Warwick Veterans High School was a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...

. The school building is two stories high and features eight wings of classrooms. The logo for all Vets "Hurricane" teams was a reverse-rotating

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

symbol. School colors were blue, gold, and white. The school held grades 912 until 2016, when it closed due to declining enrollment and the building was converted to a junior high school. The school had an enrollment of over one thousand students, and its principal when it was converted was Gerald Habershaw. The school was opened in 1956 as a response to a booming Warwick population — the previous high schools (which came to be known as Samuel Gorton Junior High and Aldrich Junior High and also Lockwood Junior High which has been converted to condos) were too small for the large number of incoming students. In the late 1960s, the 900 wing extension was added to the school. Two additional high schools were constructed to answer Warwick's population increase, Pilgrim High School in 1962 and Toll Gate High School in 1972.

Athletics

In 2000, a swim team was created. The initiators of this were Katherine McLaughlin and Kristen Carpenter-Azeveto, who swam inter-murally with Pilgrim since their sophomore year. They were co-captains for their Senior year in the 2000 and 2001 season. The girls'

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

team was the 2005 division and state champions. Additionally, the boys'

outdoor track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

team were city champions for thirteen straight years and division B champions for four years. The freshman football team reached the championship game in two consecutive years (2004–05 & 2005–06) but lost both games to crosstown rivals Pilgrim High School and William E. Tolman High School of Pawtucket. The Warwick Vets Cheerleading program was very active until 2016. The Varsity team took 1st place in the RI State competition from 1999–2007. In 2007, the boys

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team had its first thousand-point scorer in several years. In 2008, the girls soccer team made it to the Division 1 state semi-finals. In 2010, the basketball team won their first game in over 23 years. Thanks to the leading scorer, Anita Waxen, they got their first basketball championship. In 2011, the school joined in the 2nd phase of RI Unified Basketball, a collaboration with RI Special Olympics and the RI Interscholastic League. This program is a national model that promotes a Varsity level co-ed team to have students with disabilities play with non-disabled peers on the same team. In their first regular season, the team was undefeated. They went on to the playoffs as a Division I team and were defeated in the final championship round by 1 point at the buzzer and placed 2nd in the State out of 18 teams.

Other activities

Until its conversion as a junior high school, the school featured active chapters of FBLA, DECA, Student Council, Math League, Academic Decathlon, SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, and other clubs. Warwick Veterans also had a

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

that performed several concerts a year, a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

that played at parades on

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than di ...

and Gaspee Day, and a

jazz band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ...

and concert orchestra that usually performed with the concert band — all were taught by Danielle Prior. A chorus, chorale, and jazz chorus were also part of the school's music department and were taught by Nancy Kennedy.

Notable alumni

* Bill Almon, baseball player *

Damian Costantino Damian Costantino (born c. 1978) is an American baseball player who set the record for the longest hitting streak in National Collegiate Athletic Association baseball history, with a 60-game streak that ran through the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons p ...

, NCAA record holder with hits in 60 consecutive games.Derewicz, Mark
"Costantino's hitting streak breaks record"
''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'', March 11, 2003. Accessed June 6, 2010. *

Fred Whittingham Fred George "Mad Dog" Whittingham (February 4, 1939 – October 27, 2003) was an American football player and coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saint ...

, NFL player and coach * James Woods, (freshman & sophomore, before Pilgrim High built) American actor, voice actor, and producer

References

External links

Archive of school website June 2016
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1956 Educational institutions in the United States with year of establishment missing Schools in Kent County, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Warwick, Rhode Island Public high schools in Rhode Island 1956 establishments in Rhode Island