Montclair High School (New Jersey)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Montclair High School
Location
100 Chestnut Street
Montclair, NJ 07042
40.82305° N 74.21305° W
Information
School district Montclair Public Schools
Principal Melvin B. Katz, Ed.D
Enrollment

1,958 (as of 2005-06)[1]
Faculty 156.5 (on FTE basis)[1]
Student:teacher ratio 12.5[1]
Type Public high school
Grades 9 - 12
Athletics conference Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
Nickname Mounties
Color(s) Blue and White
Information 973-509-4100
Homepage School website

Montclair High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Montclair, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Montclair Public Schools. The school serves residents from all neighborhoods in the Township of Montclair, including those living in the Upper Montclair section of town.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,958 students and 156.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 12.5.[1]

Contents

[edit] Awards and recognition

Montclair High School was the 90th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools.[2]

In Newsweek's May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Montclair High School was listed in 896th place, the 24th-highest ranked school in New Jersey.[3] The school was listed in 214th place, the eighth-highest-ranked school in New Jersey, in Newsweek's May 8, 2006, issue, listing the Top 1,200 High Schools in The United States.[4]

In 2001, Montclair High School came in 2nd place in the National High School Mock Trial Championships held in Omaha, Nebraska[5] and was the New Jersey High School Mock Trial Championships in 2006.[6]

Montclair High School's Fed Challenge Team has ranked first in the New York Region seven times, and won the National Fed Challenge Championship in 2001.[7]

In 2005, the Montclair High School FIRST robotics FRC Team 555 won the Arizona Regional in Phoenix, Arizona. They also won second place in the New York City Regional as well as the web design award and the Johnson & Johnson Sportsmanship award. The team then went on to win the Johnson & Johnson Sportsmanship award at the international championship in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2007, MHS won the Euro Challenge championship. The first place cash prize was $1,500 for each of the five team members. [8]

In 2007, the Montclair High School FIRST robotics FRC Team 555 won the Denver Regional and the Regional Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control Award in Denver, Colorado.

In 2008, the Montclair High School FIRST robotics FRC Team 555 won the New York Regional and went to the quarter finals in the Atlanta nationals.

[edit] Athletics

The Montclair High School Mounties compete in the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, made up of high schools located in Bergen County, Passaic County and Essex County. The Mounties have an abundance of successful sports programs, including baseball, football, lacrosse, soccer, ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, softball, track and field, crew, fencing, golf, cross country, field hockey, gymnastics,Swimming, wrestling, tennis, and bowling. MHS is currently expanding upon, and refurnishing their "field house" which is located at Woodman Field. It was used for restrooms, locker rooms and a meeting spot for many of the Montclair sports teams, in particular, football. Planning on being finished for the 2008/2009 school year, the field house will accommodate a new, state-of-the-art weight lifting gym with glass walls looking over Woodman Field, a screening room for the Montclair Mounties football team, observation rooms also looking over Woodman Field, and much more. This is estimated to cost about $5 million.

Towards the end of every hockey season, the Montclair Mounties host the "Montclair Cup". This is an extremely highly looked upon game by the players and students. Every year, at Clary Anderson Arena (the Mounties home hockey arena), Montclair High School faces off against in town rival, Montclair Kimberley Academy. Most students from both schools attend this event, continuously trash talking the other team and opposing fans. Recently, the rules for the Montclair Cup have gotten more strict because of fights breaking out and wild parties before and after the game.[citation needed]

[edit] Background

The "Freshman Building."
The "Freshman Building."

Founded in the late 1800s, MHS quickly outgrew its original location (torn down in the 1930s) on Orange Road, near the site of Hillside School). The current "Main Building" was then opened, and it is one of the older public high schools in New Jersey. It initially was only the "main building," as it is colloquially referred to, but as time went on and the enrollment grew, the board of education allowed the high school to annex George Inness Junior High School school across the street, which is aptly called "the annex" or the "Freshman Building", where many of the ninth grade classes take place. Montclair High School holds the rather obscure distinction of being the only school in the United States to have an outdoor amphitheater with a brook flowing through it. When the weather cooperates in late June, this is where the graduation ceremonies are held. Otherwise, it is a favorite lunchtime spot for students, even though students have the option of leaving school grounds for lunch.

MHS prides itself on the diversity of the school and students are given a relatively liberal education compared to many other public schools in the United States. Largely due to the significant influx of young, wealth New York City professionals in the early 1980s, Montclair itself has a unique liberal atmosphere and retains progressive values in its public education. Graduates of Montclair High School are often placed in some of the country's most prestigious universities.

[edit] Administration

  • Melvin B. Katz, Ed.D - Principal
  • Edward Lebida - Assistant Principal
  • William Gibney - Assistant Principal
  • John Porcelli - Assistant Principal
  • Peter Renwick - Assistant Principal
  • Shirlene Powell-Sanders - Assistant Principal

[edit] Famous alumni

[edit] Popular culture

Montclair High School has been featured in or used as a filming location for several films and television shows including:

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Montclair High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 21, 2008.
  2. ^ "Top Public High Schools in New Jersey" (Schools 51-100), New Jersey Monthly, September 2006, backed up by Internet Archive as of March 10, 2007. Accessed March 5, 2008.
  3. ^ "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,200 top U.S. schools", Newsweek, May 22, 2007. Accessed May 24, 2007.
  4. ^ Top 1,200 High Schools in The United States, Newsweek May 8, 2006.
  5. ^ 2001 National High School Mock Trial Championships results, accessed July 18, 2006.
  6. ^ 2005-2006 Mock Trial Competition Results NJSBF press release, dated March 28, 2006.
  7. ^ Indian Creek High School Named a Finalist in 'Fed Challenge' National Competition, accessed October 23, 2006.
  8. ^ Euro Challenge, accessed March 13, 2007.
  9. ^ Biographical Data for Buzz Aldrin from NASA, accessed December 25, 2006.
  10. ^ Biography of Dr. Allen Balcom DuMont, accessed December 25, 2006.
  11. ^ Jaeger, Barbara. "N.J. child actresses take their roles to heart: Musical benefits the AIDS fight", The Record (Bergen County), April 28, 1995. Accessed September 17, 2007. "Last year, Leach, a sophomore at Montclair High School, participated in 'Kids Care,' which she said helped raise approximately $25,000 for the AIDS battle."
  12. ^ Montclair High School Hall of Fame, accessed April 19, 2007.
  13. ^ LaPointe, Joe. "IN PERSON; At Home on the Ice", The New York Times, June 11, 1995. Accessed December 25, 2007. "The team's owner, John McMullen, is a local businessman and graduate of Montclair High School, but even he is exploring the possibility of carpetbagging the franchise to Nashville."
  14. ^ Idolatry, But In A Good Way, The New York Times, March 27, 2005.
  15. ^ Youngs, Stuart. "Great Scott!: Fountains of Wayne tap Montclair connection for album track", The Montclair Times, October 26, 2005. Accessed August 10, 2007. "“That’s very cool,” the Montclair High School grad said with a relief that would make one wonder whether he has offended a family member or former girlfriend in the past.
  16. ^ Red and Blue play for Green: Basketball game raises $32,000 for Green family, Montclair Times, January 19, 2005.
  17. ^ James Gang: Joe Walsh, The Aquarian Weekly, August 16, 2006.
  18. ^ profile of Alex Winter from NNDB, access December 19, 2006.

[edit] External links