Wheaton Academy

Infobox Secondary school
name = Wheaton Academy

motto = Soli Deo Gloria
type = Christian high school
principal = Mr. Bult
headmaster = Dr. Gene Frost
chaplain = Chip Huber
grades_label = 9-12
address = 900 Prince Crossing Road
city = West Chicago
state = Illinois
country = USA
campus = Suburban, 98 acres
colors = maroon and white
mascot = Warrior
yearbook = Compass
newspaper = WA Echo
testname = ACT Composite
testaverage = 24.4 [ [http://www.wheatonacademy.org/academicfacts.html Wheaton Academy - Fast Facts ] ]
website = [http://www.wheatonacademy.org/ www.wheatonacademy.org]
nickname = WA
image_caption =

"Wheaton Academy" is a private, non-denominational Christian high school, that is known for being an educational institution committed to the evangelical Christian faith. Wheaton Academy's campus is located in the city of West Chicago in DuPage County, Illinois, and is thirty-five miles west of Chicago on the intersection of Prince Crossing Road and Hawthorne Road.

Organization

Accreditation

Wheaton Academy holds institutional accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary schools since 1911. The school is recognized by the state of Illinois and the DuPage County Education Service Region. Wheaton Academy is also a member of the Association of Christian Schools International.

ports

Wheaton Academy is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) as well as the Private School League (PSL). Beginning with the 2009-2010 season, Wheaton Academy will become a part of the renamed Suburban Christian Conference (SCC), formerly known as the Suburban Catholic Conference. Chicago Christian and Aurora Christian, fellow members of WA in the PSL also will be joining the conference. Below are the sports that Wheaton Academy fields competitively:

Girls Sports
*Fall
**Cross Country
**Volleyball
**Tennis
*Winter
**Basketball
**Cheerleading
*Spring
**Track and Field
**Soccer
**SoftballBoys Sports
*Fall
**Cross Country
**Football
**Golf
**Soccer
*Winter
**Basketball
*Spring
**Baseball
**Tennis
**Track
**Volleyball

Wheaton Academy has also had a variety of students participate in swimming, gymnastics, hockey and lacrosse as individuals.

Track & Field / Cross Country

Wheaton Academy's track and field program has grown over the past decade, both in numbers and athletic successes. Starting in spring 2000, there was a stretch of 6 straight years where Wheaton Academy sent runners to the state meet. In 2001, Matt Field became only the second Wheaton Academy athlete to win an individual state championship, winning the Class A 1600 m run. Carl Meyers was the other state champion, who won the long jump competition in 1990 and 1991. [ [http://www.ihsa.org/activity/trb/records/ybysch14.htm IHSA Boys Track & Field Medalists ] ] Both the girls and boys cross country teams qualified for the state meet in 2007. The boys finished 16th overall, while the girls took 7th.

Boys Basketball

The Boys Basketball program at Wheaton Academy is led by head coach Paul Ferguson. In the 2006-07 the team captured their first Private School League championship since 2003. [http://www.wheatonacademybasketball.com]

Women's Soccer

The women's varsity soccer team won the Class A state championship in 2004.

Fine Arts

Wheaton Academy has been recognized as a school with an extremely advanced fine arts program for a high school program. Its theatre program has often been compared to and ranked higher than many college programs due to the professional direction of Corbett Burick. Mrs. Burick is also the head of the school's dance and improv teams. Also, the school's chorale program has had a heritage of excellence. Under the direction of Joel Visker for its third year, the choral program expanded this year with the addition of a men's ensemble. The instrumental department welcomed a new face as Steve Willemson became the director for the school's Concert Orchestra, Concert Band, and newly added Percussion Ensemble. Concerning visual arts, Carolyn LeMaire and Jack Burgess have led a successful program while Mellissa Euler is head of Ceramic Arts, and Matt Hockett heads the schools video production.

Theatre

Wheaton Academy Theatre is the theatre program of the private Christian high school Wheaton Academy.

Wheaton Academy Theatre has been recognized as highly advanced for a high-school theatre program. It has often been compared to many college programs and is under the direction of Corbett (Riebock) Burick. Mrs. Burick, who is also the head of the school's dance and improv team, has been directing for 6 years (started Fall 2000) and has a Masters in Theatre.

Wheaton Academy's Spring Musicals are well known for their scale, professionalism and difficulty. Corbett Burick's direction and impressive choreography, coupled with Joel Visker's singing direction, and Rachel Burick's tech crew, continue to deliver high-level performances from Wheaton Academy's student body.

In spring 2007, Wheaton Academy performed the musical "Peter Pan" under the direction of the Fine Arts Department Head Corbett Burick. The performance featured Broadway-caliber equipment including Broadway flying equipment and fly direction from Las Vegas-based Flying by FOY, three 550 MAC intelligent lights, four E6 Omni Earset Microphones, and a stellar tech team for professional-level performances. The intelligent lights were rented and were welcomed additions to Wheaton Academy's theatre program.

Trivia

*Wheaton Academy was housed at Wheaton College's campus in Wheaton Illinois from 1917 to 1945. Then the school moved from Wheaton to West Chicago, a neighboring town a few miles away.The school's "Academy Hall" building once served a children's hospital prior to being purchased by the Wheaton Academy High school. Academy Hall has classrooms on the lower floor but is closed upstairs due to asbestos in some of the tiles in a room in the southeast rear corner. There are also two entrances to tunnels beneath the first floor. The tunnels are no longer in use and are locked shut.
*Wheaton Academy opened the doors to a new Fine Arts Center in 2004, thanks to a deal between the school and Willow Creek Community Church, which rents the building. This beautiful building has a 700-seat auditorium, and serves as the chapel and a special event venue, and also provides classroom space for the fine arts program.
*With the increased enrollment over the past couple of years, Wheaton Academy has become the second largest school in the PSL.
* Wheaton Academy received the William R. Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy, for its work to help the AIDS Pandemic in Zambia, Africa. The school has raised over $500,000 to date. [cite web |url=http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?content_item_id=23936&folder_id=891 |title= 2007 William R. Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy, Ages 5–17 |publisher=Association of Fundraising Professionals |accessdate=2008-03-22]

Notable alumni

* Todd Beamer, a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11, 2001 attacks. [cite news |author=Jake Griffin |title=Hero's dad helps son's Wheaton alma mater |work=Daily Herald (Arlington Heights) |date=September 10 2002 |pages=3]
*Jason Schoepke, CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) PowerShares Capital

External links

* [http://www.wheatonacademy.org/history.html Wheaton Academy - Our History] . Retrieved on 2008-03-22.