Lincoln Southwest High School

Lincoln Southwest High School
Lincoln Southwest High School
Address
7001 South 14th Street
Lincoln, Nebraska 68512
United States
Coordinates 40°44′23″N 96°42′15″W / 40.73972°N 96.70417°W / 40.73972; -96.70417Coordinates: 40°44′23″N 96°42′15″W / 40.73972°N 96.70417°W / 40.73972; -96.70417
Information
Type Public high school
Established 2002
School district Lincoln Public Schools
Principal Michael Gillotti [1]
Faculty 200+
Grades 9-12
Number of students 1,807 (2014-15)[2]
Color(s)         
Forest green and silver
Mascot Silver Hawk
Rival Lincoln Southeast High School
Website Lincoln Southwest H.S.

Lincoln Southwest High School is a public secondary school located in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It rests on 74 acres adjacent to Wilderness Park. It is part of the Lincoln Public Schools school district.

When the school opened its doors in August 2002, it had 1,150 students from grades 9-12, and 77 teachers. Since its opening, the school has expanded to more than 1,800 students. 40% of the students attending do not live in Southwest's zone of the city; Lincoln Public Schools has an open district which permits students to attend schools outside their section of the school district until it is to capacity.

Southwest is the only school in Lincoln to operate on a 4X4 block schedule. It offers a wide range of classes, including Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and is the only high school in Lincoln to offer Japanese language as a class.

The school's colors are forest green and silver, and its mascot is the Silver Hawk.

In 2005, Lincoln Southwest High School had nine National Merit Scholars, more than any other school in Lincoln. In the 2013-2014 school year, Lincoln Southwest High School won the Nebraska School Activities Association All-Activities Award, and the U.S. Cellular Cup for both the All-School and Girls Divisions in Class A, finishing first with 655 points in the All-School Division and first with 378.75 points in the Girls Division. The Silverhawks won two U.S. Cellular Cups with points in a total of 16 NSAA programs, which underscores the school's interscholastic activities program excellence.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The Southwest golf team won a team state title for the school in 2007, 2008, and 2010, the third championship in four years. The softball team were back-to-back state champions in 2008 and 2009.[3] The girls' track team won a state title in 2009, and in the spring of 2013. The girls' cross country team also won the state championship in 2013. The Southwest football team has established itself as one of the top football teams in the state. After going winless in their first season, Southwest made the state playoffs nine years in a row dating from the 2003 playoffs to 2011. The Silver Hawk girls' swimming and diving team won the 2014 Nebraska State Championship for the first time in school history; it was also the first for a Lincoln school since 1999. In 2017 the girls' swimming and diving team took first at state and set five new records. The girls' tennis team were the 2010 Nebraska State Champions. The boys' tennis team were the 2013 Nebraska State Champions and the 2014 Nebraska State Champion runners-up. The boys' swim and dive team were the 2014 Nebraska State Championship runners-up. The boys' soccer team won the Nebraska State Championship in May 2014.

State championships

State championships
SeasonSport/activityNumber of championshipsYear
FallSoftball22008, 2009
Cross country, girls'12013
Tennis, boys'12013
WinterSwimming and diving, girls'22014, 2016, 2017
SpringGolf, boys'32007, 2008, 2010
Track and field, girls'22009, 2013
Soccer, boys'12014
Total12

Non-athletic programs

Sciences

Southwest is strong in science-based extracurriculars. Since 2009, the school has won six out of seven Science Olympiad state championships, qualifying them for the national tournament. Over the years, dozens of students have placed first in a variety of Science Olympiad events.[4]

Forensics

In 2006, Southwest was awarded National School of Excellence Award in debate, being one of only seven schools honored with the prestigious award nationwide. The award was given to Southwest again in 2013 for their excellence in speech. Both areas of forensics at Southwest continue to qualify students for various statewide and national tournaments.

Theatre and music

Almost 400 students participate in theatre and music programs in LSW's "E-Wing," the hallway with all of the performing arts classrooms.

The LSW music program quickly established itself as one of the top music programs in the state since the school opened in the fall of 2002. The choirs, bands, and orchestras have consistently received high ratings at contests and competitions.

Choir

The LSW Choral Department involves over 200 students each year. Denise Cotton and Andrew Jacobsen are the directors. There are several choral ensembles:

  • Women's Ensemble
  • Freshman Concert Choir
  • Select Prep Concert Choir
  • Ambiance - Prep Show Choir
  • Women's Choir
  • Men's Choir
  • Select Varsity Concert Choir
  • Resonance - Varsity Show Choir
  • Select Chamber Choir
  • Octet

Southwest's varsity show choir, Resonance, has gained recognition as being one of the top show choirs in Nebraska and in the Midwest. They have earned multiple grand champion placements and many caption awards such as best band, best choreography, and best vocals. They had a streak of breaking into finals at every competition but that was recently broken.

Band

The LSW Band Department involves over 200 students. There are nine bands at LSW, including:[5]

  • Freshmen Concert Band
  • Freshmen Jazz Band
  • Freshmen Silverhawk Marching Band
  • Symphonic Band
  • Prep Jazz Band
  • Wind Ensemble
  • Varsity Jazz I and II
  • Varsity Silverhawk Marching Band

The LSW Marching Band has performed at various venues, and has traveled to London, England to perform in the London New Years Day Parade three times.

Orchestra

The LSW Orchestral Department has over 50 students. There are three orchestras at LSW, including:

  • Freshmen Orchestra
  • Varsity Orchestra

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Southwest High School".
  2. ↑ "Southwest High School". Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  3. ↑ http://www.journalstar.com/sports/other/high-school-and-prep/article_9446b46f-5085-5a60-a816-66f97a8d3371.html
  4. ↑ http://www.education.ne.gov/science/NESOInfo.html
  5. ↑ Wilhelm. "Mrs. Wilhelm's Classroom Information". Lincoln Public Schools TeacherWeb. Lincoln Public Schools (Lincoln, NE). Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Brandon Reilly". Huskers.com. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
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