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New Rochelle High School

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New Rochelle High School
New Rochelle High School Seal
Location
Map
New Rochelle, New York
Information
TypePublic Senior High School [1]
Established1897
School districtCity School District of New Rochelle
PrincipalDonald T Conetta
Grades9-12
Number of students3,389[2]
Color(s)Purple & White    
AthleticsThe Huguenots
Websitehttp://nrhs.nred.org/

New Rochelle High School (NRHS) is a public high school, comprising grades 9 through 12, in New Rochelle, New York, operated by the City School District of New Rochelle. NRHS serves over 3,300 students; offering more than 240 courses, including honors, research and advanced placement courses.

NRHS students are known for ranking highly in SAT test scores for Westchester County.[3] 96% of graduates attend college or other institutions of higher learning. NRHS students earn accolades in competitive national programs including the National Merit Scholarship programs and the Intel Science Talent Search. Students are accepted into the most competitive colleges and universities in the nation.

New Rochelle has been ranked in the top 2% of high schools in the nation by Newsweek since 2000.[4] NRHS is a two-time Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.[5] NRHS is accredited by the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools.[6]

Campus

The former Mahlstedt Residence, now used as the Huguenot Children's Library

The school buildings are situated at the rear of a plot of land, fronted by two lakes, and 'Huguenot Park'. The forty-three acres of land that comprise the park, including what is now “Twin Lakes”, were acquired by the City in 1923 as the site for the community’s new high school and a park. At the time, the twin lakes were one large lake which had been used for an ice manufacturing business by the Mahlstedt family. At the southeast corner of the property is the Mahlstedt house where three generations of the family lived while operating their ice business at the lake. When the City purchased the land in 1923, the house became the Huguenot Branch of the New Rochelle Public Library.

A white marble WWII Marines Memorial is located near the causeway leading to the High School from North Avenue. The monument was dedicated on June 3, 1949 to the 15 New Rochelle Marines who died while fighting in the war.

The high school is designed in the French-Gothic style by the noted architectural firm of Guilbert and Betelle. It includes a working clock tower, indoor swimming facilities, eight tennis courts, three football fields, an outdoor track, a television station and a planetarium. The planetarium can hold 84 viewers and uses a 'Spitz Scidome', 360 degree fulldome video projector with ATM-4 automation and a 5.1 surround sound audio system.

On May 17, 1968, school buildings dating from the 1920s and 1930s were destroyed by arson.[7] A 16-year old high school student with a history of setting fires to attract attention was arrested for the arson. Additions made to school buildings in 1959 and 1960 were not affected. Fire insurance allowed the school to rebuild while displaced students were accommodated at local junior high schools under a time-sharing arrangement. [8]

On August 15, 2008, New Rochelle High School was struck by lightning. The resulting fire badly damaged the building's distinctive spire. The fire occurred just two months after the 40th anniversary of the 1968 arson fire that destroyed much of the school. [9]

Academics

File:NRHS2aug08.JPG
NRHS and lake Huguenot
File:NRHSaug08.JPG
NRHS front view

To create a more personalized atmosphere, NRHS is organized into eight smaller learning communities of approximately 400-600 students each. The communities are geographically defined and serve as a home base for students and teachers. Ninth and tenth grade students in each community are teamed with core area teachers in English, social studies, mathematics, and science. These teacher-student 'teams' remain intact for ninth and tenth grade in order to provide continuity for students and staff. Eleventh and twelfth grade students remain within their communities even though most course work occurs throughout the campus.[10]

Departments

  • Arts Department, an expansive program integrating Art, Music, Dance and Theater Arts within the school. The four main standards are stressed by the department: Creating, Performing, and Participating in The Arts; Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources; Responding To and Analyzing Works of Art; Understanding The Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of The Arts.
    The department also provides an Performing and Visual Arts Education (P.A.V.E.) program enabling students to major in the Arts. Each year competitive auditions are held for each artistic discipline; Visual Arts, Theater, Vocal Music, Orchestra, Band and Dance . Once in the program, students attend classes before school so that there are no conflicts with their regular academic course load. [11]
  • Business Education Department, geared towards preparing students for career and workplace success. Current programs of study include: Business; Marketing & Entrepreneurship; Marketing and Computer Applications.
  • Engineering and Architectural Design Department, offers courses in architectural design, architectural presentation, CADD aided residential drawing and design and drawing for production. Students can select the Architectural design sequence of courses as their major. The department features teachers with professional backgrounds in science, technology and mathematics.
  • Foreign Language Department, features a compliment of educators from Europe; Italian, Spanish, French, Greek, and Latin courses; future progressive program advantages for students in Dual Language Programs founded in elementary and middle schools; opportunities for students from more than 50 countries of the world.
  • Sciences and Mathematics Department, offers students the opportunity to participate in the community of scientific research and scholarship as part of their high school experience. In addition to class, formal individual meetings are held once a week. Students select a topic of interest and explore this topic through library research, person to person conversations with research scientists throughout the country, and telecommunication to research and college libraries. Students develop sophisticated data collecting and lab skills by completing a literature search, formulating a research question, articulating hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting their findings to a bona fide scientific audience (e.g., The Intel Talent Search, the New York State Science Symposium, and local and regional science fairs).

Honor societies

  • NRHS Honor Society, part of a national organization. Membership is based on scholarship, community service, leadership, and character. To qualify, students must possess a minimum cumulative unweighted average of 87.0, show a minimum of 20 verifiable hours of community service, and display strong leadership qualities. Students meeting these requirements are interviewed and selected by members of the Faculty Council.
  • Spanish Honor Society, open to juniors and seniors who have shown outstanding work in Spanish for a minimum of 2 1/2 years. Final acceptance is subject to review by the NRHS Foreign Language Department in accordance with the guidelines of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica.
  • French Honor Society, open to juniors and seniors who have consistently maintained a high average in French for a minimum of 3 years.
  • Italian Honor Society, open to juniors and seniors who have consistently maintained a high average in their years spent studying the language.
  • Tri-M Music Honor Society, open to students of the Instrumental and Vocal Music Departments upon recommendation by their respective teacher.

The Fund for Educational Excellence

The Fund for Educational Excellence is a private foundation formed to address the dramatic increase in the cost of public education by supporting aspects of the public educational system that fall outside the normal operating budget. [12] The Fund was established in 1998 in a cooperative effort by the Superintendent of Schools, members of the Board of Education and community leaders to preserve the New Rochelle tradition of excellence in education. Most notably, the Fund has sponsored several benefit concerts featuring NRHS students at major performance venues including Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center.[13]

The Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC)

The Museum of Arts and Culture is an on-site museum offering exhibits and programs focused on the fine arts, history, literature and science and technology. The Museum opened in 2006 and is the only Regents-chartered museum in a school in the state of New York.[14]

Co and extra-curricular activities

The school has a considerable number of clubs including [15]:

Accomplishments

  • The school's Model Congress Club is the oldest and longest running high school level model congress in the country. Model Congress originated at New Rochelle High School in 1964 when faculty advisor William P. Clarke sought an extracurricular outlet for bright students not engaged in sports. [17] Richard Nixon was the guest speaker at the club's first mock presidential convention in 1964. [17] The club is focused around debating issues through the use of bills and parliamentary procedure. The club becomes a delegation when it debates in foreign congresses, both college congresses and those associated with the United Model Congreses. Each year the school holds a Model Congress weekend, hosting "foreign delegations" from other schools.
  • NRHS students have been repeatedly recognized as semi-finalists and finalists in the highly competitive Intel Science Talent Search. [19]

Interscholastic sports

Fall schedule

  • Varsity and Junior Varsity Cheerleading
  • Boys & Girls Cross Country
  • Freshman Football
  • Junior Varsity Football
  • Varsity Football
  • Boys Junior Varsity Soccer
  • Boys Varsity Soccer
  • Girls Junior Varsity Soccer
  • Girls Varsity Soccer
  • Girls Swimming
  • Girls Junior Varsity Volleyball
  • Girls Varsity Volleyball
  • Girls Varsity Tennis
  • Girls Junior Varsity Tennis

Winter schedule

Spring schedule

  • Boys Junior Varsity Baseball
  • Boys Varsity Baseball
  • Freshman Baseball
  • Varsity Golf
  • Boys Junior Varsity Lacrosse
  • Boys Varsity Lacrosse
  • Girls Junior Varsity Lacrosse
  • Girls Varsity Lacrosse
  • Junior Varsity Rugby
  • Varsity Rugby
  • Girls Junior Varsity Softball
  • Girls Varsity Softball
  • Boys Junior Varsity Tennis
  • Boys Varsity Tennis
  • Boys Varsity Track
  • Girls Varsity Track

Accomplishments

File:NRHShockey.JPG
NRHS hockey team
NRHS Cheerleaders
File:A Cute Looking New Rochelle High School Cheerleader.jpg
An NRHS cheerleader
  • The Varsity Basketball team is a New York|NYS Section AA finalist.
  • The Varsity Cheerleading team placed fifth in the nation at the 2008 Universal Cheerleading Association National HS Cheerleading Championships, while the Junior Varsity team placed fourth.[20]
  • The Varsity Football team Won the New York State title in 2003 was a New York State Class AA finalist in 2000 and 2004 and semi-finalist in 2007 and 2008. The team has earned the title of New York State Section 1 AA champion four times since 2003. [21] [22]
  • The Swim Team is undefeated in their 2007–2008 season. They go by the name of Purple Wave.
  • The Varsity Girls Basketball team is the school’s first to compete in the NYS Section 1 Class AA semi-finals, where they earned the first runner-up prize in their division.
  • In 2005 a NRHS student set a Section 1 track record and was the 60-meter national champion. [19]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ http://www.nysed.gov/admin/661100/010016.html
  2. ^ "08-11 technology plan". New Rochelle High School Official Website. nred.org. Retrieved 2008-08-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "About the School District" (PDF). New Rochelle High School Official Website. nred.org. Retrieved 2008-05-24. the SAT scores of students attending New Rochelle High School placed within the top 10 {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); line feed character in |quote= at position 55 (help)
  4. ^ Newsweek Web Exclusive (2007). "The Top of the Class: The Complete List of the 1,300 Top U.S. High Schools". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  5. ^ "BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM:Schools Recognized 1982-1983 and Through 1999-2002" (PDF). Blue Ribbon Schools Program - Knowledge Applications Division. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  6. ^ "2007 - New Rochelle High School Receives Accreditation". New Rochelle High School Official Website. nred.org. Retrieved 2008-05-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Ralph Blumenthal, FIRE RUINS SCHOOL IN NEW ROCHELLE; Arson Believed the Cause, but No Link to Racial Antagonism Is Seen, New York Times, May 18, 1968, page 1.
  8. ^ New Rochelle Finds Room For Students, "New York Times", May 21, 1968
  9. ^ Storm sparks school fire, floods cars, The Journal News, August 16, 2008.
  10. ^ School publications - handbook
  11. ^ The PAVE Program
  12. ^ The New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence
  13. ^ PAVE-ing the Way for Future Artists, NY Metro Parents, April 4, 2007
  14. ^ MuseumHP
  15. ^ New Rochelle High School Handbook
  16. ^ Questions Unlimited (2008). "Tournament Progress". Questions Unlimited (publisher). Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  17. ^ a b Model Congress to Meet Friday - Free Preview - The New York Times
  18. ^ New Rochelle Science Olympiad 2007
  19. ^ a b District Awards
  20. ^ Varsity Wired! Your broadband connection for cheerleading and dance videos
  21. ^ City School District of New Rochelle - 2006 Football Section Champions
  22. ^ The New York Times > New York Region > Westchester: 2-4-6-8, Best Football in the State! (Who Knew?)
  23. ^ Current Biography Yearbook. New York: H. W. Wilson Company. 1971. p. 24.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Distinguished Alumni". New Rochelle High School Official Website. nrhs.nred.org. Retrieved 2008-05-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ Tell Me a Story: The Don Hewitt Saga
  26. ^ 1988-1989 Annual Report Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  27. ^ Lou Jones, 74, Sprinting Star, Dies - New York Times
  28. ^ Long-time PBS Host Louis Rukeyser Dies - chicagotribune.com
  29. ^ New Rochelle
  30. ^ [1]
  31. ^ Music Makers of New Rochelle Biographies
  32. ^ Classmates: Jeralyn Merritt
  33. ^ Westchester.com - Pro Wrestling Returns To New Rochelle
  34. ^ Cristina Teuscher Is Named Top Woman College Athlete
  35. ^ http://www.scarletknights.com/football/roster/roster-detail.asp?ID=3473
  36. ^ [2]
  37. ^ NFL Players Bring March Madness to New Rochelle High School

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