Ward Melville High School

Infobox School2
name = Ward Melville High School
motto = Excellence in Education


established = 1968
established = 1968
type = Public
locale = Suburban
grades = 10-12
principal = Alan L Baum
location = 380 Old Town Road
city = East Setauket
state = NY
zipcode = 11733
country = USA
enrollment = 1,865 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 129.0 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 14.5
athletics = 22 Varsity and Junior Varsity Teams for boys and 21 Varsity and Junior Varsity Teams for girls
school_colors = Green and Gold
mascot = Patriot
information = 631-730-4900
website = [http://www.3villagecsd.k12.ny.us/wmhs/index.php WMHS]

Ward Melville High School is a public high school in the Three Village Central School District of Suffolk County, New York on Long Island, serving grades ten through twelve.cite web|url=http://www.3villagecsd.k12.ny.us/wmhs/about.php|title=Ward Melville High School Profile|accessdate=2007-04-05] It is fed by the two junior high schools in the District: Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School and Robert Cushman Murphy Junior High School, and is named after businessman and philanthropist Ward Melville.

Located sixty miles from Manhattan in the Three Village area, Ward Melville High School is situated in East Setauket, NY. The school serves students from East Setauket, South Setauket, Stony Brook, Old Field, Strongs Neck, and Poquott.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,865 students and 129.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 14.5. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3628200&ID=362820003809 Ward Melville High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed May 2, 2008.]

The building was originally designed to have 290,700 square feet with capacity for 2,000 students, [cite web|url=http://www.wiedersum.com/educational/wmhs.html|title=Ward Melville High School Project Page|publisher=Wiedersum Associates, P.P.L.C.|accessdate=2007-04-05] and two new wings were recently built in 2000 to accommodate for the growth of the student body over the years.fact|date=April 2007 Each of the three grades currently has approximately 700 students.

The district provides for numerous clubs and activities after school, including a musical/theater arts program and many sports teams. The school offers 25 different Advanced Placement courses and another 25 college courses that are offered credit through several colleges and Universities.fact|date=April 2007

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Ward Melville High School include:

* Brian MacDevitt (Class of 1973) - Tony Award-winning lighting designer
* Chris Dieterich (Class of 1976) - NFL lineman for the Detroit Lions, 1980-86
* Michael R. Douglas (Class of 1979) - world wide leading string theorist
* Gary Valentine (Class of 1979) - comedian (The King of Queens)
* Eric Corley (Class of 1982) - Writer - Founder of 2600: the hacker quarterly, Director of freedom downtime.
* Howard S. Berger (Class of 1982) - avant garde film-maker
* Mick Foley (Class of 1983) - professional wrestler and author
* Kevin James (Class of 1983) - comedian/actor ("The King of Queens"). [Konig, Susan. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DEFD8113AF937A25752C1A96F958260 "L.I.'s Biggest Export? Try Standup Comedy"] , "The New York Times", November 14, 1999. Accessed October 27, 2007. "Mr. James was born in Mineola, but his family soon moved to Stony Brook, where he graduated from Ward Melville High School."]
* Marco Beltrami (Class of 1984) - professional film composer (Scream)
* John Fugelsang (Class of 1987) - host of America's Funniest Home Videos, 1997-2000
* Todd Sauerbrun (Class of 1991) - professional football player, most recently with the Denver Broncos (punter). [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E5DD1F39F93AA1575BC0A962958260 "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Booming Success For Losers"] , "The New York Times", August 29, 1994. Accessed October 24, 2007. "It was a great day for the 6-foot, 200-pound kicker from Setauket, L.I., who averaged 60.1 yards in his nine attempts.... Sauerbrun, a senior, was a soccer player until the ninth grade, when he tried kicking at Ward Melville High School."]
* Greg Cattrano (Class of 1993) - MLL goalie for the Baltimore Bayhawks
* Jarrod Gorbel (Class of 1993) - indie singer-songwriter
* Brooke Ellison (Class of 1996) - the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard University
* R.A. The Rugged Man - hip-hop artist

References

External links

* [http://www.3villagecsd.k12.ny.us/wmhs/index.php Ward Melville High School website]