- Southwest High School is a public high school in the Fulton neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota . It is part of the Minneapolis Public Schools. In 2008, Newsweek Magazine ranked the school #215 in their "List of the 1,300 Top High Schools in America" (2007: #146). The school is a member of the International Baccalaureate Organization and is ranked among the Top 100 IB schools in both North America and the world. The current principal is Dr. Bill Smith.
- History
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Ground was broken for Southwest High School on November 12, 1938 at West 47th Street and Chowen Avenue South. The school was a project commissioned by the Public Works Administration and the Minneapolis Board of Education. The original building was built for a cost of $500,000. Southwest opened on September 3, 1940 with Casper C. Minty as its first principal, and a teaching staff of twenty-five. There were three grades that first year, 9-11, with students coming from Washburn, Edina and Richfield. Enrollment for the first year was 841 students, 141 more than expected. Two additions were made to the original structure, the first opening in 1956, and the second (Southwest Junior High School, to the east) in 1968.
- The first graduating class, of about 183 students, graduated in 1942. In 1956, with the completion of the first addition, Southwest became a six-year high school, grades 7-12, with an enrollment of 1,400. In 1968, after the second addition, the school was divided into senior and junior high schools with a total enrollment of 2,114, the highest ever.
- In 1974, Southwest Senior and Junior High Schools were merged into Southwest Secondary School. With the reorganization of Minneapolis schools in the fall of 1982, Southwest again taught students in grades 9-12, with seventh and eighth graders going to Anwatin or Anthony Middle Schools. Most of the students who attended West High School merged into Southwest when West was closed in 1982.
- In 1987, the International Baccalaureate Program began at Southwest. It has steadily grown since then and now between one-half and one-third of students are involved in IB.
- Currently, Southwest offers most students a choice between two Small Learning Communities (SLC's): Arts and Humanities, and the International Baccalaureate program, as they work to achieve a diploma. Although in 2006, a new program for deaf and hard of hearing was added. Starting in 2007, the Arts and Humanities program will offer only AP and pre-AP courses.
- Mascot change
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In 1988, Southwest High School was at the forefront of a debate among academic institutions on whether nicknames, mascots, and logos from Native Americans were appropriate. Phil St. John, a Sioux social worker, led a movement to change Minneapolis school mascots away from Native American images after attending a Southwest High School Basketball game and seeing a student in Indian dress.
- The Minneapolis Board of Education ruled that nicknames that perpetuate racial or ethnic stereotypes would no longer be allowed in the city's schools. Southwest voted to change the nickname of the school from the Indians to the Lakers. The debate was featured in Sports Illustrated, leading to similar debates at institutions across the country for the next twenty years.
- Extra curricular activities
- The school newspaper is The Anchor, and is a member of the High School National Ad Network.
- Admission Possible, a Minneapolis group for juniors and seniors that meets at Southwest
- Allianza (Latin Leaders), a student-led group that promotes diversity at Southwest
- Amnesty International
- Anime
- Bellydance Club
- Chamber Music
- Chess Club, which won City, State, and Nationals in 2006, 2007, and 2008
- Close Up, a national group that leads student trips to Washington, D.C.
- Debate
- Fencing Club
- Gay Straight Alliance
- Intercambios (Language Club)
- Jazz Band
- Southwest Kubb Club
- Math League
- Model UN
- Mosaic (student literary magazine)
- National Honor Society
- Project Success
- Quiz Bowl/Knowledge Bowl
- Robotics
- Southwest Singers
- SPARE (Students Providing African Relief and Education)
- Speech Team
- Student Council
- Ultimate Frisbee (MÜS)
- Upward Bound
- Unhinged Theatre
- Second Act Theatre
- Yearbook
- Arts
- Music
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Southwest currently has two major bands: Concert Band and Wind Ensemble; both under the direction of band director Keith Liuzzi. Concert Band consists mostly of freshmen and sophomores with a few upperclassmen. Wind Ensemble is the reverse with mostly upperclassmen and few underclassmen and is an auditioned ensemble.
- Southwest also has two smaller bands made up of all band students. Marching Band routinely plays in the yearly Holidazzle Parade, the Minnesota State Fair, as well as other parades. Pep Band performs at sporting events, school events, and other such activities. Other musical groups include the Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Band, Orchestra (a mixture of wind and string instruments), and a Pit Orchestra that plays during musicals and plays.
- Southwest High School has many opportunities for students to be involved in vocal music with many choirs, some requiring an audition and some not. Some of such unauditioned groups include Concert Choir, World Music, and Treble Choir/Men’s Choir, each one open to all students. The Southwest Singers, however, is an auditioned group that performs in events and concerts all around Minneapolis and it is open to all students.
- Dance
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Southwest has a number of dance companies available for students of all ages and talents. The easiest dance company, Beginner Dance, is mainly to help students choreograph their own creations, learn the capabilities of their bodies, and learn dance as an art form (Modern, ballet, jazz), as a cultural form (African, tap, Dances of Mexico), and as a social/recreational form (Swing, social, and folk dance).
- The next companies, Dance Company One/IB Dance and Dance Company Two, mainly add and branch off the lessons in Beginner Dance, focusing on technique, elements of dance, and learning new knowledge of choreographic principles.
- The third dance company, New Moves, mainly focuses on the health of the physical body through nutrition, yoga, and different exercises.
- Visual Arts
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Southwest High School also offers students to express themselves through forms of visual art, including painting, drawing, stenciling, and other art forms. Currently, Ben Zhao and Cecily Spano teach Visual Art.
- Theatre
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Southwest also offers a strong theatre program that puts on annual plays and musicals as well as a theatre company called Unhinged Theatre Company. More recent productions include South Pacific and Grease.
- Sports
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Different sports have succeeded and reached the Minnesota State High School League post season competitions in recent years.
- Soccer
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With one of the biggest rivalries in the city against South High School, the soccer program at Southwest High School has a reputation for being one of the most competitive teams in the state. Fans gather each year for Soccer Saturday, an all-day event ending with the boys’ and girls’ varsity game. Fans have been known to be rowdy, often wearing slogans like "South is Filth, Take a Shower" on shirts to the game and to other South/Southwest matches. In 2006, the Southwest soccer team beat Edina in section finals to advance to State, where they took fourth place. Throughout the season, Southwest was consistently ranked among the top five teams in Minnesota as ranked by the Coaching Alliance.
- Hockey
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Hockey has been a staple among the Southside schools for many years and Southwest has always been one of the major contenders in this sport. Southwest won the High School Boys State Championship in hockey in 1970. In 2006, the Minneapolis Public Schools hockey program was reorganized and Southwest hockey players began playing on the West hockey team alongside students from Minneapolis North, Patrick Henry, and Washburn High Schools. In the 2006 season, the team was called Minneapolis West. In the 2007/2008 season the team was renamed the West Mustangs. They were renamed because funding was lacked by the district and Washburn did not have sufficient players. In addition, West Mustangs in the 2008/2009 season only won a single game and lost 26. But in the 08' Season they had a spectacular team, winning the most games a city team has in over a decade. The highlight of the year was when they were facing #7 ranked team in the state Minehaha. Minneapolis West were the complete underdogs, but that didn't stop them from playing a very competitive game. West held a 2-1 lead going into the 3rd thanks to goals by Tyler Austin and Richie Roth also spectacular goaltending by senior Cooper White. With .5 seconds left in the game Minehaha pulled off the impossible by scoring a goal to tie the game up. In the first 5 min of OT West took matters into their own hands. Senior Angus Vaughn saw Senior Richie Roth skating up the ice, he hit him with a beautiful pass, and it was off to the races. Richie went down and hit top right corner for the game winner, the biggest upset in Minneapolis West history.
- Swimming and Diving
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While swimming at Southwest was at its peak in the 1970s, during the past six years swimming has begun to rise once again. In the 2001-2002 season, five men's swimming records were broken. In the 2005-2006 season, two women's records were broken, and the men's team took second place in true team sectionals, and captured the Twin City Championship for the first time in forty-five years. In the 2007-2008 season, four women's records and four men's records were broken, the men won the Twin City Championship once again, and one woman and three men went on to compete at State.
- Nordic Skiing
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The Nordic team began in the 1976-1977 season as coached by Joan McNaughton. Before retiring from coaching after the 2001-02 season, she sent four girls’ teams, twenty-five individuals, and one boys’ relay team to State competitions. Since 2003, English teacher, elite level skier and controversial, James Dundon, has coached the team and has led the team to many city championships. Kate Ellis has been the teams’ assistant coach since 2003 as well. The team also consistently sends skiers to State. Southwest has produced a number of skiers who have gone on to compete nationally, including U.S. Biathlon Team Member Jacob Beste. In 2007, the Nordic team won their section and advanced on to get fourth at state. The 2007 Team was ranked first in the state for both the boys’ and girls’ teams. Both teams advanced to the state meet, the boys getting second and the girls getting fourth, and Libby Ellis getting second for the second year.
- Alpine Skiing
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Alpine Skiing has brought recent success to Southwest. In the 2005-2006 season, junior Patrick Conway took the state individual championship for Southwest. In the 2006-2007 season, junior Brad West took fourth place individually.
- Table Tennis
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Surprisingly, Southwest has seen a good number of nationally elite table tennis players come and go over the years. Despite this, the school only won the state high school table tennis championship in both 1983 and 1984 (although organized competition was suspended for a period of many years). Most recently were Nathaniel "Ming" Curran and Anders Truelson, both of whom made the US Top 12 in Cadets and Juniors.
- In 2008-2009, a group of seniors started a new table tennis team. Combining with South, they called their team Southside Pong. In the Minnesota State High School Table Tennis Tournament of 2009, Southside Pong took 5th place.
- Ultimate Frisbee
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Currently known as the MÜS (Moose Ultimate Southwest) the Southwest Frisbee team was founded in 2002. The team came in second place in the Twin Cities Fall League. The team also took fifth place in the 2007 state tournament.
- Tennis
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The Southwest Tennis team has been very successful in the past few years. South and Southwest High Schools are usually the top contenders for the Minneapolis championship, Southwest winning that title in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In the fall of 2007, the Varsity team won the Twin Cities championship for the first time since the 1970s.
- Rugby
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Southwest is part of the Southside Barbarians Rugby Club. Southside has one two state titles, 2006 and 2008 and has produced many division 1 college players.
- Activities
- Quiz Bowl/Knowledge Bowl
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The Southwest Knowledge Bowl team is currently run by Mrs. Stephanie Wegner. They are currently scoring highly in league and extra-league meets. The team also took second in the 2009 WorldQuest Competition at the University of Minnesota.
- Math Team
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One hundred eight students participated in math team this last year. The coach, David McMayer, often says that he is just the bearer of snacks, but it seems that his careful preparation of practice schedules is paying off. After finishing tied for 34th place in the state rankings a year before, the team made some serious improvements this year, finishing in 12th place overall out of 173 participating schools. The team looks to be as strong or stronger next year.
- Math Competitions
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David McMayer, Southwest Math teacher, organizes teams and participants for a variety of contests during the year. Fifty eight students participated in the AMC exam. One student, Nate Pasmanter, qualified for the AIME exam. Six students competed at the Concordia invitational, with one of the teams of three students winning first place with a lengthy romp through the consolation bracket and back to back wins over a previously undefeated team. Twenty one students participated in the Power Contest, brainchild of an ARML head coach. Next year, McMayer is looking to add to the list of competitions and trophies.
- Speech
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Southwest High School has a strong tradition in Speech. Being the only Minneapolis school to compete has made Southwest the de facto representative of Minneapolis.The 2009 Southwest Speech Team is the most successful in recent history.
- Notable alumni
- Lizz Winstead – Comedienne, Daily Show co-creator
- Dorothy Benham – SWHS Class of 1973; Miss America 1977
- Tom Chorske – Professional ice hockey player
- Matthew Santos – Musician
- Peter Graves – SWHS Class of 1944; Actor
- Dylan Keefe – Bass guitarist of Marcy Playground
- Tollef Monson – Iditarod racer
- Dave Peterson – United States Olympic Hockey Coach (1988, 1992)
- John Taft – Professional ice hockey player
- Matt Smaby – Professional ice hockey player for the Tampa Bay Lightning
- Richard Reep - Professional Broadcaster/Clown & Magician SWHS class of 1962
- External links
- Official School Website
- Southwest High School Foundation
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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