21. The smaller Wahtonka building - now known as the West/Wahtonka Campus - houses the freshman students and is also the location of the TDW's track, football and soccer fields; the East Campus, formerly The Dalles High School, houses grades 10-12.

chedule

Currently the school runs on a four period day with each class running for about 90 minutes. On Mondays, students begin school at 9:15 AM and on Fridays, PODS (Positive Opportunities During School) meet. The school year consists of four quarters, or two semesters.

This school is changing its schedule policy for the next school year (2008-2009) into an AB schedule. This change has been met with much controversy with the students.

TDW also has a "TAT" (teacher access time), during which students who are doing poorly in a class can (or must, in some cases) go to a teacher and get help on the coursework. This time has been moved from 2:45-3:15 PM (after fourth period) to right after the second period in an effort to give students without TAT a longer lunch.

Curriculum

As of the 2008/09 school year, the Dalles Wahtonka High School offers seven Advanced Placement courses in the history, English, science, and art departments. They used to offer eight, but dropped AP Calculus when the principal decided that football was more important than math, and that AP Calculus would be made available online. Many electives are available, especially in the art department and vocational training. PODS is a requirement for students also; this time was originally intended for career-planning, but is now used to accomplish school-wide tasks such as surveys without using class time.

Grading is done based on the modified four-point scale. The school does not weight AP grades, nor discriminate between + or - letter grades (i.e. B-, B, and B+ are all 3.0).

Extracurricular Activities

TDWHS offers sports and special interest clubs year-round. Particularly impressive are the Cheerleading and Equestrian teams: the cheerleaders have received first place at the state cheering competition most years for over a decade and the Equestrian team has won the state competition both years since its inception. Clubs offered range from GloNet, a pop culture club, to Science Bowl, a team created to compete in a scientific knowledge competition. The largest non-athletic extracurricular activity by far is the concert/marching band, which has 80 members as of spring of 2008. The concert/marching band marches at football games in the fall and in local parades throughout the year.