West Warwick High School: Difference between revisions

West Warwick High School
Address
1 Webster Knight Dr West Warwick , Rhode Island 02893 United States
Coordinates	41.709°N 71.516°W / 41.709; -71.516
Information
Type	Public high school
School district	West Warwick Public Schools
Principal	Jessica Hassell
Faculty	88
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,001 (2020-21)
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Orange and Black
Mascot	Wizard
Nickname	Wizards
Rival	Coventry
Newspaper	The Magic Word
Website	sites.google.com/westwarwickpublicschools.com/westwarwickhighschool

West Warwick High School (abbreviated as WWHS) is a public high school in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States.

Athletics

The school has a long tradition of excellence in Rhode Island Interscholastic Sports and is a member of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. Most recently, the Wizard's football team won the Rhode Island Division II State Championship in December 2014. Also the girls soccer team won back to back state championships in 2013 and 2014. Hundreds of students participate in numerous sports throughout the year.

Hazing allegations

On November 16, 2022, reports were released about hazing allegations regarding the West Warwick football team and the school itself. The superintendent was notified of the alleged incident and suspended seven football players as a result on November 10. It is in question whether or not the team will now be able to play in their next football game. The current head coach of the team has been connected to the North Smithfield High School's hazing allegations as well, as he was previously the head coach for the team prior to the reports being released. A closed-door parent meeting held on November, 17, 2022, proved to not be beneficial as parents were left with more questions than answers.

Performing arts

The performing arts, have helped to bring national status to the school in recent years. The West Warwick High School Jazz Ensemble "A" Band has won numerous awards including placing in the Finals of the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival in 2002 to 2007, 2009, and 2012 to 2014; winning the prestigious festival in 2007 and 2014. The Concert Band and Concert Chorale have competed and won local and national awards and titles the past twenty years. Currently, the West Warwick High School Music Department is the largest in the state, with more than 600 students participating annually.

The West Warwick High School Players produce musical productions and have performed since 2009, performing High School Musical (2009), Footloose (2010), Aida (2011), Grease (2012), Legally Blonde (2013), In the Heights (2014), Big Fish (2015), The Addams Family (2016), Catch Me If You Can (2017), Shrek the Musical (2018), 9 to 5 (2019), Chicago (2020), Songs for a New World (2021), SpongeBob SquarePants (2022), and Frozen (2023). In 2015, they were the first and only Rhode Island high school to participate in the Connecticut High School Theater Awards, the regional division of the National High School Musical Theater Awards (NHSMTA).

Notable alumni

• Frank "Monk" Maznicki - Running back on Boston College 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic team and 1941 Sugar Bowl squad. Maznicki played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears from 1942 to 1947; ran for 463 yards and was 65 for 69 on extra points. He was ranked as one of Rhode Island's Top 50 athletes of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. The West Warwick High School football field is named in his honor.
• Bob Wylie - NCAA, NFL, CFL, and XFL coach. Offensive line coach for Brown, Holy Cross, Colorado State, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, Syracuse, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Ottawa Redblacks, and will be the offensive line coach for the Vegas Vipers in 2023. He was offensive coordinator for Ohio and was the tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets.
• Tom Garrick - Former professional basketball player and former coach of the University of Rhode Island women's basketball team.
• Chuck Palumbo - Professional wrestler and builder of custom motorcycles.
• Tony Maserati - Record producer and studio engineer who has worked with many mainstream artist of the 1990s and 2000s including James Brown, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, R. Kelly, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Puff Daddy and Tupac Shakur.
• Mike Roarke - Professional Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher for the Detroit Tigers and coach for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals (winning two NL pennants in 1985 and 1987), San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox.
• Jim Mello - Professional fullback and linebacker for the Boston Yanks, Chicago Rockets, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, and Paterson Panthers.

External links

• Official website