Forest Hills High School
| Forest Hills High School | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | |
| 67-01 110th St. Forest Hills, Queens, New York, New York, USA |
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| Coordinates | 40°43′47″N 73°50′42″W / 40.7298°N 73.845°WCoordinates: 40°43′47″N 73°50′42″W / 40.7298°N 73.845°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Motto | It all begins and ends in the classroom. |
| Established | 1937 |
| Principal | Saul Gootnick |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | approx. 4100 |
| Color(s) | Red, blue and gold |
| Mascot | Rangers |
| Newspaper | 'The Beacon' |
| Yearbook | 'Forester' |
| Website | [1] |
Forest Hills High School (FHHS), dedicated in 1937[1], is a public secondary school in Queens, New York City. It educates students in grades 9–12 and is operated by the New York City Department of Education.
Contents |
[edit] Location
Forest Hills High School is in the Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens, near Rego Park.
The school serves the Forest Hills and Rego Park sections of Queens. However, many students come from nearby neighborhoods such as Kew Gardens, Jackson Heights, Woodside, Flushing, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Astoria, Corona, Glendale and parts of Jamaica.
FHHS has often been extremely overcrowded throughout its history, sometimes running several overlapping sessions (7:20am to 1:49pm, 8:09am to 2:38pm, 8:58am to 3:28pm, 9:48 to 4:17pm, 10:37am to 5:06pm). Traditionally, a very large percentage of FHHS graduates have gone on to attend college[2].
[edit] Recognition
In June 1998, US President Bill Clinton cited FHHS's "academic and extra-curricular excellence" – and it became one of only 124 "Blue Ribbon" schools nationwide. In 2000, US First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered the commencement address., per invitation of Luis Miranda and Crystel Debs. Jacob J. ("Jack") Lew, a 1972 graduate of FHHS, was then the Clinton administration's Director of the Office of Management and Budget, having been elevated to the post two years earlier. In the 2011-2012 school year FHHS has earned three A's as recognition of excellence by the state, CNN has interviewed the principal and had a video about the daily routine of the school.[3]
[edit] Academics
Special programs offered in the school include Intel Science Talent Search,Carl Sagan Science Research Program, Law and Humanities Honor Program, Medical Biology (year-long program where students intern at a local hospital for one semester), Part Time Co-op (Business), Pace (Business), Academy of Public Service, Carl Sagan Advancement of Science and Math (where students also compete in Intel S. S.), Richard A. Brown Law Program, Gilder Lehrman Academy, College Now, and the Performing Arts Academy.
In the 2011–2012 school year, FHHS offered Advanced Placement classes in Art History, Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Computer Science AB, English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, French Language, Government and Politics: United States, Human Geography, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Physics B, Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, Physics C: Mechanics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Statistics, United States History, and World History. As a general rule, FHHS administrators require students to take the appropriate AP exam in the course in which they've enrolled during the month of May. Fee Waivers are available for students who qualify for free lunch.
[edit] Extracurricular Activities/Clubs
The annual theater competition known as Sing! pits seniors, juniors, and "sophmen" (freshmen and sophomores working together) against each other in a race to put on the best performance. Started in 1947 at Midwood High School in Brooklyn, Sing! is a tradition at many New York City high schools.
At Forest Hills, folk-rock legend Paul Simon participated in Sing! as a student at FHHS in the late 1950s. Leslie Urdang, now a major Hollywood producer, chaired Senior Sing! in 1972. Sing! is now a huge school-wide event — in 2005, nearly 500 students participated. The entire production is written, produced, directed and funded by students.
Forest Hills has a wide range of clubs and activities students can participate in, and are listed below.
Clubs
- Amnesty International
- Anime Club
- Art Club
- Chess Club
- Chinese/Korean/Japanese Clubs
- Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Club
- Guitar Club
- Multicultural Club
- Hebrew Club
- Indian Club
- Italian Club
- Key Club
- Latin Dance Club
- Origami Club
- Poetry Club
- Russian Club
- Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
- Shakespeare Club
- Cheerleading
Activities
- Student Government
- Community Service Programs
- Peer Mediation and Negotiation
- Arista/National Honor Society
- Debate Team
- Math Team
- School Newspaper (Beacon)
- Bio‐Medical Journal
- Yearbook (Forester)
- Mock Trial/Moot Court
- We The People Competition
- Performing Arts (Broadway Production)
- Dance
- Concert Choir
- Jazz Band
- Fashion Design
- Photography
- SING [4]
In the new 2007–2008 school year, a new COSA (Coordinator of Student Affairs) and new student body president have been working together with the objective of improving student life and giving Forest Hills a new aura.
[edit] Notable alumni
- I360Niicole ('11) Pro Gamer
- Julia Young * ( professional dancer )
- Jacob J. ("Jack") Lew ('72), President Barack Obama's chief of staff
- Your Boy for Life ('04), Hip Hop recording and performing artist, born Bekim Taci
- Paul Simon ('58) and Art Garfunkel ('58) [5], Grammy Award-winning folk-rock singers of the duo Simon & Garfunkel
- Dennis Tito ('58), first space tourist
- George Low ('43), NASA administrator & Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute president
- Philip Kantoff, MD, ('72) Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
- Bob Keeshan, portrayed Captain Kangaroo
- Tatiana Troyanos ('56), mezzo-soprano opera singer
- Jerry Springer ('61) shock television show host & Cincinnati mayor
- Ronnie Earl ('71), Blues guitarist born Ronnie Horvath
- The Ramones ('74+), punk-rock pioneers
- Burt Bacharach ('46), composer
- Francine D. Blau ('63), economist
- Art Buchwald ('43 drop-out), Pulitzer Prize winner
- Elissa Altman ('81), food journalist
- Mia Amber Davis Yard ('91), plus sized model, television producer, actress
- Frank Lorenzo[5], business magnate
- Marc Rich (non-grad), infamous commodity trader pardoned by Pres. Clinton
- Fred Silverman, television executive
- Leslie Urdang ('72), producer of Hollywood films & New York plays
- Robert Katzmann, Court of Appeals judge
- John Vinocur,[5] journalist
- Leslie West, rock guitarist
- Dave Rubinstein, singer of Reagan Youth
- Ernie Grunfeld, former NBA player & current GM of Washington Wizards
- Katharine Weber, novelist
- Reby Sky, Playboy model
- Ian Eagle, American sports announcer
- Ross Meyerson, Emmy Award-winning casting director
- Nathan Leventhal, New York City Deputy Mayor and President of Lincoln Center
- Charles Kelman, Ophthalmologist, inventor, and jazz musician
- Danny Troob ('66), Tony & Academy Award-winning orchestrator & arranger on numerous Disney films & Broadway productions
- Craig Howard ('69), University of Michigan Golfer
- R. Allen Leider ('62), Author, Screenwriter, Film Critic, Actor
- Raymond Romano Actor, Writer, and Stand-up comedian
In fiction:
- Peter Parker (Spider-Man), went to Forest Hills High School from 1962 to 1965; see "Amazing Fantasy" #15 and "Amazing Spiderman" #1 to #28
[edit] References
- ^ new york city nyc queensares forest hills rego park 1776 chronology history gardens colonial houses revolutionary war jeff gottlieb
- ^ Our School
- ^ http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/06/does-class-size-matter/?hpt=us_bn3
- ^ "2011-2012 High School Directory". Forest Hills High School I NYC High School Directory. NYC Department of Education. http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D9152C6F-223F-44C5-92A4-D7EB20B46A48/0/QueensMerged71v905232011.pdf. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ a b c Barrett, William P. (1989-03-12). "For Texas Air's top gun, the sky's the limit". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1I.
