Winter Springs High School | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Location | |
![]() | |
, , | |
Information | |
School type | Public |
Established | 1997 |
School district | Seminole County Public Schools |
Principal | Peter Gaffney |
Faculty | 99.56 (FTE) [1] |
Grades | 9-12 |
Number of students | 2,038 (2022-23) [1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 20.47 [1] |
Color(s) | Purple and Vegas gold [2] |
Athletics conference | FHSAA |
Mascot | Bears [2] |
Newspaper | The Bear Truth News http://beartruthnews.com/ |
Website | www |
Winter Springs High School, is a high school in Winter Springs, Florida. It was founded in 1997 as the seventh full-time high school in Seminole County. The school is operated by Seminole County Public Schools.
Winter Springs High School opened in 1997 as the latest high school of Seminole County. Plans for the new school began three years earlier as a result of overcrowding at Oviedo, Lake Howell and Lyman high schools. The community of Winter Springs successfully lobbied to have the school built in their town as a way of creating a "town identity and center, and not just be an outgrowth of the surrounding cities."
Although, the school first opened in 1997 as Winter Springs High School, the school had first opened its doors as a temporary home to the student body, faculty and staff of nearby Lake Howell High School the previous year while the Lake Howell campus underwent major renovations.
A.W. Epps was the school's first principal. When the school opened in 1997, it housed only 9th and 10th grade students. The school housed grades 9–11 in 1998–1999, and the first class graduated in 1999–2000. Dr. Elise Gruber became principal in 2000 and was succeeded by Dr. Michael R. Blasewitz in 2004. In 2012 Dr. Blasewitz was named Director of High Schools of Seminole County Public Schools. As a result, Dr. Mickey Reynolds was named the fourth principal of Winter Springs High School the same year. Pete Gaffney became the principal starting in the 2017–2018 school year. The school's bell schedule has been adjusted to a modified block format, to accommodate student needs.
Winter Springs High School sponsors many interscholastic sports teams including football, cross country, volleyball, golf, bowling, track and field, lacrosse, wrestling, swimming, water polo, bowling, baseball, basketball, soccer, weightlifting, cheerleading, softball and tennis. The Winter Springs teams compete at the A.W. Epps Sports Complex, named after the high school's first principal.
The Girls' Basketball team won state championships back-to-back in 1999 and 2000. [3]
The Girls Cross Country team won the State title in 2019 and 2020. [4]
The volleyball team captured the 2015 FHSAA State Championship. [5]
The Softball team went 31–0 topping the #1 team 3-0 in 2019 capturing the FHSAA State Title, and was named National Champions in Extra Inning Softball's Extra Elite Eighty high school rankings. [6] [7]
In April 2011, the Band of Gold was invited to perform at Stetson University's prestigious band invitational, performing a repertoire that included the finale of Symphony No. 3 (Saint-Saëns). The Band of Gold traveled to Washington, D.C. in January 2009 for the inauguration of President Obama, as well as performing at the President's Park in Williamsburg, Virginia. The band recently went to the University of South Florida to participate in the 2012 Florida Bandmaster's Association State Music Performance Assessment, performing a program of March Grandioso, Armand Russell's Theme and Fantasia, and the Overture to Tannhauser . The band received straight superior ratings.
At the beginning of the 2015–2016 school year the Lord Mayor of London England asked the band program to perform at the London New Year's Day parade. "It will be lit" said Adam McIntyre, the band director for the school
The Winter Springs High School Chorus program includes the Combined Women's (which includes the beginner, intermediate, and advanced women), Men's, Mixed Concert (which includes the men and advanced women), and Advanced Women's choirs.
In 2004, Winter Springs High School gained national attention for its excellent Safe-School Ambassador program and was featured in a segment on MSNBC. In 2005, Winter Springs High School gained national attention yet again when several Winter Springs students, riding in a limousine to prom, stopped a drunk driver and called the police. This story gained national headlines, and the students were featured on several national talk shows as well as NBC, CBS, and ABC. In 2005, the school was recognized as having the second largest number of National Merit semifinalists (19) in the state of Florida. The story was featured on the front page of the Orlando Sentinel.
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level, primarily competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since the 1991–92 season; within the Atlantic Division in any sports split into a divisional format since the 2005–06 season.
Braulio Alonso High School is a public high school located in Tampa, Florida, United States. It serves grades 9-12 for the Hillsborough County Public Schools.
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is a not-for-profit organization designated by the Florida Legislature as the governing organization to regulate all interscholastic activities of high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses the contest rules set by the NFHS in its sports.
F. W. Buchholz High School is a high school in Gainesville, Florida, United States. Buchholz is one of seven high schools in Alachua County. Opened in January 1971, it is the largest public high school in Gainesville, with 2,241 students in 2020. The Buchholz Math Team was dubbed "America's Greatest Math Team" by The Wall Street Journal in 2022, when Buchholz won first place for the 14th time in the annually held national Mu Alpha Theta math competition.
Seminole High School is a public coeducational high school located in Seminole, Florida. It is governed by the Pinellas County Schools. The school's mascot is "Wally the Warhawk". The student population is approximately 1,650.
Leon High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is the oldest public high school in the state, and is a part of the Leon County Schools System.
George D. Chamberlain High School is a public high school in Tampa, Florida, United States. It was opened in 1956 on North Boulevard. The school is named in honor of George D. Chamberlain, who served for several years as a trustee for the Hillsborough County School System.
Lake Mary High School is a public high school located in Seminole County, Florida, operating under Seminole County Public Schools. It was opened in 1981.
Oviedo High School is a grade 9–12 public secondary school set on a 52-acre (21 ha) campus in Oviedo, Florida, a community situated in southeastern Seminole County operated by Seminole County Public Schools.
Lyman High School is a public high school located in Longwood, Florida. The school, founded in 1924, has been consistently ranked among the best in the state by the Florida Department of Education. For the 2012-2013 school term Lyman High School garnered a straight 'A' average, the best in the district, as a result of extremely high student scores on the Florida Comprehension Assessment Test. In 2014, it was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 27th best high school in the state of Florida and the overall best high school in Central Florida. It was ranked by Newsweek as the 204th best high school in the United States in 2010. The school was also named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1982. The school is operated by Seminole County Public Schools.
Naples High School is a secondary education school located in Naples, Florida, and is one of ten public high schools located in Collier County. Naples High School is part of the District School Board of Collier County.
Barron G. Collier High School is a four-year public high school located in North Naples, Collier County, Florida, United States, near Pine Ridge and about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of the city of Naples.
Liberty County High School is a public high school teaching grades 9–12. The school is located in Bristol, Florida, which is the county seat of Liberty County in the Florida Panhandle near Tallahassee. It is the only high school in Liberty County, with around 325 students from Hosford Junior High in Hosford and W.R. Tolar School in Bristol. The school is operated by the Liberty County School District. In 2023-2024 the high school male administration and the school district became embroiled in controversy over its corporal punishment policies after an 18 year old female honors student was paddled by the Assistant Principal. (3) Eric Willis - the Principal - has condoned the sexual assault of the student by the Assistant Principal.
Amos P. Godby High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida, named for Amos P. Godby, who first served as a teacher and coach at Leon High School, and later became Leon County Superintendent and President and Secretary of the Florida Superintendents Association.
George W. Jenkins High School serves Lakeland Highlands, Florida, and Medulla, Florida, the two southernmost unincorporated communities of Lakeland, Florida, a city with a population of 112,641 and a surrounding community of more than 700,000. The school, more commonly known as "George Jenkins" or “GJ”, is part of the Polk County Public Schools system.
Western High School is a High school located in Davie, Florida, serving students in grades 9 through 12. The school, which opened in 1981, is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district.
Keystone Heights Junior/Senior High School (KHHS) is a public high school serving students in the seventh through twelfth grades in Keystone Heights, Clay County, Florida, USA and is part of the Clay County School District.
Oak Ridge High School is a public high school in Orlando, Florida, established in 1959. The school had been rated a D or F institution by the state starting in 2000. In 2012, the school was awarded a C grade, breaking the low performance streak. In 2013, the school further improved and was awarded a B grade.
Port St. Lucie High School (PSLHS) is a high school in the U.S. city of Port St. Lucie, Florida. It is located in the southeast area of St. Lucie County.
George M. Steinbrenner High School is a public high school in Lutz, Florida. It is located adjacent to McKitrick Elementary and Martinez Middle School. The school was named in honor of late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a Tampa resident.