Greenwich High School

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Greenwich High School
Established {{{established}}}
School type Public
Principal Alan J. Capasso
Location Greenwich, Connecticut, United States of America
Students about 3000
Mascot Cardinal
Colors Red and White
Website http://www.greenwichschools.org/ghs

Contents

[edit] Introduction

Greenwich High School is a public school in Greenwich, Connecticut serving grades 9-12. It is a four-year high school serving approximately 3000 students of diverse backgrounds. The school's philosophy of "freedom with responsibility" encourages students to make decisions affecting both their study and choice of activities. A distinct feature of this philosophy is that students are allowed "opens" in which 1 hour blocks of free time are allotted to students who are academically responsible. It is the only public High School in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut where over 60,000 people live. This is due to the fact that upwards of 20% of town students go to either private boarding school, or local private school. Although the the town of Greenwich is 85% cacuasian, minorities make up around 35% of the student body. Teachers at Greenwich High School come from Greenwich, the other towns in Fairfield county, next-door Westchester county and a small few commute from more than an hour away. Greenwich High School has consistently been rated one of the best public High Schools in Connecticut due to its high test scores and a high graduation rate. Greenwich High School is growing each year, and by the year 2010 the student population is expected to out-grow the size of the school.

[edit] School Organization

Entering students are randomly assigned to one of five Houses: Bella, Cantor, Clark, Folsom, and Sheldon. However, entering students with older siblings currently attending the school have the option to join their sibling's house or enter the randomized lottery. Each house has its own housemaster, as well as its own guidance counselors and other support services for students. Each house, with the exception of Cantor, is one floor, contains three secretaries, three guidance counselors, classrooms, teachers' offices, a housemaster, a learning center aide, a resource room, and a teachers room. Cantor house has all of the above, but has two floors since it was originally the "International Wing" housing all the foreign language classes and the foreign language computer lab. The school also has a science wing, which consists of Physical Education, Music, and Science. In the far end of the science wing is a currently non-functioning Foucault pendulum.

The Houses adjoin a one-acre enclosed area called the Student Center, which serves as the food court, meeting hall and a place to relax between classes. According to school officials the Student Center is the second largest "room" in Connecticut. Classes meet on a rotating eight-block schedule. A large Media Center supports all of the school's learning programs and contains over 40,000 books and over 5,000 videos, all of which students can check out and use for research. The media center has experts for all major subjects offered in the school.

Numerous Computer Labs are available throughout GHS for teachers and students. Labs are located in the houses, science, foreign language and art and music wings and the Media Center. Additional computers are available in Learning Centers, the Media Center and other departments throughout the building.

GHS offers over 295 courses and a wide variety of co-curricular activities.

[edit] Extracurricular Activities

GHS has a number of student activities designed to promote a broad spectrum of interests. The school's student newspaper is The Beak. The yearbook is The Compass. Greenwitch is the school's student literary magazine. Student activities include student government, as well as academic, drama, international, language, service, sports and special interest clubs. The Greenwich High School Theater Arts program has been recognized nationally for its excellence.

Examples of Student Activities at GHS:

[edit] School Sports

There are 50 GHS varsity sports teams. The Greenwich High School Mascot is the Cardinal. GHS is a member of FCIAC, or the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference and the Inter-Scholastic Sailing Association. The GHS sports teams are some of the best in Connecticut do to the fact that the school body is so large. GHS competes in the Class LL league in CT, which is the league for the largest schools. The Greenwich High School boy water polo, boys swimming, girls water polo, girls swimming, girls ski team, football, girls lacrosse, boys tennis and field hockey teams are some of the best in Connecticut and compete in the state playoffs most years. The boys water polo team is one of the best on the East coast and the only public school water polo team in the state of CT. The boys football team has a long legacy in the state of Connecticut and is one of the winningest and best teams in the state. It has produced NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young, and Notre Dame center John Sullivan. GHS was the first public school in the North East to have a rugby program. Dorothy Hamill is another famous athlete from GHS, although she never played on any of the GHS teams. Sue Merz, who won both a gold and silver medal for women's ice hockey also attended Greenwich High School. Examples of Cardinal Sports Teams:

[edit] Additional Information

The school was designed by a Californian architect and completed in the 1970s. The original design had an open covered walkway between the Student Center and the Science wing. However, this did not suit New England weather and the walkway was converted to an enclosed glass structure. In 1998, a $40 million science and technology wing was constructed.

[edit] Notable Alumni

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