Montgomery High School (New Jersey)

Montgomery High School MHS
Location
1016 Route 601 Skillman, NJ 08558
Coordinates	40°25′03″N 74°42′08″W / 40.417368°N 74.702353°W / 40.417368; -74.702353Coordinates: 40°25′03″N 74°42′08″W / 40.417368°N 74.702353°W / 40.417368; -74.702353
Information
Type	Comprehensive public high school
Established	1967
School district	Montgomery Township School District
Principal	Paul Popadiuk
Vice principal	Damian Pappa Noreen Lazariuk Cory Delgado
Faculty	109 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,716 (as of 2009-10)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	15.74[1]
Campus	Rural
Color(s)	White, Green, and Gold
Athletics conference	Skyland Conference
Team name	Cougars
Newspaper	'The Pawprint'
Yearbook	'The Lens (2009 vol. 41)
Website	School website

Montgomery High School is a four-year, comprehensive, public high school located in the Skillman area of Montgomery Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Montgomery Township School District.

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,716 students and 109 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.74.^[1]

Student body

For the 2008-09 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,697 students. Of these, 70% were white, 24% Asian, 2% Hispanic, 3% black, and a negligible number Native American or Alaska Native. Only 1% of students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches.^[1] This and the district's J level District Factor Group indicate that the school serves students of relatively high socioeconomic status.^[2]

Awards and recognition

For the 1992-93 school year, Montgomery High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,^[3] the highest award an American school can receive.^[4][5]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 13th in New Jersey and 636th nationwide.^[6] The school was ranked 643rd nationwide, the 18th-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools.^[7] In Newsweek's May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Montgomery High School was listed in 656th place, the 13th-highest ranked school in New Jersey .^[8]

The school was the 10th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 16th in 2008 out of 316 schools.^[9] The school was ranked 4th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.^[10]

Academic curriculum

New Jersey State law requires that every student pass the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and successfully complete the following courses:

Subject	Years	Credits
English	4	20
Health and Physical Education	4	16-20
U.S. History	2	10
World Studies	1	5
Math	3	15
Science	3	15-18
Career Exploration/Consumer Family and Life Skills	1	5
Performing or Visual Arts	1	5

In addition, students are required to take swimming in gym for both their Freshman and Sophomore years. Freshmen take swimming for half of a marking period (2 days a week) while Sophomores take it for half of a marking period (1 day a week).

Students are required to schedule a minimum of 35 credits for grades 9, 10, 11 and 30 credits for grade 12.In order to graduate from MHS students must successfully complete 135 credits for graduation.

Student activities

Clubs and publications

In science, Montgomery High School has a Science Olympiad, science league, science bowl, and FIRST Robotics. The band program also offers several extracurricular activities, including: a marching band which plays at every varsity football game and at various area competitions, where they have received superior ratings and special awards such as "Best Over All Effect", "Best Color Guard", and "Best Music"; a jazz band; and a lower-level jazz group called the "Stage Band." All musical ensembles are non-competitive, and only attend competitions in exhibition.

The Yearbook is called the "Lens" and, since 2007, is printed in full color. The Lens staff works hard all year round to create the best product possible using iMacs and Adobe InDesign.

Each year a video is produced for the senior class, known as senior video. The video is a look back at the time spent in Montgomery by the outgoing seniors and consists of a wide variety of video footage, from the annual senior class trip to Disney World all the way back to Kindergarten. It has historically been handled by the TV department, however since 2008 it has been done as a joint venture between the TV department and the Class Historian for the graduating class. The video is shown once, at the senior dinner dance. The 2008 incarnation clocked in at 1:21:05, the longest to date.

There are other extracurriculars at the school. The Future Business Leaders of America Club competed for the first time at competitions and 9 out of 11 people placed in regionals and went to states and three people went to and placed at the national competition.

Furthermore, the Pawprint, MHS' high school newspaper, is becoming more active.

Science Olympiad

Science Olympiad in Montgomery is run by the teachers in the Science department. For many of the previous years the team was led by Mr. Pendleton with the other coaches including Mr. Sullivan, Mrs. Henn and Mr. Grieco. However, after they lost the hoped "Decade of Dominance" at the 2006 State Championship, the team was forced to rethink and restrategize their plan of action for the next Science Olympiad Year. In June 2006, the coaches held a prospective team meeting and announced the team would be under new leadership. Mrs. Henn would be the new head coach and Mr. Grieco and Mr. Pendleton following. New coaches were added to the team all of them being Montgomery High School science teachers. These teachers included Mrs. Chedid, Mr. Spinelli, Mr. Buzca, and Mr. English. In addition, the first Montgomery High School Science Olympiad Competition was announced which would be a simulated school competition used to choose the next year's team. In September 2006, another prospective team meeting was called and the official tryout dates were set. November 2, 2006 would be the date to try out for the testing events including Chem Lab, Experimental Design, and Oceanography/Our Changing World. November 7, 2006 would be the date for testing events which included Sounds of Music, Boomeliever and Scrambler. The testing events were taken by all prospective members in three separate rooms; one for each event. The testing was completed in about one hour. The building events took place at different times on the set date. As an "long weekend" followed the November 7th building test date, several students were able to test on set days during the following five-day weekend. The team coaches had a meeting on November 13, 2006 to decide on the new 15 member-team and their respective events (23 among the team members). The new team-roster for regional competition was released Friday, November 24, 2006.

FIRST Robotics

Montgomery High School competes in FIRST Robotics, a competition sponsored by FIRST. Team 1403, Cougar Robotics Team 1403 | Montgomery Cougars FIRST Robotics Team | Montgomery, NJ was founded in 2003 by a student from Team 75, the RoboRaiders, and as of 2006 has grown to over 95 students. The team has been successful in competition and recently held an off-season event at the school called Monty Madness. Over 36 FIRST Robotics and Vex teams showed up for the event at Montgomery High School, Gregory Olsen, a Montgomery Resident and Space Tourist was a keynote speaker. The team has also won the regional Engineering Award twice in 2007 and 2008, the second highest award bestowed upon teams and the Regional Chairman's Award in 2009 allowing the team to compete at the international championships on all three counts. It is also proud to have a mentor that has won the regional Woodie Flowers Award, the highest award a mentor can win. The team is active in its community demonstrating its robots to the community and holding off-season events to inform the community of science and technology. The team strives to inspire others to recognize the importance of science and technology.

Sports

Sports offered at Montgomery High School include wrestling, soccer, cross country running, baseball, football, hockey, field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, softball, swimming, Fencing and track. Montgomery is a member of the Skyland Conference, which comprises eighteen public and parochial high schools covering Hunterdon County, Somerset County and Warren County in west central New Jersey, and operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). A wrestling team has recently been added to Montgomery.

The girls' softball team won the 2004 NJSIAA Group III State Championship.^[11]

The boys lacrosse team won the 2007 Group III State Championship with a 10-8 win over Randolph High School.^[12]

The Boys and Girls Track Teams won the 2005 North II Group III State Championships.

The boys baseball team won the 2005 North II Group III State Championship with a 3-1 win over Millburn High School.^[13]

Montgomery High School made it to the 2006 and 2011 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Public School Ice Hockey State Champions, falling to Randolph High School both times in the finals of the 64-team tournament.^[14]

The 2007 girls tennis team won the Central Jersey, Group IV state sectional championship with a 3-2 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South in the tournament final.^[15]

The 2009-10 boys basketball team won the Central Jersey Group IV sectional title with a 57-30 win over North Brunswick High School.^[16]

The 2010 boys tennis team won the Central Jersey Group IV sectional title with a 3-2 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South.^[17]

The school's wrestling program started in 2005.

Testing

Montgomery produces average SAT and HSPA scores generally better than other schools of the same caliber. It was recognized in 2006 as excellent in Advanced Placement Art History; all 203 students who took the AP exam that year scored 3 (out of 5) or above.^[18]

SAT Scores

In 2005-06, Montgomery averaged a 1760 combined SAT score, 15th-highest statewide, and ranked 7th among all non-magnet, general admission public high schools.^[19] In 2006-07, Montgomery averaged a 1755 SAT score, 14th-highest in the state and the 7th-highest for any non-magnet, general admission public high school.^[20]

2007 HSPA Scores

% at or above proficient

Science - 95% (State average is 73%)
Language Arts - 97% (State average is 85%)
Math - 94% (State average is 73%) About the Tests

New Jersey used the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) to test students in grade 11 in language arts literacy, math and science. The HSPA is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of New Jersey. Students are required to pass the HSPA in order to graduate. The goal is for all students to score at or above the proficient level.

Community service

Montgomery prides itself on having many clubs that are enthusiastically involved in community service. The Environmental Club makes annual beach sweeps whereas the Interact Club serves to one of the most active at the school. Interact is a community service organization, sponsored by Rotary International, that coordinates and participates in various activities throughout the school year including Man of the Year (which is a male beauty pageant), Foothill Acres, Rockbrook School, and Smear-a-Senior. Additionally, Trend serves to be another important community service club.

Alma mater

The Alma Mater of Montgomery High School was revised in 1985 by Hunter and D'Amico. The words are:

With pride and joy we sing you praises

Dear Montgomery High.

With all the memories

In our hearts you will never die.

In you our spirit lies.

We sing your praises, Montgomery!

Hail to Montgomery!

Living on and on,

in our hearts you will never die!

Wherever we may wander

Memories we'll hold.

We never will forget the colors

White, Green and Gold!

It is sung exactly one time every year, at graduation. This is the first time many students become aware of this Alma Mater, which leaves the students feeling disconnected to it. During the rehearsal and ceremony for The Class of 2008 many students suggested the song should be replaced with Blink-182's "All the Small Things", as a large number of students felt a stronger connection to that song as a symbol of their childhood and time spent in Montgomery. This led to an impromptu singing of said song at rehearsal by many of the students. Despite this, the Alma Mater remained intact in the ceremony. The song was not sung at all during graduation for the Class of 2007, when, at the beginning of the proceedings, gusty winds and a torrential downpour forced an accelerated version of the ceremony indoors.

The composer, Hunter, also wrote the school's fight song, Go Cougars.

Administration

• Paul Popadiuk - Principal
• Cory Delgado- Vice Principal
• Noreen Lazariuk- Vice Principal
• Damian Pappa- Vice Principal
• Tina Renga - Supervisor of Guidance

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Montgomery High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
2. ^ "District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts". New Jersey Department of Education. 2004-08-16. http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/sf/dfg.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-20. 
3. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Retrieved May 11, 2006.
4. ^ "CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department]", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 90 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
5. ^ "Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test" The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
6. ^ Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Montgomery High School", The Washington Post. Accessed July 24, 2011.
7. ^ Staff. "America's Best High Schools: The List", Newsweek, June 13, 2010. Accessed March 27, 2011.
8. ^ "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,200 top U.S. schools", Newsweek, May 22, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2007.^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 26, 2011.
10. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
11. ^ 2004 Softball - Public Semis/Finals, NJSIAA. Retrieved April 25, 2007.
12. ^ 2007 Boys Lacrosse - Group III, NJSIAA. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
13. ^ 2005 Baseball - North II, Group III, NJSIAA. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
14. ^ 2006 Ice hockey - Public, NJSIAA. Retrieved August 12, 2006.
15. ^ 2007 Girls Team Tennis - Central, Group IV, NJSIAA. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
16. ^ New, Mike. "Montgomery's run comes to an end", Home News Tribune, March 11, 2010. Accessed July 24, 2011. "Loupos finished with 20 points and nine rebounds and junior guard Ryan McCoy added 13 points and nine rebounds to lead fourth-seeded Montgomery to a 57-30 victory over 11th-seeded North Brunswick and the Cougars first sectional title."
17. ^ LoPrinzi, Ann. "West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys' tennis players up to the 'challenge'", The Times (Trenton), April 1, 2011. Accessed July 24, 2011. "What they really would like is a state title. Last year, the Pirates suffered some late-season injury setbacks and were eliminated, 3-2, by Montgomery in the sectional final."
18. ^ Snyder, Susan (2005-01-26). "Pennsylvania lags U.S. average in AP scores". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 
19. ^ 2005-06 School Test Score Rankings, The Star-Ledger. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
20. ^ 2006-07 School Test Score Rankings, The Star-Ledger. Retrieved February 21, 2008.

External links

• Montgomery High School
• Montgomery Township School District
• Montgomery High School's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Montgomery Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics