- Quince Orchard High School
Infobox Secondary school
name = Quince Orchard High School
motto =
established = 1988
type = Public Secondary
principal = Carole Working
students = 1749 (2008)
grades = 9–12
city = Gaithersburg
state =Maryland
country = USA
district =Montgomery County Public Schools
campus =Suburban
colors =Red ,Black andWhite
mascot = Cougars
newspaper = The Prowler
yearbook = Tracks
website = http://qohs.org/Quince Orchard High School is a secondary school located on Quince Orchard Road in
Gaithersburg in unincorporated Montgomery County,Maryland ,United States . Quince Orchard's incoming freshmen come from Lakelands Park,and Ridgeview Middle School. Quince Orchard in previous years also took in freshman from Kingsview Middle School but this was ended after the 2007 school year . Small portions of the city of Gaithersburg are assigned to Quince Orchard. Quince Orchard High won 4 state championships in 2007-2008, in boys cross country, girls soccer, football, and boys indoor track.Academics
According to materials from the school, Quince Orchard "encourages advanced studies in both the arts and books." To this end, 24 Advanced Placement courses are offered, ranging from the
Arts toWorld History .cite web|url= http://www.qohs.org/about_qo/pdf/schoolProfile.pdf |title=Quince Orchard HS School Profile (PDF)] The school also boasts higher-than-averageSAT (544 verbal, 558 math, 1102 total) and ACT (22 composite) scores, and requires 60 hours of community service for graduation. From the class of 2011 on, 75 hours will be required.cite web|url=http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04125.pdf |title=Quince Orchard HS at a Glance (PDF)]The school sent 75%+ of its 2005 graduating class to two- and four-year universities.
In 2006, Quince Orchard High School was listed in the "
Newsweek Magazine "'s top 1,300 High Schools in the U.S., as the 456th highest-rated school in the country. [cite news|url= http://mcps.k12.md.us/departments/publishingservices/bulletin/2005-06/Bulletn34.pdf
title=Newsweek names MCPS high schools among best in nation|publisher=The Bulletin |date=2006,May 8 , Pg. 1 & 3]Athletics
In recent years, the girls
field hockey and soccer teams have enjoyed success, along with the cross county and track teams. The boys baseball team won the state championship in 2005. TheAmerican football team, which won the state championships in 1991 and 2007, had fallen on lean years but has enjoyed a resurgence lately and has had winning years in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and won the 4A (Maryland's largest classification, based on enrollment) state championship in 2007. The varsity baseball team, though a perennial county powerhouse, had struggled to win a state championship until the 2005 season when they beat a tough Anne Arundel team for the state title. They followed with an undefeated season in 2006, and another trip to the state semi-final where they suffered a heartbreaking loss in 2007.In 2006 the boys cross country team and the girls
field hockey team won the State Championships onNovember 11 andNovember 14 . Finishing the regular season 9-1, the football team went to the playoffs, beating Damascus High School onNovember 17 ,2006 , but ultimately losing to Northwest High School onNovember 24 ,2006 .In 2007, the boys' cross-country team made it to first in states. The girls' varsity soccer team also placed first in state competition, and the field hockey team placed second in the state. Varsity football capped off an undefeated 2007 season with a victory over Arundel in the Division 4A state finals scoring 29 points in the final quarter to do so.
The JV football team went 9-0 in the 2007 season.
The boys varsity soccer team won nationals in 2007.
The boys basketball JV Team went 20 and 0 in the 2007 season.
The boys indoor track team won states in Winter 2008 season.
The boys outdoor track team placed second in state, setting a state record in the 4 x 800 meter relay with a time of 7:44.67.
Arts
Quince Orchard has an award-winningFact|date=June 2007
theatre and music department. In the spring of 2008, the Quince Orchard High School Chamber Singers performed at the Kennedy Center with the Manhattan Concert Productions. Over the years the Theatre department has staged near 50 productions, most recently "Up the Down Staircase" and the popular musical Grease, which was critically aclaimed by the National Theatre Critics Program. In the 2008-2009 school year the theatre department will perform School House Rock Live in the fall, Moon over Buffalo in the winter, and Guys and Dolls in the Spring.In addition, The Prowler newspaper is regarded as one of the best high school newspapers in the state, winning local, state and national awards.Fact|date=April 2008The QOHS
Yearbook "Tracks" whose editor is unknown has won multiple awards from the Maryland Scholastic Press Association and Walsworth Publishing Company including a Gallery of Excellence Selection for the 2006 book.Fact|date=June 2007Also, the QOHS
Marching Band went to the inaugural USSBA National Championship and achieved a record-breaking score for Montgomery County of 90.275. cite web|url=http://music.qohs.org/milestones.php |title=Quince Orchard Band Milestones]The Quince Orchard Marching Band went to USSBA National Championship, for the second year in a row. They received their second record-breaking score (for Montgomery County, Maryland) of 92.325, and placed 9th out of 18 groups. cite web|url=http://music.qohs.org/milestones.php |title=Quince Orchard Band Milestones]
tudent diversity
For the 2005–2006 school year, Quince Orchard has a total enrollment of 1,910 students. The student body is an increasingly diverse group as more Hispanic and Asian families move into the area. During the 2005-2006 school year, the school's student body comprised of 51.3% Caucasian, 17.6% African American, 15.7% Asian, 15.1% Hispanic and 0.3% American Indian. cite web|url=http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04125.pdf |title=Quince Orchard HS at a Glance (PDF)]
References
Famous Alumni
*Wale (rapper)
*Paul James (actor) Greek (TV series)
*Darnell Wilson External links
* [http://www.qohs.org Quince Orchard High School - Gaithersburg, MD]
* [http://www.qoalumni.org/ Quince Orchard High School Alumni]
* [http://my.highschooljournalism.org/md/gaithersburg/qohs/ The Prowler, Quince Orchard student newspaper]
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