Vernon Township High School

Infobox School
name = Vernon Township High School

motto =
type = Public high school
accreditation =
principal = Tim Dunnigan
asst principal = Edward Carney
Geraldine Desmet
James Trusa
enrollment = 1,724 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 139.1 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 12.4
address = 1832 Route 565
city = Vernon
state = NJ
country = USA
zipcode = 07462-0800
information = 973-764-2960
established = 1975
conference = Sussex County Interscholastic League
mascot = Vernon Viking
newspaper = "Viking Voice"
grades = 9–12
nickname =
website = [http://www.vtsd.com/vths/ School website]

Vernon Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Vernon Township, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The school opened in 1975 and is part of the Vernon Township School District. The school has gone through expansions over the year including a new wing with several classrooms, the gymnasium was doubled in size. They have recently (April, 2007) started the renovations of the auditorium and outdoor fields as mentioned in the School Referendum.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,724 students and 139.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 12.4. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3416710&ID=341671005422 Vernon Township High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 17, 2007.] The school was the 156th-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 124th 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.]

Awards and recognition

Peggy Stewart was recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education as the New Jersey Teacher of the Year for the 2004-05 school year. Stewart, a history, social studies and enrichment teacher, has been on the faculty of Vernon Township High School since 1991. [ [http://www.state.nj.us/njded/news/2004/1006toy.htm Sussex County Educator Named 2004-05 New Jersey Teacher of the Year] , New Jersey Department of Education press release dated October 6, 2004. Accessed March 4, 2008.]

Extracurricular activities

ports

The Vernon Township High School Vikings participate in the Sussex County Interscholastic League. The school is categorized by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) as North I, Group IV. Since the school has begun participating in league sports throughout the county and state, the Vernon Vikings have received numerous awards and championships. Two of such teams is the boys' and girls' cross country. Coaches Ray Morris and Brian Cummins have been in charge of the teams throughout the entire duration of the teams' existence in the school, winning many sportsmanship awards. In the 2007 season, the boys' team placed third in the S.C.I.L. but later moved on to rank second in Group IV Sectionals at the Garrett Mountain course in West Paterson, New Jersey. In addition to Vernon Cross Country, the Vernon Vikings Boys Varsity Soccer Team and Boys Track and Field have also done well. Both teams are under the supervision of coach John Ryan, who received his 200th track victory in the 2007 season. The school's legacy of success in cross country dates to the 1978 season, when the team was undefeated and won the S.C.I.L. championship.

Music

The school band program includes a Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Marching Band, Jazz Express, Percussion Ensemble, Brass Choir, Clarinet Choir, Saxophone Ensemble and a Flute Choir. [ [http://www.vthsband.org/ Vernon Township High School Band Program] , accessed July 4, 2006.] The choir program consists of a Symphonic Choir, Meistersingers, Concert Choir Mixed, Concert Choir Women, Close Harmony, Les Chanteuses and Chanticleer. [ [http://www.vthschoir.org/Vernon Township High School Choir Program] , accessed July 4, 2006.] Both have a regular program of performances. VTHS also has an orchestral program, which students can take at CP level if so desired.

Academic Decathlon Team

The Vernon Township High School Academic Decathlon team competes every year in the United States Academic Decathlon.

Robotics Team

The [http://vthsrobotics.org Viking Robotics Team] finished 24th out of 53 teams in the FIRST Robotics competitions in New York City. On May 12,2007 the team finished in 2nd place at PARCX an off-season competition held in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania by another team. In 2008, during their second year the Vernon Robotics Team won the FIRST NYC Regionals and will be attending World Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cocurricular Activities

Vernon High School organizes several trips abroad associated with foreign language classes every year. Currently, students can go on trips to Germany, Spain, Italy, and as far as China and Pakistan. On the 2007 excursion to China, students toured Beijing, Xinjiang, and the remote northern regions of Pakistan. The purpose of such trips is to increase the students' awareness and respect of other cultures and their impact on modern society. In addition to trips, Peggy Stewart organizes a Model United Nations program at the school every spring for the freshmen class. Students are organized into various countries and committees, and are given real world problems to resolve using the same methods practiced by the United Nations. The entire program is operated without any help from the faculty, all of the responsibility is held by upperclassmen students who have previously participated.

Financial

In 2006, a multi-million dollar budget was approved to renovate Vernon Township High School as well as Walnut Ridge and Rolling Hills Elementary Schools. The following is a list of all items included in the recently passed budget:

-Two more tennis courts in addition to the already existing four, renovated auditorium with new sound systems and more seating, replacing of the current six-lane track with a state-of-the art eight-lane track along with artificial turf on the football field, more seating, bathroom facilities, and lighting.

Administration

Senior members of the school's administration include: [ [http://www.vtsd.com/vths/faculty.html Vernon Township High School: Faculty / Staff] , accessed August 12, 2006.]
*Tim Dunnigan - Principal
*Edward Carney - Assistant Principal
*Geraldine Desmet - Assistant Principal
*James Trusa - Assistant Principal

References

External links

* [http://www.vtsd.com/vths/index.html Vernon Township High School web site]
* [http://www.vtsd.com Vernon Township School District web site]
*NJReportCard|37|5360|0|Vernon Township School District
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3416710 Data for the Vernon Township School District] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.vthsrobotics.org/ Vernon Township High School Robotics Team]