Volume XXXVII Issue 1 6 Oct 2015
theArrow 100 LAKEVIEW CANYON RD WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 91362
Heidi Chiu Managing Editor In the Conejo Valley Unified School District, there are five high schools, and each one has its idiosyncratic characteristics and advantages. Westlake High School boasts of rigorous courses and countless extracurricular activities. Overall, WHS is ranked 76 in the top 100 schools in the state and is also ranked 384 in the nation, giving WHS “gold status. ”The STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) ranking is 105. Seventy-eight out of district students have chosen to make WHS their home. These students come from different school districts, such as Oak Park, Camarillo, or Simi Valley to attend WHS. “I live in Camarillo, and in eighth grade I researched all the high schools in the area and decided to come to WHS for the Advanced Anatomy program,” said Ryann Corpuz ‘16, a current member of the class.
At the forefront of the school’s academia are the AP courses. The school offers 23 AP courses, with qualified and capable teachers instructing each class. During the 2014-2015 school year, WHS students took 25 different AP exams, varying from AP Chemistry to AP Art: 3-D design. Out of the 2234 AP tests taken, 1943 students passed (with a score of 3 or higher), resulting in an overall 87 percent pass rate. AP Physics C E&M, AP Chinese, and AP Art: 2-D all had 100 percent pass rates. Other AP exams noted for their high scores include AP Computer Science and AP Spanish Language; both had a 98 percent pass rate. AP English Literature and Composition had a 96 percent pass rate, with 136 out of 143 students passing. In addition to high academics, WHS is also one of the few high schools in the state, if not the only one, that offers an Advanced Anatomy course. However, in order to take the class, students must first take Physiology Honors as well as go through a stringent and rigorous application process. The course entails a unique variety of activities, with the most famous being the dissection of human cadavers.
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Not only does WHS offer a large variety of classes, it also has highly competitive sports teams. For example, eight of the school’s teams were Marmonte League Champions in 20152016, and two teams were Marmonte League Co-Champions. Additionally, the boy’s golf team won the state championship, and golf team captain Spencer Soosman ‘16 was awarded CIF Northern Division Individual Gold Championship. Soosman has committed to UCLA for the fall of 2016 next fall. Another distinctive aspect of the school is the WHS Music Department. With eight different band ensembles, three orchestras and six choirs, WHS offers a music group for everyone. Marching band is one of the most popular band choices. “I like marching band because I get to see all of my friends every day,” said Thomas Fry ‘18. “My favorite part is the competitions because the feeling once you finished the show is mesmerizing.” The WHS drama department performs three plays every year and compete in multiple outside competitions. Supplementing the wide variety of academic classes are over 70 on campus clubs.