George Mason High School
Encyclopedia
George Mason High School (GMHS) is a comprehensive public high school
serving the independent City
of Falls Church
. It is located in the unincorporated
area of Idylwood
, in Fairfax County, Virginia
, adjacent to Falls Church City.
The school serves some 800 students in grades 8-12, making it one of the few 5-year high schools in the United States. The school is the sole high school of the Falls Church City Public Schools
system.
The school was the first in Virginia to use the International Baccalaureate program.
The school ranks highly overall in Newsweek
Magazine's list of the top public high schools in the United States, but it has fallen from the top tier in recent years: after reaching #6 in 2003, it is now #45 .
In early March 2009, Tyrone Byrd was named the new principal following the search process for the replacement of Bob Snee, the position having been held in the interim by assistant-principal Mary McDowell. Byrd began acting as principal April 6, 2009.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
serving the independent City
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
of Falls Church
Falls Church, Virginia
The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...
. It is located in the unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
area of Idylwood
Idylwood, Virginia
Idylwood is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,005 at the 2000 census. It originally developed as an exurban community along the route of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, and then as a residential suburb along Virginia State Route 7...
, in Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, adjacent to Falls Church City.
The school serves some 800 students in grades 8-12, making it one of the few 5-year high schools in the United States. The school is the sole high school of the Falls Church City Public Schools
Falls Church City Public Schools
Falls Church City Public Schools is an independent public school division that serves students who live in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Falls Church, Virginia as well as tuition students who live outside the city limits. The school division's four schools served 1,991 students in the 2009-10...
system.
The school was the first in Virginia to use the International Baccalaureate program.
The school ranks highly overall in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
Magazine's list of the top public high schools in the United States, but it has fallen from the top tier in recent years: after reaching #6 in 2003, it is now #45 .
Demographics
George Mason's racial breakdown in the 2008-09 class was 73% White (Not Hispanic), 11.6% Asian or Pacific Islander, 9% Hispanic, 6.2% Black, and 0.1% Other. For comparison, the demographics of the City are: 85% White, 8.4% Hispanics of any race, 6.5% Asian, 3.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races.History
GMHS was built on the site of a single-room school house which burned down in 1857. After the fire, the land sat empty for years, until Falls Church was founded as an independent city in 1948 when residents sought greater control over their local school system, which, at the time, was segregated by race. GMHS, established in 1952, became the City's only institution. Its facilities and athletic fields are a hub of activity within the community.In early March 2009, Tyrone Byrd was named the new principal following the search process for the replacement of Bob Snee, the position having been held in the interim by assistant-principal Mary McDowell. Byrd began acting as principal April 6, 2009.
Sports and activities
- VHSL Scholastic Bowl Team - Current state, region, and district title-holder. Former district title holder for nine straight years and regional title holder for four straight years, district and region runners-up 2008-2009, five-time Group A State Champion (2002, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2011), and three-time state runner-up (2004, 2006, 2009). Also finished third at the 2007 NAQT National High School Championship Tournament in their division.
- Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack 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...
- Girls team third in State in 2007 and 2010, three school records and counting from the class of 2008 runners, girls team second in state (2008). Six individual state championships since 2005. - Cross CountryCross country runningCross 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...
- Girls State Champions (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), Girls State Runner-Up (2007, 2005), third (2006), Boys District and Region champs and 4th in state in 2010, sixth in State (2007), Boys District and State Champions (2011) - FIRSTFirstFirst or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one.First or 1st may also refer to:* First , minor summit below the Schwarzhorn in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland* First , mountain in Bernese Alps in Switzerland...
Robotics Team 1418 - winner of 2004 VCU regional Rookie all-star. Winner of the 2007 Chesapeake regional "DelphiDelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
's Driving Tomorrow's Technology" award. 8th seed overall in Chesapeake 2007. Winner of the 2008 Chesapeake FIRST regional competition. Also see Team 1418 profile. - American 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...
- Bull Run District Champions 2006 - GolfGolfGolf 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....
- Bull Run District Regular Season Champions 2006, 2007 - BandConcert bandA concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
- Earned "Superior" scores at District X Festival for the past eight years, the past five of which were earned playing Grade V music. Also, the music department earned the VBODA "Blue Ribbon Award" for seven years in a row, 2000-2007. - ChorusChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
- Consistently earns "Superior" and "Excellent" scores at District X Festival. - Boys SwimmingSwimming (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...
- Bull Run District and Region B Champions three years running (since it has been an official VHSL-sanctioned sport at the school). Unofficial Group A state champions 2008-2009 (won Virginia High School (Virginia)Virginia High School (Virginia)Virginia High School is a high school located in Bristol, Virginia. In 1999, Virginia High started offering the Tri-Cities area's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Classes from the Advanced Placement program are also offered to help students who are headed to college...
's A Invitational meet). - Girls SwimmingSwimming (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...
- Bull Run District and Region B Champion for the 2008-2009 season. Bull Run District and Region B runners-up two years. Unofficial Group A state champions 2008-2009 (won Virginia High School (Virginia)Virginia High School (Virginia)Virginia High School is a high school located in Bristol, Virginia. In 1999, Virginia High started offering the Tri-Cities area's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Classes from the Advanced Placement program are also offered to help students who are headed to college...
's A Invitational meet). - Girls BasketballBasketballBasketball 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...
- Virginia A D2 State Champions (2008-2009, 2009-2010); Bull Run District runners-up and Region B champions 2007-2008 season. - Boys TennisTennisTennis 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...
- Bull Run District champions 2004-2010, Region B, and Group A State Champions 1986-1991, 2001, 2004-2007, and 2010. - Girls TennisTennisTennis 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...
- Bull Run District and Region B Champions 2006-2008 - Boys Soccer - Bull Run District, Region B, and Group A champions, 2009. Bull Run District and Region B champions 2008. Bull Run District Champions 2007 for both varsity and junior varsity. Group A State Champions 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010.
- Girls Soccer - Bull Run District, Region B, and Group A champions 2008, 2009. Bull Run District and Region B Runners-Up, and Virginia State A Semifinalists 2007. Bull Run District Champions, Region B Runners-Up, and Virginia State A Semifinalists 2006. Group A Champions 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.
- Boys LacrosseLacrosseLacrosse 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...
- Dulles District Champions, 2008 - Girls LacrosseLacrosseLacrosse 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...
- Dulles District Champions, 2010 - Model United NationsModel United NationsModel United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
Club - ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Club - CheerleadingCheerleadingCheerleading 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...
Team - UltimateUltimateUltimate, penultimate or antepenultimate may refer to:*Ultimate , a team disc sport*Ultimate , at Lightwater Valley amusement park near Ripon, North Yorkshire, England...
Team - Undefeated 2010-2011 - WrestlingWrestlingWrestling 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...
Team - PokerPokerPoker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
Club - RhetoricRhetoricRhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
Club - Environmental Club
- Future Educators of America
- Students Against Destructive Decisions
- Be The Change Club
Lasso Online
George Mason High School's student ran newspaper, "Lasso Online," is a reference to the School's Mustang mascot. Originally a print newspaper, it has shifted its focus to a recently updated, online website. The website runs several sections: front page, news, sports, features, miscellaneous Mustang, reviews, and commentary and candid campus.Notable alumni
- Ann DownerAnn DownerAnn Downer is an American writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and young adults, as well as short fiction and poetry....
, author - Paul Ebert, Prosecutor of sniper John Allen Muhammad, George Mason High School class of 1955, Prince William County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney.
- Yousef Abu-TalebYousef Abu-TalebYousef Abu-Taleb is an American actor and producer of half-Arab, one-quarter English, and one-quarter white American heritage...
, actor - Andrew LoweAndrew LoweAndrew Lowe is a Canadian geophysicist and amateur astronomer. He has discovered a number of asteroids.With the discovery of the asteroid 2010 AX2 on January 7, 2010, he became one of only six individual observers worldwide with discoveries spanning five or more consecutive decades...
, amateur astronomer - Molly HennebergMolly HennebergMary Janne Henneberg is a news reporter for the Fox News Channel. She has been with the network since 2001 and is based at the network's Washington D.C. bureau....
, Fox News reporter