Herricks High School: Difference between revisions
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More recently, one student of Herricks High School set up a facebook account entitled "Non-Asians Must Unite" in efforts to congregate white pride in Herricks, a school the student deemed to contain too many Asians. Many Asian students at the school took offense to the facebook account and a month later the site was taken down. The fabecook account has garnered much attention from the school community and could be indicative of underlying racial tensions that exist in one of the few schools in [[Long Island]] where white youth are the minority. |
More recently, one student of Herricks High School set up a facebook account entitled "Non-Asians Must Unite" in efforts to congregate white pride in Herricks, a school the student deemed to contain too many Asians. Many Asian students at the school took offense to the facebook account and a month later the site was taken down. The fabecook account has garnered much attention from the school community and could be indicative of underlying racial tensions that exist in one of the few schools in [[Long Island]] where white youth are the minority. |
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==Criticism== |
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Herricks High School has come under criticism for its misuse of tax dollars and tendency to stuff as many children into AP classes. Much of the high school's money goes into sports and special school events such as Herricks Idol, which many see as not a necessity. It is theorized that the administrators allow this because it makes the school look better. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 04:27, 17 January 2007
| Herricks High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Superintendent | Jack Bierwirth |
| Faculty | 130 |
| Enrollment | 1326 |
| Color(s) | Blue, White, Gray |
| Athletics | 11 sports: Baseball, Soccer, Football, Lacrosse, Tennis, Roller Hockey, Track, Vollyball, Basketball, Golf, bowling. |
| Mascot | The Highlander |
| Website | www.herricks.org/highschool.cfm |
Herricks High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school with 1326 students and 130 teachers, accredited by the New York State Board of Regents and the Middle States Association.
The school is located in New Hyde Park, New York, 20 miles east of Manhattan. Herricks High is on a hill overlooking the town. It is across the street from the Herricks Community Center.
Sixty-nine different languages from over 100 countries are spoken by students of Herricks High, and 51% of those students come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken. In the 2006-2007 school year, 48% of the students attending the school were white and 47% were Asian (both East Asian and South Asian) with the remaining 5% Black or Latino.
Dr. Jack Bierwirth, son of an ambassador in the Reagan Administration is the current superintendent of the Herricks School District and Dr. Jane Modoono is the current Principal of Herricks High School.
Academics
Courses
Herricks offers 18 Advanced Placement courses. Over 300 students take AP exams each year. The courses include:
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Physics B, Physics C
- Calculus AB, Calculus BC
- Statistics
- Psychology
- Macroeconomics, Microeconomics
- US History
- US Government & Politics
- European History
- Language & Composition, Literature & Composition
- Computer Science
- French
- Spanish
- Studio Art, Photography
- Music Theory
- Sped
Herricks also offers Math Research and Science Research courses.
College acceptance
93% of Herricks students go on to post-secondary education.
GPA
Herricks follows the 4.0 GPA system. It also has weighted GPA for students who take AP and Honors classes.
Music and theater
Herricks has a highly-acclaimed music department. It is a four-time winner of the Grammy Award for the 100 best communities for music in the nation. The music department is home to ten different performing ensembles, including several advanced groups: Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, and Chamber Choir.
Many students regularly attend the NYSSMA Festival and a large number of them are accepted into the NMEA All-County, All-State, and All-Eastern Music festivals.
Herricks is also home to Chapter 1975 of the Tri-M Music Honors Society, which won Chapter of the Year in 2005 for its member enrollment and participation.
The theater program at Herricks puts on two shows a year: one dramatic or comedic piece in the fall and one musical in the spring. Shows in the past include Hair, Les Miserables, A Chorus Line, Titanic: The Musical, Twelfth Night, Arsenic and Old Lace, Noises Off and numerous student productions. The upcoming spring musical will be Bye Bye Birdie.
STAC
Herricks is also home to a unique multi-discipline arts education program called the Student Television Arts Company, or STAC. Created in 1979, STAC is comprised of approximately 36 students from grades 9-12, who enter the program after a comprehensive audition process. STAC meets five days a week, three periods a day. The curriculum covers the arts in all manifestations — from the fine arts to writing, music, voice, dance, and drama as well as art history and the social and political context of art. Students have numerous opportunities to participate in small group workshops with working professionals from the metropolitan New York area. Such clinicians have included Bill Bowers, Tammy Hensrud, Vicki Hirsch, Fred Stroppel, dancer Heather Harrington, Breck Alan, and jazz master Dave LaLama. STAC exhibits their work in two large showcases per year, as well as many art exhibits and film presentations. Furthermore, students study filmmaking by examining in detail a broad range of movies from all eras and countries and orientations, and shooting and editing their own productions on digital video. STAC students also travel quite a bit, visiting cultural institutions and and events in the New York area including museums, street concerts, restaurants, and concerts and theatre performances.
Extracurricular Activities
Herricks Model Congress
Every year, the World Affairs Club organizes the Herricks Model Congress, which is hosted at the high school over a weekend that usually falls on the latter part of the school year, around February and early March. This club is focused around debating issues through the use of bills and parliamentary procedure, thus creating a "model congress". This club is overseen by advisors, and directed by an executive board of student officials. A general chair, associate general chair, delegate chair, agenda chair, and finance chair are elected each year. The club becomes a delegation which debates and competes in foreign congresses, both college congresses and those associated with the United Model Congreses. As a member of UMC, Herricks follows the guidelines set by the UMC and also regularly attends the congresses in it.
Quiz Bowl
The Herricks Quiz Bowl team has been successful in the Long Island Challenge, a televised county-wide trivia contest and show. Herricks is the first team from Nassau County to win the challenge 3 times. Craig Lagnese is the advisor.
USCI
Herricks participates annually in the national We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competition. The Herricks team was first formed in 2004 by social studies teacher Jodi Volper. Within the school, the class is called United States Constitutional Issues and can be taken for an 11th grade Regents US History credit. Students involved in the competition practice rigorously, meeting for at least 5 hours outside of school every week to prepare. In 2005 and 2006, the team represented Herricks in the State level competition, both times coming in fifth place in New York. They recently competed in District and are now moving onto the regional competition in January.
Model United Nations
The Model United Nations class was founded in 2005 by Chloe Graef, along with other participating students. Later on, in 2006, it was expanded to be a club. The class and club are partially funded by the Foreign Policy Association and students participating in these activities go to several conferences where they "represent" countries. The class aims to promote the study of international affairs and current events.
Herricks will be holding its first Model United Nations Confrence on June 2nd. More Details are to come.
Mock Trial
Herricks currently has a Mock Trial team, which is composed of 12 members: six lawyers and six witnesses. The Mock Trial team presents a fictitious case but using proper law procedure and conduct. It allows students to master verbal communication and a further grasp on the abstract concepts of the United States Constitution. Competing with schools from all around New York State, the primary objective is to win the Nassau County championship to advance to the State Championship in May, though such an accomplishment has not been done before due to the young age of the just developing Mock Trial team In the 2005-2006 school year they advanced to the quarter-finals for the county led by school advisers, John McManus and Mrs. Wolf and attorney adviser, Chris Cartier. Competitions continuously run throughout the year, starting about early to mid February with a two-round preliminary trial. The 2006 year was the first time the Mock Trial team was able to advance to the playoffs beyond this preliminary trial. Members work constantly during the week though regular meetings are held every Wednesday by AP Psychology teacher, John McManus. During the summer, the team sends one member of the team to apply for Mock Trial Camp held at Skidmore College at Saratoga Springs. It is is an intense week-long session of drilling and education and the law and the proper way to present it to the general public.
Athletics
Herricks has a competitive sports program. The school has baseball, tennis, soccer, wrestling, volleyball, and lacrosse, bowling, fencing, and swimming teams. The director of athletics is Jim Petricca; he is assisted by numerous gym teachers.
In the 2006-2007 school year there was no Varsity football team due to lack of talent, but the junior varsity football program did have a team.
Foreign policy programs
The Foreign Policy Association of the United States and Herricks High School have developed a partnership aimed at creating a model program for the study of global issues and current events. The program is known as the Herricks International Research Institute.
The Herricks International Children's Aid Program, or HICAP, was founded in the fall of 2005, and is the first arm of the Herricks International Research Institute to be placed into operation.
Publications
Herricks has several publications. These include the Highlander newspaper; the OPUS literary magazine; Scientific Today, a scientific magazine. All publications are written and operated mainly by students.
Facebook Controversy
More recently, one student of Herricks High School set up a facebook account entitled "Non-Asians Must Unite" in efforts to congregate white pride in Herricks, a school the student deemed to contain too many Asians. Many Asian students at the school took offense to the facebook account and a month later the site was taken down. The fabecook account has garnered much attention from the school community and could be indicative of underlying racial tensions that exist in one of the few schools in Long Island where white youth are the minority.
References
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