Mound Westonka High School

Mound Westonka High School
Mound Westonka High School
	Mound Westonka High School Logo
Location
	5905 Sunnyfield Road E; Minnetrista, Minnesota 55364; United States
Information
Type	Public
Motto	Small School Advantages. Big School Opportunities. Real-Life Success Stories.
Established	1917
School district	Westonka Public Schools
Principal	Jolene Herfel
Staff	47.23 (FTE)
Grades	8–12
Enrollment	978 (2018-19)
Student to teacher ratio	20.71
Color(s)	Red & White
Athletics conference	Wright County
Mascot	White Hawk

Mound Westonka High School is a grades 8–12 public high school in Mound, Minnesota, United States. Mound Westonka competes in the Wright County Conference. Mound Westonka, located west of Lake Minnetonka, serves the westernmost portion of the lake and is located west of Minnetonka and south of Orono. Mound Westonka houses over 900 students in grades 8-12. It began as Mound Consolidated High School, which opened in the fall of 1917 in downtown Mound as part of District 85. In 1958, District 85 became Westonka District 277. In the fall of 1971, Mound High School was relocated several miles to a new building at its present location in Minnetrista and “Westonka” was added to its name. Mound High School adopted the “Mohawk” mascot in the 1930s, in part because Mound was named for the ancient Native American burial mounds located within its borders. In the fall of 1997, the school mascot was changed to the White Hawks.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

History

Mound Westonka High School was founded as Mound High School.

Voters in the district approved $22.95 million in bond funding in May 2016, resulting in major additions to the south (Westonka Activity Center) and east (Westonka Performing Arts Center). Designed by Wold Architects and Engineers and built by Kraus-Anderson, they were completed in 2018.^[6]

Awards and recognitions

The original structure, designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, won a 1972 AIA Minnesota Merit Award.^[7]

Mound Westonka High School is ranked among the top high schools in the United States by several national publications. Mound Westonka ranks fifth in Minnesota and 104th in the country on Newsweek's 2014 list of "America's Top High Schools."^[8] MWHS was also named to U.S. News & World Report's 2014 "Best High Schools" list,^[9] The Washington Post's 2014 "America's Most Challenging High Schools" list^[10] and Niche's 2014 "Best Public High Schools" list.^[11] The Westonka School District was named to the College Board's AP District Honor Roll in 2012^[12] for increasing access to Advanced Placement exams as well as scores of 3 or higher (usually the minimum to earn college credit).

Athletics and activities

Activities

Bowling
Chinese Club
DECA
Fall Musical
Fine Arts Advisors
Jazz Band
Know America
LINK Crew
Madd Jazz
MWHS Math League
National Honor Society
Pop Singers
Quiz Bowl
Science Olympiad
Spanish Club
Speech Team
Spring Play
Student Senate

Sports

Fall
- Soccer
- Football
- Cross Country
- Football Cheerleading
- Girls Swim & Dive
- Girls Tennis
- Volleyball
Winter
- Alpine Ski
- Boys Basketball
- Boys Hockey
- Boys Swim & Dive
- Dance Team
- Girls Basketball
- Girls Gymnastics
- Girls Hockey
- Nordic Ski
- Wrestling
Spring Sports
- Baseball
- Boys Golf
- Boys Tennis
- Boys Lacrosse
- Girls Golf
- Girls Lacrosse
- Girls Softball
- Track and Field
- Trap Shooting

Campus

Mound Westonka High School itself contains two levels, with separate academic wings for different teaching subjects. The school has a pool as well as an ice arena. On the exterior, the school property has three soccer fields, five baseball/softball fields, nine tennis courts, a track, and a football stadium. Following a referendum in 2016, the Westonka Performing Arts Center and Westonka Activity Center were built, both of which opened in September 2018.

Notable alumni

Kevin Sorbo, American actor
Shane Wiskus, American Olympian gymnast

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "MOUND WESTONKA HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
^ "Mound Westonka High School". westonka.k12.mn.us. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
^ "Mound-Westonka High School Overview". usnews.com. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
^ "Mound-Westonka High School". greatschools.org. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
^ "Mound-Westonka High School". schooldigger.com. Retrieved 1 February 2014.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Kraus-Anderson completes $23 million performing arts center," Lake Pioneer, November 12, 2018.
^ "Six architectural firms in Twin Cities honored," Minneapolis Tribune, November 19, 1972.
^ "America's Top Schools 2014". Newsweek. 13 September 2014.
^ "How Does Mound-Westonka High School Rank Among America's Best High Schools?".
^ "Ranking America's High Schools - The Washington Post".
^ "2016 Best Public High Schools in Minnesota - Niche".
^ http://media.collegeboard.com/homeOrg/content/pdf/3rd-annual-honor-roll-list-101912.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

External links

[NCES-1] "MOUND WESTONKA HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 31, 2021.

[westonka-2] "Mound Westonka High School". westonka.k12.mn.us. Retrieved 1 February 2014.

[usnews-3] "Mound-Westonka High School Overview". usnews.com. Retrieved 1 February 2014.

[greatschools-4] "Mound-Westonka High School". greatschools.org. Retrieved 1 February 2014.

[schooldigger-5] "Mound-Westonka High School". schooldigger.com. Retrieved 1 February 2014.^{[permanent dead link]}

[2018adds-6] "Kraus-Anderson completes $23 million performing arts center," Lake Pioneer, November 12, 2018.

[1972AIA-7] "Six architectural firms in Twin Cities honored," Minneapolis Tribune, November 19, 1972.

[8] "America's Top Schools 2014". Newsweek. 13 September 2014.

[9] "How Does Mound-Westonka High School Rank Among America's Best High Schools?".

[10] "Ranking America's High Schools - The Washington Post".

[11] "2016 Best Public High Schools in Minnesota - Niche".

[12] ttp://media.collegeboard.com/homeOrg/content/pdf/3rd-annual-honor-roll-list-101912.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

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