Osbourn Park High School

Coordinates: 38°46′0.66″N 77°26′47.44″W / 38.76685°N 77.4465111°W / 38.76685; -77.4465111

Osbourn Park Senior High School is a public secondary school in unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia.

Osbourn Park serves the mid-part of the county and is located between the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. The community consists of business, professional, U.S. Government and military residents. Osbourn Park has also been designated as The Biotechnology Center and houses two other unique programs: Allied Health and NJROTC. It has at various times had a student population ranging from 1900 to 2500, but it is currently at 2,605 in grades 9-12.

In May 2007, Newsweek Magazine ranked "O.P." 578th in the nation on its annual list of "Best High Schools in America."

History

Osbourn High School opened in 1931 and was named after Eugena Osbourn, a proponent of public education in Manassas and Prince William County, Virginia. Ms. Osbourn was the principal of Osbourn High School in Manassas. In the 1970s, a new school was constructed on county property lying between the towns of Manassas and Manassas Park. By 1977, both towns had become independent cities with their own high schools. Osbourn High School became Osbourn Park and the new Osbourn High School was opened and used by the City of Manassas while the City of Manassas Park built a Manassas Park High School.

Curriculum

Osbourn Park offers the Biotechnology program. It is a four-year program for students interested in health sciences and related fields. The Biotechnology Program provides students a rich environment of integrated humanities and the opportunity to enroll in a variety of Advanced Placement (AP) science courses. Osbourn Park High School recently purchased class sets of iPads.

Extra-Curricular activities

Osbourn Park has a variety of unique and interesting clubs and activities. A list of clubs are: Amnesty International, Key Club, Choir, Band, Orchestra, Drama, InterAct Club, Future Educators of America (FEA), Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Forensics, Debate, Yearbook, Scholastic Bowl (It's Academic), German Honor Society, National Honors Society, French Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Student Government, Young Republicans Club, Peer Mediators, Robotics Team, Leadership, Model United Nations, Table Tennis Club, DECA, OP Idol,The International Heritage Society, Step Team, and NJROTC.

Architecture

Osbourn Park was very much a classic school of the 1970s, constructed with open, modular classrooms. Renovations began in 2005 to update the nearly thirty-year-old interior of the building. Some of the changes include permanent walls for classrooms including doors, new floors, and newly painted walls. These renovations were completed by the end of the 2006-2007 school year. Stonewall Jackson High School, another county high school constructed around the same time, is an exact replica of Osbourn Park. Both schools have a red brick facade.

Address

Osbourn Park's address is 8909 Euclid Ave, Manassas, Virginia.

Athletics

The mascot is a yellow jacket and the sports teams currently play in the AAA Cardinal District and Northwest Region. The Gymnastics Team has won the state championships in 1985, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Media

Osbourn Park High School offers a student produced newspaper titled, The Yellow Jacket.

The student produced yearbook is titled The Hi-Jacket and is under the supervision of Mrs. Beth Skaggs.

Live from the Hive (a misnomer because yellow jackets live in nests instead of hives), the first student produced news program debuted in the 2007-2008 school year. The news episodes are an average of five minutes long and are broadcast to the entire school. There were nine episodes in the first season. The episodes focus on recent news, sports and upcoming information about the school.

The first producer was Michelle Pecore (2007–2008), followed by Julia Hosick(2008–2009). Live From the Hive has not filmed since then. Mr. Jason Shaw was the advisor for the Yellow Jacket and Live from the Hive.

List of notable alumni

• David Robinson, Class of 1983, basketball player (center, San Antonio Spurs), alumnus of the United States Naval Academy, nicknamed "The Admiral".
• Travis Tucker, Class of 2001, contestant on American Idol Season 4.
• Leeann Tweeden, Class of 1989 or 1990 (graduated in 3 years), model (Playboy, Frederick's of Hollywood, Hooters, Venus Swimwear) and TV personality (ESPN2, Fox Sports Network).
• Andrew Dykstra, Class of 2004, Chicago Fire (soccer) Goalie no. 40

See also

• Official web site
• Prince William County Public Schools