Newfield High School

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Newfield High School
Established	1959
Type	Public
Principal	Allan Bauer
Asst. Principal	Angela Carbuto, Timothy Maher, Brett MacMonigle
Teaching staff	108
Students	~ 1700
Grades	9-12
Location	145 Marshall Drive, Selden, New York, United States
District	Middle Country
Accreditation	State of New York
Campus	Open
Colors	Red & White
Mascot	Wolverine

Newfield High School is a public high school in Selden, New York, which is located in Suffolk County, Long Island in the United States. It is located 1 mile north of Middle Country Road (Route 25) on Marshall Drive.

1 History and Overview
2 Athletics
3 Academics
4 Music and Drama
5 Events of note
6 Notable alumni
7 Miscellaneous
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History and Overview

Newfield opened its doors in approximately 1959, as suburban growth spread into central Suffolk county, to serve students previously sent to Port Jefferson High School. Newfield's name is derived from the former names of both Centereach (which adjoins Selden and is part of the same school district) and Selden; New Village and Westfield.

It has always served as secondary school, currently educating students from the 9th through 12th grade. In the past, students from the 9th grade where educated at Selden Junior High School, and this changed when the Junior High formally became Selden Middle School and the 9th grade was passed on to Newfield.

Newfield went through a major renovation in the early 1990s, upgrading some of the school's features that had deteriorated over time. A new senior hallway and courtyard were redesigned after years of neglect. The sporting fields and lot areas were also updated.

The school colors are red and white, and the mascot is the "wolverine".

[edit] Athletics

Newfield fields a number of varsity and junior varsity athletic teams, in Section 11, Division 2 of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, including Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Fencing, Field Hockey, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball (Girls), and Wrestling.

Although team uniforms use the school's red and white colors, in the late 1990s, varsity teams began using black as a third color to distinguish from junior varsity.

Football. The Wolverines were in the bottom echelon of Division 2 football for many years since the 1980s. Before the 1980s, the team enjoyed some success, and won four league titles. In recent years the Newfield football team has experienced a resurgence, and have not a losing season since 2003. In the summer of 2007, the team suffered the tragic loss of varsity football player Ray Cuiffo due to a car accident, and a memorial was placed on the football field in his memory.

Fencing. Newfield is widely recognized for its varsity fencing program, which began in 1964. Noted as the most successful athletic program in the school's history, it is also one of the most storied fencing programs in the nation. Alumni from the program have gone on to coach and fence at the following schools: Princeton University, Brandeis University, St. John's University (Christopher Zebuth), the University of Notre Dame (All-American Ray Benson) The Ohio State University, United States Air Force Academy (Shawn Bertel) , Penn State University, Rutgers University, Cornell University, Temple University and many others. 1974 Olympic Fencing Team member Edward Donofrio was also an alumnus. The program has also sent many athletes to represent Long Island in the "Empire State Games," the largest amateur athletic games in the nation, and many earned Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals.

Van Wolosin. Van Wolosin served as the teams coach for over 30 seasons, through 2001. Wolosin had garnered more League and County Championships than any other boys fencing team on Long Island. He was also chosen as Coach of the year more times than any other coach in Suffolk County history. Wolosin coached well over 100 All-County Athletes, dozens of County Champions and finalists, and won over 300 dual meets, an unbelievable accomplishment. The Newfield Boys Varsity Fencing Team finished as a County Medalist almost every year under Wolosin's guidance, and had even beaten collegiate teams. In his last two seasons, Wolosin led the team to two consecutive undefeated seasons, winning the League Championships and County Championships, earning Coach of the year both seasons, and finishing with multiple Individual County Champions, 8 of 9 starters earning All-County Honors, and almost a dozen Individual County Finalists.

Recent fencing accomplishments. In the 2001-2002 season, Jerome Cordero took over after the retirement of Van Wolosin. Cordero continued the fencing team's success earning silver, gold, and another silver medal at the Suffolk County Championships, respectively in his first three seasons. In 2004, Cordero left the program, leaving the position to teacher Keith Gillespie, a former lacrosse and former football coach. Gillespie, who lacks experience in the sport, tied for 3rd (in his first season with the team), and has not been able to return the program to its past glory. With 4th and 5th place finishes over the past two seasons, and less than a 50% winning record, the team has entered its worst slump in over 3 decades.

Girl's Fencing. Newfield Girl's Fencing team has started to make a name for themselves under the instruction of Don Bahr. Bahr took over the girl's team in the 2001-2002 season, with no fencing background. He studied the sport and has become one of the top coaches in the county. In his last 5 seasons, starting with the 2003-2004 season, his team has finished in the top 4, with one 4th place finish, three bronze medals and this year's 2007-2008 silver medal. In Bahr's seven seasons with the team he has a winning percentage over 50%, coached over ten girls into the county finalists and coached two county finalist champions.

Some notable Newfield fencing alumni are currently fencing coaches in Nassau County. Those alumni are: Kyle Schirmer (2007 Nassau Boy's Coach of the Year), Robert Piraino (President, Nassau Fencing Coaches Assoc.) and Robert Soria (2007 Nassau Girl's Coach of the Year). Referees also include, Chris Zebuth, Jeremy Goun, Nicole Schirmer, Matt Laudicina.

WRESTLING. The wolverines wrestling team coached by Mike Newel and by alumni returning Johnny Klinger. Coach Mike Newel took the job in 2002-2003 and Really has turned the program around he has sent many of his wrestlers into Counties such as Spencer brady david nizdo were very good wrestlers John Siopa and Anthony Adamic were also County football players as well. The wolverines are in League three in one of the most challenging leagues on the Island Westislip,Eastislip, Hills East, Smithtown East, Copiague, Northbabylon and Cross town Rival Centereach the Team finished 0-8 this year in league three with a few close matches. The Wolverines are a very young team and next year are depending on there seniors to step up.

[edit] Academics

In recent years, Newfield High School has considerably revamped its science program to include a research organization that encourages students to participate in programs at nearby Stony Brook University. Newfield has recently had several participants in the nationwide Intel Science Talent Search.

[edit] Music and Drama

Music. Newfield houses a music and theater education department. In 2006, the Music Department had its annual Music In the Parks trip; receiving 3 1st Place In Band, Orchestra, Chorus, and Jazz Ensembles and 2 Superior ratings. The Music department also participated and hosted the NYSSMA Major Ensemble Festival receiving, gold, silver, bronze and Gold With Distinction. In 2007, Newfield's Tonya Yeung has participated on All-Eastern level for their 3rd time in history.

Drama. The Newfield High School drama department is one of the top 45 in public schools of Long Island, New York. Although the music and theatre department are so widely recognized, district budget cuts greatly tax the department. Students often buy supplies with their own money.

Other recent Newfield High School Theatre Productions include:

The Music Man (1999) A Christmas Carol (1999) South Pacific (2000) Father of the Bride (2000) Guys and Dolls (2001) Cry Innocent/Spoon River Anthologies (2001) Peter Pan (2002) Dracula (2002) Annie Get Your Gun (2003) Amadeus (2003) My Fair Lady (2004) Heaven Can Wait (2004) Cabaret (2005) The Crucible (Fall 2005) Les Miserables (Spring 2006) The Man Who Came To Dinner (Fall 2006) The Wiz (Spring 2007) Neil Simon's Fools (Fall 2007) Anything Goes (March 2008)

[edit] Events of note

Newfield gained significant notoriety in the mid 1980s, when junior Sean Pica was arrested for the shooting death of the father of his homeroom classmate Cheryl Pierson, which occurred on Feb. 5, 1986. Ms. Pierson alleged that her father had committed incest, and Mr. Pica agreed to help by killing the father in return for $400.^[1]

The event garnered substantial attention from the national press, and spawned a TV-movie, A Deadly Silence (1989)[1], which followed the book of the same name by New York Times reporter Dena Kleiman.^[2]. Ms. Pierson ended up spending 3 1/2 months in jail, while Mr. Pica was incarcerated for 16 years and released in December 2002, and began working as a counselor for former convicts.

Newfield was also in the national news in Spring of 2004 for a decidedly less serious matter, when, as part of a senior prank, a letter was sent to the homes of all seniors stating that hotel rooms, lubricants and contraceptives (a "protection package") would be provided for the students at the senior prom if they wanted them, for a "fun, yet safe night".^[3] The hoax letter had apparently been slipped in with the normal bulk mail in the school's main office, and was condemned by the school administration. Although it is worth noting that at the 2005 graduation ceremony, the principal mused that "life doesn't come with a protection package" in direct reference to the aforementioned prank.

[edit] Notable alumni

Some notable Newfield attendees include:

Nick Bruckner, Former NFL Jets player^[4]
Bob Burnett, Former NFL Football Player, member of 2000 Super Bowl Winning Baltimore Ravens^[5]
Thomas K. Campagna, Divorce attorney for a number of high profile celebrities. Also, attorney in landmark NY Court of Appeals case ^[6]
Linda Cohn (1977), ESPN Sportscenter Anchor
Jared Cotter (1999), Top 24 performer on season six of American Idol in 2007
Mike Denimarck (1969), All-American football player for Emporia State University, drafted by Detroit Lions.
Edward Donofrio (1969), Member of US Olympic fencing team, and 1976 US National Men's Foil Champion^[7]
Jillian Lewis, Designer on Project Runway (season 4).^[8]
Daniel Loria, Actor & musical recording artist and entertainer
Chris Mezzolesta (1981), Musician, commercial voice actor and member of comedy rock band Power Salad, oft played on the Dr. Demento radio show.
Sean Pica, Killed Mr. Pierson in 1986. Story gained national notoriety.
Cheryl Pierson, Paid to have her father killed by Sean Pica due to allegations of incest.
Louis Young, Channel 7 News, WABC-TV (1980-90)^[9]

[edit] Miscellaneous

Located adjacent to Newfield on the north side is Selden Middle School, separated by a fence & athletic fields. There also is a back road through the sports fields that staff can use to shuttle between schools. Some teachers have classes in both schools and "commute". The road closed down to auto traffic and gated off by the early 1980s because it was a 1/4 mile straight strip and sometimes used as a "drag strip".