Lake Weir High School

Lake Weir High School (LWHS) is a public high school located in Ocala, Florida. It is part of the Marion County School District and serves students residing in southeastern Marion County, including the Ocala National Forest, Silver Springs Shores and Summerfield. The school colors are purple and gold and its mascot is the hurricane.

Lake Weir High School was established in 1955 as a consolidation of Weirsdale and Summerfield High Schools on a hill overlooking Lake Weir with a student body of about 300 students in grades 7 through 12. Mr. Leo Armstrong, former principal of Weirsdale High School was the first principal. The school served students coming from elementary schools at Belleview, Florida, Summerfield, Florida and Weirsdale, Florida that served the communities of Belleview, Candler, East Lake Weir, Ocklawaha, Pedro, Summerfield, Sunset Harbor, and Weirsdale. The first class of 1956 graduated 33. In 1967, Marion County changed to the elementary, middle and high school organization and the school changed to grades 9 through 12. In August, 1975, a new Lake Weir High School was constructed on Maricamp Road in Candler with a student body in excess of 1200 students, which grew to 2500 by 1993. The former Lake Weir High School campus then became home to Lake Weir Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8.

Belleview High School was established in 1995, providing relief to Lake Weir High's overcrowding problems. Approximately half of Lake Weir's students became Belleview High students, and a natural rivalry was born.

On Friday, November 2, 2007, Lake Weir's varsity football team defeated Belleview High School 27-21 on a last-second, 68-yard run by senior Jamal Thomas. The win was Lake Weir's first in nine years over its Marion County sibling. The win marked the fourth of the season for the Canes, and punctuated a season in which the Canes finished ahead of historical powers Vanguard, Forest, and Belleview High Schools in Florida Class 4A-District 6 play. The team is coached by Mark Hinterthan.

The school is now undergoing a 33-million-dollar renovation that will include a new administration building, added parking, a new cafeteria, and an air-conditioned gymnasium. The renovation, which is the project of Ajax Construction, is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

And the sweeping changes at Lake Weir High are more than cosmetic; Lake Weir High has also been selected to become an International Baccalaureate (IB) school beginning in 2010.

External links

* [http://www.lakeweirhigh.org/ LWHS Official Website]
* [http://www.marion.k12.fl.us/ Marion County Public Schools Website]
* [http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/lwclass62.htm Lake Weir High Class of '62 Website]