Lakota West High School
Encyclopedia
Lakota West High School is a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in the Lakota School District which compromises both West Chester Township and Liberty Township in a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

.
From what once was a unified Lakota High School
Lakota High School (West Chester, Ohio)
Lakota High School was a high school in the Lakota School District in Butler County, Ohio; it encompases both West Chester Township and Liberty Township...

 came both Lakota West and Lakota East
Lakota East High School
Lakota East High School is a high school in the Lakota School District which comprises both West Chester Township and Liberty Township in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio....

. Situated in one of the fastest growing exurbs of Cincinnati, the two physically identical schools were built in 1997 when the district expanded. The enrollment for Lakota West is currently around 2,000 students for grades 10-12. Under Ohio criteria, Lakota Local Schools is rated as an excellent school district—the highest rating possible. Some unions from the old single high school still exist, such as the school's radio station, WLHS 89.9 FM
WLHS
WLHS is a high school radio station broadcasting an non-commercial educational format. Licensed to West Chester, Ohio, USA, the radio station serves the greater Cincinnati, Ohio, area. The station is currently owned by Lakota Local School District....

, which is staffed by students from both Lakota East and Lakota West.

The two high schools have an inter-district rivalry which culminates each year in the East/West football game. This game usually draws record crowds and was once held in Oxford, Ohio
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern portion of the state. It lies in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. The population was 21,943 at the 2000 census. This college town was founded as a home for Miami University. Oxford...

 because of this factor. The game, which is usually televised, was brought back to the school district in 2004. Both high schools take turns hosting the game.

The school year is divided into two semesters with two quarters each. The Firebird is the mascot of Lakota West. This was derived from the original mascot, the Lakota Thunderbirds, which became the Lakota West Firebirds and the Lakota East Thunderhawks. The school colors are red and white with black trim. The school is classified a Division 1 school in all sports under OHSAA standards and is a member of the Greater Miami Conference (GMC).

Clubs and activities

Students at Lakota West are given plenty of opportunity to participate in clubs and after school activities ranging from Peer Counseling to the Voice to the school chapter of Mu Alpha Theta
Mu Alpha Theta
Mu Alpha Theta is a United States mathematics honor society for high schools and two-year colleges. It has over 89,000 student members in more than 1,800 schools worldwide. Its main goals are to inspire keen interest in mathematics, develop strong scholarship in the subject, and promote the...

. Other clubs and activities include SGA, JCL, Chess club, Academic Quiz team, Yearbook Team, Psychology Club, as well as Choir and Band.

Latin Club

Lakota West's Latin Club functions as a local chapter of both the Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL) and National Junior Classical League
National Junior Classical League
The National Junior Classical League is a youth organization of secondary school students sponsored by the American Classical League...

 (NJCL). The club has had a notable success in recent years at the state level having had three members, President Arpan Patel, Secretary Austin McCarthy, and Parliamentarian Taryn Willett serve on the OJCL Executive Board during the 2009-2010 session.

Marching Band

Lakota West is known for its elite band program, especially the Marching Band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

. The Lakota West Marching Firebirds perform at every home game, and have been invited to perform all over the country. They have traveled to many parts of the country to perform including the Hollywood Christmas Parade, Waikiki Holiday Parade in Hawaii, the 2003 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, and the 2008 Parade of Roses in Pasadena, California. The band is currently planning a trip to Florida sometime in the 2010-2011 season. The band's director Greg Snyder has received great recognition for the job he has done with the school's storied band program, generally known as one of the best in the nation.

The Voice

The Voice is a student-operated publication for Lakota West High School. It is an open forum to provide a voice for student expression existing to inform, intrigue, and provoke thought from its readers. It is published eight times a year and is a free publication distributed at Lakota West High School, at other public facilities and on the web.

The Voice is not subject to prior review from the school administration or journalism adviser. The Voice practices the students' rights of freedom of speech established by the Tinker vs. Des Moines case. Final decisions are made by the Voice editorial board. The Voice is winner of several first-place awards, including the 2000 Pacemaker Award, 2001 Gold Medalist CSPA, NSPA All-American Award, and GLIPA Buckeye Award.

Famous Graduates

Dylan Cramer, a trumpet player and graduate from Lakota West High School, is now a famous stellar performar for the University of Toledo Wind Ensembles. He travels across the United States playing at various jazz clubs and festivals, and also makes numerous stops at his alma mater. Dylan donates much of his profits back to his band program that made him what he his. He credits Gregory Snyder with the talents he has achieved.
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