WILLIAM KIRBY
HUBER HEIGHTS SCHOOLS
Last week, I gave the community a snapshot of the many accomplishments of the staff and students of Weisenborn Middle School during the 2009-10 school year. This week, I would like to focus on Wayne High School.
Wayne serves students in grades nine through 12. It was built “campus style” and consists of six buildings connected by a series of walkways and breezeways. Built in 1959, Douglas Hall was the first building completed on the high school grounds. This was followed by Filbrun Hall in 1961, Storck and Hawke Halls in 1963 and Shank Hall in 1966. With the construction of Alumni Hall in 1994, Wayne High School had a formal entrance. In addition to the academic halls, the Wayne High School complex also includes an auditorium and athletic fields. Last school year, the enrollment at our high school topped 1,900 students.
The diversity of Wayne’s enrollment is reflected in the variety of achievements of the staff and students. Academic success was demonstrated in an assortment of ways, including a Greater Western Ohio Conference championship, earned by the academic challenge team.
Additionally, Wayne had 50 GWOC scholar-athletes and the Class of 2010 earned approximately $2 million in scholarships. Dr. Reva Cosby, the principal at Wayne, conducted the inaugural “Breakfast with the Brightest” honoring the members of the sophomore class who scored more than 500 on one or more sections of the Ohio Graduation Test. Eleven students met this high level of achievement.
Members of the Wayne High School choir experienced the sights and sounds of the big city when they traveled to New York. Choir members sang with the cast of “Mama Mia” at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station and other places.
The generosity of our high school students was clear in a variety of charitable endeavors. Race 2 Read, a competition between Wayne’s track team and Centerville’s track team, resulted in the collection of more than 13,000 children’s books. The books were donated to Children’s Medical Center and to For the Love of Children, an organization benefiting foster children in Montgomery County. Wayne students also organized two blood drives this year and this spring they collected more than 120 pints of blood. It was the highest collection to date.
In addition to their academic accomplishments, Wayne students excelled on the playing field as well. The football team won the GWOC Conference title. The softball team won back-to-back GWOC championships and the girl’s cross country team qualified for regionals. Both the swim team and the wrestling team went to state. With a 20-2 record, the boy’s basketball team celebrated both a GWOC and sectional championship. The boy’s track team earned a district championship, the girl’s track team secured a GWOC championship, and the girl’s soccer team was recognized as regional runner-ups.
Early in the school construction process, the Board of Education recognized the legacy of Wayne High School in the community of Huber Heights. The members confirmed that, when completed in the late fall of 2012, the new high school will continue to bear the name of Wayne High School. I am very proud of the many accomplishments of the staff and students of Wayne High School and I know that the 2010–11 school year holds many more successes.
To contact Kirby, call (937) 237-6300 or e-mail william.kirby@ huberheightscityschools.org.