Watchung Hills Regional High School

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Watchung Hills Regional High School is a regional public high school and regional school district serving students in portions of Somerset and Morris Counties in New Jersey, United States. The high school is located at 108 Stirling Road, next to Woodland School, in Warren Township, New Jersey, United States.

Students from Warren Township and from the neighboring communities of Watchung, and Green Brook in Somerset County and Long Hill Township in Morris County attend the school. The High School serves students in grades nine through twelve and as of the 2005-2006 school year, there were over 1,900 students attending. Watchung Hills also offers an adult school that operates at night in the facilities. Its mascot is the warrior and its school colors are brown and gold.

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[edit] Awards and recognition

Watchung Hills Regional High School received the Blue Ribbon Award from the United States Department of Education in 1994-1995, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.[1][2]

In their 2004 survey, Newsweek ranked WHRHS as the 583rd best high school in the nation.[3] In the magazine's 2006 survey, the school was ranked as 745th nationwide.[4]

Watchung Hills Regional High School was the 38th-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.[5]

[edit] Facilities

WHRHS is currently under renovation and almost complete. An extensive addition has been constructed and all classrooms have been renovated. The addition included many new classrooms including a four-tier band room. The addition also included a brand new auditorium with rising orchestra pit and catwalk. This state-of-the-art theater includes a programmable lighting system, movable sound shell and a balcony. All classrooms have been renovated and the old theater is currently being renovated. The TV studio is still under construction but will be ready for next year. There is also a new "FieldTurf" football field along with numerous base/softball fields. There is now parking for all seniors close to the school. Previously, some students had to park far away and even across a busy road and then walk to the school.

[edit] Technology

The school has eight dedicated Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Servers and one NFuse server. The system allows students who don't have programs such as Microsoft Office to use Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint and other applications.

WHRHS has 24 Dell servers that serve as everything from domain controllers to web servers. These servers are housed in the IDF room, located next to the library. There are approximately 15 laptop carts (each with 24 laptops) that are designated to different areas of the school. All teachers have either Dell D500, D600 or D610 laptops. There are four computer labs with Dell Optiplex desktops. The school has Cisco access-points in almost every classroom.

[edit] Athletics

The Watching Hills Regional High School Warriors compete in the 18-member Skyland Conference.

Some of WHRHS's most successful sports teams are:

[edit] Activities

Watchung Hills offers students many extra-curricular activities to participate in. These clubs and organizations are directed towards community service, academics, and other special interests. A few of the more popular ones are Habitat for Humnaity, AWARE, JSA Debate Club, Mock Trial, Students Against Drunk Driving, NIKE club, Model United Nations, Lenape Yearbook, Gay-Straight Alliance, and the Diversity Club.

[edit] Administration

  • Dr. Frances Stromsland - Superintendent
  • Kersti Kolu - School Business Administrator/ Board Secretary
  • Dr. Thomas DiGanci - Principal
  • Nicholas Serritella - Vice Principal/Director of Athletics & Co-Curricular
  • Terrence P. MacConnell - Vice Principal
  • Michael Waluk - Vice Principal
  • Linda Gannon- Director of Guidance
  • Beverly DiGeronimo- Director of Curriculum & Instruction
  • Dr. Jeffrey Charney- Director of Science & Technology
  • Beth Scheiderman- Director of Special Services
  • Searfoss

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ "If You're Thingking of Living In/ Watchung, N.J.; Stunning Vistas, but Entry Is Not Cheap And there is the matter of dealing with 80 deer per acre.", The New York Times, March 11, 2001. p. RE5
  2. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), accessed August 22, 2006
  3. ^ The Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools (2004), Newsweek, May 16, 2004
  4. ^ The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools, Newsweek, May 23, 2006
  5. ^ Top Public High Schools in New Jersey, New Jersey Monthly, September 2006
  6. ^ "FLASHBACK Finishing kick:Ard enjoyed Packer days", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Rob Reischel, September 16, 2004. "Ard hasn't totally gotten football out of his system, though. He coaches the freshman team at Watchung Hills Regional High School, his alma mater."
  7. ^ " 'That '70s' gal grows up on 'October Road'", New York Daily News by Marisa Guthrie, March 13, 2007. "Prepon, who is the youngest of five children, went to Watchung Hills High in New Jersey. Her mother still lives there (her father passed away when she was 14)."

[edit] External links

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