Mars Area High School
| Mars Area High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 520 Route 228 Mars, PA 16046 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | ...to create and sustain an educational environment that allows all students the opportunity to realize their maximum learning potential. |
| Established | 1967 |
| School district | Mars Area School District |
| Principal | Mr. Todd Kolson |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | approx. 1050 |
| Color(s) | Navy, Gold |
| Athletics conference | AA-AAA |
| Mascot | Fightin' Planet |
| Newspaper |
The Planet Press |
| Website | MHS |
Mars Area High School is a high school located in Mars, Pennsylvania.
Mars High offers a full program of courses that includes more than 120 selections plus a wide variety of extracurricular activities and interscholastic sports. The flexible curriculum presents students with options including early entry into college, eight Advanced Placement (AP) college level courses, 13 Advanced courses and enrollment in the Butler Vocational/Technical School. Mars Area High School’s 2013 graduating class had approximately 230 students. Approximately 80 to 85 percent of graduates go on to four-year college or universities and 10 to 15 percent move on to two-year schools. Mars Area High School’s total 2012-2013 enrollment for ninth through 12th grades is 1034 pupils.
Mars Area School District’s total kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year is 3,236 students. The district is located in a rapidly growing rural/suburban area in Butler County, north of Pittsburgh, and is situated in a 50-square-mile (130 km2) area that includes Mars and Valencia boroughs as well as Adams and Middlesex townships.
Academic achievement
Mars Area High Schools is ranked highly statewide in comparison to other public high schools, in regards to their PSSA scoring:[1]
2014 - 29th out of 580
2013 - 26th out of 591
Broadcast media
Mars' Broadcast Media department produced the YouTube show Room 133 from 2011-2014. The show's anti-bullying episodes were filmed like the television show The Office and were shown every other Wednesday during morning homeroom at the high school as part of Planet Peace, Mars Area's anti-bullying effort, which received grants through Highmark's Healthy High Five program.
Sports
The Mars sports teams include American football, hockey, girls volleyball, softball, baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls tennis, girls and boys golf, wrestling, track, swimming, cross country, girls and boys soccer, and competitive marching band.
In recent years, the boys' soccer team has achieved a great amount of success, with three successive trips to the WPIAL (District 7) Finals in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The Fightin' Planets won back to back WPIAL Championships in 2008 and 2009. The boys' ice hockey team has won 3 straight Penguin's Cup championships (2009, 2010, 2011) and the state championship back to back in 2010 and 2011.
The Mars girls' soccer team won the AA Section title in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. They were also one of few teams to win three consecutive WPIAL titles in the years of 2010, 2011, and 2012. In 2011 the girls won the PIAA State Championship. In 2014, they were WPIAL runners-up.
The Mars boys' swim team has arguably been the best sports team at the high school. In 2012, they made their first appearance on the podium stand at PIAA championships, finishing 2nd with only five members on the team. The following year, the Planets won the WPIAL Championships in the 400 yd freestyle relay, snapping Shadyside Academy's run of 13 straight years of winning. The team also recorded their first top three finish at the WPIAL Championships, finishing runner up to Indiana High School. The following year, the Planets pulled off a clean sweep of the 2014 year, turning in the best performance by a sports team in school history. They won their first section title, WPIAL title, and also PIAA title with a very small team. The Planets called of the PIAA championships with a victory in the final event of the day, the 400 Free Relay. Since 2012, the Planets broke every single swimming record in team history, with the 2014 team holding all but one of the team records. The teams performance will go down as one of the best high school sports performances in recent history.
Music
The Mars High School Marching Band is a 13-time PIMBA/PFCJ Class Champion, a four-time BOA Regional Finalist, a BOA Regional Class AA Champion, and a BOA Grand National Championships Semifinalist.
The band is in Class AAA in the PIMBA circuit and in Class AA in the Bands of America (BOA) circuit.
References
- ↑ EL. "Mars Area Senior High School". Schooldigger.com. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
Coordinates: 40°41′31″N 79°58′47″W / 40.6920°N 79.9798°W