Newark Academy
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| Newark Academy |
|
| Motto | Ad Lumen (toward enlightenment) |
| Established | 1774 |
| Type | Private Coeducational |
| Founder | Alexander Macwhorter |
| Head of School | Elizabeth "Penney" Riegelman |
| Students | 548 |
| Grades | 6-12 |
| Location | 91 South Orange Ave. Livingston, New Jersey USA |
| Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools New Jersey Association of Independent Schools |
| Campus | 68 acres |
| Colors | red and black |
| Mascot | Minuteman |
| Yearbook | Polymnian |
| Newspaper | The Minuteman |
| Average class size | 13 |
| Athletics | 15 sports |
| Website | http://www.newarka.edu |
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, New Jersey (USA). With both lower and upper schools, this institution comprises grades six through twelve.
Newark Academy is the second oldest day school in the state of New Jersey, and is one of a few pre-Revolutionary schools still operating in the United States. The Academy was founded in 1774 by Alexander Macwhorter, a leading cleric and advisor to George Washington, and was located on Market Street in Downtown Newark. Temporarily closed after being burned by the British during the Revolutionary War, the school reopened in new quarters in 1792. In 1802, the Academy opened a separate division for girls, but the innovative program was closed in 1859. After 1929, it moved to Orange Avenue in the Roseville section. Finally, in 1964, the Academy moved from Newark to its current location, a 68 acre (275,000 m²) campus in Livingston, and became fully co-educational in 1971.
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[edit] Mission and philosophy
The school's mission statement is as follows:
Newark Academy will contribute to society thoughtful and compassionate citizens who embrace their responsibilities as ethical, intellectual and civic stewards in the global environment.
The school motto, ad lumen, illustrates the belief that education is a shared process of inquiry--a process in which students strive to expand the horizons of their minds through dialogue with teachers, peers, and community. A Newark Academy graduate has a significant grounding in content knowledge and an understanding of the value of dialogue.[citation needed]
Newark Academy stresses excellence in personal and academic achievement. Students can engage in numerous activities including the school publications, many clubs, and student council. The teachers have a trustworthy and open relationship with their students, so it is not unusual to see a student eating lunch with a teacher. Students are encouraged to be energetic and to demonstrate a love of learning for learning's sake. The community is diverse, and people express themselves through many media. Students are encouraged to pursue their talents and hobbies, so it is not unusual for a student to have band, drama, and football practices on the same day.
Newark Academy students congregate at 8:10 every morning in the auditorium for "Morning Meeting", which, depending on the day of the week, includes either the entire school, or is separated, with the Middle School meeting in the choral room. Upper School students are required to complete at least ten hours of community service each year, with recognition awarded to students who complete more than 75 hours of service. Every graduating senior must complete a "Senior Project", which is an 80-hour mini-internship that each student designs and researches.
Each year in the early fall, Newark has a week-long spirit competition between the Middle School, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades. During this week, the students dress up and participate in several recreational activities. It serves to develop camaraderie among the grades and the new students.
Newark Academy launched a new website on August 22, 2006, featuring a new promotional video.
[edit] Campus
The main building is home to a 550-seat auditorium, five science laboratories, 40 classrooms, a language laboratory, a state-of-the-art computer facility and a 350-seat dining room. The Hawkes Memorial Library, opened in 1974, houses a 23,000 volume collection, as well as a vast periodical and microfilm collection. The Morris Interactive Learning Center, which opened in 1995, houses 18 iMac computers, a Smartboard and projector, as well as scanners and printers for student and faculty use. The Elizabeth B. McGraw arts center, opened in 1992, contains contains three studio art classrooms (sculpture, drawing, and painting), a band room, choral room, dance studio, and a "black box" theater. The most recent addition is the William E. and Carol G. Simon Family Field House, which opened in 2001. This new facility houses a gym with basketball courts and an indoor track, a pool with state-of-the-art timing equipment, and a comprehensive fitness center. In the spaces formerly occupied by the pool and basketball courts there are now wrestling and fencing gyms.
Among Newark Academy's outdoor facilities are various courtyards with seating areas, two baseball diamonds, a softball field, an all-weather track, a field hockey area, two lacrosse and soccer fields, two football fields, four basketball half courts, a cross country course and 10 tennis courts.
Newark Academy is bordered by the wooded reaches of the Passaic River. September 2002 marked the opening of The Carol J. Heaney Nature Trail, a 2.5-mile system of hiking trails and outdoor classrooms.
[edit] Faculty and administration
The faculty has an average of 19 years teaching experience and more than 85 percent of the 92 teachers and administrators have advanced degrees.
The current Head of School, Elizabeth "Penney" Riegelman, who has held the position since 1997, will be stepping down in June 2007. In late 2006, the Board of Trustees elected Donald M. Austin, currently Resident Director of School Year Abroad in Rennes, France, as the next Head of School. He will assume the position from July 1, 2007. The Upper School is headed by Dr. Richard DiBianca, who also coaches the Men's Middle School Tennis Team. The Head of the Middle School is Tom Ashburn. The title of Dean of Students is held by Pegeen Galvin, who therefore is also responsible for the administration of discipline on the students. The Dean of Faculty is Frederick Von Rollenhagen. While holding no official title in this respect (he was once Dean of Faculty, however), the unofficial school historian is Blackwood Parlin. Parlin is currently a humanities teacher, and, having joined the school in 1959, is also the last faculty member from the Newark era.
[edit] Student Body
Newark Academy has 548 students from 80 communities in grades 6-12. There are 416 students in the upper school and 142 students in middle school. Students of color comprise 25 percent of the student population and 4 percent of the total population are international students from Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Israel, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
International statistics:
- 6 percent of students have dual citizenship.
- 15 percent have spent time living in other countries.
- 16 percent are fluent in a foreign language.
- 19 percent speak a foreign language at home.
- 29 percent have parents who were raised in another country.
- 93 percent have traveled outside the U.S.
[edit] Advanced Curricula
Newark Academy is the only independent school in New Jersey that offers both the Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate Diploma (I.B.) programs.[citation needed]
[edit] Advanced Placement
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) offers high school students the opportunity to do college-level work. Successful achievement on the culminating exams may result in credit or advanced placement upon matriculation to college. Newark Academy offers coursework leading to 21 AP exams in all five academic disciplines. Each year, about 450 AP exams are taken by the modestly-sized upper school student body.
[edit] International Baccalaureate
Newark Academy was the first school in New Jersey to grant the International Baccalaureate diploma, recognized worldwide as the standard of achievement for excellence. The I.B. diploma is awarded following successful completion of a rigorous, comprehensive, two-year curriculum. There are 28 members of the Class of 2007 who are pursuing the full I.B. diploma, and approximately 75% of the students in the Class of 2007 are enrolled in I.B. courses.
[edit] Athletics
The Newark Academy Minutemen compete in the Colonial Hills Conference which is comprised of eighteen public and parochial high schools covering Essex County, Morris County and Somerset County in west central New Jersey, under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Newark Academy competes in the Non-public Parochial B group in the North division of the Colonial Hills Conference.
Newark offers a total of 15 sports programs over the course of the school year.
- Fall sports: men's and women's soccer, field hockey, women's tennis, football, women's volleyball and men's and women's cross country.
- Winter sports: men's and women's fencing, men's and women's swimming, wrestling, men's and women's basketball, and indoor track.
- Spring sports: men's tennis, golf, baseball, softball, men's and women's lacrosse, and track.
Middle School students are required to participate in at least one sport each season, although interscholastic competition is not compulsory. Newark Academy's Men's and Women's Tennis programs, coached by William "Arky" Crook, The Star-Ledger Coach of the Decade for the 1990s, have enjoyed success at the state level for years, and are considered the finest in the state.
[edit] Accomplished alumni
- Dr. Jason Diamond - Dr. 90210
- Justin Gimelstob - ATP professional tennis player.[1]
- Chris Jacobs - swimmer medalist at the 1988 Olympics
- Stacey Kent - jazz singer
- William E. Simon - 63rd Secretary of the Treasury under Richard Nixon.[2]
- Richard Thaler - economist specializing in behavioral finance
[edit] References
- ^ Justin Gimelstob: High School Tennis Legend, accessed December 11, 2006
- ^ History of the Treasury: William E. Simon, accessed November 29, 2006
Jimmy Ressler, Co owner of Ashley Reed Trading
