Wachusett Regional High School
Encyclopedia
Wachusett Regional High School (abbv. WRHS) is located in Holden, Massachusetts
and services the Wachusett Regional School District. Founded in 1955, WRSD comprises Holden
, Paxton
, Princeton
, Rutland
, and Sterling
. William Beando was appointed principal as of July 1, 2007, succeeding the one year interim service of long time principal Hal Lane, who had retired in 1993. The assistant principals are Catherine Knowles, Andrew Costa, Anthony DiBenedetto, Victoria DeSimone, and Drew Weymouth.
, or Advanced Placement, a College Board
program through which college credit can be awarded for excellent performance on year-end standardized exams. There are also V or "0" level courses, which are usually mandatory or non-academic, such as physical education and special education
courses.
The Advanced Placement
program at the school has proven a great success. Since 2005, 88% of students taking the end-of-year examination have earned a score of "3" or better, qualifying many of the students for college credit. As of 2010, the high school offers fifteen Advanced Placement courses.
The high school also consistently exceeds state and national averages for the Scholastic Aptitude Test
, or SAT.
. Also in 2007, the Honors Choirs performed at Foxwoods with Kenny Rogers, and also in 2008 at Mohegan Sun. In the spring of 2009, WRHS competed in the North American Festival of Music in Toronto, Ontario, receiving several first and second place awards.
The Wachusett Madrigal Singers were first led to International Music Festival Gold in 1993 by beloved director, and recipient of the MMEA Lowell Mason Award, and the MMEA Distinguished Service Award, Grace V Reidy.
, Clark University
, and Princeton University
.
of green and white, Wachusett fields many perennially competitive sports teams. The school has forty-six athletic programs, in which about 1,000 students participate. These include lacrosse
, American football
, basketball
, baseball
, soccer, tennis
, ice hockey
, track
, cross country
, lacrosse
, volleyball
, gymnastics
, field hockey
, golf
,and swimming
and billiards
. The girls cross-country team has won 13 consecutive league championships, and a number of consecutive district championships. Both girls and boys track teams are consistently among state's best. Wachusett's soccer teams have also won several championships. In 2004, the Boys Basketball team won the District Championship, supported by the enormous "Badlands" student rooting section. The school's football team went undefeated in the 2003 season and has won back-to-back Super Bowl Titles. The team went undefeated yet again in 2009, with a record of 13-0, beating 4th ranked Holy Name in the super bowl. In 2007, the girls gymnastics team was crowned Mid-Wach league champions following an undefeated season, and went on to place 6th overall in the state. The baseball team won its first district championship in 2010.
. Winners of the school competition advance to the Regional Science Fair. In order to help students develop high quality projects and to stimulate their interest in science, Wachusett holds Science Seminar meetings every Tuesday night. Interested students take an entrance examination in order to be admitted to Science Seminar. For the first hour of these meetings, a scientist from the community speaks to seminar members about his/her work. The second hour consists of meetings between students and their science project advisors for help and guidance in the process. In March, 2008, a student at Wachusett, Lewis Dodgson, received a second award in the Mass State science fair at MIT. Many other students have also done well at the Regional Science Fair, State Science Fair, ISEF, and other fairs. Science Seminar is presided over by Carol Sullivan, a long time teacher at the school, as well as a variety of advisers who are current or retired scientists in the field. Every week a prominent figure in the field of science is brought in to give a one-hour lecture on their chosen subject (subjects range from forensic science to the latest solar panel technology to the size of the universe), and then students break into groups to meet with their adviser and discuss their year-long science project.
festival under the direction of Doug Ingalls for over 10 years, before Ingalls' passing in 2009, after which the school's Black Box Theater was renamed the Doug Ingalls Black Box Theater in honor of its long standing director.
In 2003 Wachusett had its first ticket to the final round in Boston with Beyond Tolerance.
This was followed in 2004 with Tom Jones, in 2005 with Medea, in 2007 with For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls, and in 2008 with "The Magdalene Laundries," an original play written by Mr. Ingalls. Many awards and honors were achieved throughout the competitions, and the company continues to be one of the best performing and well known drama departments in the state.
Holden, Massachusetts
Holden is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The town was founded in 1741, and the Town Square was donated by John Hancock, former Governor of Massachusetts.The population was 17,346 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
and services the Wachusett Regional School District. Founded in 1955, WRSD comprises Holden
Holden, Massachusetts
Holden is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The town was founded in 1741, and the Town Square was donated by John Hancock, former Governor of Massachusetts.The population was 17,346 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, Paxton
Paxton, Massachusetts
Paxton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,806 at the 2010 census.-History:Paxton was first settled in 1749 and was officially incorporated in 1765....
, Princeton
Princeton, Massachusetts
Princeton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States.It is bordered on the east by Sterling and Leominster, on the north by Westminster, on the northwest by Hubbardston, on the southwest by Rutland, and on the southeast by Holden....
, Rutland
Rutland, Massachusetts
Rutland is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,973 at the 2010 census. Worcester County's only buffalo herd is located in Rutland, at Alta Vista Farm...
, and Sterling
Sterling, Massachusetts
Sterling is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 7,808 at the 2010 census.- History :Sterling was first settled by Europeans in 1720 and was officially incorporated in 1781....
. William Beando was appointed principal as of July 1, 2007, succeeding the one year interim service of long time principal Hal Lane, who had retired in 1993. The assistant principals are Catherine Knowles, Andrew Costa, Anthony DiBenedetto, Victoria DeSimone, and Drew Weymouth.
Construction project
As of September 2008 the school is officially complete. Although the school was open the entire time of the construction, there was an official "re-opening" of the school on Sunday, September 21, 2008 for parents, students, members of the community, faculty, and alumni.Academics
The school offers a wide range of courses in many subjects, chiefly of four difficulty levels. The CPA, College Prep - Advanced, is the accelerated college preparatory level, and the majority of students take classes at this level. The Honors level is above CPA. CP, College Prep is the regular level for students and prepares them for studies after high school. Students at the CP level may need a little extra support with their studies to prepare them for post-high school studies. The fourth main class level is APAdvanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
, or Advanced Placement, a College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
program through which college credit can be awarded for excellent performance on year-end standardized exams. There are also V or "0" level courses, which are usually mandatory or non-academic, such as physical education and special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
courses.
The Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
program at the school has proven a great success. Since 2005, 88% of students taking the end-of-year examination have earned a score of "3" or better, qualifying many of the students for college credit. As of 2010, the high school offers fifteen Advanced Placement courses.
The high school also consistently exceeds state and national averages for the Scholastic Aptitude Test
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
, or SAT.
Music Department
WRHS has a fairly large music department. For each of the past seven years, WRHS has received recognition from the Grammy Foundation for being one of the top 100 high school music programs in the United States. WRHS's music department also has a special partnership with the Boston Symphony Orchestra which permits the students to sit in on rare closed rehearsals of the orchestra. In the spring of 2005, WRHS performed admirably at an international music competition in Toronto, Ontario. At the Festival of Music, Wachusett received first place in the Jazz Band competition, receiving recognition for having several excellent musicians, soloists, and sections. Jazz Choir and Orchestra also took first place in their respective categories. Singers and Chamber Choir took first place in the Mixed Men's and Women's Choir section. String Orchestra received a first place award as well. Wind Ensemble received second place overall. In April 2003 and 2007, the Honors Music Program performed in Florida and visited Disney World, performing on various stages within the park and in Downtown DisneyDowntown Disney (Florida)
Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Downtown Disney is open to the public, requires no admission fee, and offers complimentary parking and transportation to all Disney-operated Walt Disney...
. Also in 2007, the Honors Choirs performed at Foxwoods with Kenny Rogers, and also in 2008 at Mohegan Sun. In the spring of 2009, WRHS competed in the North American Festival of Music in Toronto, Ontario, receiving several first and second place awards.
The Wachusett Madrigal Singers were first led to International Music Festival Gold in 1993 by beloved director, and recipient of the MMEA Lowell Mason Award, and the MMEA Distinguished Service Award, Grace V Reidy.
Wachusett Model United Nations
Wachusett's Model United Nations program was first established in the 1970s. Under the current guidance of a political science teacher, Wachusett frequents several model United Nations conferences in locations such as Northeastern University, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
, and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Massachusetts Club
Formed during the 2005-2006 school year, the Massachusetts Club takes group trips to historic places throughout the state, usually on weekends. Trips taken include a day spent in Rockport, several visits to Boston, and a trip to Salem.Sports
Under the school colorsSchool colors
School colors are the colors chosen by a school to represent it on uniforms and other items of identification. Most schools have two colors, which are usually chosen to avoid conflicts with other schools with which the school competes in sports and other activities...
of green and white, Wachusett fields many perennially competitive sports teams. The school has forty-six athletic programs, in which about 1,000 students participate. These include 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...
, American 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, track
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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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....
,and 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...
and billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
. The girls cross-country team has won 13 consecutive league championships, and a number of consecutive district championships. Both girls and boys track teams are consistently among state's best. Wachusett's soccer teams have also won several championships. In 2004, the Boys Basketball team won the District Championship, supported by the enormous "Badlands" student rooting section. The school's football team went undefeated in the 2003 season and has won back-to-back Super Bowl Titles. The team went undefeated yet again in 2009, with a record of 13-0, beating 4th ranked Holy Name in the super bowl. In 2007, the girls gymnastics team was crowned Mid-Wach league champions following an undefeated season, and went on to place 6th overall in the state. The baseball team won its first district championship in 2010.
Science Seminar and Science Fair
Every year, Wachusett conducts a school science fairScience fair
A science fair is generally a competition where contestants present their science project results in the form of a report, display board, and models that they have created. Science fairs allow students in grade schools and high schools to compete in science and/or technology activities...
. Winners of the school competition advance to the Regional Science Fair. In order to help students develop high quality projects and to stimulate their interest in science, Wachusett holds Science Seminar meetings every Tuesday night. Interested students take an entrance examination in order to be admitted to Science Seminar. For the first hour of these meetings, a scientist from the community speaks to seminar members about his/her work. The second hour consists of meetings between students and their science project advisors for help and guidance in the process. In March, 2008, a student at Wachusett, Lewis Dodgson, received a second award in the Mass State science fair at MIT. Many other students have also done well at the Regional Science Fair, State Science Fair, ISEF, and other fairs. Science Seminar is presided over by Carol Sullivan, a long time teacher at the school, as well as a variety of advisers who are current or retired scientists in the field. Every week a prominent figure in the field of science is brought in to give a one-hour lecture on their chosen subject (subjects range from forensic science to the latest solar panel technology to the size of the universe), and then students break into groups to meet with their adviser and discuss their year-long science project.
Theater Arts
The Theater Company at Wachusett performed in the MHSDG One Act PlayOne act play
A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. In recent years the 10-minute play known as "flash drama" has emerged as a popular sub-genre of the one-act play, especially in writing competitions...
festival under the direction of Doug Ingalls for over 10 years, before Ingalls' passing in 2009, after which the school's Black Box Theater was renamed the Doug Ingalls Black Box Theater in honor of its long standing director.
In 2003 Wachusett had its first ticket to the final round in Boston with Beyond Tolerance.
This was followed in 2004 with Tom Jones, in 2005 with Medea, in 2007 with For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls, and in 2008 with "The Magdalene Laundries," an original play written by Mr. Ingalls. Many awards and honors were achieved throughout the competitions, and the company continues to be one of the best performing and well known drama departments in the state.
Wachusett's Film Directors Guild
WFDG (often pronounced "woofdige") is WRHS's filmmaking club. Club members participate in many film-related activities including, but not limited to, the production of short films. Group formation, plot creation, casting, and shooting must be completed using in-camera editing during a single club meeting. The films are screened at the next club meeting. Additionally, many club members organize the Wachusett Community Film Festival. Members of the Wachusett community may submit films to the festival.Notable alumni
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