Talk:J.P. Stevens High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WikiProject Schools This article is related to WikiProject Schools, an attempt to write quality articles about schools around the world. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page.
Start This article has been rated as start-Class on the assessment scale.
Schools Portal
??? This article has not yet received an importance rating within Schools. Please rate the article.
This article contains or may have contained one or more non-free photograph or photographs. It is requested that a freely-licensed photograph be included in this article to replace such copyrighted images, if possible, in order to better comply with our policy for non-free content. Many copyright-free image sources are listed at our public domain image resources, or you could create your own. Alternatively, you may request permission from the copyright holder of the original images to release them under a free license.
Wikipedians in New Jersey may be able to help!


Contents

[edit] Well...

Looks like some students/teachers have discovered this page. 8)

Unfortunantely, they're not Wikipedians, so some of the edits are of dubious quality. I loathe to revert them however, so let's see how it turns out, and then refactor, hmm? — Ambush Commander(Talk) 01:02, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

  • Hopefully they'll read the WPSchools thing at the top, and remember that information has to be neutral and verifiable... who knows, maybe some of them will turn into regular wikipedians. Kappa 01:19, 4 November 2005 (UTC)
  • Is the WPSchools thing supposed to be on the talk page? Isn't it supposed to be on the article itself? AndyZ 17:03, 8 November 2005 (UTC)
Well, if you were surfing Wikipedia, and you saw this huge, informative, not important sign on the article, there'd be something wrong right? Ideally, all templates would go on talk pages, but stuff like {{npov}} need to be on the article to get attention. — Ambush Commander(Talk) 21:46, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
Sorry, I made an error while reading the template. I read the line "You can discuss the Project at its talk page." incorrectly somehow and thought the talk page referred to the talk page of this article, not the talk page for the Wikiprojects page.AndyZ 22:12, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] History

I was wondering, should the names of the graduates be included in the History section of the article? AndyZ 22:34, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

All graduates? — Ambush Commander(Talk) 21:46, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
I mean, do the graduates belong in the History section? They seem kind of irrelevant there (even though I just realized I moved them there myself). Should a new section be created called Notable Graduates or something? AndyZ 22:09, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
They probably don't deserve their own section. I think they're fine as is. — Ambush Commander(Talk) 22:13, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

The paragraph about all the JPS students going to Edison High in 1994 never happened. I tried to delete it, but somebody just put it right back. ---Rick —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.136.198.8 (talk • contribs) .

Likely, Metros thought the removal was vandalism (because you didn't give any edit summary with it). I'll do some quick asking around, and then remove it on grounds that it is unsourced. — Ambush Commander(Talk) 22:37, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
Precisely why I deleted it. I saw it as someone just deleting it. Someone else deleted it awhile back and it was restored for being an unexplained delete. There was a gas pipeline fire in 1994 that burned some townhouses in Edison in the vincinity of the school, so it can be feasibly thought that this double-session system could have occured.--Metros232 03:03, 5 February 2006 (UTC)
Can a source be found for that (outside of the Edison, New Jersey article?) The fire did occur- see this pdf report. I find it unlikely that all of the students moved from JPS to EHS- but I guess its possible. AndyZ 14:17, 5 February 2006 (UTC)
After doing a little more research, it does not seem feasible that JP Stevens would close for several reasons, most of which being the proximity of the schools--Edison being closer to the blast than JP Stevens. The reverse would be more likely: Edison High going to JP Stevens. According to this source [1] Edison High was used as a shelter and staging area right after the explosion (it mentions the school was closed because 1,200 displaced residents were living there, though it does not really mention how long they stayed). Here's some awe-strucking photos of the damage [2].--Metros232 16:34, 5 February 2006 (UTC)
I was a senior at JPS when the explosion happened. I lived about 1/10th a mile from JPS when the explosion went off and I thought an airplane had crashed across the street - yet it was several miles away. As I remember it, the next morning there was a question as to whether school started at regular time or there would be a delayed start. Most students and teachers were so excited to talk about and get news on the fire that they were in the school by the regular start time. I remember spending several hours in the cafeteria that morning just getting snippets of news about what happened. It was effectively a lost day of school. But that was it. People that lived in the immediate area of the explosion would have attended JPS, not Edison High. --Rick
I think Rick and Metros are right that students in the area of the fire would have attended JPS. Also, neither JPS nor EHS were located anywhere near the fire. Durham Woods is located here (see map). I recommend deleting the text about the EHS students going to JP. Wl219 05:51, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
If I delete this section again, is somebody going to come along and just put it back in? I was there at the time. I was a student at the school. No students from EHS came to JPS. No students from JPS went to EHS. The fire occurred. There was major damage around the area and it was JPS students that lived in the immediate area of the explosion. It was a major topic of discussion for about a week. The information contained here is wrong. --Rick

[edit] Improv Club

Can anyone assert a valid reason as to why the Improv Club stands alone in this article? I don't see anything notable about it. I could easily write a section like that on JP Stevens' FBLA chapter, so I don't see why it needs its own section. Thoughts?--Metros232 05:08, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Apparently members of the improv club are ardent about including the section, and nobody really bothers to remove it or change it anyway since there isn't much reason to delete it. I guess we should keep it- there's no sense in removing it, though it would be best if some of the more important club descriptions could be added. AndyZ 17:31, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
The troupe has been awarded many titles over the past years, being named the best improv troupe in the state of New Jersey by the NJ Thespian Society in 2005. Request to bring back the section? -Chris Polansky
I would suggest reinstating it, and then citing an online source that says so. — Edward Z. Yang(Talk) 22:00, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Should we create a section just for sports/club/academic awards? Wl219 05:53, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
Well, that's a bit of a tricky issue. If the award has a Wikipedia article, I think it'd be notable enough for inclusion, but be careful not to list every single one. — Edward Z. Yang(Talk) 23:38, 19 July 2006 (UTC)


Chris Polansky, the only reason you want the Improv club up there is because you are in it. Honestly, even though the club has won awards, so have many others. There aren't a good deal of people outside of the club itself who pay attention to it, and shows have pretty low attendence. WikialityisBetter 00:34, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree. I personally have never seen a show, and do not think that they deserve their own article. Our football team won states in 2001 undefeated, but we don't include that. If we include every club that has ever won an award or had a good spell of fortune, this article will be exorbitanly long.--Futbol4life (talk) 02:46, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Students

What is the dispute with the demographics? I've noticed in the page history that the Asian-American population at the school has changed many times back and forth from 56% to 76%. I haven't heard much about the school since I graduated two years ago, but I think 76% is a bit far-fetched, if my memory serves me right.

If someone could find a reputable source, we could resolve the dispute, but it's proven... difficult (the report card for this school doesn't mention demographics, and most info would probably be on paper). — Edward Z. Yang(Talk) 14:58, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
NCES data for J.P. Stevens High School shows 1,027 As-Ams out of a populations of 2,160 in the 2003-04 School year, just about 48% of the population. Unless someone has a sourced number that is more current... Alansohn 05:24, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
The statistics at that site have been updated to the 05-06 year, and 1187 out of 2228 students are Asian-American, or 53%. I hear 56% a lot, but until we get some kind of verification, we can't add that statistic. Also see [3]

[edit] NPOV

"JPS has been known as an excellent high school"

Is this verbatim how it's known? Or is this bias marketing? IMHO it's bias towards the school for marketing purposes.
More like JPS is among the top 50 schools in NJ. — Edward Z. Yang(Talk) 03:30, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Name

The school was named for John P. Stevens, who had been President of the Edison Board of Education. His name is on the dedication plaque at the entrance to Edison High. It has nothing to do with any of the more familiar men named John P. Stevens.

If you can show a definitive source for the school being named for the BOE guy, go ahead and change it in the article. I've put up a {{fact}} tag for now, since (speaking as a JPS grad) the textile guy story is currently the most widely held history. Wl219 20:31, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Correction needed?

An IP added this to the article today:

Correction: Originally J. P. S. contained grades 9 through 12. In 1993, with the opening of Woodrow Wilson Junior High (which I attended in its inaugural year), the system changed from 2-year to 3-year Junior Highs, and from 4-year to 3-year High Schools. - Bill Stella

I took it out and placed it here. If anyone can provide a reliable source for this, feel free to make the appropriate changes. Metros232 16:10, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unbalanced

Is it just me or does this article seem very music heavy? There are large paragraphs devoted to Chorus, Orchestra, and Band. And not only is the article heavily weighted towards music, but only recent musical achievements. I honestly thinks it's a case of current students twanting to get their personal accomplishments in the article. Facts such as sports titles or major clubs awards are more relevant than individual music achievements. DevelopmentArrested 20:01, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I tend to agree. I think Edward Z. Yang's suggestion from 19 July 2006 above (the Improv talk section) is a workable idea. Governor's School has its own article but there are 90 or so students at each Gov. School each year so I don't think individual students are notable enough to mention. I'm not knowledgeable about music awards but state level awards I think are notable enough for their own article if they don't exist already, and a list of winners would more logically be included there. Wl219 20:12, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
I must admit, I haven't been paying very close attention to this article (a big no-no for a Wikipedian who does indeed go to the school). The article is certainly music heavy, although I disagree that sports titles/major club awards are necessarily "more relevant" (disclaimer: I participate in all three groups). I'm not opposed to trimming down the band sections, as well as adding more info on the sports clubs, but we need to keep an eye on citing sources. I've already removed the personal accomplishment mentions from the article: some of them were even downright wrong. — Edward Z. Yang(Talk) 20:28, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
Chorus, Orchestra, and Band, and other "music related" subjects are a major portion of J.P. Stevens. More than a third of the student body participates in these subjects.
A large portion of the student body participates in sports too, but we haven't listed highlights from every sport from every season. Wl219 06:29, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
Is it really necessary to have a section like "The 2007-2008 Marching Hawks" I think its just a case of current JPS students wanting their names on wikipedia (i.e "The three Drum Majors are Kristie Kuo, Michael Zhang, and Edward Yang.")67.82.239.20 01:25, 6 November 2007 (UTC)
I agree, I think most of this is superfluous and should be deleted. As someone who also goes to this school, I think that some of the other clubs should have more information.--Futbol4life (talk) 02:42, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Link to The JP Social Network?

Why is the link to the JP Alumni social network always deleted from the JP min page.

The link I refer to is hawktalk.ning.com

This is a social network created for and by JP Alumni. The site is free, it reconnects friends, raises money for JP scholarships, creates volunteer opportunities and above all is a digital place to remenisce.

It is the most important link on the site and probably needs more attention paid to it or a page of its own.

Getting deleted is not acceptable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Valliebe (talk • contribs) 02:51, 25 March 2008 (UTC)