West Morris Mendham High School

West Morris Mendham High School
Location
West Morris Mendham High School
West Morris Mendham High School
West Morris Mendham High School
65 East Main Street
Mendham, NJ 07945
Information
Type Public high school
School district West Morris Regional High School District
Principal Michael Matyas
Asst. principals William Carpluk
Janet Slover
Faculty 102.5 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,421[1] (as of 2013-14)
Student to teacher ratio 13.9:1[1]
Color(s)      Red
     White and
     Blue[2]
Athletics conference Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference
Team name Minutemen[2]
Rivals West Morris Central High School
Delbarton School
Chatham High School
Website School website

West Morris Mendham High School (also known as Mendham High School) is home of the minutemen, and is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school that serves students in ninth though twelfth grades as part of the West Morris Regional High School District. The school is located in the heart of Mendham Borough, New Jersey, United States. Students hail from the surrounding Morris County school districts of Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough and Mendham Township (including the areas of Brookside and Ralston).[3]

As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,421 students and 102.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.9:1. There were 12 students (0.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and none eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Its sister school, West Morris Central High School, is located in Washington Township. Students from Washington Township attend West Morris Central. The two schools maintain an athletic rivalry, which has survived decades of conference and schedule changes for all sports. Mount Olive High School broke from the original three-school District in 1977.[4]

Mendham was certified to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma in January 1998.[5] The school is one of only 16 schools in New Jersey to offer the IB program.[6] IB is an extensive curriculum in which juniors and seniors learn to think about their environment critically and globally. As well, they offer several AP and college prep courses.

Awards, recognition and rankings

West Morris Mendham

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 284th in the nation among participating public high schools and 22nd among schools in New Jersey.[7] In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 5th in New Jersey and 246th nationwide.[8] The school was ranked 562nd, the 13th-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools, with 2.224 AP/IB tests taken per graduating senior.[9] The school was ranked 474th in Newsweek's 2009 ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States and was the 11th-ranked school in New Jersey; The school was ranked 751st nationwide in 2008.[10] In Newsweek's 2007 ranking of the country's top 1,200 high schools, Mendham High School was listed in 390th place, the fourteenth-highest ranked school in New Jersey while Central was ranked 117th in the nation and 3rd in the state.[11] The school was listed in 148th place, the fifth highest ranked school in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's May 8, 2006, issue, listing the Top 1,200 High Schools in The United States.[12]

The school was the 4th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[13] The school had been ranked 45th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 26th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[14] The magazine ranked the school 38th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[15] The school was ranked 29th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[16]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 35th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 5 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (93.4%) and language arts literacy (98.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[17] Newsweek named the school #180 overall among the nearly 30,000 public high schools in the U.S. in their rankings of "America's Top High Schools 2015" released in August 2015; The school was ranked 38th in New Jersey and 22nd among comprehensive schools in the state.[18]

Athletics

West Morris Mendham High School[2] offers over 30 athletic teams ranging in level from freshman to varsity, competing in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[19] With 1,061 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as North II, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 758 to 1,061 students in that grade range.[20] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had competed as part of the Iron Hills Conference, which was made up of public and private high schools in Essex County, Morris County and Union County.[21]

Since the school's opening in the fall of 1970, Mendham varsity teams have brought home more than 100 conference, county, region, and state championships.

Varsity cross country and track

The West Morris Mendham boys cross country team placed 1st in the final running of the Iron Hills Conference Championships (Hills Division) in the fall of 2008 with an average of 16:24.51, which is the second best team time ever run at the course. Along with cross country, both winter and spring track have set multiple records, including the 4X100 girls relay team, as well as several individual records. Runners with Mendham's training has gone on to D1 schools, such as University of Pennsylvania, Wake Forest, Holy Cross, and Boston College.

Boys soccer

The boys' soccer team remains one of the most competitive public-school teams in the area. The team won the North II Group III state sectional title in 1988, before losing to Steinert High School in the Group III state championship game.[22] In 2005, under coach Tim Rymer, the team won the Conference title and lost the County final in overtime against Morris Catholic High School, ranked 6th in the nation at the time. Following the loss the Minutemen unexpectedly lost in the second round of the State tournament. Despite these two losses the team was still voted as "team of the year" by various local newspapers including the Daily Record and The Star-Ledger (Morris County edition). The following year, the Minutemen clinched the Conference title for the second straight year and clinched the Morris County Cup after defeating Delbarton 4-1, becoming the first public school to win the County tournament in eight years. Despite a loss in the sectional semifinals, they were named 'team of the year' for many North Jersey papers, as they finished the season in the New Jersey top 10. In the 2007 fall season, the Minutemen finished 5th in the Conference and lost in the 1st round of the County tournament. However, unlike past years the team was able to reach the state sectional finals, where they lost in overtime against Parsippany Hills High School. In the 2008 season, the boys Minutemen finished 2nd in the Conference, and suffered a 1-0 loss in the Morris County final finishing the season in the state's top 20.

Varsity football

The football team under head coach Richard Attonito (1971–1988) won three Colonial Hills Conference titles ('75, '82, '83) and matriculated future NFL linebackers Jim Collins and Carl Zander. Collins helped lead Mendham to an undefeated season in 1975, which includes a still-standing team record eight shutouts and was capped off when the team won the NJSIAA North Jersey II Group I state sectional championship.[23] Under Head Coach William "Bill" Carpluk (1989–2005), the team posted a 116-49 (.703) overall record, including a club record 17 game winning streak (1992–1993). Carpluk's teams garnered six Iron Hills Conference Hills Division (IHC-Hills) championships ('93-'95, '00, '01, '04) and numerous Group II and III state championship playoffs and six finals appearances. Carpluk era teams posted only two losing seasons during his 16 season tenure. Under head coach Doug Kirk (2006-2012), the Minutemen posted a 31-39 (.443) record; the latter portion of his tenure was marked by a difficult move to the newly formed NJAC. Kirk was a former assistant under both Attonito and Carpluk. The 2008 team finished 8-2, losing their NJSIAA playoff bid in the first round to eventual State Champion Phillipsburg High School. The 2012 team finished 3–7. In 2013, Carpluk returned, and the Minutemen went 7-5-1 on the season returning to the state finals for the first time since 2004.

Golf

The varsity men's golf team had their best season on record in spring 2009, winning both the IHC conference championship and the Morris County Championship. The team was also ranked #1 in the state for a short period.

Boys lacrosse

The varsity boys' lacrosse team was crowned sole state champions in 1994, winning the New Jersey Tournament of Champions.[24] The team won the Group II state championship in 2010, but finished the season 9-11, after a loss in the Tournament of Champions.

Girls lacrosse

The girls' lacrosse team was ranked number 2 in the state in 2005 and number 3 in 2006. The girls lacrosse team remains one of the most competitive teams in the country as in most years they finish top four in the state tournament, county cup, and finish in the top 2 of the conference. The girls lacrosse team won the 2007 Group II state championship with a 17-4 win vs. Hopewell Valley Central High School. In 2010 the girls played their way into the state championship after beating Shawnee 12-6 to become the New Jersey Group 3 NJSIAA/New Balance state champions.[25] Almost every senior on the team signs for a division I-III college. Some colleges include: Stanford University, Duke University, Elon University, and Villanova University.

Girls volleyball

The girls' volleyball team was runner-up in the state in 2007. In 2013, the team went on to winning the Morris County Tournament, and in 2014, the team was the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Champions. [26] Some players have evolved into college players in schools like Franklin and Marshall and Gettysburg College.

Boys basketball

Under legendary coach Jim Baglin, the boys won four consecutive County Tournaments (2008-2011), defeating Roxbury High School by a score of 34-27 in the 2011 final to make it four in a row and to give the program its ninth title in the 42-year history of the tournament, more than any other school.[27] In 2010, the boys won the Group III state championship with a 44-41 victory over Kingsway Regional High School, but fell short to University High School in the quarterfinal round of the Tournament of Champions.[28][29] Mendham boy's basketball is considered a trademark and tradition of the town.

Baseball

Under coach Brad Wetzel, the 2011 baseball team lost only four seniors from the previous season, when the baseball team went 5-17.

Girls basketball

In 1998, the girls' basketball team finished #1 in New Jersey with a perfect 32-0 record, winning the Tournament of Champions over previously undefeated Columbia High School by a score of 67-62, making Mendham the first public school to take the title since 1990.[30]As well, in the 2014-2015 season, Coach Mark Gnapp brought the girls team to the Morris County Finals, but fell short to Morris Catholic High School. Note this was Mendham's first appearance in the Morris County Finals since 2001, which was a great achievement and made history for the program. The program has also produced several college women's basketball athletes.

Girls soccer

The girls' soccer program has won four Group II state championships, defeating Delran High School in 1999, co-champions with Gloucester Catholic High School in 1998, Moorestown High School in 1993 and Cinnaminson High School in 1992.[31] The varsity Girls Soccer team has won the Iron Hills Conference Championship. In 2007, the girls soccer team won the North II, Group III state sectional championship with a 2-0 win over Scotch Plains High School in the tournament final.[32]

Girls tennis

The girls' tennis team has been for the past six years ranked in the top 5 in the state.

Fencing

Both the boys' and girls' fencing teams annually place at the top five in the state. In 2011, the Girls finished second in the state, and the Boys finished fourth. 2009 graduate Emilee Kovolisky placed 4th at the international fencing competition in Barcelona during the summer following her senior year. In 2012, the Mendham Boys won the state championship, defeating Columbia High School, which had won the state title the previous two years and had been riding a streak of 49 consecutive dual match victories.[33]

Musical Activities

The Mendham High School Music Department is made up of the Band (Tim Beadle and Gabe Stevens), Choir (Patricia Danner), and Orchestra (Mary Daly).

Band

The band has several extra-curricular programs outside of the "Concert Band". There are three Jazz bands, a "Pep Band" (for basketball games) and Marching Band. The Marching Band travels to Disney World in Orlando, Florida every other spring break and competes regularly

Orchestra

The orchestra program has several string ensembles and prides itself on the high level of musicians that pass through the program.

Choir

The choir is organized into a Regular, Chamber Choir and Advanced Concert Choir. These classes meet during the school day and are made up of all choir students. There are also four extra-curricular programs: Mendham Voices (auditioned, co-ed, ~20 students), Women's Ensemble (not auditioned, female), Treblemakers (auditioned, female, 11 girls a cappella), Men in Black A Cappella (not auditioned, male), and Unaccompanied Minors (auditioned, male, ~11 members.)

The club, Mendham Players, also puts on Fall and Spring theatrical shows. Some shows included The Who's Tommy, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, 12 Angry Men, and Footloose.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[34]

Academics

The West Morris Regional High School District offers four different levels of classes.

Each of the four levels in classes differs in the level of rigor, with studies being the least rigorous and Honors/AP/IB being the most rigorous. Students and their parents are free to decide the level of the students classes.

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 School Data for West Morris Mendham High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 30, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 West Morris Mendham High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 30, 2015.
  3. West Morris Regional High School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 4, 2016. "Established in 1958, the West Morris Regional High School District operates two schools, West Morris Central High School and West Morris Mendham High School. The regional district serves the students of five Morris County communities: Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township and Washington Township. Students from Washington Township attend West Morris Central High School, and students from the Chesters and the Mendhams attend West Morris Mendham High School."
  4. Staff. "Students learning, living with rebuilding process", Daily Record (Morristown), December 20, 2005. Accessed April 2, 2012. "Mount Olive has remained largely untouched since its original construction and break from the West Morris Regional High School District in 1977."
  5. West Morris Mendham High School, International Baccalaureate Organization. Accessed May 24, 2007.
  6. Find an IB World School—results, International Baccalaureate Organization. Accessed May 24, 2007.
  7. Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013.
  8. Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: West Morris Mendham High School", The Washington Post. Accessed July 22, 2011.
  9. Staff. "America's Best High Schools: The List", Newsweek, June 13, 2010. Accessed March 26, 2011.
  10. Staff. "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,500 top U.S. high schools", Newsweek, June 8, 2009. Accessed June 10, 2009.
  11. "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,200 top U.S. schools", Newsweek, May 22, 2007. Accessed May 24, 2007.
  12. Top 1,200 High Schools in The United States, Newsweek, May 8, 2006.
  13. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  14. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 28, 2012.
  15. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 26, 2011.
  16. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  17. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 26, 2012.
  18. "America's Top High Schools 2015", Newsweek. Accessed September 3, 2015.
  19. League Memberships – 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed June 4, 2016.
  20. 2014-2015 Public Schools Group Classification: ShopRite Cup–Basketball–Baseball–Softball for North II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed September 18, 2014.
  21. Home Page, Iron Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 2, 2011. Accessed December 3, 2014.
  22. HISTORY OF NJSIAA BOYS SOCCER, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 28, 2012.
  23. Goldberg, Jeff. NJSIAA Football Playoff Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 30, 2015.
  24. HISTORY OF THE NJSIAA BOYS' LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed June 10, 2011.
  25. 2007 Girls Lacrosse - Group Finals, NJSIAA. Accessed June 5, 2007.
  26. "MGVB Home Page". www.hometeamsonline.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  27. Reilly, Sean. "Roxbury (27) at Mendham (34)", The Star-Ledger, February 26, 2011. Accessed July 22, 2011. "None of those contests, however, were quite like Mendham's game last night against Roxbury for the 42nd MCT title. Vicarisi scored 17 points when third-seeded Mendham defeated eighth-seeded Roxbury, 34-27, at County College of Morris in Randolph. It was the lowest-scoring final in the history of the tournament.Mendham won its fourth consecutive MCT. No other school has won more than two in a row. It was also its ninth overall, which moves coach Jim Baglin's program past Morristown for most all-time."
  28. Kitchin, Mark. "Mendham boys win Group III state crown", Daily Record (Morristown), March 15, 2010. Accessed July 22, 2011. "Junior forward Tore Vicarisi scored 19 points and senior guard Caleb DeMoss added 13 to lift Mendham to a 44-41 victory over Kingsway Regional in the Group III final at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on the campus of Rutgers University on Sunday."
  29. Kitchin, Mark. "BOYS BASKETBALL: Mendham's run comes to an end", Daily Record (Morristown), March 17, 2010. Accessed July 22, 2011. "Derrick Hunter scored 13 points and Brandon Waiters added 11 for University (28-4) advances to play Trenton Catholic in the semifinal of the TOC on Friday at Rutgers University."
  30. Narducci, Marc. "Freshman Steals Show As Mendham Girls Win", The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 25, 1998. Accessed July 22, 2011. "West Morris Mendham's Kelley Suminski, who was dominating grade-school players a year ago, turned the Tournament of Champions girls' basketball final into her personal showcase last night. Suminski, a 5-foot-7 freshman, scored 29 points and was named the game MVP as fifth-seeded Mendham held off a furious rally to defeat top-seeded Columbia, 67-62, at Rutgers. Mendham, which beat Sterling by 58-40 for the Group 2 state championship, finished its season 32-0, while Group 4 champion Columbia ended 30-1. It was the first time in the tournament's 10 years that two teams entered a final undefeated.... Mendham became the first public school to win the girls' Tournament of Champions since 1990, when JFK-Paterson beat St. John Vianney, 70-47."
  31. History of NJSIAA Girls Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 22, 2011.
  32. 2007 Girls Soccer - North II, Group III, NJSIAA. Accessed November 15, 2007.
  33. Dar, Erik. "Mendham stuns Columbia to win state team championship", The Star-Ledger, February 29, 2012. Accessed June 20, 2012. "Led by a 3-0 showings from Alex Andriatis and Adam Campos Mendham, No. 2 in The Star-Ledger Top 10, defeated top-ranked Columbia, 14-13, in the NJISSA/Bollinger Championships at Morris Hills in Rockaway."
  34. Administration Directory, West Morris Mendham High School. Accessed November 30, 2015.
  35. Pastime Club, Inc. - Athletes the Club Helped, accessed April 23, 2007. "Jim Collins attended Mendham High School 1972-1976, where he competed in Football and Baseball."
  36. New York Liberty Select Five In WNBA Draft, New York Liberty, April 25, 2003. Accessed June 5, 2007. "Creamer (21), a West Morris Mendham, New Jersey High School graduate, averaged 27.1 ppg and 4.3 rpg during her senior year at Bucknell University."
  37. Garber, Phil. "After A Break, Flame Still Burning Brightly For Mendham's Maggie Doyne", Observer-Tribune, September 6, 2013. Accessed December 1, 2013. "The innocent edge is gone from Maggie Doyne's face. No longer the 18-year-old Mendham High School graduate who set out to change the world, Doyne is a woman who has achieved more in eight years than most do in 88 years."
  38. Kitchin, Mark. "Morris duo continues to chase lacrosse dream", Daily Record, January 25, 2004. Accessed January 23, 2011. "Ghedina who is from Mendham and played lacrosse at Mendham High School and Leidl who is from Long Valley and is a former West Morris player..."
  39. "Tom Keiger's Band-to-Band Profile". September 2009.
  40. Ed McKirdy's Band-to-Band Profile. Accessed January 14, 2008.
  41. Kelley Suminski player profile, Stanford University. Accessed February 21, 2007.
  42. Daniel Tamburello, PollVault. Accessed September 18, 2014. "EDUCATION West Morris Mendham High School (NJ), 2003 [sic]"
  43. Carl Zander player profile. Accessed April 23, 2007.

External links

Coordinates: 40°46′40″N 74°35′29″W / 40.7777°N 74.5913°W / 40.7777; -74.5913

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