Wheaton Warrenville South High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Wheaton Warrenville South High School

motto = "Semper Tigris" - "Always a Tiger", "Commitment, Integrity, Scholarship, Tradition"
principal = Dr. Dawn Snyder
established = 1876
Wheaton H.S. - 1876-1924
Wheaton Community H.S. - 1924-1963Wheaton Central H.S. - 1963-1992
Wheaton Warrenville South H.S. - 1992-Current
type = Public secondary
grades = 9–12
city = 1993 Tiger Trail
Wheaton
state = Illinois
country = USA
district = CUSD 200
enrollment = 2,341
faculty = 135
campus = Suburban, 51 acres
newspaper = "The Pride"
mascot = Tiger
colors = Orange and Black
newspaper = "The Pride"
yearbook = "Tigris"
main rival = Wheaton North High School
website = [http://www.wwshs.org/ www.wwshs.org]
picture =

Wheaton Warrenville South High School, or WWSHS, and locally referred to as "South," is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Butterfield Road and Wiesbrook Road in the southwest corner of affluent Wheaton, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Community Unit School District 200, which also includes Wheaton North High School.

History

The building was originally completed in 1973, as "Wheaton-Warrenville High school", to serve the growing populations in Warrenville and southern Wheaton. Ten years after its completion, the building was converted into "Wheaton-Warrenville Middle School" after contentious litigation whereby a collection of parents associated with Wheaton Warrenville South attempted to secede from District 200. Among other issues, parents attempting to secede were concerned about proposed district boundaries where students on the south side of town would be asked to drive past Wheaton Central on their way to attend Wheaton North. The litigation failed. In 1992, Wheaton Central High School campus closed and the building re-opened itself as a high school, establishing "Wheaton Warrenville South High School". [ [http://www.wwshs.org/school%20history/school.htm Wheaton Warrenville South High School History] ] However, District 200 elected to retain the Tiger mascot in lieu of the green and gold Wolverine that Wheaton Warrenville Middle School had used.

The building comprises five major pods: "Grange", completed in 2005, and "Tradition", "Scholarship", "Commitment", and "Integrity", which are taken from the school seal.

In 1999, the Integrity wing was built in the southeast corner of the school to house the math department. It includes eleven new classrooms, a math lab, and a math office.

In 2002, The Tradition and Commitment pods, primarily housing the English and Science departments, respectively, underwent significant renovations with reconstruction of all second floor classrooms. More than $100,000 worth of technology was also upgraded in 2002, with all classrooms receiving at least one new Dell XP computer connecting to a new broadband internet access connection, Cable TV, accompanying DVD/VCR combo player. The computer labs were also updated and several carts of wireless internet laptops were added.

Wheaton Warrenville South installed solar panels on the roof of the school as an alternative energy source as part of a 2004 partnership with British Petroleum. [ [http://www.cusd200.org/board_of_education/minutes/10-13-04.pdf Wheaton Warrenville South and BP Solar Energy Partnership] ] BP's North American Chemical headquarters is located approximately two miles south of the school in Naperville. The remaining energy comes from Commonwealth Edison, which primarily produces energy from nuclear and fossil fuel sources.

On April 1, 2003, residents of Community Unit School District 200 approved, by a vote of 10,173 to 6,518, [ [http://www.cusd200.org/expansion/index.htm High School Expansion] ] a $72 million bond referendum to add about convert|150000|sqft|m2 of space and renovate both Wheaton Warrenville South, and its counterpart, Wheaton North.

The first phase of construction began in August 2003 and was completed in March 2005 and included 21 new classrooms with two resource centers to house the English and Foreign Language departments, two art rooms, a band room, an orchestra room, a choral room, and nine sound-proof practice rooms. In addition, the central office area was reconverted for the counseling center and the health office, while all other administrative offices were moved to the front of the building. A new commons area was constructed and the cafeteria underwent significant renovations.

The second phase began in spring 2005 and was completed by May 2006 and consisted primarily of renovations to the athletics wing and the construction of the field house. The library has undergone significant renovations during summer of 2006.

Academics

In 2005, Wheaton Warrenville South had an average composite ACT score of 22.1, while two seniors earned a perfect ACT score of 36. [ [http://www.cusd200.org/headlines/2006/Perfect_ACT_Scores.htm Wheaton Warrenville South Students Score Perfect ACT Score] ] In addition to this, ten students were named National Merit Scholar Semifinalists. [ [http://www.cusd200.org/headlines/state_of_the_district_3_17_05.htm Community Unit School District 200 State of the District Address] ] In 2005, Wheaton Warrenville South graduated 99.2% of its senior class.Fact|date=March 2007 For the past three years, Wheaton Warrenville South has not made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act. [ [http://www.cusd200.org/visitor/schoolreportcards_2005/south.pdf Illinois School Report Card] ]

The staff comprises 135 teachers with an average teacher to student ratio of 1:18, and an average class size of 24.4.

All academic classes at South are divided into three difficulty levels: Regular, Intermediate, and Advanced. The increased difficulty of intermediate and advanced/AP classes is reflected in the school's G.P.A. weighting system. Instead of a standard 4.0 scale, South uses a 5.0 scale. An A grade in a Regular class earns a pupil 4.0 points, an A in an Intermediate class 5.0 points, and an A in an Advanced or AP class 6.0 points.

Dr. Dawn Snyder is the current principal.

The school day officially begins at 7:20 AM and finishes at 2:15 PM. There are seven class periods of approximately fifty minutes in length, and a 25 minute lunch break. Each passing period is five minutes.

Students are required to successfully complete twenty-four credits, each course at .5 credit.

Athletics

South's mascot is the Tiger. They participate in the highly competitive DuPage Valley Conference and have a large rivalry with their crosstown rival, Wheaton North High School. Other rivals include Naperville Central High School and Naperville North High School. Wheaton Warrenville South competes in several Illinois High School Association-sanctioned interscholastic sports:
*Girls Badminton
*Boys Baseball
*Boys and Girls Basketball
*Boys and Girls Bowling
*Cheerleading
*Boys and Girls Cross Country
*Boys Football
*Boys and Girls Golf
*Boys and Girls Gymnastics (Co-op with Wheaton North High School)
*Boys and Girls Lacrosse
*Boys and Girls Soccer
*Girls Softball
*Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving
*Boys and Girls Tennis
*Boys and Girls Track and Field
*Boys and Girls Volleyball
*Boys Wrestling

Wheaton Warrenville South has won IHSA state championships in boys football, boys track and field, boys gymnastics and boys volleyball. Their most recent title came in the 2007-08 season, when the boys volleyball team defeated Buffalo Grove High School 25-15, 25-20 for the volleyball title.

In addition to the IHSA-sanctioned sports listed above, Wheaton Warrenville South also offers Fencing, Ice Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, and Lacrosse as club sports.

Team State Championships

*Boys Football - 1992 Class 5A, 1995 Class 6A, 1996 Class 6A, 1998 Class 6A, 2006 Class 8A
*Boys Volleyball - 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
*Boys Track and Field - 1995 Class AA, 1999 Class AA
*Boys Gymnastics (Co-op with Wheaton North High School) - 2005

Activities

*Amnesty International
*Chess Team
*Sinfonia Orchestra
*Chamber Orchestra
*Concert Orchestra
*Chamber Choir
*Computer Club
*Concert Choir
*Drama
*Fencing
*French Honor Society
*Future Educators of America (FEDs)
*Gay–straight alliance
*German Honor Society
*Jazz Ensemble I & II
*Junior Varsity Women's Choir
*Key Club
*Latino Club
*Marching Band
*Math Team
*Men's Chorale
*National Art Honor Society
*National Honor Society
*Newspaper, "The Pride"
*Percussion I
*Pep Band
*Philosophy club
*Photo club
*Prodigy Dance Team
*Students Against Destructive Decisions
*Scholastic Bowl
*Show Choir and Show Choir Band
*Spanish Honor Society
*Speech Team
*Student Council (Stu-Con)
*Symphonic Band
*Tech Crew
*Ultimate Frisbee
*Varsity Women's Chorale
*Verterra (environmental club)
*Video Club
*Wind Ensemble
*Writing Club
*Yearbook
*Youth and Government

Notable alumni

Wheaton High School (1876-1925)

*C. Wayland Brooks, 1916, U.S. Senator
*Harold "Red" Grange, 1922, professional football player
*Edwin Hubble, 1906, astronomer

Wheaton Community High School (1925-1964)

*Dennis Dugan, 1964, actor
*Rick Goings, 1963, Chairman and CEO of Tupperware
*William Rathje, 1963, "Professor of Garbology" at University of Arizona
*Grote Reber, 1929, inventor of the radio telescope
*Samuel K. Skinner, 1956, former United States Secretary of Transportation
*Jim Sutorius, 1963, actor
*Orrin Tucker, 1929, band leader
*Bob Woodward, 1961, reporter
*John Wright, 1964, professional football player

Wheaton Central High School (1964-1992)

*Robert D. Beck, 1979, News Director of Wyoming Public Radio
*James Belushi, 1972, actor
*John Belushi, 1967, actor
*Ron Magruder, 1965, President of Olive Garden Restaurants
*Frank Whittaker Jr., 1974, News Chief of NBC Chicago-affiliate WMAQ

Wheaton-Warrenville High School (1973-1983)

Wheaton Warrenville South High School (1992-Present)

*Tim Lester, 1995, former Quarterback, Chicago Enforcers, XFL
*Jeff Fowler, 1996, Oscar-nominated writer-director for 2004 independent film Gopher Broke
*Kevin Streelman, 1997, current member of the P.G.A. Tour
*Jon Beutjer, 1999, Quarterback, Team Michigan, AAFL
*Jerome Collins, 2000, current professional football player, NY Giants
*Sean Rooney, 2001, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, Men's Volleyball
*Dan Brauer, 2002, Pitcher, Clearwater Threshers, minor league baseball affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies
*Dave Williams, 2007, 2007 first round draft choice of Chicago White Sox, attends North Central College

References

External links

* [http://www.wwshs.org/ Wheaton Warrenville South High School]
* [http://www.cusd200.org/ Community Unit School District 200]
* [http://www.eyeofthesouthtiger.com/ EyeOfTheSouthTiger: The unofficial website for Wheaton and Warrenville teens]