Clarkstown High School North

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Clarkstown High School North is a high school located in Rockland County, New York educating students in the grades 9 through 12. Clarkstown North or simply "North," as it is referred to by students and staff, is one of two high schools in the Clarkstown Central School District (CCSD).

1 Buildings
2 Expansion
3 Vermin Problem and Halloween 2007 Walk Out
4 Mascot and Colors
5 Notable Alumni
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Buildings

Clarkstown North consists of three wings; the Main, the Annex, and the X-wing. The original building of Clarkstown High School North is the Main, which is built off an early 1900's mansion. Before the building of Clarkstown High School South, this was the only high school in the Clarkstown Central School District. The Main has the language department, the English department, some of the science rooms, the film making course, a three room writer's lab, a two story library, a large gym with boys and girls locker rooms, a smaller gym that serves as the wrestling room, an auditorium and theater department, a courtyard, a large lunchroom, a special education program, and a bomb shelter. It is the largest building in the school. The second building is commonly referred to as the "Annex" and was completed by the 1960-61 school year. However, the two buildings were not connected, so for a long time students had to walk outside to get from class to class. The Annex is built on a hill and has three floors. The top floor is referred to as the fifth floor, the one right below it in the middle of the hill is the fourth floor, and the bottom floor is the third. The third floor has science rooms, the fourth has math rooms, and the fifth has math rooms, health rooms, study halls, a small gym with locker rooms, and two small cafeterias. During the 1980's, classrooms were built in trailers called "The Mobiles." These were supposed to be temporary, but still stand today, only one of the mobile classrooms have been removed. The mobiles are now used primarily for storage. It was during the 2004-2005 school year that the school completed a building to connect the Main and Annex. The new building is officially known as the "X-Wing," a reference to the current principal, Harry Leonardatos.

[edit] Expansion

During the 2004-2005 school year, a new building was built. This expansion connected the "Main" and "Annex" buildings, and also added many classrooms. The new building stands on three floors consisting of specialty classrooms, including a new band room on the middle floor, and art rooms on the bottom floor; as well as numerous social studies classrooms. The first year this expansion was in use, it lacked openable windows other than rescue windows, which are illegal to leave open. The building was intended to have air conditioning, but there was apparently no money left in the budget. The following year, more windows that could be opened were installed in the classrooms due to rooms reaching unreasonable temperatures towards the summer months in the previous year.

[edit] Vermin Problem and Halloween 2007 Walk Out

On October 31, 2007 Clarkstown North students, from grades ranging from 9th to 12th grade, held a walk-out to protest the conditions of the school. The protest started in front of the annex building and students walked to the far ball field. It lasted from about 12:20pm to 1:00pm. This was the largest walk out in district history. The other previous walk out was in the late 20th century and happened because students were against the new rules regarding study halls.

Originally, Clarkstown North Students were planning to walk to Town Hall, in the heart of New City, New York. The plan was quickly scrapped as Clarkstown Police Department threatened to arrest anyone who left school grounds on account that it was unlawful assembly and the students could quickly turn into a riot.

The next evening there was an emergency school board meeting in which students and parents spoke about the bad conditions at Clarkstown North. The meeting started at 7:30pm and went until 11:30pm. During the meeting, it was revealed that there were over 700 recorded absent students during the walkout, far more than the estimated 200-300. The following day there was a meeting immediately after school for all students to discuss ways to improve Clarkstown North. Still, nothing has been done and this community pays some of the highest taxes in New York State