Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School

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Scotch Plains - Fanwood High School
Location
641 Westfield Road
Scotch Plains, NJ, 07076
USA
Information
Principal Dr. David Heisey
Enrollment

1,464 (as of 2005-06)[1]
Faculty 101.7 (on FTE basis)[1]
Student:teacher ratio 14.4[1]
Type Public high school
Campus Suburban, 29 acres
Team name Raiders
Color(s) Blue and White
Information 908-889-8600
Homepage School website

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school in Union County, New Jersey, which serves students in Grades 9 through 12 from the Township of Scotch Plains and the Borough of Fanwood as part of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District. The school is located in Scotch Plains.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,464 students and 101.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 14.4.[1]

For the 2005-06 School year, mean scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) were a combined 1,600, 71st highest among New Jersey's public high schools.[2]

In order to qualify for graduation, students must complete one hundred and twenty (120) credits of course work. Over 80% of students participated in clubs, athletics, service organizations, and music programs. In the class of 2008, there were ten National Merit Commended Students. In the class of 2003, Twenty-one students were named Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars. There were 289 Advanced Placement Program (AP) Examinations administered in 21 subject areas; 71% of the students received a score of 3 or better giving them exemption from certain required courses at various colleges and universities. 98% of the class of 2003 was enrolled in the college preparatory course of study. A total of $2,407,154 in scholarship money was awarded to graduates for their outstanding academic achievements.

Contents

[edit] Awards and recognition

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School was the 64th-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.[3]

[edit] Sports

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School participates in the Watchung Conference, a high school sports association under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The conference consists of public high schools covering Essex County, Hudson County and Union County.

Scotch Plains Fanwood has one of the most storied soccer programs in the state, winners of seven Group III State Championships since 1987. The team has finished the season ranked as one of the top 25 teams in the nation on numerous occasions.

The 2008 boys basketball team won the North II, Group III state sectional championship with a 59-39 win over Colonia High School in the tournament final.[4] The win was the team's first sectional title in almost 50 years.[5]

[edit] Music

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School is host to a large music program. They include multiple choruses such as Concert Choir, Show Choir (an audition-only dancing choir), Select Choir (an audition-only mixed voices choir) and two single-sex audition-only choirs, Men's Choir and Las Contadoras. The band program consists of Freshman Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Lab band (new band as of 2004-2005 school year), the SPF marching band, and two Jazz bands, SPF Jazz band and the Moonglowers. The Moonglowers compete annually in the New Jersey State Jazz Finals. In the 2005-2006 school year, the SPF jazz band made school history by making the New Jersey State Jazz Finals for the first time along with the Moonglowers. In the 2006-2007 school year, SPF Jazz and The Moonglowers both made the State Jazz Finals, with The Moonglowers taking home 1st place as champions and SPF Jazz taking 4th place. During the 2007-2008 school year both SPF Jazz and the Moonglowers made the State Jazz Finals again. However this time SPF Jazz came away as the champions with a 1st place finish and the Moonglowers finishing in 2nd which marked the first time both bands from Scotch Plains finished in the top three.[citation needed]

Scotch Plains-Fanwood is also home to the Repertory Theatre program, which in the past five years has put on such shows as Footloose, Les Misérables, West Side Story, 42nd Street, and Once Upon a Mattress, garnering a number of Rising Star Award nominations from the Paper Mill Playhouse, including one win for Outstanding Student Orchestra, for 42nd Street in 2006.[6] This year, Repertory Theatre will be putting on a production of the musical, Urinetown.

[edit] SPF Raider Marching Band

The 2006-2007 Marching band's show was entitled "Mystic Journey" with selections from Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings movies. They competed in the USSBA NJ State finals, and won with a score of 86.6. They also competed in the USSBA All State finals, and won second place, with a score of 90.1.

The 2007-2008 Marching band's show was entitled "Quest: Visions of a Dream" with selection from Zorro and Man of la Mancha. The SPF Raider Marching Band competed at the USSBA Yamaha Cup in Giant's Stadium and took second place. At the USSBA New Jersey State Finals, the Marching Band took first place for the second year in a row while also receiving the award for best percussion for the third year in a row. Moving on to the All-Eastern Finals in Allentown, P.A., the band received the award for second place as well as caption awards for best percussion.

[edit] Notable alumni

  • Carol Bellamy, a 1959 graduate of the high school, was appointed Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 1995 and was re-appointed in 1999. Prior to her UNICEF appointment, Ms. Bellamy served as the Director of the Peace Corps beginning in 1993. She served five years in the New York State Senate. In 1978, she was the first women to be named President of the New York City Council.[citation needed]
  • Jean Burgdorff, a 40's graduate of SPFHS, was a co-founder of Burgdorff Realtors in 1958. Her company has evolved into a major force in the New Jersey real estate market, providing outstanding service to its customers. Burgdorff Realtors has grown into a 700-agent company with 16 offices throughout Northern and Central New Jersey.[citation needed]
  • Derrick Caracter (1988-) NBA Draft prospect, former power forward/center for the Louisville Cardinals basketball team. Played at St. Patrick for his freshman, junior and parts of his senior year.[7]
  • Donald T. DiFrancesco is a 1962 graduate of SPFHS. He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1976 and moved to the New Jersey Senate in 1979. He served as the Senate President for 10 years and was the Acting Governor of New Jersey for 11 months.[citation needed]
  • Patricia Jean Falkenhain Geiringer was a classical repertory actress who won critical acclaim for her many roles in on and off-Broadway productions over many decades. Ms. Geiringer, who was a mainstay of ensembles at the Public Theater and Long Wharf in Connecticut, was a member of Joseph Papp's first New York Shakespeare Company in Central Park. She was also selected as a permanent member of New York's Phoenix Theatre, winning two Obie Awards in one season.[citation needed]
  • Scott Goldblatt, Swimmer who won a Gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and a Silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, with both medals earned in the 4 x 200 m Freestyle Relay.[8]
  • Jeffrey Hammonds, baseball Olympian, twelve years in major leagues including one all star appearance.[9]
  • Nathan Jones, Dallas Cowboys cornerback, Rutgers academic All-American.[10]
  • Renaldo Nehemiah, held 110 meter hurdles record for years, twice Superstars Champion, San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver.[11]
  • Joe Scarpati, holder for Tom Dempsey's record 63 yard field goal in 1970.[12]
  • Marc Shaiman, Tony and Grammy winning composer, five time Academy Award-nominee.[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2007.
  2. ^ 2005-06 School Test Score Rankings: SAT, The Star-Ledger. Accessed July 3, 2007.
  3. ^ "Top Public High Schools in New Jersey" (Schools 51-100), New Jersey Monthly, September 2006, backed up by Internet Archive as of March 10, 2007. Accessed March 5, 2008.
  4. ^ 2008 Boys Basketball - North II, Group III, NJSIAA. Accessed March 12, 2008.
  5. ^ Rosenfeld, Josh. "Dougher helps Scotch Plains capture crown", The Star-Ledger, March 5, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2008. "Dougher struck for 26 points before exiting the game for good with 4:08 to play to lead Scotch Plains to its first sectional title since it defeated Hillside, 65-46, for the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 title in 1960."
  6. ^ PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE RISING STAR AWARDS 2006 AWARD RECIPIENTS, presented June 13, 2006
  7. ^ Goodman, Jeff. "Heralded recruit struggles with expectations", USA Today, November 16, 2005. Accessed November 30, 2007.
  8. ^ "Swimmer ready for the race of his life", The Star-Ledger, September 17, 2000. "Name: Scott Goldblatt Age: 21 Hometown: Summit Residence: Scotch Plains, until going away to college in Austin, Texas. Education: He attended Mcginn Elementary School, Coles Elementary School and Terrill Middle School in Scotch Plains and then the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, graduating in 1997."
  9. ^ Olson, Drew. "Rich brew: Hammonds breaks bank of Brewers", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 22, 2000. Accessed December 13, 2007.
  10. ^ Professional Donation, The Westfield Leader, February 10, 2005. Accessed July 3, 2007. "Former Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School football star Nathan Jones, now playing for the Dallas Cowboys, donated his jersey to the school."
  11. ^ Konecky, Chad. "Player Profile: Cordera Jenkins (Dickinson, Texas)", Rise Magazine, March 29, 2006. Accessed July 3, 2007. "In 1977, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High (N.J.) senior Renaldo Nehemiah, who later won a Super Bowl ring as a San Francisco 49ers wideout, ran a computer-timed 12.98 in the 120-yard high hurdles, which remains the fastest finish over an equivalent distance in scholastic history."
  12. ^ "Honoring Former High School Greats", The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood, November 13, 1997. "Mayor Connelly presented a plaque to Mr. Scarpati, who lettered in football, basketball and track for the Raiders and served as the captain of the football team in 1959. Mr. Scarpati went on to play as a defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints professional football teams, and was the holder of the record-setting 63-yard field goal kicked by Tom Dempsey in 1970 during the game between the Saints and the Detroit Lions."
  13. ^ "Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman perform benefit for Brook Arts Center", BroadwayWorld.com, March 8, 2004. Acecssed July 3, 2007. "Mr. Shaiman was only 13 years old and a 9th grader at Scotch Plains High School at the time."

[edit] External links