Shawnee Mission South High School
History
Shawnee Mission South High School was established in 1966.
The school's mascot was chosen by the first graduating class of 1967. The Raider was chosen as a mascot because of the popular band Paul Revere & the Raiders.
Throughout its history, Shawnee Mission South has hosted several prominent concerts. The Who played a concert with The Buckinghams at Shawnee Mission South on November 17, 1967. The concert was performed in the gymnasium that currently still stands. The Byrds appeared in concert in the school's gymnasium in March 1969. The Amboy Dukes performed in a "senior class only" concert, in the football stadium, May, 1971. Brewer & Shipley performed in the cafeteria in 1976.
In 1983, Shawnee Mission South was named a Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor an American school can achieve. In 1997, the school was named a Blue Ribbon School for the second time in the school's history.
Academics
Shawnee Mission South High School is a two-time Blue Ribbon School, occurring in 1983 and 1997. Beginning in the 2007–2008 school year, the Shawnee Mission School District adopted a new program, Project Lead the Way, as the district's signature engineering program, offered at Shawnee Mission South High School. The classes for Lead the Way include Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering, Digital Electronics, Aerospace Engineering, and Engineering Design and Development. Another program unique to Shawnee Mission South was that of the Center for International Studies. The Center for International Studies (CIS) provided intensive instruction in four languages: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. The program also provided students the opportunity to attend geopolitics classes rather than regular social studies courses. As of now, only Arabic is still taught at Shawnee Mission South, with Chinese being taught at Shawnee Mission East High School, Japanese at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, and Russian at Shawnee Mission North High School. In 2005, South's Science Olympiad team made district news by winning the state of Kansas competition and advancing to the national level. As of January 22, 2012, the Shawnee Mission South Academic Decathlon team has won the Kansas State Academic Decathlon Competition and advanced to nationals for fifteen years in a row.
Extracurricular activities
The Raiders compete in the Sunflower League and are classified as a 6A school (despite the drop in enrollment), the largest classification in Kansas according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Throughout its history, Shawnee Mission South has won several state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in collegiate athletics.
Athletics
State championships
State Championships | |||
---|---|---|---|
Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
Fall | Football | 2 | 1973, 1975 |
Soccer, Boys | 2 | 1986, 1987 | |
Volleyball | 2 | 1974, 1993 | |
Cross Country, Boys | 6 | 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1978, 2011 | |
Cross Country, Girls | 2 | 1978, 1988 | |
Winter | Swimming and Diving, Boys | 6 | 1972, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2013 |
Swimming and Diving, Girls | 1 | 1976 | |
Gymnastics, Boys | 3 | 1975, 1976, 1977 | |
Basketball, Boys | 2 | 1990, 2013 | |
Indoor Track, Boys | 3 | 1975, 1976, 1978 | |
Basketball, Girls | 2 | 1995, 2024 | |
Spring | Golf, Boys | 5 | 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1999 |
Track & Field, Boys | 6 | 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 2008 | |
Baseball | 4 | 1975, 1979, 1981, 1985 | |
Tennis, Boys | 7 | 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1986, 1987, 2000 | |
Tennis, Girls | 8 | 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1996 | |
Total | 60 |
Non-athletic Programs
Debate
Two debaters, Brooklyn Hato and Mary "Clare" Bradley won the NCFL National Championship in 2022 and repeated as national champions When Madison Augustine and Jeremiah Rimpsom won in 2023. The debate team, once again Brooklyn and Clare also won the 2023 National Speech & Debate Tournament
Notable alumni
- Ethan Corson — member of the Kansas Senate representing the 7th district; director of Kansas Democratic Party; senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker; and chief of staff of the International Trade Administration
- David Dastmalchian — actor
- Stephen Dolginoff — writer, composer
- Richard Gilliland — actor
- Gina Grad —voice actor, radio and podcast personality
- Neal Jeffrey — former Baylor and NFL quarterback
- Tom Kane — voice actor
- Steve Little — NFL football kicker and punter
- Mike Morin — MLB baseball player
- Rodney Peete — former USC and NFL quarterback; sports television broadcaster
- Rob Riggle — actor, comedian
- Vince Snowbarger — lawyer and politician
- Peter Spears — Academy Award-winning filmmaker and actor
- Carla Sunberg — president of Nazarene Theological Seminary, 1979
- Bobby Voelker — professional mixed martial artist, current UFC Welterweight
- Ge Wang — professor at Stanford University, author, entrepreneur
See also
- Other high schools in Shawnee Mission USD 512 school district
- Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village
- Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park
- Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Shawnee
- Shawnee Mission West High School in Overland Park
References
- ^ GNIS entry for Shawnee Mission South High School; USGS; November 16, 2006.
- ^ High School CEEB Code Search
- ^ "School Search - Shawnee Mission South HS". Kansas State High School Activities Association. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ^ "Shawnee Mission South High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ "KSHSAA School Classification List" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
- ^ "My High School Journalism".
- ^ "Better Than Necessary: A Celebrational History of Shawnee Mission North High School". Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ "Half a century ago, The Who rocked SM South's gymnasium". 20 November 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "17 November 1967: Overland Park, KS, Shawnee Mission South". The Who Concert Guide. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ^ "1960's & 1970's Concerts in Kansas City". Winds of Change KC. 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ^ "Blue Ribbon Schools" (XLS). Kansas Department of Education.
- ^ Shawnee Mission School District High School Program Planning Guide 2022-2023
- ^ "Shawnee Mission South High School".
- ^ "State Records & State Champions". Archived from the original on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ "State Records & State Champions". Retrieved 2023-06-02.
- ^ "SM South debate wins largest national competition for the first time". 3 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
- ^ "Neal Jeffrey Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
- ^ "Yoda he sounds like". Kansas City Star. August 7, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ "Hog fans remember Little". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. September 10, 1999. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ "Former Arkanasa football star Steve Little dies at 43". Nevada Daily Mail. Associated Press. September 7, 1999. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ Dodd, Rustin (June 11, 2009). "Royals focus on college talent in Draft". MLB.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ Hudson, Maryann (May 9, 1988). "Football or Baseball, the Choice Is Up to USC's Rodney Peete". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ Gutierrez, Lisa (February 1, 2013). "Rob Riggle is one of Hollywood's — and football's — funniest personalities". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ "Snowbarger, Vincent K." bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ^ "Movie generating Oscar buzz was produced by Shawnee Mission South grad". The Kansas City Star. January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- ^ "Bobby Voelker UFC Bio". Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ^ https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~ge/cv.pdf