Of the students that graduated, 72% graduated with a Regents Advanced Designation Diploma, 24% graduated with a Regents Diploma and 3% with a local diploma.
Of the Regents Exams given, Westhill student’s achieved a 95% passing rate.
Of the students graduating, 67% are going to a four year college, 30% are going to a 2 year school and 3% are pursuing military and work options.
The baseball team, for the second straight year, was the Class B NYSPHSAA Regional and State Champions.
Our basketball team won the Class B NYSPHSSA State Championship.Several student athletes that were members of the baseball and basketball team graduated having won three state championship rings.This was unprecedented in Westhill’s history.
The football team won the Section III and Regional Championship before falling in the finals of the state championship game.
The following teams won NYSPHSAA Academic Award for overall team averages; swimming, girls and boys cross country, girls tennis, boys and girls soccer, football, girls indoor track and girls and boys basketball.
In addition to the above referenced teams, Westhill won league titles in girls soccer, girls basketball, girls indoor track and softball.
In the music department the Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble took first place in class AA, and the Wind Ensemble, competing up a level in class AAA, took second place at the All Star Music Festival in Orlando.
At the NYSSMA (NYS School Music Association) competition the Symphonic Band received a Silver rating and the Wind Ensemble received the highest rating given, a Gold with Distinction.
This year’s Musical, All Shook Up, won five major awards at the Syracuse Area Live Theater Awards for Youth (SALTYS); Best Supporting Actress (Cathy Butler), Best Actress in a Musical (Meredith D’Angelo), Best Actor in a Musical (Sean Gilroy) and Best Overall Musical (All Shook Up).
The Drama Department performed Romeo and Juliet in the Fall and participated in the annual Shakespeare competition as well.
In the Art Department, eighteen students received awards at the Regional Scholastic Art Competition and many students work was displayed at OCC throughout the Spring.
Art students participated in many shows, presentations and contests throughout the year, winning awards and recognition for their outstanding artwork.
The Character Education Team developed a pen pal program with elementary students from the Seymour School in Syracuse and each school hosted the other on a visit to encourage positive behaviors.
Gabriel Bol Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, visited the high school for the third time for a motivational speech and to kick off our Third Annual Walk for Sudan.To date, the Westhill Community has raised over $11,000 for his charity, Hope For Ariang.
Josh Shipp, a national character education speaker, presented to the entire student body with a message filled with heart and humor about making wise choices and working hard.
The freshman class participated in book talks again this year.Teachers volunteered to read off the summer reading list for freshman and then led a discussion about the books.
The OCC English Class participated in a project called Books of Hope where the students designed, researched and wrote a textbook on global issues.There were 50 informational, research-based and digitally designed books sent to Uganda.
The Academic Decathlon Team, for the second straight year, advanced to the state small school competition.
The library, a hub of activity at the high school, hosted the Books of Hope Celebration, the 4th Annual Book Fair, a poetry celebration, and many thematic book displays throughout the year.
The French and Spanish Departments continue the peer tutoring program where upper classmen assist students to improve their language skills.
The French Club visited Montreal where they were immersed in the French Culture and language.
Many Smartboards have been installed in the high school, including several in the math department where work is under way to coordinate with other schools to help engage learners utilizing the new technology.Several teachers are serving as Smartboard Mentors to help teach the proper use of the technology.
Numerous field trips by many classes went to local spots to enhance learning.The French club ate dinner at L’Adour, the criminal justice students visited the justice center, many classes visited the Everson for the Turner to Cezanne Exhibit, and there were visits to the Galleries and Syracuse University Libraries.
The social studies department organized a successful food drive for St. Lucy’s and collected a large quantity of school supplies at the year-end locker cleanout for donation.
Six teachers and two administrators, as well as many others from other buildings, attended the 21st Century Schools three day Conference at BOCES this summer.
Several teachers have migrated over to Blackboard, an educational website teachers utilize to communicate with students and parents via the internet.
Westhill Highschool Highlights
