Francis Howell High School

Francis Howell High School
Location
St. Charles, Missouri
United States
Coordinates 38°42′08″N 90°42′59″W / 38.70221°N 90.71637°W / 38.70221; -90.71637Coordinates: 38°42′08″N 90°42′59″W / 38.70221°N 90.71637°W / 38.70221; -90.71637
Information
Type Public Secondary
Established 1881
Principal Dave Wedlock
Faculty Approximately 100
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 1760
Campus Suburban/Rural
Color(s) Blue, Gold
Mascot Viking
Yearbook Howelltonian
Website Francis Howell High School

Francis Howell High School is a four-year public high school located in Weldon Spring, Missouri. Approximately 1800 students from Defiance, Foristell, New Melle, O'Fallon, Saint Peters, Saint Charles, Weldon Spring, and Wentzville attend school at Howell. It is in the Francis Howell School District.

History

Founded by Francis Howell in 1881, by David Lanham. Francis Howell High School opened under the name of Howell Institute in Howell's Prairie. Originally, Francis Howell was a school where children could come to learn the basics of education and move up into high school.

After building up the school district, the district finally became Francis Howell School Consolidated District Number 2. On September 28, 1915, the Consolidated District Number 2 school board voted to name the new high school building "Francis Howell High School." On February 15, 1916, the new Francis Howell High School was dedicated.

The current Francis Howell High School is located between Highway 94 South and Highway D. The property was originally purchased in 1949 from the United States of America under the jurisdiction of the War Assets Administration. Army barracks buildings, which were located on the property, were used by the high school for several years following until they were later demolished in 1991. There are still army barracks buildings being used at the Francis Howell School District Administrative Annex, which adjoins Francis Howell High School to the west.

Today, Francis Howell High School is a large suburban high school due to large population growth in southern St. Charles County. The original Francis Howell mascot was the "Dragoons", a horse riding soldier. Since at least the late 1960s, they have been known as the "Vikings".

Construction on a new academic building began in the summer of 2009 and was completed in 2011. The new building features a new cafeteria, media center and classrooms.

Clubs and activities

Choir

Francis Howell High currently has 5 choirs, under the instruction of Karey Fitzpatrick: The Mixed Choir, Treble Choir (auditioned women's choir), Concert Choir (auditioned mixed ensemble), Treblemakers (auditioned women's a cappella group), and Chamber Choir (auditioned mixed ensemble).

Football

The Vikings Football team[1] has a storied past in Saint Charles county and are enjoying a resurgence under head coach Bryan Koch including 3 final four appearances in the last four years (2011-2014). Since Koch has taken over, Howell athletes have earned an estimated $2 million in scholarships.[2] Since 2010, Francis Howell has produced 13 First-Team All-State players, 26 First-Team All-District players and 51 First-Team All-Conference players. Howell's long record of success in football includes:

Notable players:

Limelight Theater

Francis Howell's drama club, currently known as Limelight Theater, has been producing plays since 1971, when it was founded by English and Drama teacher Ed Stockwell[17] with the purpose "to establish a form of communication for any student and enable entertainment oriented individuals a chance to specialize." Since then, they have performed two or three plays a year. Currently under the direction of Charles Mueller

Marching band

Francis Howell High School, founded in 1881, has the oldest high school band program west of the Mississippi. The current marching band has 95 participants. The Marching band performs at every varsity home football game, as well as at competitions around the midwest.

Color Guard/ Winter Guard

The Francis Howell color guard has been a leader in entertainment and exciting, theatrical programs in the state of Missouri. The Francis Howell "A" winter guard is one of the top Winter Guards in the state of Missouri. Competing in Scholastic A, the guard received the 2012 Bronze medal in MCCGA finals held in Springfield, Missouri. The Francis Howell "B" Winter Guard received the silver medal in Regional A class in 2012. In 2013 Francis Howell "A" received a gold medal in Scholastic A. Then in 2014 "A" received a silver medal. Francis Howell "B" received a Bronze medal in 2014. The Francis Howell "A" guard has been to Winter Guard International, in Dayton Ohio, in the years 2013 and 2014. Both times making it to semi-finals in mid twenties spot. The guard is currently under the direction of Bryan White.

Indoor Percussion

The Winter Drumline is one of the top Indoor Percussion Ensembles in the State of Missouri. The award winning Drumline captured second place in the Midwest in 2014 (2014 MCCGA Percussion Finals).

Wrestling

The Francis Howell Wrestling Team has been one of the more accomplished wrestling programs in Missouri since 1981. The Vikings have been consistent contenders for the large school championships in that era. Their alumni include Freestyle World Champion Sam Henson. The wrestling team is the most award-winning extracurricular group at Francis Howell High School.

Fight song

The school's fight song is based upon "Are You From Dixie", a song made popular by Grand Ol Opry singer Grandpa Jones.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Francis Howell Viking Football". Fhhsvikings.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  2. ↑ "Francis Howell athletes start the day with signing party : Stlhss". Stltoday.com. 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  3. ↑ "All-State 2012". Storage1-ihigh.blueframetech.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  4. ↑ Latsch, Nate (2012-12-22). "Defensive player of the year: Calvin Munson, Francis Howell : Stlhss". Stltoday.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  5. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals 2013 Draft Results | cardinals.com: Team". Stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  6. ↑ Latsch, Nate (2013-06-18). "Howell's Munson chooses football over signing with Cards : Stlhss". Stltoday.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  7. ↑ "Calvin Munson Bio - San Diego State Official Athletic Site". Goaztecs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  8. ↑ "CLASS 6 ALL STATE.pdf - Google Drive". Drive.google.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  9. ↑ "Missouri media all-state, Class 6 : Stlhss". Stltoday.com. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  10. ↑ "Missouri Football Coaches Association | iHigh.com - The Global Youth Network". Ihigh.blueframetech.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  11. ↑ "Howell's Smith honored, CBC and Ladue to meet in Wilcutt finals". Ksdk.com. 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ "St. Louis Rams 2014 National 7on7 Team Highlights". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  15. ↑ Sutton Smith (2014-08-31). "2014 Season Highlights - Sutton Smith highlights". Hudl.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ The Howelltonian '73, page 121

External links

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