O'Fallon Township High School

Last updated
O'Fallon Township High School
O'Fallon Township High School logo.svg
Address
O'Fallon Township High School
600 South Smiley Street

O'Fallon
,
Illinois
62269

United States
Coordinates 38°35′12″N89°54′06″W / 38.5867160°N 89.9017677°W / 38.5867160; -89.9017677 [1]
Information
School typePublic
Motto"Excellence in Education for Every student Every day"
Founded1901
School district203
SuperintendentBeth Shackelford
PrincipalRich Bickel
Staff136.20 (FTE) [2]
Grades9-12
Enrollment2,401 (2018–19) [2]
Student to teacher ratio17.63 [2]
Color(s)  Blue
  Gold
Athletics conference Southwestern Conference
MascotPanther
PublicationPanther Beat
NewspaperThe Prowler
YearbookThe Panther
Website www.oths.us

O'Fallon Township High School is a public secondary school in O'Fallon, Illinois. In 2009, OTHS was ranked 49th out of the top 100 high schools in Illinois by the Chicago Sun Times .[ citation needed ]

Contents

As of 2023, it is the second largest public high school in Illinois by enrollment outside of the Chicago area (Belleville High School-East being the largest). [3]

History

OTHS School Crest.svg
OTHS Crest

The first high school was founded in 1901 as a two-year school by William R. Dorris, who became the first principal, according to Brian Keller of the O’Fallon Historical Society. In 1900, the city had built a new building to serve as the elementary school. Room 10 was set aside for the high school studies. The first graduating class in 1903 had only five members. In 1920, O’Fallon’s high school officially became OTHS of District 203, and the original school song, “Blue and Old Gold”, was first sung at graduation in 1925.

The school's mascot is the Panther, for which the 1934 basketball team takes credit for choosing. The basketball team visited a sports store in 1934 and was impressed by the large picture of a panther in the store’s display window, according to Mr. George Bender, class of 1937. The team, not having a mascot of their own yet, liked the idea of using the panther. By November 1934, the team was nicknamed the Panthers, a name which would eventually represent the entire school.

As stated in the 1962 edition of The Panther, the symbology on O'Fallon Township High School's crest reflects the town's rich history of farming, industry, and coal mining. [4] Today, the school's coat of arms/crest can be found in the Smiley Campus's 600 hallway on a bronze plaque gifted by the Class of 1961.

After a short tenure as an assistant principal, longtime teacher Rich Bickel became the principal in 2009, following the retirement of Steve Dirnbeck who served as the school's principal from 2003-2009. [5]

Campuses

The current main campus (Smiley), which houses grades 10-12 (sophomores, juniors, and seniors), was built and opened in 1958. Also, the district expanded the main campus by extending the street-side hallway, thus adding another hallway stretching the length of the school along with multiple new classrooms.

The district completed construction on the strictly 9th grade or freshman campus (Milburn) in the summer of 2009. The two campuses are about 10–15 minutes apart. The first class to attend the Milburn campus was the class of 2013.

Extracurricular activities

Sports

The Panthers compete in the Southwestern Conference.

  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Bowling
  • Cross Country
  • Color Guard
  • Ice Hockey (competes in Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association)
  • Football
  • Golden Girls Dance Team
  • Golf
  • Intramurals: Softball, Ultimate Frisbee, Quidditch
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Track and Field
  • Volleyball
  • Wrestling
  • Marching band


Other extracurricular activities

  • Art Club
  • Astronomy Club
  • Bass Fishing Club
  • BETA Club
  • Bleachermaniacs
  • Camera Club
  • Comics and Drawing Team
  • Chess Team
  • Chamber Choir
  • Cross Country
  • Concert Choir
  • Culture Mix
  • Drama Club
  • Ecology Club
  • Endeavours Literary Magazine
  • Fall Play
  • Future Business Leaders of America
  • Future Science Professionals
  • Fellowship of Christian Athletes
  • French Club
  • French Honor Society
  • Freshman Choir
  • Future Educators of America
  • Gay Straight Alliance
  • Geology Club
  • German Club
  • German Honor Society
  • Gold Rush Club (school spirit)
  • Government Club
  • History Club
  • Hockey
  • International Action (Interact) Club
  • Investment Club
  • Jazz Band
  • Jazz Choir
  • Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps
  • Lifesavers
  • Madrigals
  • Marching Band
  • Math Team
  • Mock Trial Club
  • Model United Nations
  • National Honor Society
  • Odyssey of the Mind
  • Japanese Culture Club
  • Panther Beat Broadcast
  • Players with a Passion
  • Prom Planning Committee
  • Religions United Interfaith Mosaic
  • Robotics Team
  • Saturday Scholars
  • Scholar Bowl Team
  • Science Olympiad Team
  • Show Choir
  • Speech Team
  • Spanish Club
  • Spanish Honor Society
  • Spring Musical
  • Sports Medicine Club
  • Sport Psychology Club
  • Students Against Destructive Decisions
  • Student Council
  • Thespian Society
  • (Varsity) Winter Guard
  • (Junior Varsity) Winter Guard
  • Wellness Club
  • Woman's Choir
  • Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering Team
  • Yearbook Staff

Team achievements

Notable alumni

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References

  1. ↑ USGS Detail, U.S. Geological Survey
  2. 1 2 3 "O Fallon High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  3. ↑ "2024 Largest Public High Schools In Illinois". Niche. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  4. ↑ OTHS Yearbook Club (1962). The Panther.
  5. ↑ "Outgoing principal helped shaped big changes at OTHS". STLtoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  6. ↑ "IHSA Boys Baseball All-Time Records". Archived from the original on 2006-11-01. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "2015-2016 Results and Awards". OTHS Band. OTHS Band Boosters. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "St. Louis, MO 2023". BOA Marching Championships. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  9. ↑ Records & History
  10. ↑ "Bob Cryder visits his "House" at Fulton Jr. High". O'Fallon Weekly. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019. The famous Bob Cryder, an O'Fallon Township High School graduate ...
  11. ↑ "O'Fallon Library completes remodel, holds dedication ceremony". O'Fallon Weekly. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2019. Fuchs, who passed in 2009, was a class of 1950 graduate of O'Fallon Township High School.
  12. ↑ Reynolds, Dave. "O'Fallon has a basketball Jones". Journal Star. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  13. ↑ Palmer, Tod (September 5, 2017). "O'Fallon's McCann refocused after hard freshman season at Mizzou". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ Eschman, Todd (July 13, 2016). "Shiloh's Sanchez wins TV show finale and contract with UFC". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  15. ↑ "O'Fallon Homecoming offered pleasant end of summer celebration". STL Today . August 14, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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