Oley Valley High School

Oley Valley High School is a high school in Oley Valley, Pennsylvania, United States.[2] The current principal is Gina Finnerty, with the assistant principal being Sean Ryan.

Oley Valley High School
Address
17 Jefferson Street

Oley
,
Berks County
,
Pennsylvania
,
19547

United States
Coordinates40.386041°N 75.785069°W / 40.386041; -75.785069
Information
Funding typePublic
Motto"Enter to learn, leave to serve."
Established1961
School districtOley Valley School District
SuperintendentTracy Shank
Staff37.47 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment536 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio14.30[1]
Color(s)Blue and white
MascotLynx
Information610-987-4100 Ex. 6000
Websiteoleyvalleysd.org/high-school

History

The current Oley Valley High School was built in 1961. The current high school was adjacent to the Oley Valley School District Administration building, which was formerly the Oley Valley K-5 building until 1993. In 2018, the Administration Building was knocked down.

The high school was renovated in 1981 to have a joint middle school. In 2002, a new middle school was built and the left-over wing incorporated into the high school, primarily as the social studies wing.

The school district superintendent was Jeffrey Zackon, until he died due to a heart attack during the German class trip on April 20, 2011 while in the Swiss Alps.[3] The Oley Valley School District's new superintendent is Tracy Shank.[4]

Athletics

The baseball team won the county championship for the first time in 28 years. The girls' field hockey team has won at least three Berks County titles, two PIAA District titles, and one state title.[5]

The girls' basketball team and the baseball team have enjoyed PIAA District titles and state appearances.

Notable events

The Oley Valley FFA Chapter placed 1st in the United States in Environmental Science and FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The school made the national news on January 24, 2002 when 62-old bus driver Otto Nuss took 13 children on an unauthorized five-hour detour of 185 kilometers (115 mi) to Landover Hills, Maryland outside Washington, D.C.[6] on what was supposed to be a six-mile, 15-minute trip to Berks Christian School in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania.[7] On September 23, 2003, Nuss was sentenced to four years in prison for federal kidnapping.[8]

A student wearing a gorilla mask climbed onto the school roof on February 15, 2005 as a prank. He was charged with (but acquitted of) disorderly conduct and trespassing despite prompting police, the FBI, a bomb squad and a state police helicopter to respond.[9]

The school won the 2006 Envirothon, the most popular high school environmental knowledge competition in North America.[10]

The Oley Valley WorldQuest team placed first in the Greater Reading Area in 2007, 2008, and 2009. The team placed 11th in the nation in 2007. In 2008 the WorldQuest team once again placed 1st in Berks. In 2008 at the national competition in Washington, DC, the team placed 2nd in the nation.

Oley Valley won the team competition for the Berks County Math Championship in 2010 and 2011.

At the 8th Annual YNOT Awards, held on May 23, 2012, Oley Valley's drama club and their production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying won a record number of seven competitive awards, including Most Memorable Overall Production.[11]

The Oley Valley WorldQuest team placed first in the Greater Reading Area in 2014.

In 2019, the Oley Valley WorldQuest team placed first in the Greater Reading Area and placed fifth in the nation at the annual competition in Washington, DC.

References
  1. "Oley Valley SHS". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  2. "Oley Valley Senior High School", Great Schools
  3. "Jeffrey Zackon Obituary"
  4. "Oley Valley hires Tracy Shank as superintendent"
  5. "Coaches - Field Hockey", Alvernia College Athletics
  6. "School bus driver faces kidnap charges", BBC News, January 25, 2002
  7. "School bus driver says he was 'set up'", CNN, January 26, 2002
  8. "Violence In Our Schools - January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2004", Columbine Angels
  9. "Boy who donned mask, climbed high school roof acquitted of charges", Court TV News, January 11, 2006
  10. "Senior Envirothon", Government of the County of Berks
  11. http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=388347
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.