Shawnee Mission West High School

Shawnee Mission West High School
Address
8800 West 85th Street[1]
Overland Park, Kansas 66212
United States
Coordinates 38°58′33″N 94°41′18″W / 38.975804°N 94.688195°W / 38.975804; -94.688195Coordinates: 38°58′33″N 94°41′18″W / 38.975804°N 94.688195°W / 38.975804; -94.688195
Information
School type Public, High School
Established 1962
School district Shawnee Mission School District (USD 512)
Superintendent Gene Johnson
CEEB code 172773[2]
Principal Steve Loe[3]
Athletic Director Don Perkins[3]
Grades 9–12
Gender coed
Campus type Suburban
Color(s)      Black
     Gold
Athletics Class 6A[4]
District 2[5]
Athletics conference Sunflower League[3]
Mascot Vikings
Rival Shawnee Mission East High School
Newspaper The EPIC
Yearbook The SAGA
Website School Website

Shawnee Mission West High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. Shawnee Mission West is one of several public high schools located within Shawnee Mission, KS. The official school colors are black and gold and the school mascot is the Viking.

Shawnee Mission West is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and are known as the "Vikings". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs.

History

Shawnee Mission West was established in 1962 due to the increasing numbers of students from the Overland Park, Kansas area. Prior to its creation, the Shawnee Mission School District included Shawnee Mission North High School (the original Shawnee Mission High School) and Shawnee Mission East High School. Students from North and East were given the opportunity to transfer to the new high school if they lived within the boundaries of the new high school. Since then, it has been remodeled several times. Additions have also been made to the school, the most famous of which is "the bridge," an actual bridge between halves of the school that later had classrooms added beneath it. The bridge now serves as a social and dining area for the students.

Academics

The former principal, Dr. Karl Krawitz, was named the NEA III District Educator of the Year for 2004-2005. Shawnee Mission West is home to both an award-winning school newspaper, the EPIC, and yearbook, SAGA.

Student demographics

Shawnee Mission West has a student body population that is 11% African-American, which is the highest African-American population of any Johnson County high school.[6] Statistically, Shawnee Mission West is the most ethnically diverse high school in the county as well. Shawnee Mission West draws its student population from both Overland Park, Lenexa, and from a small portion of Shawnee.

Extracurricular activities

The Vikings compete in the Sunflower League and are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Kansas according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Throughout its history, Shawnee Mission West has won several state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics.

Athletics

SM West won state championships in 1972, 1985, and 2012 in football, in addition to runner-up finishes in 1977 and 2006. Of late, the SM West football team, and its "Viking Power" slogan have become a dominant force in class 6A football under head coach Tim Callaghan. In November 2006 the Vikings defeated Lawrence Free State High School in the Sub-State playoffs, then lost to Hutchinson High School 21-14 in the state title game in Emporia on November 25. They were the first Shawnee Mission school to reach the state championship game since West won in 1985. On November 24, 2012, the Vikings won "the rematch" with the Hutchinson Salthawks 19-14 in Topeka, KS, at Washburn University football field.

Tennis

In recent years, the girls' tennis team has taken the region by storm. In 2006, the girls' won the Sunflower League, which had been largely dominated by Shawnee Mission East for the past eight years. In both 2006 and 2007, the team turned out a state doubles runner-up title. In 2014, the team got 2nd place at the Sunflower League tournament Katherine and Josephine Cao won the doubles State Championship.

Other sports

West has competed in four state title games for basketball, the most recent being in 2005, but has never been able to come away with the title. The SM West baseball team also has enjoyed their fair share of success, winning state championships in 1977, 1987, and 1988. In 1991, West's soccer team won the 6A state title, defeating two USA Today nationally ranked teams in the process: (Wichita South High School and Shawnee Mission South). Also, the SM West girls' soccer team was 2005 and 2006 Sunflower League Champions; 2005 and 2006 Northeast Kansas 6A Regional Champions; 2005 and 2006 Kansas 6A state quarter-finalist; 2005 and 2006 Kansas 6A State runners-up. In 2016 the Women's Soccer team, won the Kansas 6A State Championship, the Olathe Northwest Invitational Tournament, and the Sunflower League; ending the season with 20 wins, 0 losses, and 1 tie. The Women's soccer team ended the season nationally ranked; Sixth by Top Drawer Soccer and Ninth by the NSCAA. This was the first state championship in Women's Soccer History.

State championships

State Championships[7]
Season Sport Number of Championships Year
Fall Football 3 1972, 1985, 2012
Soccer, Boys' 1 1991
Gymnastics, Girls' 3 1983, 1984, 1987
Winter Wrestling 2 1974, 1977
Basketball, Girls' 2 1990, 1993
Swimming and Diving, Girls' 1 1984
Spring Baseball 3 1977, 1987, 1988
Soccer, Girls' 1 2016
Total 16

Forensics

SM West has twice (1986 and 2007) placed second at the National Forensic League tournament for policy debate.

Debate

SM West placed first in Kansas 6A 4-Speaker Debate in 2012. (KSHSAA sponsored - Coach Kenneth King)

The team of Brianna Empson and Erin Smith, coached by educator Rose Lawler, took the 2015 Sunflower Novice Debate Championship. Empson and Smith took the state championship in a field of 84 teams from across the state and finished the 2015 season with a record of 42 wins and 8 losses.

Music department

The Shawnee Mission West marching band has been invited to play in London for the New Years Parade every three years for the past fifteen years. The Wind Ensemble was selected through audition to perform at the Kansas Music Educators Convention in February 2012. There were only three high school bands selected from across the state of Kansas for the prestigious honor. It has been 15 years since a band from Shawnee Mission West High School has been selected to perform at this event.

At the end of the regular football season, the Shawnee Mission West marching band has a light show where the band straps glow-sticks and flashlights to themselves. This show is performed each year at the end of the last home football game of the regular season.

The Choral Department comprises four choirs: Bel Canto (Women's Select Choir), Chorale, Concert Choir (freshman) and the Madrigal Singers (a chamber choir of 24 to 30 students). Madrigals members are generally required to be enrolled in Chorale, with few exceptions. The Madrigal Singers, the school's premiere ensemble, was selected to represent West at Carnegie Hall in the 2006-07 school year and the Chorale was also in 2009-2010.

Notable alumni

See also

References

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