Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School

Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School (HWRHS) is a public high school in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only high school in the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District, which has its administrative offices in Wenham, Massachusetts. The school's athletic teams are called the Generals, named after General George S. Patton, who lived in Hamilton. Students' average SAT scores are above the state average^[3] and the school regularly sends top students to Ivy League schools. In the past three years, HWRHS has sent 3 students to Harvard, 3 to Yale, and 14 to other Ivy League schools. In 2010, Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School placed in the top 10% of Massachusetts schools, ranking number 12, according to the Boston Magazine's Annual "Best Schools" list.^[4] In 2011, Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School moved up to number 9 in Boston Magazine's "Best Schools" list.^[5]

Music

Music Groups

• Concert Band
• Jazz Band
• Jazz Combo

Vocal Groups

• Concert Choir
• Harmony
• Kings of the Beach
• Dell Belles

The school is the home of "Harmony", a select vocal group which has sung at Red Sox games, at Tanglewood, and other assorted venues . There is also a concert choir and a concert band, which is open to any student without audition. Also, there is a "Jazz Combo" and a "Jazz Band" open to students who audition.

Kings of the Beach, a co-ed a cappella group formed in 1997 at HWRHS. Kings use their voices to imitate instruments and to create harmonies.

Dell Belles, an a cappella group formed in 2001, is a solely female group. Both groups are student run organizations.

Theatre

Hamilton-Wenham also has a very successful theatre program, and is an annual participant in the MSHDG One-Act Festival. Their first appearance at State Finals was under Margaret "Peg" Ferrini in 1965 (the only time Theatre Workshop appeared with Margaret Ferrini as director). Most recently Hamilton Wenham has won at the state final round of the One-Act festival with their original productions, directed by Christopher Shailor and written collectively by the cast. Theatre Workshop won in 2009 with "Wake Up, Jack" and in 2011 with "En Velo." Though they were not state winners in 2013, their performance of "Static" went on to the New England festival. In 2016, Hamilton-Wenham won state finals with their production of "WASP" by Steve Martin and attended the New England Festival.

Science

Hamilton-Wenham has a long history of success in Science Fair. Each year HWRHS sends multiple delegates to the Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair and is perennially one of the state's top five winning schools. Since 1998 HWRHS has sent seven students to the International Science and Engineering Fair. Internationally, those students have won Honorable Mention in Environmental Science, Third in Microbiology, Second in Computer Science, and First in Biochemistry.

2008 budget

For Financial Year 2008 the school district faced a service deficit of approximately US$1,500,000. The towns passed a Proposition 2½ override of $500,000. The Save Our Schools initiative began raising funds to restore teaching positions district-wide; the group managed to raise $220,000 out of the necessary $600,000 to restore all positions fully.^[6]

NEASC Report

In 2007, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges released a report on the school that reprimanded it for teacher layoffs, course eliminations, and failure to update the school's technology.^[6]

Key Points of Report

Praise was earned in the following areas:

• Commitment to high academic, social, and civil standards.
• The level of instructional expertise among faculty.
• The parents who are engaged as partners through individual volunteers and volunteer organizations.

Concern was raised for the following issues:

• Reductions in staffing.
• Elimination of course offerings.
• Use of outdated computer systems.^[7]

Notable alumni

• David Morse - Actor^[8]
• Michael Carter-Williams- NBA player
• Ben Hopkins - Musician^[9]

External links

• Official School Website

References

1. ↑ SAT Performance Report - School and District Profiles: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
2. ↑ 2011 Per Pupil Expenditures Report - Massachusetts Directory Profiles
3. ↑ 2007 SAT Report (DISTRICT) - Massachusetts Directory Profiles
4. ↑ Hamilton-Wenham High School ranks high on magazine’s ‘Best Schools’ list - Hamilton, MA - Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle
5. ↑ The Best Public Schools in Boston 2011: In the Classroom
6. 1 2 Cate Lecuyer (4 June 2007). "Report: Cuts hurt education". salemnews.com. Retrieved 21 October 2013. 
7. ↑
8. ↑ David Morse (I)
9. ↑

Coordinates: 42°37′43.04″N 70°50′53.18″W / 42.6286222°N 70.8481056°W / 42.6286222; -70.8481056