Montgomery High School (New Jersey)
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| Principal | Mr. James H. Misek |
| Founded | 1967 |
| School type | Public school (U.S.) |
| Grades | 9, 10, 11, 12 |
| Religious affiliation | None |
| Location | Skillman, New Jersey, United States |
| Enrollment | c.1,600 students |
| Campus surroundings | Suburban/Rural |
| Mascot | Cougar |
| School colors | Green and Gold |
Montgomery High School is a four-year public high school located in the Skillman area of Montgomery Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Montgomery Township School District. A new building opened in the fall of 2005 and is currently the home of over 1,600 high school students.
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[edit] Awards and recognition
For the 1982-83 school year, Montgomery High School was formally designated as a National Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor that an American school can achieve[1].
Montgomery High School was the 4th ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools[2].
[edit] Graduation Requirements
New Jersey State law requires that every student pass the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and successfully complete the following courses: Class of 2007 (Seniors):
| 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 |
| Fine/Practical/Performing Arts | 2 | 10 |
Class of 2008 (Juniors), 2009 (Sophomores), 2010 (Freshmen):
| 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, beginning with the Class of 2009, students are required to take swimming in gym for both their Freshman and Sophomore years.
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 in the Classes of 2007, 2008 must successfully complete 110 credits. Beginning with the Class of 2009, students must successfully complete 125 credits for graduation. Students in the classes of 2009 and onward will no longer qualify for early dismissal senior year.
[edit] Extracurricular Activities
There are many extracurricular activities offered at Montgomery High School. Sports include cross country running, baseball, football, hockey basketball, lacrosse, swimming, and track. Montgomery is a member of the Skyland Conference, which is comprised of 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).
Other activities go into the arts and sciences. For example, in science, there is 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, a competitive jazz ensemble, and a lower-level jazz group called the "stage band."
Montgomery High School made it to the 2006 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Public School Ice Hockey State Champions, falling to Randolph High School in the finals of the 64-team tournament.[3]
[edit] SAT Scores
In 2003-04, Montgomery High School achieved a 1244 average SAT score (V:629, M:615), second in the state for non-magnet schools, behind Millburn High School (1247, V:606, M:641). Montgomery once again scored a 1244 (V:617, M:627) in 2004-05 and topped West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (1240, V:604, M:636) for the highest average SAT score in the state.[4] [5] In 2005-06, Montgomery averaged a 1760 SAT score (V: 581, M: 603, W: 576), third in the state behind Millburn High School (1860, V: 603, M: 640, W: 617) and Princeton High School (1774, V: 581, M: 615, V: 578).[6]
[edit] 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 of 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.
[edit] FIRST Robotics
Montgomery High School competes in FIRST Robotics, a competition sponsored by FIRST. Team 1403, Cougar Robotics was founded in 2003 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, Greg Olsen, a Montgomery Resident and Space Tourist was a keynote speaker.
[edit] Alma Mater
The Alma Mater of Montgomery High School was revised in 1985 by Hunter/D'Amico. It is sung exactly one time every year, at graduation. 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!
[edit] Administration
- James Misek - Principal
- Chip Clymer - Vice Principal
- Paul Popaduik - Vice Principal
- Ms. DeLuca - Vice Principal
- Hillary Charney - Supervisor of Guidance
[edit] References
- ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1992-2002 (PDF), accessed Nov 26, 2006
- ^ Top Public High Schools in New Jersey, New Jersey Monthly, September 1901
- ^ 2006 Ice hockey - Public, NJSIAA, accessed August 12, 2006
- ^ New Jersey's Highest Average SAT Scores, Mission, Officers, Staff, New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools data gathered from 2005New Jersey School Report Cards, February 1, 2006
- ^ NJ.com School Report Card, New Jersey School Report Card , February 1, 2006
- ^ Highest Average SAT Scores, accessed December 3, 2006
