Lawrence High School (New Jersey)

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Lawrence High School
Location
2525 Princeton Pike
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
Information
School district Lawrence Township Public Schools
Principal David Roman
Asst. Principal Dave Adam
Mindy Milavsky
Dave Milinowicz
Enrollment

1,399 (as of 2005-06)[1]
Faculty 93.3 (on FTE basis)[1]
Student:teacher ratio 15.0[1]
Type Public high school
Grades 9 - 12
Athletics conference Colonial Valley Conference
Team name Cardinals
Color(s) Red and white
Information 609-671-5510
Homepage School website

Lawrence High School (LHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, serving grades 9-12 as part of the Lawrence Township Public Schools. LHS was built in the early 1960s.

Students from Robbinsville Township (known as Washington Township until 2007) had attended Lawrence High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship which ended with the final group of seniors who graduated in the 2006-07 school year. Cranbury Township had sent students to Lawrence High School until they began a relationship with Princeton High School.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,399 students and 93.3 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis, for a student-teacher ratio of 15.0.[1]

The school colors are red and white. The school mascot is the Cardinal.

Lawrence High School was the 123rd-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.[2] Lawrence High School had been ranked in the top 75 high schools in previous year's rankings. New administration has begun a process of curriculum articulation, curriculum mapping, and other initiatives in an effort to reverse the decline.

Contents

[edit] Facilities

A major renovation project of LHS was begun in June 2004. These renovations include a new cafeteria, new state-of-the-art music facilities, several new science labs & classrooms, and a new media center.

[edit] Curriculum

Lawrence High School offers numerous honors and Advanced Placement Program (AP) classes including AP United States History, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Music Theory, AP English Literature, AP Calculus (both AB and BC), AP European History, AP United States Government and Politics, and AP Studio Art. The High School also offers Cisco I and II, a certified networking course from Cisco Systems.

[edit] Athletics

The school has a very strong athletics program that includes some very successful teams. Lawrence High's most successful teams are: Football, Golf, Wrestling, Field Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Tennis, and Cross-Country.

The Lawrence Boys Swim Team won the Colonial Valley Conference in 2005 and 2007 with a 16-1 record both seasons. They were also the MCT (Mercer County Tournament) Champions in 2007. The Girls swim team followed this success in 2006 by winning the Central "A" Division State Title with a 91-79 win against West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South.[3]

The Boys Football team won the Colonial Valley Conference titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2006, the team made it to the state playoffs as the top seed, only to be knocked off by 8th-seeded Moorestown High School at home 19-14 in the first round of the tournament.[4] In 2007, the team made it to state playoffs once again but were defeated by Middletown South at home in the first round, 16-6.[5]

In 2004, four students began competing for the high school's newly formed figure skating team. The team consistently placed in the top three at local competitions, and currently has seven members for the 2005-2006 season.

The Lawrence Wrestling Team was the CVC valley division champions most recently in the 2007-2008 season. Lawrence Wrestling is most notably known for having the only state champion to come out of Mercer County, Mark Savino, whose varsity career consists of 115 wins. Chris Lynn has been the coach for the past 29 years and has 194 dual match victories.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

Lawrence High features clubs such as Drama, a student newspaper, Operation Smile, and Channel Genius- a school-sponsored Counter-Strike team that has triumphed through Cal-Open for the past six seasons. Lawrence High School has a diverse performing arts department including numerous instrumental and choral groups, and an unorthodox marching band, the Red Scare. In 2006 three Lawrence High School students participated in the American Choral Directors Association All-Eastern High School Honor Choir which was under the direction of St. Olaf College Choir director Anton Armstrong. More recently in 2008 three more students were selected to perform with the ACDA Eastern Division Choir under the baton of Timothy Seelig.

Lawrence High's Mock Trial team has been very successful over the past 14 years, winning 11 Mercer County Competitions and six Central Jersey Championships. The team also finished third in the state three times and second in the state three times.

Lawrence High School's DECA chapter is one of the most successful programs at the high school.

[edit] "Red Scare" marching band

The Lawrence High School "Red Scare" Marching Band is the school's un-orthodox marching band, which provides entertainment at school football games, local parades, competitions and in cities across the country, including San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and New Orleans.

The "Red Scare" was established in September 2001 by Mr. Eric Haltmeier and Ms. Lee Neamand. They have been increasingly popular among marching band audiences, and have numerous musicians in their band who have performed at the regional and State Level.

The band makes use of non-traditional instruments such as garbage cans in their routines. Red Scare's main goal is to entertain and involve the audience in each and every show. In addition, the band's field show is different every week. The program's main focus is to let the students govern most major decisions in setting the band's direction.

[edit] District Media Center

Lawrence High School houses Lawrence Township Public School's District Media Center. The media technician, Tom Ervin, administers a program that allows students who are interested in media technology to develop their knowledge and skills in the media field. The media center records and edits high school sports events and concerts that are aired on local Comcast Channel 19 and Verizon Channel 37.

[edit] Student Activism

Lawrence High School has a reputation for having a very politically active student body. In fact comedian Jon Stewart has said that Lawrence High School students in the 1980s were Eugene Debs-like Socialists.

In March 2003 Lawrence High School participated in a student walkout to protest the possibility of an Iraq War.

In Spring 2006, students also organized a petition drive in opposition to the war. The petition asked Congress to ban military recruiters on public high school campuses.

In Spring 2007, The student Darfur watch group created a schoolwide timed-writing on the subject of how the U.N. should react in terms of the crisis in Darfur. Selected letters will be sent to the United Nations Secretary-General.

[edit] Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[6]

  • Principal: Mr. David A. "Your Champion" Roman
  • Assistant Principal (Grade 9, Grade 11 A-I): Dave Adam
  • Assistant Principal (Grade 12, Grade 11 J-O): Mindy Milavsky
  • Assistant Principal (Grade 10, Grade 11 P-Z): Dave Milinowicz
  • Director of Athletics: Mr. Ken Mason

[edit] Noted alumni and faculty

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Lawrence High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed October 30, 2007.
  2. ^ Top Public High Schools in New Jersey: 51-100, New Jersey Monthly, September 2006
  3. ^ 2006 NJSIAA Girls Team Swimming - Central - A, NJSIAA. Accessed August 3, 2006.
  4. ^ 2006 Football Tournament - Central, Group III, accessed November 14, 2006.
  5. ^ 2007 Football - Central, Group III, NJSIAA. Accessed March 10, 2008.
  6. ^ Welcome to Lawrence High School. Accessed June 4, 2008.
  7. ^ JOYNER INDUCTED INTO LAWRENCE HIGH SCHOOL HALL OF HONOR, Rider University press release dated September 29, 1997.
  8. ^ Soccer time at Moochie's fields Town to honor noted player, The Times, November 12, 2006, accessed April 21, 2007. "Myernick played soccer at both Slackwood Elementary and Lawrence High School. At Lawrence, he earned All-American honors and led his soccer team to three state championships."
  9. ^ Patricia Russo: Lucent's Best Hope?, Business Week, May 29, 2003. Today, with an optimism that's reminiscent of her days as captain of the cheerleading squad at Lawrence High School in New Jersey, Lucent's CEO contends that she can return the company to growth."
  10. ^ Comic Jon Stewart to host benefit for former teacher, Princeton Packet by Helen Pettigrew, April 17, 2001. "Jon Stewart, the Lawrence High School alumnus who hosts the Comedy Central hit The Daily Show, will return to his alma mater April 28 as special guest host for a benefit concert honoring Selma Litowitz, his former English teacher who is afflicted with Parkinson's disease."

[edit] External links