Amity High School
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| Amity High School | |
| School type | Public Regional High school |
|---|---|
| Staff | Dr. Edward Goldstone (Principal) |
| Students | Approximately 1700 |
| Location | Woodbridge, CT, USA |
| Website | www.amityregion5.org |
Amity High School is a regional high school located in Woodbridge, Connecticut USA. It serves students in grades 9-12 in the towns of Woodbridge, Orange, and Bethany. The district's full name is Regional District #5. The name Amity is derived from both the colonial history of Woodbridge as well as the "friendship" demonstrated among the three founding towns in arranging for a communal educational program.
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[edit] Grade arrangement
Amity Senior High School served grades 9 through 12 (freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors), a division which had been popular during the 1960s. This arrangement lasted until the spring of 2005, when the ninth graders from the junior high schools in Bethany and Orange were moved to Amity High School. Both junior high schools have been renamed Amity Middle School.
[edit] Construction
A large construction phase began during the fiscal year of 2005, School year of 2005-2006. A new school wing with many new classrooms has been added to what was once the front of the high school. This new addition wraps around the previous entrance, and will facilitate a new courtyard, much like that of the Amity Junior High's courtyard in Bethany. The plan for these new classrooms has not been fully released (in the most likely case that the classrooms have not been planned for what academics they will facilitate). To make room for this large project, about a quarter of the front parking lot was demolished, along with the front entrance. Parking has since become an object of concern.
In addition to the new academic wing, the previous Auditorium will also be reconstructed. The previous facility was deemed unsafe due to the high water-table and moisture; it has been knocked down and is being rebuilt. Interestingly, the construction management firm doing the demolition found no evidence of mold in the auditorium. As of September 10th, 2006, the foundation has been poured and much of the steelwork has been completed. The auditorium is planned for completion in February 2007, in order to host the various end of year concerts.
What was once a back entrance, near the parking area, will now become the temporary main entrance for the High School. Construction in the back corner of the High School has begun to house new offices and wider halls for higher student traffic.
The new classrooms will be ready for use by March 2007.
[edit] Scandals
In recent years, there have been many several major controversies, most notably a problem with construction of the senior high school building in 1992. A new construction project scheduled for completion in 2007 is intended to remediate problems from previous work. The building was constructed over a low-lying area adjacent to wetlands. Due to complaints over indoor air quality, the auditorium was closed in 2003. During the current construction, the auditorium was demolished to make way for a larger auditorium.
A further scandal engulfed the district in the early 2000's when the three towns of Bethany, Orange, and Woodbridge demonstrated their unhappiness with school district board members for financial mismanagement involving a $2.1 million dollar budget shortfall by voting "No" in seventeen education budget referendums. "Save Our Schools" signs were displayed throughout the towns.
In 2003 it was confirmed that 2 individuals, along with others were responsible for the budget crisis. Vincent Gregnano and Carol Briggs who both worked with Amity's financial system, were caught when Briggs confessed to the crime. Briggs returned his half to the school system. Vincent Gregnano moved to Florida before the confession and his whereabouts are unknown.
[edit] Athletics
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The school sports teams are known as "The Spartans" and "Lady Spartans" and compete in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). The district has a rivalry with Cheshire High School. The school sports teams are known as "The Spartans" and "Lady Spartans" and compete in the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). The district has a longtime rivalry with Cheshire High School. Usually, the Spartans defeat their heated rivals. In the past 3 years, Amity has regularly bested Cheshire in most sports, with the notable exception of lacrosse or girls swimming. Cheshire lacrosse regularly beats Amity, and the Cheshire girls swimming team has not lost a dual meet in 20 years. Both Amity and Cheshire Girls Volleyball compete in the CIAC's highest division, and Cheshire has provided the Lady Spartans with their only two losses for the 2006 season.
In 2004, the Amity Varsity tennis team went on an unexpected run to the CT State Championships. The Spartans, who had long played second-best to arch-rival Cheshire High School, finally unseated the Rams as part of an undefeated regular season that brought them the SCC conference title for the first time in years. At the Class LL State Tournament, held at Cheshire Academy, Amity shocked the competition by placing first, thanks to performance by its all-around deep squad, a close-knit group on and off the court. Amity was able to beat Greenwich High School by one point to win the competition.
The Amity softball team has won numerous state titles and in 2006 lost its first SCC championship in four years to Mercy High School in a 4-0 shut out.
The baseball team has also enjoyed years of success. Since 2002, the team has regularly made the state finals and won numerous conference titles. Most recently they won the LL Championship Final 3-2 against 13th seeded Bristol Central.
The Amity swim program is a perennial powerhouse in the state. The men’s and women’s teams have enjoyed great success in both conference and state championships.
The men's cross country won its first ever New England championship in 2005. The men's indoor track team won its first State Open championship in 2006. In the past 2 years, both the Amity boys and girls track programs (cross country, indoor and outdoor track) have laid claim to most of the division, conference, and state titles they are eligible to compete in.
In 2006 Amity girls soccer team won the Housatonic Division and S.C.C. Championship and tied the Class "LL" State Championship with Trumbull. The two teams went into double overtime and ended with a 0-0 tie. In the S.C.C. they beat Mercy High School 1-0 in double overtime. 2006 was also the first year they won the S.C.C., Class "LL" state title, and have an undefeated regular season largely thanks to goalie Allie "The Man of Men" Horwitz. Amity girls soccer was ranked #1 in Connecticut, #2 in New England, and #9 in the U.S. at the end of the 2006 season. The team was led by captains Laura "Big Leg" Downey, Jessica "Hawk Face" Becker, Alyssa Vallie, Joy "The Black Hole" Gathers, and Lindsay "Cum-Get it" Elliott. These nicknames were attributed to them by the local newspaper, The New Haven Register, and by most of their supportive fans.
In 2005, the Amity Boys Soccer team was ranked second to last in the Housatonic Division with a long streak of misfortunes that dominated the season.
With the cheerleading squad doing well at SCC's in the 14 and under division they still come short of beating Cheshire this year by 3 points.
[edit] References
- http://www.nhregister.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=11764332&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8
- http://www.nhregister.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=11926130&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8
www.southernconnecticutconference.com
[edit] Notable alumni
- Brian Yale, Bassist for Matchbox Twenty
- Alan Schlesinger, Connecticut Republican candidate for Senate
- William Atherton, Actor
- Jody Savin, Hollywood producer (Houseguest w/ Sinbad)
- John J. DeGioia, current President of Georgetown University, the first layman to hold that post
