Wheeling Park High School is hosting All About Park on February 26 at the school. All About Park is an amazing opportunity to help incoming student families to get excited about attending WPHS!

All About Park has been a long standing tradition at Wheeling Park High School. It is scheduled after Middle School Tours to help upcoming students get a better look into all our school offers. Mrs. Dailer, Wheeling Park High School principal, tells us the purpose of the event, “The hope is that students will be able to have conversations and see programs in action to help them determine their scheduling requests,” said Dailer. “In addition, it allows them to see the wide variety of opportunities and experience we can provide at Wheeling Park.

All about Park showcases a variety of programs and departments. It spans all the way from the core class departments and CTE to sports and arts. This year, the schedule will follow a Welcome by Principals and scheduling overview with Counselors. From there, sports will be in the gym, clubs in the ILC, and departmental information throughout the building. Lets check out what some programs have to say:

English

The English Department will have a station out in front of Dr. Romick’s room. Dr. Romick, Department Chair of the English Department,  describes what it will feature, “We have two trifold boards set out of a table,” said Romick. “It features all of the teachers in the English Department on one of the trifold boards, and the other trifold board highlights a bunch of the electives that we have added to the English curriculum in the last three years. We also have some swag to give out to the freshman.”

The English elective offers a lot of classes that could interest incoming freshmen. With electives spanning from Gothic Literature to mythology, there is something to suit everyone’s taste. When talking about electives, “I just want to show the incoming freshman that we have, honestly, at least one, if not more, electives to fit every taste,” said Romick.

Science

The Science Department wants to showcase all their classes while also featuring the amazing programs they offer. They will have a station by the robotics room and will have students working on their robots during All About Park. Mrs. Redilla, Department Chair of the Science Department, shares what they are hosting, “We have a PowerPoint that goes well with all of the different options for science coursework,” said Redilla. “We have the robotics tournament area with all the students that are in their building robot. We have the AP and CP information that’s up here in the hallway as well.”

To Mrs. Redilla, it is important to show all the classes the school has to offer, but also making sure the students know what is required of them. At All About Park, she hopes to accomplish just that, “The goal is getting them to know those first three classes that they need so they have the credits to graduate, and then that opens up their schedule and they can take anything else after that,” said Redilla.

Social Studies

The Social Studies Department has a station near the African Proverb mural. There, they feature all the opportunities the department can offer, from classes to extracurriculars. Mr. Marsh, Department Chair of the Social studies Department, shares what the department is showcasing, “I have a trifold and it has all of our teachers and all of our required classes for each grade,” said Marsh. “It has our elective classes, our AP classes, and CP classes. Then there’s a designated area for the different activities that we do here in school.”

Mr. Marsh also hopes to show future patriots just how much this school has to offer. “My goal is to reach out to potential patriots and let them understand that there’s a lot of options for them, not just necessarily talking about social studies but the whole school in general,” said Marsh. “I think a lot of these incoming eighth graders don’t know we take kids to Washington D.C, we take kids to judicial scholars to meet our judges, or we take kids down to Charleston for a mock United Nations competition, just to name a few. There’s a lot of things and we want to get that information to students.” 

Math

The Math Department will have a stand outside Room 324. There, they will be showing the math teachers and all the math classes the school offers. With that, they will also showcase all the extracurriculars the math department has to offer. Mr. Kaniecki, the Department Chair of the Math Department, tells of the math department station, “Our department will also have a stand with the tri fold,” said Kaniecki. “We will have giveaways for the kids and we will try to promote all the different classes that we offer, what we are incorporating in our math classes, and we promote all the competitions we encourage all our kids to join.”

With the amount of math classes Wheeling Park high school offers, it is important that the incoming freshmen are aware of what they need to complete to set them up in the future. Mr. Kaniecki adds what he wants the freshman to take out of All About Park, “We try to emphasize all the different options the kids have after geometry,” said Kaniecki. “We also want to showcase all the different teaching styles we have available in the vast department we have.”

CTE

With February being CTE month, The CTE Open House will be hosted at the same time as All About Park. There, the CTE Department will showcase all the programs they offer to make students job ready on day one. Mrs. Dillon, Department Chair of the CTE department, tells how they will convey this, “We will have our students and teachers in all of our classrooms, and they’ll be doing demonstrations or waiting to talk to students and giving them tours of our programs,” said Mrs. Dillon. “We put this together because there’s such a huge attendance for All About Park so we have the maximum amount of attendance for our open house. 

Sports

Fall, Winter, and Spring Sports will all be featured in Gym A and B during All About Park. Coach Daugherty, the Athletic Director at Wheeling Park high school, tells how to get students to see all of the sports the school offers, “We show all of our sports and some of our sport clubs,” said Coach Daugherty. “Everyone will have a table and we will make sure a coach and a few players will be there. It just allows everyone to walk around and sign up for anything they’d be interested in.”

Getting involved in sports can be a great way for a new student to find a group and specialize in an extracurricular they love. Because of this, it is important that incoming freshmen are exposed to all the sports offered and try to find one that fits their interests. Coach Daugherty shares this sentiment, “I think it’s important to get involved as much as possible,” said Coach Daugherty. “I think it’s important that freshmen decide to do something, get involved, and then make the decision as sophomores and juniors and say, ‘I really like this, I’m going to stick with this and try to get better and grow.’ I think that is super important for them.”

Fine Arts

One of the first things people think of when they think of Wheeling Park High School is the vast amounts of Fine Arts offered. The Fine Arts Department encompasses a large variety of media, such as theater, speech and debate, art classes, and music. At All About Park, the department wants to make sure that all areas are featured so incoming students can find their interests. Mrs. Nelson, Department Chair of the Fine Arts Department, explains how they will get all the information out there, “We have a table and some boards, and usually it’s art, speech and debate, and theater, down in the Patriot Point,” said Mrs. Nelson. “Music is separate, and they’re done in the area so that they can showcase their classrooms and equipment. And then usually Mr. Schultz and Mrs. Freeman will also take anybody who’s interested in art, kind of into the art rooms too.”

Having a Fine Arts Department this large sets Wheeling Park High School apart from the other schools in the area. It is important that incoming students understand what great opportunities are offered here. Mrs. Nelson shares this belief as well, “I like to highlight all the things that we offer that the other high schools in the area don’t,” said Mrs. Nelson. “We have outstanding teachers who take students to events throughout the state. There’s a lot of performances and competitions students can be a part of here that other schools cannot offer.”