Newark Memorial High School

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Newark Memorial High School
Location
39375 Cedar Boulevard
Newark, California,
United States Flag of the United States
Information
Principal Bill Morones
Enrollment

approx. 2,100
Faculty approx. 150
Type Public
Established 1983
Information +1 510 818 4300
Colors
Mascot		 Blue and Yellow         
Cougars
Homepage http://www.newarkmemorial.org

Newark Memorial High School (NMHS) is a comprehensive high school in Newark, California. It is located to the southeast of Newark's business district, between I-880 and San Francisco Bay.

Contents

[edit] History

Newark Memorial High School was formed in 1983 as part of a school consolidation program instituted by the Newark Unified School District. Prior to the consolidation program, Newark had two high schools (Newark High School on Lafayette Avenue, and Memorial High School on Cedar Boulevard) and two "Intermediate Schools" for grades 7-8, (M. D. Silva Intermediate School on Thornton Avenue and John I. MacGregor Intermediate School on Cedar Boulevard)

In 1983, both M. D. Silva and John I. MacGregor were closed and the former Newark High School was converted into Newark’s only junior high school, Newark Junior High School. Memorial High School was then renamed Newark Memorial High School and became the sole high school in Newark. The mascots of both Newark High School (Knights) and Memorial High School (Patriots) were abandoned in favor of the Cougars.

[edit] Newark Unified School District

In addition to Newark Memorial High School and Newark Junior High School, Newark Unified School District has eight elementary schools for grades K-6 (Bunker, Graham, Kennedy, Lincoln, Milani, Musick, Schilling and Snow), a continuation high school (Bridgepoint), two alternative schools (Community Day Schools, for grades 7-12, and Crossroads, for K-12), a pre-school (Whiteford), and an adult school.[1]

NUSD is governed by a five-member Board of Education, elected at-large to four-year overlapping terms. The 2006 membership and their occupations and terms follow:[2]

  • Charlie Mensinger, President, engineering manager, 2nd term ends 2010 (unopposed in 2006];[3]
  • Ray J. Rodriguez, Vice President, business owner, 3rd term ends 2008;[4]
  • Jan Crocker, retired teacher, 2nd term ends 2008;[5]
  • Janice Schaefer, teacher, 4th term ends 2008;[6]
  • Nancy Thomas, engineer, 2nd term ends 2010 (unopposed in 2006);[7]

In June 2003, a five-year parcel tax placed on the ballot by the district, which required a two-thirds vote to pass, failed to win a majority, losing 49.3% to 50.7%.[8]

[edit] Campus

The Technology Center was opened in 2002. The 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m²) facility integrates technology, science, mathematics and engineering in its curriculum, with a student testing and reporting (STAR) Lab and the infrastructure for more than 1000 computers. The Technology Center includes a television production center with six edit labs, audio/video production rooms, a television studio with a 25' electronic screen, two project rooms for desktop publishing, four classrooms designated for digital photography, robots, engineering and communications, and specialty math and science labs. High-tech fims with local offices, including Sun Microsystems and AT&T/Comcast were involved in the planning.[9]

The Student Commons was dedicated in 2004,[10] as part of a project that included renovation and expansion of the cafeteria. The design supports both school and community functions.[11]

Sustainable design was incorporated in both the Tech Center and the Student Commons, including the use of durable materials (e.g., porcelain and pre-cast concrete panels), which will reduce the long-term impacts and cost of maintenance, and natural light and ventilation (clerestory windows provide energy savings and a more comfortable environment).[12]

The designs for the Student Commons and the Tech Center earned awards for Deems Lewis McKinley in 2004 from the Coalition for Adequate School Housing / American Institute of Architects California Council (CASH / AIA CC). .[13]

The NMHS theater is used by the local Stage 1 Community Theatre for their five-production season.

The designation of AP Scholar was given to 18 students at Newark Memorial High School by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program(r) (AP) Exams.Of this year's award recipients at Newark Memorial five were juniors: Agustin Borjon, Sheehab Khan, Martin Mwangi, Reeti Sharma, and Cameron Wood. These students have at least one more year in which to complete college-level work and possibly earn another AP Scholar Award.

[edit] Students

As of 2005, there were 2127 students enrolled. Racial and ethnic makeup was 34.5% Hispanic, 30.8% non-Hispanic white, 13.4% Asian, 10.8% Filipino, 8.1% African-American, 1.9% Pacific Islander, and 0.5% Native American. During the year, there were 454 suspensions and 19 expulsions. The average class sizes were 25 students for English and mathematics classes and 29 students for science and social science. Of the students graduating, 27.2% had completed the course requirements for admission to the University of California or the California State University systems. The average scores on the SAT Reasoning Test were 470 for verbal and 493 for math, compared to Statewide averages of 499 and 521, respectively.[14]

[edit] Faculty

As of 2005, there were 97 teachers, of whom 81 had full credentials, 7 were in internships or pre-internships, 8 had emergency credentials, and 2 had waivers. Twenty-four of the faculty had graduate degrees. There were four academic counselors, responsible for an average of 532 students each, and 1.2 librarians.[14]

[edit] Notable faculty

  • Barbara Williams - taught English and drama in the Newark Unified School District from 1965 to 2004; best known for her 2002 production of The Laramie Project, which details the 1998 murder of a gay college student, Matthew Shephard--the production, planned following an earlier attack on a gay student, was staged soon after the murder of local transgendered teen and former pupil of the high school, Gwen Araujo,[15] drawing a protest by Fred Phelps at NMHS; 2003 recipient (along with the student cast and crew of The Laramie Project) of the National Education Association's SuAnne Big Crow Memorial Award;[16] 2004 recipient of the Alameda County Human Rights Commission's first Distinguished Citizen Award; [17]

[edit] Extracurricular activities

Newark Memorial competes 12 or more boys' sports and 10 or more for girls.[18] The school is in the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL), in the Bay Shore Conference, North Coast Section, of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). The six other schools in the MVAL are James Logan High School, in Union City, and the five public high schools in Fremont: American, John F. Kennedy, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Washington.[19].

Since 1983, five Newark Memorial coaches have received NCS Honor Coach Awards: Sheri Boots, 1983, softball; Dennis Frese, 1986, girls' basketball; Jay Guerin, 1987, golf; Vance Wahlberg, 1989, and Paul Weiss, 2001, badminton.[20]

The High School also has very successful Drama and Choir programs. In recent years, the school has staged such productions as Les Misérables, Chicago (musical), Aida (musical), Urinetown, Beauty and the Beast (musical),Assassins (musical) and Jesus Christ Superstar. The successful Choir (Cougar Chords) has come in first place in various competitions across the country over the past 10 years. They also have the all women's show choir, The Memorial Melodies, which is quite new, but successful as well.

In addition to a the choir program, Newark Memorial's band program was recently blessed with a new teacher, Audie Tatum. The Newark Memorial symphonic band has preformed

during the Newark Days parade in Newark, the Double-Ten Parade in San Francisco, and the in the Oracle Arena for a Newark Cougars game.

Newark Memorial also holds one of the biggest Spirit Weeks in Northern California. A week of performances put on by individual classes for each day. In 2007, The Sophomores, having a theme based on Scooby Doo, blatantly lost with 4th place. The Juniors, based on Indiana Jones, came close with 3rd Place. The Freshman, using The Jungle Book (1967 film) as their theme, came out victoriously in the end , and with the best performance out of the entire Week, Seniors, portraying Toy Story, with 1st Place.

Newark Memorial also holds an annual cultural program known as HATS, which stands for Hands Across Time & Space (originally stood for Have A Tolerant Spirit), and is conducted in March. It aims to allow students to display their culture in a creative way and learn about others. HATS is characterized by a series of cultural dances, performed by various clubs such as: Afghan Club, ASL, BSU, FSU, Indo-American, MECHA, Polynesian, PSA and Cougar Fusion. At the beginning of each HATS assembly, students in a "Language Line" recite a specific phrase in their native language. The meaning of the phrase usually urges others to accept all the cultures of the world. Gail Stevens, Head of the Department of Foreign Languages at Newark Memorial, hosts the program.

Newark Memorial also has a Ballet Folklorico that has been in existence for over 10 years.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ NUSD List of Newark Schools, accessed
  2. ^ League of Women Voters, Voter Information, election
  3. ^ LWV, Charlie Mensinger candidate information, 2002
  4. ^ LWV, Ray J. Rodriguez candidate information, 2004
  5. ^ LWV, candidate's biography for Jan Crocker, 2004
  6. ^ LWV, Janice Schaefer candidate information, 2004
  7. ^ LWV, Nancy Thomas candidate information, 2002
  8. ^ LWV, 2003 election information
  9. ^ NMHS, Home of the Cougars, accessed 2006-11-13
  10. ^ Tri-City Voice, 2004-02-03
  11. ^ NMHS Student Commons Cafeteria Renovation & Expansion, Deems Lewis McKinley website, accessed 2006-11-13
  12. ^ NMHS Technology Center, DLM website, accessed 2006-11-13
  13. ^ DLM website, accessed 2006-11-13
  14. ^ a b Newark Unified School District, NMHS School Accountability Report Card 2004-2005,accessed 2006-11-15; note that faculty numbers do nat add correctly in the source document
  15. ^ Araujo attended Newark schools, but was attending an alternative high school at the time of the murder, not Newark Memorial.
  16. ^ NEA Announces Human & Civil Rights Award Winners for 2003, 2003-06-17, accessed 2006-11-13
  17. ^ Fremont-Newark Argus, 2004-09-22
  18. ^ North Coast Section, School and Section Information
  19. ^ North Coast Section, Conferences 2004 - 2008
  20. ^ North Coast Section, Honor Coaches
  21. ^ Linda Stone, Tri-City Voice, Local legend brews the blues, 2006-04-04
  22. ^ Ron Thompson official site
  23. ^ Perfect Pitch Online, 2003-04-22
  24. ^ Time Magazine, 2005-05-22
  25. ^ Oakland Tribune, 2005-05-24

[edit] External links