Minnechaug Regional High School

Minnechaug Regional High School (MRHS) is a public high school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, United States, and has a student population of approximately 1,200. It is the only high school in the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District. It serves the towns of Hampden, and Wilbraham.^[3] The current principal is Stephen Hale. The school's official colors are green and white. Its school mascot is the Falcons. The district opened the current building in 2013.

Minnechaug Regional High School
Address
621 Main Street Wilbraham , Massachusetts 01095 United States
Coordinates	42.111287°N 72.441993°W / 42.111287; -72.441993
Information
Type	Public Coeducational Open enrollment[1]
Established	1959
School district	Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District
Superintendent	John Provost
Principal	Stephen Hale
Teaching staff	71.45 (FTE)[2]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	984 (2022-23)[2]
Student to teacher ratio	13.77[2]
Color(s)	Green, White, and Black
Mascot	Falcon
Rival	East Longmeadow
Accreditation	NEASC
Publication	Emeralds
Newspaper	The Smoke Signal
Website	mrhs.hwrsd.org

Extracurricular activities

The school newspaper is called The Smoke Signal. The Student Council achieved the National Association of Student Council's highest honor, the National Gold Council of Excellence Award, every year since 2012.^[4] Roughly 70 students serve on the Student Council and dozens have been elected by peer schools to serve in regional and statewide student council positions.^[5]

Campus

Circa the 2010s a new lighting system was implemented that was intended to reduce costs; it had 7,000 lights total. The system relied on software for management purposes. However the software stopped working on August 24, 2021, and after that date, the school administration was unable to turn off the lighting system. Corky Siemaszko of NBC News wrote in 2023 that this was "costing taxpayers a small fortune."^[6] The lights staying on in the event of a failure was intended to maintain security at Minnechaug Regional.^[7]

Notable alumni

• Erin Crocker, race car driver
• Curtis Holdsworth, United States men's national artistic gymnastics team member^[8]
• Kelly Overton (1997), actress^[9]
• Scott Rasmussen (1974), co-founder of ESPN and founder of Rasmussen Reports^[10]
• Ann Sarnoff, CEO and Chairwoman of Warner Bros. and former President of BBC Studios America.^[11]
• Mike Trombley, MLB pitcher^[12]
• Janice E. Voss, astronaut^[13]
• Benton Whitley, NFL linebacker^[14]

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2017-04-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Minnechaug Regional High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
3. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Hampden County, MA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
4. https://www.nasc.us/programs/national-councils-of-excellence/winners ^{[dead link]}
5. "Minnechaug Regional High School junior Joshua Florence elected president of 2014-15 Massachusetts Association of Student Councils". 27 March 2014.
6. Siemaszko, Corky (2023-01-19). "The lights have been on at a Massachusetts school for over a year because no one can turn them off". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
7. Cristantiello, Ross (2023-01-19). "This Mass. high school's lights have been stuck on for more than a year". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
8. Ripton, Ray (April 23, 1987). "NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships : Holdsworth Should Help Bruin Title Bid". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
9. "Massachusetts actress Kelly Overton reflects on 'Van Helsing' as Syfy series draws to close". 11 April 2021.
10. "ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen '54 to Speak at Wichita State University". DePauw University. September 11, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
11. "Ann Sarnoff is Named Chief Executive of Warner Bros". Wall Street Journal. 24 June 2019.
12. "Ex-Minnechaug star Mike Trombley plays 11 years in the majors due to a real edge". The Republican. August 1, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
13. Dino, Jonas (March 29, 2008). "NASA - Janice Voss". NASA. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
14. Nutter, Gage (22 November 2023). "New York Giants sign Benton Whitley, Minnechaug alum will be on active roster". masslive.

External links

• Official website
• District website