West Warwick High School
Encyclopedia
West Warwick High School is a public high school
located in West Warwick, Rhode Island
. The current enrollment (February 2011) is approximately 1,050 students. The mission of West Warwick High School is to create a caring learning community with rigorous academic and professional standards. These standards will provide students and staff with a safe and healthful, positive and personalized environment. The educational community will encourage mutual, lifelong learning so that all students and staff may achieve their full potential as productive, ethical and responsible members of the community. To that end, in recent years, the school has seen resurgence in academic prowess and rigor. Primarily, due to recent initiatives and professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, the student body has seen significant gains on state testing, specifically the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) scores for the 2010 school year. Student test scores have improved significantly, most notably 83% of WWHS students who took the NECAP test are either proficient or proficient with distinction in Reading.
The Arts, particularly the music department, have helped to bring national status to the academic program in recent years. Specifically, the West Warwick High School Jazz Ensemble "A" Band which has won numerous awards for musical accomplishments including placing in "the Finals" of the “Berklee College of Music
High School Jazz Festival” from 2002–2007 and 2009, winning the prestigious festival in 2007. In addition, the Concert Band and Concert Chorale have competed and won national and international awards and titles the past fifteen years. Currently, the West Warwick High School Music Department is the largest in the state, with more than 550 students participating. In addition, the drama department has produced high quality musical
productions in West Warwick, most notably Grease
in 1999.
The school has a long tradition of excellence in Rhode Island
Interscholastic Sports. The school mascot is the Wizard
and the school colors are black and orange.
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....
located in West Warwick, Rhode Island
West Warwick, Rhode Island
West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 29,191 at the 2010 census.West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the state. Prior to 1913, the town, situated on the western bank of the Pawtuxet River, was the population and...
. The current enrollment (February 2011) is approximately 1,050 students. The mission of West Warwick High School is to create a caring learning community with rigorous academic and professional standards. These standards will provide students and staff with a safe and healthful, positive and personalized environment. The educational community will encourage mutual, lifelong learning so that all students and staff may achieve their full potential as productive, ethical and responsible members of the community. To that end, in recent years, the school has seen resurgence in academic prowess and rigor. Primarily, due to recent initiatives and professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, the student body has seen significant gains on state testing, specifically the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) scores for the 2010 school year. Student test scores have improved significantly, most notably 83% of WWHS students who took the NECAP test are either proficient or proficient with distinction in Reading.
The Arts, particularly the music department, have helped to bring national status to the academic program in recent years. Specifically, the West Warwick High School Jazz Ensemble "A" Band which has won numerous awards for musical accomplishments including placing in "the Finals" of the “Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
High School Jazz Festival” from 2002–2007 and 2009, winning the prestigious festival in 2007. In addition, the Concert Band and Concert Chorale have competed and won national and international awards and titles the past fifteen years. Currently, the West Warwick High School Music Department is the largest in the state, with more than 550 students participating. In addition, the drama department has produced high quality musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
productions in West Warwick, most notably Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
in 1999.
The school has a long tradition of excellence in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
Interscholastic Sports. The school mascot is the Wizard
Wizard
Wizard may refer to:- Fictional characters :* Wizard or magician, a person in fantasy or mythology who has studied and practices magic** Wizard , a character in L...
and the school colors are black and orange.
Notable alumni
- Frank (Monk) Maznicki - Running back on Boston CollegeBoston CollegeBoston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
1940 Cotton Bowl Classic team and 1941 Sugar BowlSugar BowlThe Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
squad. Maznicki played in the NFL with the Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
from 1942 to 1947; ran for 463 yards and was 65 for 69 on extra points. He was ranked as one of Rhode Island's Top 50 athletes of the 20th century by Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
. The West Warwick High School football field is named in his honor. - Tom GarrickTom GarrickThomas S. Garrick is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2nd round of the 1988 NBA Draft. He played guard in four NBA seasons, mainly for the Clippers...
- Former professional basketball player and former coach of the University of Rhode IslandUniversity of Rhode IslandThe University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
women's basketball team. - Chuck PalumboChuck PalumboCharles "Chuck" Palumbo is an American professional wrestler, currently working for Nu-Wrestling Evolution . Palumbo is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment...
- Professional wrestler and builder of custom motorcycles. - Tony MaseratiTony MaseratiTony Maserati is an American record producer and studio audio engineer who has worked with many mainstream artists including Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jason Mraz, James Brown, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, R...
- Record producer and studio engineer who has worked with many mainstream artist of the 1990s and 2000s including James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Mariah CareyMariah CareyMariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Destiny's ChildDestiny's ChildDestiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
, R. KellyR. KellyRobert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
, Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezJennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, Ricky MartinRicky MartinEnrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...
, Puff Daddy and TupacTupacTupac is a relatively uncommon male name. Notable people with the name include:*Túpac Inca Yupanqui , tenth Sapa Inca of the Incan Empire*Túpac Amaru , last indigenous leader of the Inca people in Peru...
.