Massaponax High School
Encyclopedia
Massaponax High School is a public secondary school in Spotsylvania, VA. It is part of Spotsylvania County Public Schools
and is located on 8201 Jefferson Davis Highway.
Massaponax High School opened in the fall of 1998 becoming the fourth high school in Spotsylvania County. Massaponax became one of the county's largest high schools and carries a current enrollment of 1,960 students in grades 9 through 12. The school complex consists of 106 acre (0.42896716 km²). Its outside amenities include a 5,001 seat lighted stadium, an 8 lane rubberized track, 2 baseball fields, 2 softball fields, 2 Multi-Purpose practice fields, 1 Soccer and Field Hockey field, 6 tennis courts, and a 3.1 mile cross country course. Inside there is a 1860 seat gymnasium (3 basketball courts), 1 auxiliary gym, 2 weight rooms and 1 athletic training room. A 1270 seat auditorium and Fine Arts wing serve both the community and school with community plays, musicals, and special events, as well as school, district and state events. Off site, the school uses a 25 yards (22.9 m), 8 lane indoor swimming pool. Massaponax has a daily working staff of 161. The school was run by principal Joseph Rodkey, who retired after the 2009-2010 school year. Dr. Joe Pisani is the new principal for the 2010-2011 school year.
, Class of 2005, Is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who won the title of Miss America
on January 30, 2010.
and AAA Northwest Region, and offers soccer, tennis
, cheerleading
, cross country
, football
, golf
, volleyball
, basketball
, field hockey
, swimming
, wrestling
, baseball
, softball
, and track and field
. Gymnastics
recently made a return after going on hiatus due to lack of members from 2002-2006.
Massaponax's football team reached the State Finals in 2003 following an undefeated season, but lost; they would later however, win the AAA Division 5 Northwest Region Title in 2005. in 2009 they pulled through to become northwest regional champions and made it to the semi-finals against the Stone Bridge Bulldogs, but lost.http://www.massaponaxfootball.com
The Boys Soccer Team advanced to the state championship game in 2000 where they lost to state power Blacksburg 3-2.
In 2007, senior Josh Wine was the first wrestling State Champion in the 285 weight division.
The Massaponax Maniacs is a student organization dedicated to cheering on school teams. Although football and basketball are the main sports the Maniacs support, they can also be found at other sporting events.
In 2006 the Massaponax Softball team won the Commonwealth District regular season title, the Northwest Region title going 3-0 with zero runs scored against them in the region tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals in the state competition against Great Bridge High School.
Each year, the band presents "The Matt Krietz Spirit Award" to the most enthusatic member of the marching band. This individual must be a rising-senior and showed the most pride and spirit their first three years at Massaponax. The recipient of this award is given a mega-phone and brings it to all football games their senior year, and they lead the cheers from the stands. The award is named after Matt Krietz from the Massaponax High School Class of 2003. After graduating, Mr. Krietz became the school's Stadium Announcer for home football games and other major events at Massaponax High School.
In 2004 it was a NSPA Newspaper Pacemaker winner.
In 2009 The Growl won 4th place Best of Show (1-8 pages) at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Phoenix, Arizona; and 9th place in Best of Show (9-12 pages) at the Fall Convention in Washington, DC.
There was much controversy over the 2009-2010 school yearbook, titled "truth Be told." Students were allowed to submit anonymous confessions either through facebook or the front office. There were many inappropriate secrets such as "I have sex to feel wanted" and "I got an abortion without my mom knowing." Any students who had the First edition of the yearbook were asked to return it in place for the new, revised issue. The New issue cost over $50,000 dollars to print and came out during the last week of school. The yearbook, which won multiple awards in the 2008- 2009 school year, made local and national news. The teacher in charge of the yearbook resigned and the principal, Joe Rodkey, had already planned to retire at the end of the year.
Spotsylvania County Public Schools
Spotsylvania County Public Schools is a public school district serving Spotsylvania County, Virginia. It consists of 17 Elementary, 7 Middle, and 5 High Schools and has a total enrollment of over 24,000 students. The Spotsylvania County School division also has a Career and Technical Center and...
and is located on 8201 Jefferson Davis Highway.
Massaponax High School opened in the fall of 1998 becoming the fourth high school in Spotsylvania County. Massaponax became one of the county's largest high schools and carries a current enrollment of 1,960 students in grades 9 through 12. The school complex consists of 106 acre (0.42896716 km²). Its outside amenities include a 5,001 seat lighted stadium, an 8 lane rubberized track, 2 baseball fields, 2 softball fields, 2 Multi-Purpose practice fields, 1 Soccer and Field Hockey field, 6 tennis courts, and a 3.1 mile cross country course. Inside there is a 1860 seat gymnasium (3 basketball courts), 1 auxiliary gym, 2 weight rooms and 1 athletic training room. A 1270 seat auditorium and Fine Arts wing serve both the community and school with community plays, musicals, and special events, as well as school, district and state events. Off site, the school uses a 25 yards (22.9 m), 8 lane indoor swimming pool. Massaponax has a daily working staff of 161. The school was run by principal Joseph Rodkey, who retired after the 2009-2010 school year. Dr. Joe Pisani is the new principal for the 2010-2011 school year.
Location
Massaponax High School is located in Historic Spotsylvania County, consisting of 416.1 mi2 located in eastern Virginia, midway between the nation's capital of Washington, D.C. and the state capital of Richmond; both of which are approximately 50 miles (80.5 km) distant. Both capital cities are readily accessible by rail and highway. Spotsylvania County is bordered by Caroline County to the south and east, Louisa to the west, and Hanover County to the southwest, along the North Anna River. Culpeper borders the northwest, and Stafford County to the north, while the City of Fredericksburg lies to the east and Orange County to the west, along the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers.Notable alumni
Caressa CameronCaressa Cameron
Caressa Cameron is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who won the title of Miss America 2010.Cameron graduated from Massaponax High School and currently attends Virginia Commonwealth University located in Richmond, Virginia.She won the Miss Virginia title on...
, Class of 2005, Is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who won the title of Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
on January 30, 2010.
Athletics
Massaponax High School is part of the AAA Commonwealth DistrictAAA Commonwealth District
The AAA Commonwealth District is a high school conference in the state of Virginia that includes schools stretching from Stafford to Charlottesville...
and AAA Northwest Region, and offers soccer, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, football
American 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...
, 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....
, 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...
, basketball
Basketball
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...
, 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...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
, baseball
Baseball
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...
, 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...
, and track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. Gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
recently made a return after going on hiatus due to lack of members from 2002-2006.
Massaponax's football team reached the State Finals in 2003 following an undefeated season, but lost; they would later however, win the AAA Division 5 Northwest Region Title in 2005. in 2009 they pulled through to become northwest regional champions and made it to the semi-finals against the Stone Bridge Bulldogs, but lost.http://www.massaponaxfootball.com
The Boys Soccer Team advanced to the state championship game in 2000 where they lost to state power Blacksburg 3-2.
In 2007, senior Josh Wine was the first wrestling State Champion in the 285 weight division.
The Massaponax Maniacs is a student organization dedicated to cheering on school teams. Although football and basketball are the main sports the Maniacs support, they can also be found at other sporting events.
In 2006 the Massaponax Softball team won the Commonwealth District regular season title, the Northwest Region title going 3-0 with zero runs scored against them in the region tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals in the state competition against Great Bridge High School.
Marching band
The marching band is known as the Marching Panther Pride (MP²), and has won numerous awards and trophies over the years, most notably the Heart of Cary, given to the band with the most spirit in the parade and fields shows during Cary Band Day in Cary, NC. The band is under the direction of Mr. Corey Koch who is the only band director in school history.Each year, the band presents "The Matt Krietz Spirit Award" to the most enthusatic member of the marching band. This individual must be a rising-senior and showed the most pride and spirit their first three years at Massaponax. The recipient of this award is given a mega-phone and brings it to all football games their senior year, and they lead the cheers from the stands. The award is named after Matt Krietz from the Massaponax High School Class of 2003. After graduating, Mr. Krietz became the school's Stadium Announcer for home football games and other major events at Massaponax High School.
Publications
- The Growl- is the high school's award winning student newspaper. It has been annually honored as one of the best high school newspapers by The Free Lance Star.
In 2004 it was a NSPA Newspaper Pacemaker winner.
In 2009 The Growl won 4th place Best of Show (1-8 pages) at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Phoenix, Arizona; and 9th place in Best of Show (9-12 pages) at the Fall Convention in Washington, DC.
There was much controversy over the 2009-2010 school yearbook, titled "truth Be told." Students were allowed to submit anonymous confessions either through facebook or the front office. There were many inappropriate secrets such as "I have sex to feel wanted" and "I got an abortion without my mom knowing." Any students who had the First edition of the yearbook were asked to return it in place for the new, revised issue. The New issue cost over $50,000 dollars to print and came out during the last week of school. The yearbook, which won multiple awards in the 2008- 2009 school year, made local and national news. The teacher in charge of the yearbook resigned and the principal, Joe Rodkey, had already planned to retire at the end of the year.