Edison High School (New Jersey)

Infobox School
name =Edison High School
native_name =
logo =
motto = "Nothing Less Than Excellence"
established = 1955
address = 50 Boulevard of the Eagles
city = Edison
state = NJ
zipcode = 08817
country = USA
campus =
type = Public High School
principal = Salvatore Mistretta
asst principal = Jannette Ball
Daniel Kelly
Earl Rutan
enrollment = 2,027 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 147.4 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 13.8
grades = 9-12
district = Edison Township Public Schools
mascot = Edgar the Eagle
colors = Scarlet and Gold
conference = Greater Middlesex Conference
newspaper = "Edison Eagle"
website = [http://www.edison.k12.nj.us/EHS/EHS%20Page.html School website]
footnotes =
picture =

Edison High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Edison, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. The school serves students of many diverse cultures, and is part of the Edison Township Public Schools. The other high school in the district is J. P. Stevens High School.

Most of the Edison High School students come from either Herbert Hoover Middle School or Thomas Jefferson Middle School, though some come from Woodrow Wilson Middle School.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,027 students and 147.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 13.8. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3404500&ID=340450003324 Edison High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 17, 2007.]

The school was the 177th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in "New Jersey Monthly" magazine's September 2008 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools". The school was ranked 155th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. [ [http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"] , "New Jersey Monthly", September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.]

Curriculum

Edison High School students are required to take four years of English, four years of math, three years of science, three years of history (one of world and two of U.S.) and at least two years of a foreign language (including Latin, French, and Spanish). In addition, health and physical education classes are required for every year in which a student attends EHS. Starting with the Class of 2008, one year of "Career Education and Consumer, Family and Life Skills" such as Foods or Technology Fundamentals is required as well as another year of the "Visual Performing Arts" such as Chorus, Band, Visual Arts, Clothing for Fashion, and Architectural Drawing. EHS has an Honors college preparatory track that features several Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses.

Extracurricular activities

Mr. EHS

Every year, the Student Council hosts Mr. EHS, a beauty pageant, talent show and fund raiser that also searches for the very special and outstanding male who attends Edison High. A month prior to the performance, contestants are required to individually raise money for the affiliated charity such as the Simpson-Baber Foundation of Autism (2006) and Buddy Ball(2005). Whichever contestant raises the most money is immediately awarded "Most Charitable." In addition, each year Mr. EHS finalizes with announcements of the winner, Mr. Congeniality, and the amount of money the show raised (approx. $3-5000 per show).

Choir

Edison High School is often recognized for its fine music department. The A Cappella Choir and Chamber Singers, for example, have been awarded first place superior ratings in national competitions for the past 8 years, under its director, Mr. Kenneth Brown.Fact|date=September 2007

EHS offers nine different choirs:

#Concert Choir is the entry-level choir. This choir is open to anyone, regardless of experience or talent level and no audition is required. Concert Choir performs at the annual winter and spring concerts, as well as various community performances throughout the school year.
#A Cappella Choir is an audition only mixed choir. The size of this choir usually ranges from about forty to eighty members. In addition to performing at many different events during the school year, the "A Cappella Choir" competes nationally each spring.
#Jazz Choir is a smaller mixed choir whose members are taken from the best of the "A Cappella Choir". Their repertoire comprises jazz music and they too compete each year in the spring. This choir meets one day per week after school.
#Treble Choir is an advanced all female audition only ensemble. This choir meets one day per week after school and competes nationally each spring.
#Men's Ensemble is an advanced all-male, audition-only choir. The group meets after school one day a week.
#Minor Variation is an audition-only choir featuring a cappella arrangements of contemporary music. The group is notable because it was founded by the choir's student director, Justin Pollinger. This is one of the newest groups at Edison High.
#Chambers Singers is the most advanced ensemble in the choral department. Members are accepted by audition only and the size of the group ranges from sixteen to twenty-two students. The group performs at many events throughout the school year and competes nationally each spring. The repertoire of this group includes a wide assortment of musical styles.
#The Barbershop Quartet is an all male group composed of four of the best male singers in the choral program. They compete nationally each year. This group meets one day per week after school.
#The Beautyshop Quartet is an all female group made up of four of the best female singers in the choral program. They compete nationally each year. This group meets one day per week after school.

Band

The band programs in Edison High School are outstanding and also ranked highly in their divisions, with the band placing first in many competitions.

Several bands exist at Edison High School:

*The Freshman Band is for incoming freshmen. Band students must play in the freshman band before auditioning for the Wind Ensemble.
*The Symphonic band is directed by Mr. Borselli. This is the band that all upperclassmen are placed in unless they audition for the wind ensemble.
*The Wind Ensemble, which is entered by audition only, is directed by Marc DeNicuolo. This ensemble recently took 3rd place with a rating of Gold at the South Brunswick Regional Competition.
*A Jazz band and jazz ensemble are entered by audition only. The jazz ensemble is the more advanced band, and participates in various jazz competitions.
*The marching band plays during football season and competes annually. For the 2006 season, with their show entitled "Breaking Boundaries: The Saga of the Berlin Wall", the group III marching band took first place in all attended competitions, including the USSBA Central Jersey Regionals, NJ State Championships, and All-State Championships.

Drama

In March 2005, the drama department performed its production of "Crazy for You", a Gershwin musical based on the original "Girl Crazy". "Crazy for You" was directed by Mr. Harris with Mr. McCaffrey as the technical director.

In the Spring of 2006, the school presented a production of "Barnum", a show that featured a sideshow before the actual musical began. The play was directed by Mr. Harris, with production by Mr. McCaffrey. Tom Lombardi was the lighting designer for "Barnum".

In March 2007, EHS Drama put on a production of Cabaret starring several new additions to the EHS Drama team. The show incorporated songs of both the original and the revival versions. The cast and crew did not receive any Rising Star Award nominations from the Paper Mill Playhouse despite the fantastic two-week run the show had. However, the Kit Kat Girls received honorable mention for their role. The show was directed by Mr. Harris and co-directed by Mrs. Troy, with production by Mr. McCaffrey aided by Mr. Scarpa.

In March 2008, EHS Drama presented a production of "Beauty and the Beast", a musical based on the original version of the Broadway play. This production was directed by Mr.Scarps, Mrs. Troy and Mr. Harris. Earlier productions include "Damn Yankees" in 2004, "Crazy for You" in 2005, "Barnum" in 2006 and "Cabaret" in 2007.

Film festival

The school will host the Edison High School Student Film Festival, which will be held in 2007 and is currently looking for submissions.

Work on the festival began during the summer of 2005. Since then, the festival has evolved from a small six-film movie night to a three-night festival encompassing High Schools across New Jersey. The deadline for films to be submitted is March 2007. [ [http://www.myspace.com/EHSSFF Edison High School Student Film Festival] , accessed September 5, 2006.]

Athletics

The Edison High School Eagles compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, made up of public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area. The league operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Football

Although previously state champions in 1991, the Edison High Eagles have only won four games in the past five years. One victorious game was against Spotswood High School on November 11, 2005, in a game that went into double overtime with a final score of 26-20. The other victory was on November 3, 2006, against Perth Amboy High School, with a final score of 28 to 21. The last victory was against Columbia High School in South Orange, a score of 44-7. The Eagles finished their last game of the season on November 24, 2006 defeating rival J.P. Stevens 29-28. The team turned around in the 2007 season finishing 6-4, beating J.P. Stevens, and coming just short of eligibility for a state tournament playoff berth.

Baseball

The Eagles won the GMC Red Division championship and won the 2007 Baseball - North II, Group IV state sectional championship with a 10-4 win versus Westfield High School. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=220867&tclass=North%20II%2C%20Group%20IV 2007 Baseball - North II, Group IV] , NJSIAA. Accessed June 20, 2007.] . The JV team won their GMC Tournament. The Freshman Boys finished 3rd in their respective GMC tournament, before falling to Bishop George Ahr High School.

Hockey

Edison High formed its first ice hockey team for the 2006-2007 season.

Basketball

Both boys and girls squads improved their records in the 2006-07 season, led by Coach Mohr (Boys) and Coach Lyman (Girls).

Cross Country

The Edison High Girls Cross Country team has had two successful years in a row while the boy's team is slowly picking up momentum.

Both the boys' and girls' team are coached by Mark DiGiovacchino and Patrick McCaffery.

Track and Field

Edison High offers track and field in the Winter and Spring. They are Division 3, Group IV.

In the spring, the girl's head coach is Mark DiGiovacchino while Coach V. Harris,Patrick McCaffery, and Coach Sandaal share responsibilities for the boy's team.

In the winter, Coaches Molnar, Evans, and DiGiovacchino coach a co-ed team.

Tennis

Edison High offers girls' tennis in the fall and boys' tennis in the spring. Head Tennis coach is Coach Wes Smith.

Bowling

Edison High School currently has a very successful Bowling team coached in the Winter by Mrs. Smith.

Notable alumni

* Gayleatha B. Brown, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. [ [http://cotonou.usembassy.gov/bio.html Ambassador Gayleatha B. Brown Biography] , United States Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. Accessed September 29, 2007. "She was educated in the Red Jacket Elementary School, Matewan Elementary and High Schools in Mingo County, West Virginia; and Edison Township High School, Edison, New Jersey."]
* Gihon Jordan, (1950–2008), Class of 1969, a retired traffic engineer for the City of Philadelphia, and a nationally recognized authority on traffic calming, urban bicycling and pedestrian safety. [http://www.apbp.org/pdfsanddocs/Board%20Page/Gihon%20Jordan%20obituary.pdf]
* Patrick McDonnell (born 1956), creator of the daily comic strip Mutts.Fact|date=August 2008
* Susan Sarandon (born 1946), class of 1964, Academy Award-winning actress. [ [http://www.njstatefilmfestival.com/releases/sarandon_festival.htm SUSAN SARANDON HEADLINES CAPE MAY NJ STATE FILM FESTIVAL] , accessed May 3, 2007. "Sarandon, a graduate of New Jersey’s Edison High School, headlines the 2nd annual film festival in Cape May."]

HuaXia Edison Chinese School

During Sundays from 1:00 PM-5:20 PM, Edison High School is host to the HuaXia Edison Branch Chinese School where students of mostly Chinese ancestries learn how to read, speak and write Simplified Chinese, along with other activities.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are: [ [http://www.edison.k12.nj.us/EHS/ehs_faculty.htm 2007-2008 Staff by department] , Edison High School. Accessed August 24, 2008.]
*Salvatore Mistretta, Principal [Caiazza, Tom. [http://ems.gmnews.com/news/2007/0829/Front_Page/002.html "Stevens alumnus named Edison H.S. principal: Sal Mistretta will use his coaching background to 'build a team' at EHS"] , "Edison Sentinel", August 29, 2007. Accessed September 29, 2007.]
*Jannette Ball, Assistant Principal
*Daniel Kelly, Assistant Principal
*Earl Rutan, Assistant Principal

References

External links

* [http://www.edison.k12.nj.us/EHS/EHS%20Page.html Official Edison High School Website]
* [http://www.edison.k12.nj.us/ Edison Township Public Schools]
*NJReportCard|23|1290|050|Edison High School
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3404500 Data for the Edison Township Public Schools] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.hxedison.org/ Official HuaXia Edison Chinese School Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ehschoir The EHS Choir MySpace Profile (student-run)]