Frontier Regional School
Encyclopedia
Academics
Frontier Regional runs on a semester system. Students can take 4-5 courses per semester; either 4 semester courses that meet everyday, or 3 semester courses that meet everyday and 2 quarter courses that meet every-other day. Quarter courses are usually non-academics ones, such as gym class or wood shop.Fall Sports
FootballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
- The Frontier Redhawks are a part of the Intercounty League. The team has a rich a storied history, most noticeably with its rivalry with opposing team Mohawk
Mohawk Trail Regional High School
Mohawk Trail Regional High School is located on Route 112 in Buckland, Massachusetts, United States. The public school currently serves nine towns, grades 7-12.- History :...
. The rivalry dates back to when the teams faced on Veterans Day
Veterans Day
Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark...
, starting back in 1934, when Frontier was known as Deerfield High School, and Mohawk as Arms Academy. Currently, the Redhawks are ahead in the series 40-28-7. The team is coached by Scott Dredge, who is in his 4th season as head coach. Dredge took over the team from long-time coach Dick Howe, after 1 year of assistant coaching. The team is a four-time MIAA
Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association , comprising 365 high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is an organization that sponsors activities in more than thirty sports. The MIAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations , which writes the rules...
Western Massachusetts Champion, with its most recent coming in the 2006 season, the second year under Dredge.
Soccer - The boys' soccer team is part of the Schmidt League and compete in MIAA
Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association , comprising 365 high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is an organization that sponsors activities in more than thirty sports. The MIAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations , which writes the rules...
Division II Soccer. Currently coached by Bill Sweidel, the Redhawks have steadily been on the rise since 2001. Before 2001, they had not had a winning season since their inception in the early 1990s. Since 2001, the boys' soccer team has built a program that has consistently been at the top of the McGrath South table and has been a #1 seed in the Division III tournament for the past three seasons (2007–2009). Unfortunately the #1 seed has not proven lucky for the Redhawks who have yet to advance to a Western Massachusetts final. After the 2009 season, the Redhawks moved up to MIAA Division II soccer where they have yet to achieve a winning record.
Cross Country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
-Both the boys and girls cross country teams are coached by Robert Smith and Walther Flynn.
Field Hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
- The girls' volleyball team is a four-time MIAA
Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association , comprising 365 high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is an organization that sponsors activities in more than thirty sports. The MIAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations , which writes the rules...
DIII State Champion, with those titles coming in the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 seasons. The team is coached by Sean MacDonald, who has been with the team since 2003. His record with the Redhakws is 128-12, posting a .914 win percentage. The team plays its home games inside Goodnow Gymnasium.
Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
Winter Sports
BasketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- The boy's basketball team has had a long history of success. It captured its first state championship in 1987 and has continued to dominate Division III basketball, especially in Western Massachusetts, since then. The Redhawks won their most recent state title in 2008 defeating Scituate High School. Before the 2008 run, the Frontier boys' basketball team had made numerous trips throughout the early and mid 2000's to the Western Massachusetts Division III Finals often battling its rival, Sabis International.
Cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
- The 2009-2010 coach of the cheerleading squad was Crystal Thompson, a former member of the Patriots Cheerleading team.
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
- Frontier is on the co-operative team led by Turners Falls High School, and plays in the Wright League. Other schools that participate on the team are Mohawk Trail Regional High School
Mohawk Trail Regional High School
Mohawk Trail Regional High School is located on Route 112 in Buckland, Massachusetts, United States. The public school currently serves nine towns, grades 7-12.- History :...
, Franklin County Technical School, and Pioneer Valley Regional High School. Frontier has generally made up the majority of the players on the team. Coached by Tom Sena, he led the team to a 8-9-2 record in his 2nd season. The team shares a rink with rival Greenfield High School, and each year they play in the 'Upton Cup' game. Greenfield is undefeated in the annual game.
Ski Team
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
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Spring Sports
BaseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- The Redhawks, who are led by coach Aaron Campbell, play in the Hampshire League. In the 2008 season after a rough start of 7-8, the Redhawks finished as MIAA
Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association , comprising 365 high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is an organization that sponsors activities in more than thirty sports. The MIAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations , which writes the rules...
DIII Western Mass champions, advancing as far as the state finals. They finished with a record of 17-9.
Softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
Track and Field- The Track and Field program at Frontier has a long history behind it. The girls team, which is led by Bob Smith and Jim Recore, has a no loss record dating back to 1998. The boys track team is coached by Walter Flynn and Kevin Seetal and won their first league title on May 9, 2011.
Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
Extracurricular activities
Frontier offers a variety of extracurricular activities such as: drama club, textile club, equestrian club, art club, gateway club, community service club, photography club, National Honors Society,Name change
In 1997, a group of local residents led by Glen Douglas approached Superintendent Jack Welch, and asked that Frontier as well as other area schools to do away with their mascots, which they deemed "offensive" to residents of Native American descent. The local schools of Mohawk (WarriorWarrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s), Turners Falls (Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
), and Ware (Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
) all ignored the plea for a name change. However, Frontier (Redskins) did not, and the Frontier School Committee voted to remove the Redskin mascot and delete any reference to the term. There was much opposition, as the term ‘Redskin’ was a symbol of 44 years of honor and tradition. Thus started an over two year struggle as to what the name should be. The debate outlasted numerous votes, student polls, and lawsuits, and a name could still not be decided on. In 1997 and 1998 students were polled as to what they wanted their new mascot to be, and in both years the majority of students ignored the choices and wrote in their current mascot. Eventually in 2000, the name was removed, and the school was labeled with the mascot ‘Redhawk’, with the 2001-2002 school year the first year the name was used.
Alma mater
Administration and School Committee
Administration- Principal - Martha Barrett
- Assistant Principal - Darius Modestow
School Committee
- Mr. Robert Halla - Chair, Joined 5/07, WhatelyWhately, MassachusettsWhately is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,573 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
Representative - Mrs. Mary Ramon - Vice Chair, Joined 5/08, DeerfieldDeerfield, MassachusettsDeerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,750 as of the 2000 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area in Western Massachusetts, lying only north of the city of Springfield.Deerfield includes the...
Representative - Mr. William Smith - Secretary, Joined 2/76
- Dr. Robert White - Joined 5/08
- Mrs. Alexis Toy - Joined 5/06
- Mrs. Lynn Cook - SunderlandSunderland, MassachusettsSunderland is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, part of the Pioneer Valley. The population was 3,777 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
Representative - Mr. Robert Decker, III - Joined 5/08
- Mrs. Cyndie Ouimette - Joined 5/08
- Ms. Elaine Rogers - ConwayConway, MassachusettsConway is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,809 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
Representative
Elementary schools
Four elementary schoolElementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s send their students to Frontier Regional upon completion of 6th grade. Those schools are:
- Deerfield Elementary School
- Conway Grammar School
- Sunderland Elementary School
- Whately Elementary School
Notable alumni
- Mark ChmuraMark ChmuraMark William Chmura , is a former American football tight end, who played his entire career with the Green Bay Packers .-Biography:Chmura was born in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States.-College:...
(class of '87), footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, played tight end for the Boston College Eagles and the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
.