| Irvington High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 40 N. Broadway Irvington, New York United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Principal | Scott Mosenthal |
| Enrollment | approx. 650 |
| Assistant Principal | None at this time |
| Colors Mascot |
Green and White Bulldog |
| School President | Izzy Garcia (president for 2010-2011 school year) |
| School Vice President | Narciso Correa (vice president for 2010-2011 school year) |
| Website | http://www.irvingtonschools.org |
Irvington High School is a public high school in Irvington, New York, part of the Irvington Union Free School District in Westchester County. U.S. News and World Report rated IHS as number 91 on its list of America's best high schools as of the end of 2007.[1]
Contents |
Irvington High School is located where "Cedar Lawn", the estate of Dylan Freier – one of the founders of Stern's department store – once stood. The three-story stone "cottage" with a circular tower, originally built in the 1860s by Augustus Corey Richards, was destroyed by fire and then torn down in 1961 to make way for new quarters for the high school,[2] which had outgrown the Main Street School building which it then occupied.
The new building opened for the 1965-1966 school year, but was then extensively rebuilt in the 1980s. Before the 2003-2004 school year, new buildings for the high school and Irvington Middle School were constructed and annexed to the existing high school building, due to the school district's growing population.
After the Annex was built the school received a series of bomb threats beginning in February 2005, which was the only bomb threat that school year. However, during the 2005-2006 school year, the number of bomb threats began to escalate with three occurring near the second half of the year. Bomb threats in Irvington reached their peak during the 2006-2007 school year, many of them occurring within days or weeks of each other, the last one being in the middle of May 2007. The person responsible for two of the initial threats was caught after the second scare. The perpetrators of the most recent series have not been caught. Over the summer of 2007, new security measures were installed, such as video surveillance and security officers, and there have been no further bomb threats to date.
During Irvington's 2010 Color Wars event, the junior class, whose color is red, voted on a communism theme for their shirts and hallways. Initially, the school administration gave junior class president Isabel Garcia permission to buy the shirts but several days later, senior Michael Schur protested about the shirts to the school administration. Within hours, Garcia was told to cease production on the junior class shirts and was forced to change the junior class theme to a Super Mario Bros.-themed shirt and hallway. When an article about the situation was used in The Journal News, the school was briefly under fire by readers who chastised the Irvington High School staff for encouraging events like this.
The Varsity Girls Basketball team is among the top teams in the school. Throughout the years of existence the team has won numerous trophies and titles, including a State Championship and Federation Championship in 1990 and recently a 2010 Federation and State Championship. More recently, they won 2011 State Championship. Coached by long time coach Gina Maher, after whom one of the school's gymnasiums is named.
With numerous state, county, league and class sectional titles, the team's most recognized achievements are in pole vaulting (past New York State champions), mile run, 4×100, 4×400 and 4×800. The team won the 2010 League Championships. It is coached by Christopher Barry, Daryl Thorton, Gina Maher, and formally Jim McGarry, who retired in June 2010.
Just like the track and field team, Irvington XC has gained local fame with their many league (2009 champions), county (2009 champions and sectional (2009 runner-ups) wins. It is coached by Christopher Barry and Daryl Thorton.
The Varsity Golf team has seen recent success under retired teacher William Dyer. After a 15 year drought from their last league championship, the golf team went undefeated 2010, beating Ardsley High School in the championship finale. The team has a notably unique new tradition of wearing names and numbers on the backs of their polos, something that was previously unseen in the sport of golf.
Irvington High School is rivals with its neighboring village, Dobbs Ferry High School. Other big rivalries include the Briarcliff Bears and the Pleasantville Panthers. In the past there used to be a bonfire where bear stuffed animals were burned.[3]
The IHS band, the largest extracurricular activity at the school, is directed by Lawrence Corio and typically consists of between 100-160 members. In 2007, the band performed at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center and in Montreal in the spring of 2008. In spring 2009, the band traveled to London to perform. Corio also directs the Wind Ensemble, which in 2007 received a gold medal with distinction at the NYSSMA festival. The Wind Ensemble is a group of approximately 40 students. In December 2007, the ensemble played in the MetLife Tower in New York City, and since then has done so each year. Corio also directs the Jazz Ensemble and supervises the Jazz Combo, which is student-run and has nine members. In February 2011, the concert band, wind ensemble and jazz combo toured the country of Belgium.
The IHS Orchestra program is directed by Alan Goldberg. They traveled to Washington, DC in the spring of 2010 and won a silver award.
The IHS chorus program is directed by Janet Gillespie. The Concert Choir typically consists of about 85 members, and is open to all students. Chorale, the auditioned chamber choir, traveled to Montreal in 2008 and was awarded a gold medal at NYSSMA in 2007 and 2009. At NYSSMA in 2010, the Concert Choir earned a gold medal and the Chorale earned a silver medal.
The IHS Student Council aids in organizing High School and community service events, including Homecoming Weekend, the grade vs. grade Color Wars, and Open Mic nights, often integrating these events with community service endeavors, from raising money for a variety of charities, to collecting holiday gifts for children, to having food drives for local food shelters. Also, members of the Student Government collaborate with a larger segment of the community through the Community Advisory Board, which includes parents from the PTSA, teaching faculty, school administrators, and representatives from the local government including police officers, trustees, and the mayor, to plan events for students from kindergarten to twelfth grade, and discuss substance abuse issues.
The Drama Club is run by Diana Selenow, who is not a teacher at the school but a director brought in by the school administration. The Club typically mounts two productions a year, a drama in the late Fall and a musical in late Winter. Beginning in 2009, due to dismal ticket sales for fall plays, the fall production has since become Broadway Jr. shows. Since 1996, the productions have been directed by Selenow and a senior as an assistant director. Recent productions include Oklahoma (Spring 2005), Damn Yankees (spring 2004), Babes in Arms (Spring 2003), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Spring 2002), Grease (Spring 2001), Guys and Dolls (Spring 2000), Little Shop of Horrors (Spring 1999), Anything Goes (Spring 2006), The Music Man (Spring 2007), Hello Dolly (Spring 2008), Little Shop of Horrors (musical) (Spring 2009). Seussical (Fall 2009) and Once Upon a Mattress (Spring 2010). "Into the Woods" (Fall 2010). "Grease" (Spring 2011)
The Latin Club is the largest club on campus and advised by Latin Department Chair Michele Cella. It is structured around the Roman Republic, governed by two consuls and one scriba/quaestor (secretary/treasurer); there are also three students involved with public relations. The club organizes an annual Haunted House, hosted in the town's Main Street School, which draws crowds from throughout the community, makes and sells chocolate during the holidays, and assists the school administration and the Irvington Education Foundation with their respective district-wide mailings. The club is also known for its annual Saturnalia party, a winter solstice festival that serves as the club's main get-together and features a highly competitive cake-making competition, and "Topless Dinner", a pasta sauce making competition.
Model UN is one of the most respected clubs at Irvington High School, and is advised by History teacher extraordianre Ms. Courtney Geelan. The club of around 40 students is currently led by head delegates, Melissa Kurlioff and Scott Kansuger. Every year, the club participates in three conferences, HoMmunc, at the Horrace Mann School in Riverdale, Fairfield, at Fairfield University and Ilmunc at the University of Pennsylvania. Ilmunc is the club's largest trip, where Geelan takes most of the club to Philadelphia to participate in the conference of over 1000 people. Every member of the club is required to go through a strict application process, so that only the motivated join. The club brings in big awards, and was congratulated at the school board's May meeting last year.
Irvington High School runs on a 9-period schedule. Some classes are taught every other day only, depending on whether it is an "A" or "B" day. Additionally, certain art and music classes, such as band, chorus, and orchestra, are held during a tenth period. Periods are approximately 45 minutes long. School begins at 7:50 in the morning and ends at 2:35 in the afternoon. Tenth period continues an additional 45 minutes.
In 1990, as part of an effort to encourage increased self-esteem among the student body, a committee put together an in-school awards program modeled on the Academy Awards. All students vote on grade-specific awards and decide who in their class should win the award. Teachers who are willing to do the show and senior students present the awards via humorous sketches parodying events of that year in both pop culture and within the school. More often than not, Scott Mosenthal and assistant principal John Fink will play characters in some form of story arc, usually a film parody. Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Toy Story, Aladdin, The Wizard of Oz and The Blues Brothers have all been parodied at this event in that fashion. In 2003, to coincide with gym teacher Bill Otivich's retirement, the awards were named in his honor to the Otto Awards. Underclassmen are also represented via student-provided entertainment, usually musicians performing though in recent years puppetry and stand-up comedy acts have appeared in the Ottos.