Blind Brook High School

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Blind Brook High School
Image:S
School District Blind Brook Public Schools
School type Public
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ronald D. Valenti
Principal Anthony Baxter
Assistant Principal Jane Wermuth
Grade Levels 9-12
Coeducational Yes
Year Opened 1973
Enrollment ~400
Year-round schedule No
School Newspaper The FOCUS
School Yearbook Spectrum
School TV Channel BBTV Ch. 77
School Podcast The BlindSpot
Sports Teams The Trojans
Mascot The Trojan
School Colors Blue and White
Homepage Blind Brook Public Schools

Blind Brook High School (BBHS) is a public, four-year secondary school in Rye Brook, New York and is the lone public high school that serves the Blind Brook School District. BBHS is a relatively small school (there were only 82 students in the class of 2006). The school principal is Mr. Anthony Baxter and the assistant principal is Mrs. Jane Wermuth.

Contents

[edit] History

Blind Brook High School was built in 1973 after the community (which was the unincorporated area of the Town of Rye) wanted to expand the local school district (known as District #5). This push for expansion started after the community became frustrated spending lots of money to send their children to high schools in the local area (Port Chester, Mamaroneck, and Rye Neck are a few). In addition, the Ridge Street School, which housed classes from Kindergarten to 8th/9th grades, was becoming overcrowded and could not accommodate the growing population that would become known as Rye Brook (in 1982). Land was purchased on King Street where the original Blind Brook High School building was built. The High School today stands on the same campus as in 1973.

[edit] 30 Years of Blind Brook: 1973-2003

  • The building was considered modern as it contained 'open classrooms'. This meant that the building contained classrooms that had only two walls around it. This made for an interesting and different learning environment as students walking in the hallways would also be walking through a class. The building also contained, and still does to this day, The Commons, an open area in the middle of the building where students could do work, hang out, or just take a break. BBHS was not built with an auditorium but did, and still has, a LGI, or a "Large Group Instruction" room. School plays were held in the usually cramped space that only holds 100 people. Because of the LGI's small size, band and choral concerts and graduation in the Spring had to be held in the gym. The campus was built with two grass fields, a baseball field and a soccer field.
  • In 1999, the fast-growing population of the Blind Brook community started to outgrow the original high school building. A parent-school district committee, called, "Let's Bond for our Kids" formed a construction plan and encouraged the community to get involved and vote. The Bond passed by a large margin, bringing construction to the BB campus for the first time since 1973. To create additional classroom space during the construction, the district bought two modular classrooms. These modular buildings are connected to each other, but are not connected to the main high school building. To this day, the modular classrooms, or as they are often called, the portables (even though they can not be moved), are still used for daily classes and are fairly popular among the student body.
  • The construction project added a Middle School wing, Middle School gym, renovated IMC (library), new Middle School and High School main offices, a 450-seat auditorium, a new front walkway and enterance, a renovated commons area, and high school classroom renovation.
  • To meet state fire codes, the construction resulted in traditional, 4-walled, closed classrooms. By removing wall-less classrooms, the new classroom setup left some rooms window-less. In addition, the commons had the carpet removed and new, artistic walls were installed. These walls were poked fun at often and seemed very silly in the eyes of students, with statements of "This is a school, not an art museum!" pushing a backlash against the walls. Many wanted the walls removed, though that wouldn't happen until Blind Brook went through its second wave of construction. The new auditorium was also criticized as it was too small and could not fit the entire high school and its faculty in the facility at the same time. In addition, the end-of-the-year graduation would not be able to be held in the new facility as it lacked necessary seating for guests. Graduations are held in the gym as it can accommodate the large amount of guests.

2002-2003 brought much change to Blind Brook High School. A new look, new technology, and new traditions changed the style of the culture through the halls of Blind Brook. A (non-merged) football team, albeit at the Junior Varsity level, was created, bringing football to Rye Brook after a long hiatus. Parking issues at the then-IBM building between the High School and the building's owners continued, resulting in tense negotiations between the two groups. Three International Baccalorate classes (12th grade English, 11th grade Chemistry, and Theory of Knowledge) were added to the Blind Brook menu of classes in order to create a more difficult and challenging curriculum, though after months of discussion and debate, the Board of Education voted 4 to 1 against the continuing of the program in March 2003. The end of the school year also brought the resignations of Blind Brook's top administrators, long-time principal Robert Chlebicki and assistant principal Michael Mitchell, leaving a sense of uncertainty to the Blind Brook community.

[edit] Blind Brook Prepares for the Future: 2004-To the Present

Blind Brook's administration was still up in the air in 2003-2004 school year as an interim principal was hired while the principal search took place. Anthony Baxter and Jane Wermuth were hired for the positions of principal and assistant principal, respectively.

  • Blind Brook's future curriculum plans were also in limbo after IB was rejected. A new direction plan was put into action by the Board of Education to investigate the AP program and if is was a good fit for BBHS. From 2004 to 2006, Blind Brook added numerous AP classes to the its class offerings.
  • In early 2005, the Blind Brook community continued its fast growth, giving school officials no choice other than expand onto the high school building. A Bond vote was conducted and passed by a high percentage.
  • Construction, however, did not start until late 2005, around October, because of problems with architect plans and a slow permit approval by the State Education Department. In the 2005-06 phase of construction, a new cafeteria, fitness center, science labs, HS and MS classrooms, and new athletic fields were built. Problems arose when students became concerned with the future of the Rock, a tradition Blind Brook students take part in every year as the Senior class paints it. The problem was fixed as the rock was moved out of harm's way. The new fields will feature synthetic grass, giving teams more flexablility in when they can use they fields and how often they do so.
  • A significant retaining wall malfunction delayed the construction of the lower field as it had to be rebuilt. The manufacturure has announced that the wrong type of stones were chosen for the wall, meaning all retaining walls on the campus must be taken down and rebuilt. This is projected to set the fields project back several months and was finally completed in October, 2006. The company who installed the wall and provides the stones will pay for the damages. The upper field will contain the baseball field and the lower will contain a 6-lane track and a soccer/football field in it.
  • The baseball field, complete with stands, backstop, and sliding-dirt cutouts, was completed in mid-October, 2006.
  • The village of Rye Brook, New York, at the same time, was building their fields adjacent to the BBHS campus. These fields contain a softball field and a soccer/football field.

[edit] Academics

Blind Brook High School is historically known for its successful educational program. It was placed 88th on Newsweek Magazine's Top 100 Schools list in 2006. BBHS, over the past three years, has expanded the Advanced Placement program offered to students. As of 2005, BBHS offers 13 AP courses in addition to high school-level-Regents classes.

[edit] Extra-Curricular Activities

Blind Brook has many activities and clubs that students can take part in during Activity Period and after school. In recent years, Blind Brook's clubs and teams have been recognized as top performers in their fields.

Mock Trial: The Blind Brook Mock Trial Trojans have been very successful on all levels of the New York State Mock Trial Competition sponsored by the NY Bar Association. Each year the team receives the case that is given out throughout New York State. The New York competition is the largest in the United States with over 375 high schools participating each year. The team is usually made up of 14-16 students and those wanting to join must go though an interview and question/response tryout. Once the team is formed, 6 students are assigned lawyer positions (3 for Prosecution, 3 for Defense) and 6 are given witness positions (3 for Prosecution, 3 for defense). In recent years Blind Brook has won the Westchester County level of the competition in 2004, 2005, and 2006. There are between 32 and 36 teams competing for the title. Out of those 3 years, BBHS won the Region IV title in 2005 and 2006, giving them the chance to compete at the state level in Albany, New York. While in Albany, Blind Brook competed against 5 other schools from across New York.

FOCUS: FOCUS is Blind Brook's student-produced newspaper. It is published around 8 times a year and is distributed through the local newspaper, The Westmore News and at the high school. It is also available on Blind Brook's website. It has won numerous awards from The Journal News and was given a first place honor by the American Scholastic Press Association, tied with about 50 other high school's across the nation.

The BlindSpot: The BlindSpot is Blind Brook High School's first official podcast. New shows are published every week on Fridays at around 10:00 pm (EST). Each episode gives a detailed discussion of everything relevant to the student including, music, movies, books, sports, news, weather, and calendar events. The podcast, a relitively new and unique form of media for a high school, finds its niche by delivering more timely and concise information than their media counterparts (Focus, Alter[ed] Ego, and BBTV]. The podcast is run by two students, but maintain the fact that they are always open for student input of content and ideas. They frequently feature students who share their own ideas and content. Between 80 and 100 students listen to the podcast each week. The show's name is derived from The Blind Brook Spot. Episodes are available for free on iTunes, by downloading episodes from their website: The BlindSpot's official website, or by clicking here to subscribe.

Other Notable Clubs

[edit] Athletics

Athletic Teams at Blind Brook MS/HS
Sport Level Season Gender
Cross-Country V, JV, F (All under one coach) Fall Co-ed
Football V, Mod Fall Boys'
Field Hockey Not Currently Offered
Soccer V, JV, Mod Fall Boys', Girls'
Girls' Tennis V, JV, Mod Fall Girls'
Volleyball V, JV, Mod Fall Girls'
Cheerleading V Fall, Winter Girls'
Girls' Swimming V Fall Girls'
  • Merged Program with Rye High School
Basketball V, JV, 9th Grade, 8th Grade, 7th Grade Winter Boys', Girls'
Gymnastics V Winter Girls'
  • Merged Program with other local schools
Ice Hockey V Winter Boys'
  • Merged Program with Harrison and Rye Neck
Boys' Swimming* V Winter Boys'
  • Will Merge with other local schools
Ski V Winter Co-ed
  • Merged with Rye Neck
Track V, Mod Spring Co-ed
Wrestling V Winter Boys'
  • Merged with Rye
Baseball V, JV, F, 8th Grade, 7th Grade Spring Boys'
Softball V, JV, 8th/7th grade Spring Girls'
Boys' Tennis V, JV, Mod Spring Boys'
Lacrosse N/I Spring Girls'*
Golf V Spring Coed
Step Team V Winter Girls
Dance Team V Winter Girls

V = Varsity, VB = Varsity B, JV = Junior Varsity, F = Freshmen, Mod = Modified
N/I = need information, -- = not applicable, * = New in 06/07

Notes: *Girls' Soccer was moved after the Spring 2006 season to the Fall season.

[edit] Other Sports Students Play Outside of School

  • Fencing
  • Cross-Country Sking
  • Curling
  • Bowling

[edit] 2006 Varsity Fall Season Results

2006 Varsity Team Records/Results
Sport Record Playoffs Notes
Boys Soccer 13 Wins, 5 Losses, 2 Ties (overall) Yes, Sectionals and Regionals Section 1 Class C Champions, Regional Runners-up
Girls Soccer 1 Win, 10 Losses, 1 Tie (overall) No 2 Players named to All-Section team
Boys Football 4 Wins, 4 Losses (overall); 3 Wins, 2 Losses (In Conf.) Yes, Sectionals 2nd Seed in Sectionals
Girls Tennis 7 Wins, 1 Loss Yes, Sectionals League Title
Girls Volleyball 8 Wins, 5 Losses Yes, Sectionals 6th Seed in Sectionals
Co-Ed Cross-Country 0 Wins, 4 Losses No

[edit] 2006 Varsity Winter Season Results

Updated: December 6, 2006

2006 Varsity Team Records/Results
Sport Overall Record League Record Playoffs Notes
Boys Basketball 1-1 0-0 -- 2005-06 Sec. 1 Class C Runners Up
Girls Basketball 3-1 2-0 -- Double overtime loss in 05-06 semi-sectionals

Won the 2006 Irvington Tourny (2-0)
Girls Swimming N/A -- From BB and Rye; only lost 1 meet in 05-06
Boys Swimming N/A -- New team in 06-07
Rye Town Titans Hockey 1-4 N/A -- 16-3, League Champions in 05-06; Moved to League II in 06-07;
Ski Team: Boys N/A N/A --
Ski Team: Girls N/A N/A -- 5-5 in 05-06

[edit] External links

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