| Herricks High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| New Hyde Park, New York, USA | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Superintendent | Jack Bierwirth |
| Enrollment | 1450 |
| Color(s) | Royal Blue, Silver |
| Athletics | 16 sports: cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, winter track, wrestling, badminton, baseball, lacrosse, softball, spring track, roller hockey, swimming |
| Mascot | The Highlander |
| Website | www.herricks.org/highschool.cfm |
Herricks High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school with 1450 students accredited by the New York State Board of Regents and the Middle States Association. The school is located in New Hyde Park, New York, 20 miles east of Manhattan. Dr. Jack Bierwirth, son of an ambassador in the Reagan Administration, is the superintendent of the Herricks School District, and Dr. Jane Modoono is the Principal of Herricks High School.
Known for the "Herricks Prayer Case, Engel v. Vitale," the Herricks School District (a.k.a. Union Free School District #9) was sued by five district property owners in 1959. "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country." was recited as a daily procedure on the recommendation of the NY State Board of Regents. This case was decided by the U. S. Supreme Court, which ruled the prayer unconstitutional in 1962.[1] [2]
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Herricks offers 25 Advanced Placement courses. Over 300 students take AP exams each year. The courses include:
Other Advanced Courses include:
Herricks follows the 4.0 GPA system. It also has weighted GPA for students who take AP and Honors classes.
Herricks has a highly-acclaimed music department. The music department is home to ten different performing ensembles, including several advanced groups: Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, and Chamber Choir.
Many students regularly attend the NYSSMA Festival and a large number of them are accepted into the NMEA All-County, All-State, and All-Eastern Music festivals.
Herricks is also home to Chapter 1975 of the Tri-M Music Honors Society, which won Chapter of the Year in 2005 for its member enrollment and participation. Herricks Tri-M is responsible for the creation of Herricks Idol, which is a take-off on American Idol, originally hosted by Devin Doyle and Lucy Cohen, but for high school students.
After becoming immensely popular in Herricks, the Herricks Idol concept was used by other high schools.
Herricks DECA is the largest club in the school. Each year, Herricks has between 70-80 students who compete at the regional competition. Of those, about 40-50 make it to the state competition held in Rochester, New York. After competing at states, students who advance to nationals attend the International Career Development Conference. A president, vice president, vice president of competitive events, treasurer, secretary, historian and parliamentarian are elected by the membership of approx. 200 students each year. Mr. Claude Commisso is the advisor.
Every year, the World Affairs Club organizes the Herricks Model Congress, which is hosted at the high school over a weekend that usually falls on the latter part of the school year, around February and early March. This club is focused around debating issues through the use of bills and parliamentary procedure, thus creating a "model congress". This club is overseen by advisors, and directed by an executive board of student officials. A general chair, associate general chair, delegate chair, agenda chair, and finance chair are elected each year. The club becomes a delegation which debates and competes in foreign congresses, both college congresses and those associated with the United Model Congreses. As a member of United Model Congress (UMC), Herricks follows the guidelines set by the UMC and also regularly attends the congresses in it.
The Herricks Quiz Bowl team has been successful in the 'Long Island Challenge', a televised trivia contest and show in the tri-state area. Herricks has won the Challenge once. Craig Lagnese originally ran the program until 2009.
Herricks participates annually in the national 'We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution' competition. The Herricks team was first formed in 2004 by social studies teacher Jodi Volper, now Mrs. Thompson. Within the school, the class is called United States Constitutional Issues and can be taken as an 11th or 12th grader for 1/2 an elective credit. In 2005 and 2006, the team represented Herricks in the State level competition, both times coming in fifth place in New York . Mrs. Thompson's team recently received second place in New York State.
The Model United Nations class was founded in 2005 by Chloe Graef. Later on, in 2006, it was expanded to be a club. The class and club are partially funded by the Foreign Policy Association and students participating in these activities go to several conferences where they "represent" countries. The class aims to promote the study of international affairs and current events. The Model UN class, while ever changing, has won several awards at many conferences. Their most recent award is the "Outstanding Small Delegation" award won at the Rutgers Model United Nations Conference (RuMUN) on November 15, 2009.
Herricks has a Mock Trial team, which is composed of 12 members: six lawyers and six witnesses. The Mock Trial team presents a fictitious case but using proper law procedure and conduct. It allows students to master verbal communication and further grasp the abstract concepts of the United States Constitution. Competing with schools from all around New York State, the primary objective is to win the Nassau County championship to advance to the State Championship in May. In the 2005-2006 school year the team advanced to the quarter-finals for the county led by school advisers, John McManus and Mrs. Wolf and attorney adviser, Chris Cartier . Competitions continuously run throughout the year, starting about early to mid February with a two-round preliminary trial. The 2006 year was the first time the Mock Trial team was able to advance to the playoffs beyond this preliminary trial, and they also accomplished this during the 2007-2008 year (top 8) and the 2010-2011 year (top 16). Members work constantly during the week though regular meetings are held every Wednesday by AP Psychology and Social Studies teacher, John McManus and Christine Wolf.
Herricks has a thorough sports program offering badminton, softball, baseball, tennis, soccer, wrestling, volleyball, lacrosse, roller hockey, basketball, bowling, fencing, swimming, track and cheerleading teams. The director of athletics is Jim Petricca.
In the 2006-2007 school year there was no varsity football team due to the lack of players. During the 2007 season the Herricks Varsity football team won its first homecoming win in more than 5 years . However, the varsity football team has not won another homecoming game since then.
Herricks has a thorough sports program offering badminton, softball, baseball, tennis, soccer, wrestling, volleyball, lacrosse, roller hockey, basketball, bowling, fencing, swimming, track and cheerleading teams. The director of athletics is Jim Petricca.
The school's varsity soccer team is ranked among the top 15 in Long Island in winning percentage. They enjoyed a successful run to the Long Island Championship in 2005 after beating favorites Massapequa only to lose to Brentwood 3-2.
Herricks has several publications. These include the Highlander newspaper, and the OPUS literary magazine. All publications are written and operated mainly by students.
Herricks High School stands on Watermelon Hill. The land near the area was a burial ground for the Pearsall family starting in the 17th century, but the burial grounds were later removed.[3]
The High School opened in September 1958 and had its first graduating class in 1960.[4]