Edison High School (New Jersey)

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Edison High School
Location
50 Boulevard of the Eagles
Edison, NJ, 08817
USA
Information
Type Public High School
Motto Nothing Less Than Excellence
Established 1955
School district Edison Township Public Schools
Principal Salvatore Mistretta
Asst. Principal Jannette Ball
Daniel Kelly
Earl Rutan
Faculty 153.0 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,991 (as of 2006-07)[1]
Student:teacher ratio 13.0[1]
Color(s) Scarlet and Gold
Athletics conference Greater Middlesex Conference
Mascot Edgar the Eagle
Newspaper Edison Eagle
Website School website

Edison High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Edison, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. The school serves students of many diverse cultures, and is part of the Edison Township Public Schools. The other high school in the district is J. P. Stevens High School.

Most of the Edison High School students come from either Herbert Hoover Middle School or Thomas Jefferson Middle School, though some come from Woodrow Wilson Middle School.

As of the 2006-07 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,991 students and 153 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 13.0.[1]

The school was the 177th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2008 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools. The school was ranked 155th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[2]

Contents

[edit] Curriculum

Edison High School students are required to take four years of English, four years of math, three years of science, three years of history (one of world and two of U.S.) and at least two years of a foreign language (including Latin, French, and Spanish). In addition, health and physical education classes are required for every year in which a student attends EHS. Starting with the Class of 2008, one year of "Career Education and Consumer, Family and Life Skills" such as Foods or Technology Fundamentals is required as well as another year of the "Visual Performing Arts" such as Chorus, Band, Visual Arts, Clothing for Fashion, and Architectural Drawing. EHS has an Honors college preparatory track that features several Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

[edit] Mr. EHS

Every year, the Student Council hosts Mr. EHS, a beauty pageant, talent show and fund raiser that also searches for the very special and outstanding male who attends Edison High. A month prior to the performance, contestants are required to individually raise money for the affiliated charity such as the Simpson-Baber Foundation of Autism (2006) and Buddy Ball (2005). Whichever contestant raises the most money is immediately awarded "Most Charitable." In addition, each year Mr. EHS finalizes with announcements of the winner, Mr. Congeniality, and the amount of money the show raised (approx. $3-5000 per show).

[edit] Choir

Edison High School is often recognized for its fine music department. The A Cappella Choir and Chamber Singers, for example, have been awarded first place superior ratings in national competitions for the past 8 years, under its director, Mr. Kenneth Brown.[citation needed]

EHS offers nine different choirs:

  1. Concert Choir is the entry-level choir. This choir is open to anyone, regardless of experience or talent level and no audition is required. Concert Choir performs at the annual winter and spring concerts, as well as various community performances throughout the school year.
  2. A Cappella Choir is an audition only mixed choir. The size of this choir usually ranges from about forty to eighty members. In addition to performing at many different events during the school year, the A Cappella Choir competes nationally each spring.
  3. Jazz Choir is a smaller mixed choir whose members are taken from the best of the A Cappella Choir. Their repertoire comprises jazz music and they too compete each year in the spring. This choir meets one day per week after school.
  4. Treble Choir is an advanced all female audition only ensemble. This choir meets one day per week after school and competes nationally each spring.
  5. Men's Ensemble is an advanced all-male, audition-only choir. The group meets after school one day a week.
  6. Minor Variation is an audition-only choir featuring a cappella arrangements of contemporary music. The group is notable because it was founded by the choir's student director, Justin Pollinger. This is one of the newest groups at Edison High.
  7. Chambers Singers is the most advanced ensemble in the choral department. Members are accepted by audition only and the size of the group ranges from sixteen to twenty-two students. The group performs at many events throughout the school year and competes nationally each spring. The repertoire of this group includes a wide assortment of musical styles.
  8. The Barbershop Quartet is an all male group composed of four of the best male singers in the choral program. They compete nationally each year. This group meets one day per week after school.
  9. The Beautyshop Quartet is an all female group made up of four of the best female singers in the choral program. They compete nationally each year. This group meets one day per week after school.

[edit] Band

The band programs in Edison High School are outstanding and also ranked highly in their divisions, with the band placing first in many competitions.

Several bands exist at Edison High School:


Director of Bands- Marc DeNicuolo Asst. Director- Vincent Borcelli


Concert Band: All incoming freshmen are placed in the concert band to help them develop their skills and technique.

Symphonic Band:The Symphonic Band is open to all sophomore, juniors and seniors who wish to further develop their skills and musical knowledge. This band plays more difficult than the Concert Band.

Wind Ensemble:The Wind Ensemble is by audition only and is directed by Marc Denicuolo. The Wind Ensemble plays challenging music and competes in the Region II Concert Band Festival in March every year. In 2006 the Wind Ensemble received 3rd place in region II and was invited to participate in the New Jersey Concert Band Gala. The Wind Ensemble performs at other festivals as well as on the band's annual spring trip.

Jazz Ensemble: The Jazz Ensemble is the bands' most selective group accepting 16-21 of the school's top jazz musicians. The ensemble plays difficult music and participates in various jazz competitions throughout New Jersey.

Jazz Band: The Jazz Band is open for students to learn how to play the style of jazz. Audition is recommended but will not matter. This band rehearses once a week every tuesdays. This Band does not compete among other bands but goes to festivals and performs with our jazz ensemble in the spring trip and spring jazz concert.

Indoor Precussion Ensemble: The Indoor Precussion Ensemble is composed of our drummers and pit precussionists. They go to many different indoor competitions and goes to wildwood every year for the final championships.

Marching Band: The Eagle Marching Band performs at all varsity football games as well as competes in USSBA Group III Open competitions. The Marching Band was undefeated and took home title of first place group III Open at State Championships and Northern States Championships in 2006 with their show entitled: Breaking Boundaries: The Saga of the Berlin Wall. In 2007, the Eagle Marching Band took 2nd place at NJ States, 5th place at Northern States and 6th place at Nationals in Baltimore, Maryland.

[edit] Drama

In March 2005, the drama department performed its production of Crazy for You, a Gershwin musical based on the original Girl Crazy. Crazy for You was directed by Mr. Harris with Mr. McCaffrey as the technical director.

In the Spring of 2006, the school presented a production of Barnum, a show that featured a sideshow before the actual musical began. The play was directed by Mr. Harris, with production by Mr. McCaffrey. Tom Lombardi was the lighting designer for Barnum.

In March 2007, EHS Drama put on a production of Cabaret starring several new additions to the EHS Drama team. The show incorporated songs of both the original and the revival versions. The cast and crew did not receive any Rising Star Award nominations from the Paper Mill Playhouse despite the fantastic two-week run the show had. However, the Kit Kat Girls received honorable mention for their role. The show was directed by Mr. Harris and co-directed by Mrs. Troy, with production by Mr. McCaffrey aided by Mr. Scarpa.

In March 2008, EHS Drama presented a production of Beauty and the Beast, a musical based on the original version of the Broadway play. This production was directed by Mr.Scarpa, Mrs. Troy and Mr. Harris. Earlier productions include Damn Yankees in 2004, Crazy for You in 2005, Barnum in 2006 and Cabaret in 2007.

[edit] Film festival

The school will host the Edison High School Student Film Festival, which will be held in 2007 and is currently looking for submissions.

Work on the festival began during the summer of 2005. Since then, the festival has evolved from a small six-film movie night to a three-night festival encompassing High Schools across New Jersey. The deadline for films to be submitted is March 2007.[3]

[edit] Athletics

The Edison High School Eagles compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, made up of public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area. The league operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

[edit] Football

Edisons football history isnt outstanding(Besides 66-26-3 Head Coach Mike Wojcik Leading the Eagles to a 11-0 Undefeated Central Jersey Group IV Championship in 1991. However, under new Head Coach Matt Fullham, the team has turned around in the 2007 season finishing 6-4, beating J.P. Stevens, and defeating Sayerville 15-12 (on a game winning field goal with no time left on the clock) for the first time since 1991 and coming just short of eligibility for a state tournament playoff berth by 1 Power Point. The highly anticipated 2008 season of Edison Football taking it to the playoffs turned out to be a 4-6-0 season(Still Beating J.P.S for the 3rd year in a row) and was put down by some tight games that sould have been wins. The team is fully prepairing for the 2009 season and plans to come out in the best shape its ever been as a team, although losing some key coaches, Still under Head Coach Matt Fullham.

[Eagles Football Website][1]

[edit] Baseball

The Eagles won the GMC Red Division championship and won the 2007 Baseball - North II, Group IV state sectional championship with a 10-4 win versus Westfield High School.[4]. The JV team won their GMC Tournament. The Freshman Boys finished 3rd in their respective GMC tournament, before falling to Bishop George Ahr High School.

[edit] Hockey

Edison High formed its first ice hockey team for the 2006-2007 season.

[edit] Basketball

Both boys and girls squads improved their records in the 2006-07 season, led by Coach Mohr (Boys) and Coach Hansen (Girls). They really improved.

[edit] Cross Country

The Edison High Girls Cross Country team has had two successful years in a row while the boy's team is slowly picking up momentum.

Both the boys' and girls' team are coached by Patrick McCaffery and Mark DiGiovacchino.

[edit] Track and Field

Edison High offers track and field in the Winter and Spring. They are Section North 2, Group IV.

In the spring, the girl's head coach is Mark DiGiovacchino while Coach V. Harris, Coach Patrick McCaffery, Coach White, and Coach Platvoet share responsibilities for the boy's team.

In the winter, Coaches Molnar, Platvoet, and DiGiovacchino coach a co-ed team.

[edit] Tennis

Edison High offers girls' tennis in the fall and boys' tennis in the spring. Head Tennis coach is Coach Wes Smith.

[edit] Bowling

Edison High School currently has a very successful Bowling team coached in the Winter by Mrs. Smith.

[edit] Notable alumni

  • Gayleatha B. Brown, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Benin.[5]
  • Gihon Jordan, (1950–2008), Class of 1969, a retired traffic engineer for the City of Philadelphia, and a nationally recognized authority on traffic calming, urban bicycling and pedestrian safety.[6] In October 2008, Gihon posthumously received the Philadelphia Mayor's Commission for People With Disabilities Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in addressing the pedestrian needs of people with mobility, cognitive and sensory disabilities.
  • Rick Stromoski is the artist and creator of the "Mullets" & "Soup To Nutz" comic strips. He graduated from Edison High School in 1977. He is sometimes confused with the creator of the strip "Mutts."
  • Robert Pastorelli (June 21, 1954 – March 8, 2004), Class of 1972, was an American actor. He had many roles on TV, in movies, and on the stage, but is probably best known for the seven years he played the portly painter Eldin Bernecky on the television series Murphy Brown.
  • Susan (Tomalin) Sarandon (born 1946), Class of 1964, Academy Award-winning actress.[7]
  • Paul Curka (8/15/57 - 2/17/96) was an Olympic wrestler during the 1980 (boycotted) Olympic games. He graduated from Edison High School in 1975.
  • Rich Gaspari (born 1963) IFBB Mr. Olympia Runner-up, three times, 1986, 1987, 1988. He was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004

[edit] HuaXia Edison Chinese School

During Sundays from 1:00 PM-5:20 PM, Edison High School is host to the HuaXia Edison Branch Chinese School where students of mostly Chinese ancestries learn how to read, speak and write Simplified Chinese, along with other activities.

[edit] Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[8]

  • Salvatore Mistretta, Principal[9]
  • Jannette Ball, Assistant Principal
  • Daniel Kelly, Assistant Principal
  • Earl Rutan, Assistant Principal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Edison High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 17, 2007.
  2. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  3. ^ Edison High School Student Film Festival, accessed September 5, 2006.
  4. ^ 2007 Baseball - North II, Group IV, NJSIAA. Accessed June 20, 2007.
  5. ^ Ambassador Gayleatha B. Brown Biography, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. Accessed September 29, 2007. "She was educated in the Red Jacket Elementary School, Matewan Elementary and High Schools in Mingo County, West Virginia; and Edison Township High School, Edison, New Jersey."
  6. ^ http://bcgp.blogspot.com/2008/08/gihon-jordan-58-traffic-engineer.html
  7. ^ SUSAN SARANDON HEADLINES CAPE MAY NJ STATE FILM FESTIVAL, accessed May 3, 2007. "Sarandon, a graduate of New Jersey’s Edison High School, headlines the 2nd annual film festival in Cape May."
  8. ^ 2007-2008 Staff by department, Edison High School. Accessed August 24, 2008.
  9. ^ Caiazza, Tom. "Stevens alumnus named Edison H.S. principal: Sal Mistretta will use his coaching background to 'build a team' at EHS", Edison Sentinel, August 29, 2007. Accessed September 29, 2007.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 40°30′59″N 74°23′21″W / 40.51633°N 74.3891°W / 40.51633; -74.3891

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Greater Middlesex Conference (NJSIAA)
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