Mentor High School

Mentor High School

The Mentor Cardinal
Address
6477 Center Street
Mentor, Ohio
Mentor, Ohio, (Lake County) 44060
United States
Coordinates 41°41′40″N 81°20′14″W / 41.69444°N 81.33722°W / 41.69444; -81.33722Coordinates: 41°41′40″N 81°20′14″W / 41.69444°N 81.33722°W / 41.69444; -81.33722
Information
Type Public, Coeducational high school
Established 1923
Status Open
School district Mentor Exempted Village School District
Superintendent Matthew Miller[1]
Principal Andy Fetchik[1]
Faculty 175 certified staff members
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 2,800
Color(s) Scarlet and Gray[1]          
Fight song Across the Field
Athletics Boys Baseball
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Bowling
Cheerleading
Boys Cross Country
Girls Cross Country
Girls Fastpitch
Football
Boys Golf
Girls Golf
Gymnastics
Ice hockey
Boys Lacrosse
Girls Lacrosse
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Swimming/Diving Team
Boys Tennis
Girls Tennis
Boys Track & Field
Girls Track & Field
Volleyball
Wrestling
Athletics conference Greater Cleveland Conference
Mascot The Fighting Cardinal
Nickname The Mentor Cards
Team name The Fighting Cardinals[1]
Accreditation North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[2]
Athletic Director Jeffrey Cassella[1]
Website www.mentorhigh.com

Mentor High School is a public high school located in Mentor, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Mentor Exempted Village School District (informally, "Mentor Schools"). In the 2008–2009 school year, it shifted from a three-year school (grades 10–12) to a four-year high school (grades 9–12), serving 3,200 students. It is the eighth largest high school by enrollment in the State of Ohio.[3] Mentor High School educates students from Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake, and parts of Kirtland Hills and Concord Township in Lake County, Ohio. Mentor High is made up of mainly students from the three Mentor middle schools; Memorial, Shore, and Ridge.

Music

Band

There are four concert bands at the high school. Freshman Band, Grey Band, Scarlet Band, and Wind Ensemble, at increasing levels of skill. All four bands compete in the OMEA contest.

Orchestra

Mentor has four orchestras in its program, including Concert, Sinfonia, Symphony, and Mannheim. Concert Orchestra is entirely stringed instruments, and requires no audition to join. Sinfonia, created in 2016, is a string-only ensemble for younger students who are committed to practicing but not prepared for Symphony. Symphony Orchestra is the largest group, and consists of both string and wind instruments. Mannheim Chamber Orchestra is the smallest group (consisting of approximately 30 students), and consists entirely of stringed instruments. Mannheim and Symphony both require auditions, but Mannheim is much more selective.

Choir

There are four curricular, concert choirs that perform at concerts throughout the year festivals and at OMEA adjudicated events. There are two auditioned Vocal Chamber Ensemble and an auditioned show choir as well. Choristers have the opportunity to perform at an annual Cabaret show and in the OMEA Solo & Ensemble Adjudicated event.

Extracurricular activities

Science Olympiad

In 2007, the Science Olympiad team saw one of its greatest successes in over a decade, finishing second in the state competition, overtaking Solon High School, a local rival, to get a bid to the national competition at Wichita State University. They finished fifth in the nation. In 2009, the Science Olympiad team went to nationals again, defeating Solon, and went to Augusta, Georgia and finished with 7th place in the nation with Centerville, the other team that went from Ohio, finishing 1st. In 2015, the Science Olympiad team went to nationals for the first time in 6 years. After defeating Solon High School and coming in 2nd in the state, behind Centerville, the team traveled to University of Nebraska-Lincoln, placing 16th.

Fighting Cardinal Marching Band

The Mentor High School Fighting Cardinal Marching Band, commonly called the FCMB, is a strong music program with a history of excellence. The band plays at most home and away football games as well as competing at several competitions. (They have skipped a few, the latest being Mentor vs. St. Xavier on September 11, 2015 in Cincinnati) The FCMB received its first "Superior Rating", the highest rating possible for competitions at state contest, in 2004 under the direction of Mr. Shawn Vondran and Mr. Byron Hunsicker. During the 2012-2013 school year, the band earned another Superior rating at state contest with their show "I Believe." They also performed live for Fox 8 News in front of The Rock and Roll hall of Fame, and performed for a rally when President Obama came to Mentor High School to campaign for the 2012 Presidential Elections. In the fall of 2013, the band once again competed at State Contest. The band qualified for States yet again in the fall of 2014, where they received their third Superior rating with their show entitled "The Divine Comedy." This was the highest scoring performance the band has ever had. In 2015 the band qualified for State Competition once again with their own show specifically written for the band, "The Pursuit of Happiness". Their 2015 performance received a "Excellent Rating" at Brunswick High School on November 7th, 2015. The bands 2016 performance, "Metal", is to be performed at OMEA competition November 4th, 2016.

Athletics

Mentor High is a Division I school in the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Formerly of the Lake Erie League, Mentor now competes in the Northeast Ohio Conference (NOC).[4] The Cardinals have won several state championship titles sponsored by the OHSAA.[5]

Mentor (25-5) defeated Toledo Rogers (21-8), 76-67, to win the boys basketball Division I state championship in front of 9,566 in Value City Arena on the campus of Ohio State University located in Columbus, OH. In the semi-final game, Mentor defeated previously undefeated Columbus Northland (29-1), 80-69. Jeff Foreman was named OHSSA Division 1 State Championship Most Outstanding Player. Jeff Foreman, Conner Krizancic and Caleb Potter were selected to the State All-Tournament Team.

Coach Lee Tressel led the Mentor Cardinals football team to 34 consecutive victories in the 1950s.[6]

Other activities

Student suicides

Four students committed suicide in an approximately four-year period ending in 2008, allegedly as a result of harassment or bullying from fellow students. On April 19, 2007 there were threats of a school shooting to avenge these deaths. The next day, April 20, fewer than 30% of students were in attendance. This prompted at least two of the families to file lawsuits against the school.[7] The 2014 documentary Mentor depicts this.[8]

Adult Classes

President Barack Obama signs a memorial wall designed by former art student Anthony Gajary at Mentor High after a campaign event, 2012. The wall was also signed by John McCain in 2008

Notable alumni

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association member directory". Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  2. NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  3. Ohio Department of Education. "ODE Data & Statistics". Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  4. "N.O.C. Welcomes New Member the Mentor Cardinals!". NortheastOhioConference.org. Northeast Ohio Conference. July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  5. OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  6. "Coach Tressel Family Tree".
  7. Barr, Meghan (October 8, 2010). "1 Ohio school, 4 bullied teens dead at own hand". Mentor, Ohio: AP via NBC News. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  8. "Mentor (2014) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3350244/>.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.