Shawnee Mission South High School

Shawnee Mission South High School is a high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. The school is one of several public high schools located within Shawnee Mission and operated by Shawnee Mission USD 512 school district. The school colors are green and gold and the school mascot is the Raider. The average annual enrollment is approximately 1,600 students. The school newspaper is called The Patriot.[6]

Shawnee Mission South High School
Address
Map
5800 West 107th Street[1]

,
66207

United States
Coordinates38°56′14″N 94°39′13″W / 38.937176°N 94.653606°W / 38.937176; -94.653606
Information
School typePublic, High School
Established1966
School districtShawnee Mission USD 512
CEEB code172772[2]
PrincipalTodd Dain[3]
Athletic DirectorMark Mahonney[3]
Teaching staff101.10 (FTE)[4]
Grades912
Gendercoed
Enrollment1,586 (2022–23)[4]
Student to teacher ratio15.69[4]
Campus typeSuburban
Color(s)  Green
  Gold
AthleticsClass 6A[5]
Athletics conferenceSunflower League[3]
MascotRocky, the Raider
Team nameRaiders
RivalShawnee Mission East High School
NewspaperThe Patriot
YearbookHeritage
Communities servedShawnee Mission
Websitesmsouth.smsd.org

History

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Shawnee Mission South High School was established in 1966.[7]

The school's mascot was chosen by the first graduating class of 1967. The Raider was chosen as a mascot because of the popular band Paul Revere & the Raiders.[8]

Throughout its history, Shawnee Mission South has hosted several prominent concerts. The Who played a concert with The Buckinghams at Shawnee Mission South on November 17, 1967.[9] The concert was performed in the gymnasium that currently still stands. The Byrds appeared in concert in the school's gymnasium in March 1969. The Amboy Dukes performed in a "senior class only" concert, in the football stadium, May, 1971.[10] Brewer & Shipley performed in the cafeteria in 1976.

In 1983, Shawnee Mission South was named a Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor an American school can achieve. In 1997, the school was named a Blue Ribbon School for the second time in the school's history.[11]

Academics

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Shawnee Mission South High School is a two-time Blue Ribbon School, occurring in 1983 and 1997. Beginning in the 2007–2008 school year, the Shawnee Mission School District adopted a new program, Project Lead the Way, as the district's signature engineering program, offered at Shawnee Mission South High School. The classes for Lead the Way include Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering, Digital Electronics, Aerospace Engineering, and Engineering Design and Development. Another program unique to Shawnee Mission South was that of the Center for International Studies. The Center for International Studies (CIS) provided intensive instruction in four languages: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. The program also provided students the opportunity to attend geopolitics classes rather than regular social studies courses. As of now, only Arabic is still taught at Shawnee Mission South, with Chinese being taught at Shawnee Mission East High School, Japanese at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, and Russian at Shawnee Mission North High School.[12] In 2005, South's Science Olympiad team made district news by winning the state of Kansas competition and advancing to the national level. As of January 22, 2012, the Shawnee Mission South Academic Decathlon team has won the Kansas State Academic Decathlon Competition and advanced to nationals for fifteen years in a row.[13]

Extracurricular activities

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The Raiders compete in the Sunflower League and are classified as a 6A school (despite the drop in enrollment), the largest classification in Kansas according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Throughout its history, Shawnee Mission South has won several state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in collegiate athletics.

Athletics

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State championships

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State Championships[14]
Season Sport Number of Championships Year
Fall Football 2 1973, 1975
Soccer, Boys 2 1986, 1987
Volleyball 2 1974, 1993
Cross Country, Boys 6 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1978, 2011
Cross Country, Girls 2 1978, 1988
Winter Swimming and Diving, Boys 6 1972, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2013
Swimming and Diving, Girls 1 1976
Gymnastics, Boys 3 1975, 1976, 1977
Basketball, Boys 2 1990, 2013
Indoor Track, Boys 3 1975, 1976, 1978
Basketball, Girls 2 1995, 2024
Spring Golf, Boys 5 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1999
Track & Field, Boys 6 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 2008
Baseball 4 1975, 1979, 1981, 1985
Tennis, Boys 7 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1986, 1987, 2000
Tennis, Girls 8 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1996
Total 60

Non-athletic Programs

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Debate

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The debate team won the NCFL National Championship in 2022 and repeated as national champions in 2023.[15] The debate team also won the 2023 National Speech & Debate Tournament[16]

Notable alumni

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See also

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Other high schools in Shawnee Mission USD 512 school district

References

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  1. ^ GNIS entry for Shawnee Mission South High School; USGS; November 16, 2006.
  2. ^ High School CEEB Code Search
  3. ^ a b c "School Search - Shawnee Mission South HS". Kansas State High School Activities Association. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  4. ^ a b c "Shawnee Mission South High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  5. ^ KSHSAA School Classification List
  6. ^ "My High School Journalism".
  7. ^ "Better Than Necessary: A Celebrational History of Shawnee Mission North High School". Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  8. ^ "Half a century ago, The Who rocked SM South's gymnasium". 20 November 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  9. ^ "17 November 1967: Overland Park, KS, Shawnee Mission South". The Who Concert Guide. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  10. ^ "1960's & 1970's Concerts in Kansas City". Winds of Change KC. 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  11. ^ "Blue Ribbon Schools" (XLS). Kansas Department of Education.
  12. ^ Shawnee Mission School District High School Program Planning Guide 2022-2023
  13. ^ "Shawnee Mission South High School".
  14. ^ "State Records & State Champions". Archived from the original on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
  15. ^ "State Records & State Champions". Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  16. ^ "SM South debate wins largest national competition for the first time". 3 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  17. ^ "Neal Jeffrey Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  18. ^ "Yoda he sounds like". Kansas City Star. August 7, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  19. ^ "Hog fans remember Little". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. September 10, 1999. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  20. ^ "Former Arkanasa football star Steve Little dies at 43". Nevada Daily Mail. Associated Press. September 7, 1999. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  21. ^ Dodd, Rustin (June 11, 2009). "Royals focus on college talent in Draft". MLB.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  22. ^ Hudson, Maryann (May 9, 1988). "Football or Baseball, the Choice Is Up to USC's Rodney Peete". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  23. ^ Gutierrez, Lisa (February 1, 2013). "Rob Riggle is one of Hollywood's — and football's — funniest personalities". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  24. ^ "Snowbarger, Vincent K." bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  25. ^ "Movie generating Oscar buzz was produced by Shawnee Mission South grad". The Kansas City Star. January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  26. ^ "Bobby Voelker UFC Bio". Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  27. ^ https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~ge/cv.pdf [bare URL PDF]
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