O'Fallon Township High School
O'Fallon Township High School is a public secondary school in O'Fallon, Illinois.
History
The first high school was founded in 1901 as a two-year school by William R. Dorris, who became the first principal, according to Brian Keller of the O’Fallon Historical Society.In 1901, the city had built a new building to serve as the elementary school. One room, Room 10, was set aside for the high school studies.
The first graduating class of O’Fallon had only five people. The Class of 1903 consisted of Ethel Evans Huschle, Edna Thurston Ayers, Thomas Gordon, Ralph Evans, and Henry Poignee.
According to Keller, O’Fallon’s high school officially became OTHS of District 203 in 1920, and the original school song, “Blue and Old Gold” was first sung at graduation a few years later in 1925.
As for our mascot, the 1934 basketball team takes credit for choosing the Panthers. According to Mr. George Bender, class of 1937, the basketball team visited a sports store in 1934, and was impressed by the large picture of a panther in the store’s display window. O’Fallon did not have a mascot of its own, and liked the idea of using the panther. By November of 1934, the team was nicknamed the ‘Panthers’ and the name spread through the other sports and activities.
Campus
The current high school building was built and opened in 1958, with multiple additions and expansions since then.The district is currently adding a new freshman campus to ease overcrowding. Also, the district expanded the main campus by extending the street-side hallway, thus adding another hallway stretching the length of the school, along with multiple new classrooms.
Extracurricular activities
Sports
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Bowling
- Cross Country
- Cheerleading
- Chess
- Dance team
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- Intramurals: Softball, Ultimate Frisbee
- Marching Panthers
- Lacrosse
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Track and Field
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
Other Extracurricular Activities
- Junior ROTC
- Colorguard
- Orchestra
- Jazz Band
- Show Choir
- Jazz Choir
- Chamber Choir/Madrigals
- Fall Play
- Spring Musical
- Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
- National Honor Society
- Spanish Honor Society
- French Honor Society
- German Honor Society
- French Club
- German Club
- Spanish Club
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
- Mock Trial Team
- Mock Trial Club
- Model UN
- FBLA
- Freshman Drop Kicking Team
- Freshman Friday Terror Squad
- Student Council
- Players with a Passion
- AYO Step Team
- Drama Club
- Broadcast Staff
- Newspaper Staff
- Yearbook Staff
- Ecology Club
- Geology Club
- Camera Club
- Art Club
- RUIM
- Otaku
- Math Team
- WYSE Team
- Scholar Bowl Team
- Science Olympiad Team
- History Club
- Government Club
Team Achievements
The Junior ROTC Drill Team placed 1st overall at the Gateway International Drill Competition held at Alton High School, Illinois.The Varsity Cheerleading team placed 2nd at state in 2007 and 4th at state in 2008.
The boys' basketball team finished second at the 2007 State Basketball Tournament held annually in Peoria, Illinois at Bradley University.
The boys' cross country team has made state appearances for the last 5 years, finishing 21st out of 30 teams in 2006.
The Golden Girls dance team placed first in state competition in March 2008.
The Science Olympiad team placed second in their regional at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and moved on to the state finals.
The WYSE team placed first in their regional and sectional and moved on to the state finals.
The marching band won the 2008 St. Louis VP parade overall and also won awards for percussion and auxiliary.
The Boys Varsity baseball team placed 3rd in the state meet in 2006.
O'Fallon Hockey panthers won the MVCHA league 2A championship in 1998-99 season.
Also won the 2A south division in 98-99, 99-00,and 01-02
The JV hockey panthers won the south division in 03-04 and the jv 2A championship in 96-97, 97-98 and 02-03
Notable alumni
- Bob Cryder, former NFL player
- Rashad Bartholomew, signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2001.
- Dawn Stern, American Actress
References
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday October 11, 2008 at 18:56:59 PDT (GMT -0700)
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