Monson High School is a school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 of about 400 student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

s located in Monson, Massachusetts

Monson, Massachusetts

Monson is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,560 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.The village of Monson Center lies at the center of the town....

. Because the town's non-white population is less than 3%, Monson High School is one of Massachusetts' least diverse high schools. The school's construction started in 2000 and was finished in 2002. The Monson High School replaced the old Junior Senior High School which has now become Granite Valley Middle school. This is Monson's only high school and houses grades 9-12.

Athletics

Monson High School is also well known for its sports teams. Its soccer 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...

 teams are very well known around the area, yet Monson lacks a 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...

 team and many students go to the nearby town of Palmer, Massachusetts

Palmer, Massachusetts

The Town of Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,140 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 to play, playing on Palmer High School's team, the Palmer Cowboys. In 2010, despite school cutbacks in the face of shrinking town budgets, Monson added a lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

team to their athletics roster.

The Monson High School mascot is the Mustang, and the teams are known as the Monson Mustangs.