John Jay High School (Cross River, New York)

John Jay High School
Location
Cross River, NY, USA
Information
Type Public high school
Principal Ms. Ellen Doherty
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1400
Color(s) Purple, White, Black
Mascot Indian, Statesman
Website

John Jay High School is a public high school located in Cross River, New York.[1] It is the only high school in the Katonah-Lewisboro School District.[2] The school is named after John Jay, a Founding father of the United States, and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who lived nearby.

Contents

History

Academics

John Jay High School has developed a reputation for strong academics; on top of regents and honors level options, the school offers a large and varied selection of AP and college level courses. Recent John Jay graduates have gone on to attend many of the nation's most well regarded colleges and universities including; Northwestern, Williams, Amherst, UChicago, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Washington U, Michigan,Brown, Columbia, Colgate, Dartmouth,Duke, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Penn, and Yale.

'Vagina Monologues' censorship controversy

John Jay briefly made national and international[3] news in March 2007 when three students were facing punishment after reading a poem from the play The Vagina Monologues at an Open Mic Night, an event open to the community. The extract included the word "vagina", and the girls had been asked to edit the word out because of the expected crowd which would include many young children; they had said they would follow this order but then disobeyed (they underlined the word by saying it in unison). The school gave them a one-day suspension - not for what was said, but for their insubordination. The girls decided not to appeal their suspension. They agreed they had been insubordinate, but the incident was widely reported and the original order criticized as an act of censorship. Many students protested the punishment to no avail. However, many students also protested the media's portrayal of the situation, believing that the school had acted correctly and that the girls deserved to be punished for their insubordination, for they had previously agreed not to say the word. The play's author Eve Ensler gave the students her support[4] and was invited by parents for a school visit. The suspension was put on hold while policies were reviewed and eventually rescinded.[5]

Bomb scare

On January 30, 2008, a note was found that suggested a possible attack on the school. Subsequently, the entire student body was evacuated to the Middle School and sent home. The person has been found according to announcements at the school, and in the local newspaper the Lewisboro Ledger. There was another bomb scare approximately a week later that has considered Wednesday, February 13, 2008 "Doomsday" The person responsible for this bomb threat has been found, but the name has not been released to the general public.

Athletics

Bowling

John Jay's Varsity bowling team was accepted into county-wide sectionals in the 2008 season. The 2009-2010 mens team took the league title at the White Plains Lanes!

Wrestling

Over the last seven years, John Jay wrestling became Section 1 dual meet champions and #2 in the section. In the 2007-2008 season John Jay wrestling had a record of 27-1. They also won every tournament except the section 1 tournament where they came in 2nd.

Soccer

The boy's soccer team, coached by Peter Neidell, has maintained a record over .500 since 2006 and has made it to the sectional tournament every year since 2001 when Neidell took over as the head coach. In 2006, after landing the 14th seed out of 16 teams, they faced a tough opponent in White Plains, the favorites to win the section, and upset White Plains 2-1, scoring two goals in the last two minutes. The team then lost to section runner-up, Suffern, 1-0 in the quarterfinals. In 2007, the team turned in a record of 12-3-4. The Indians defeated Roosevelt HS in the first round of the tournament, followed by a repeat victory at White Plains, before being ousted by the Scarsdale team 1-0 in the semifinals. In 2008, the team turned in a 15-3-2 record and the 1st League Championship since 1987. The 5th seeded Indians defeated Lincoln HS in the 1st round of the tournament in an October nor'easter. The Indians' next opponent, Horace Greeley were victorious 1-0 in the Quarterfinals in double overtime.[6]

Football

The Indians have recently revived their football team after struggling through the 1990s. Since hiring Coach Jimmy Clark, previously an assistant coach on the multi-champion team from Edgemont, the team has turned around and been in the section finals for the three of the previous five years. Notable memories from the new era of teams include the last minute game winning touchdown for the section semi-final win against New Rochelle in 2002, the victory over Carmel in a huge upset to start the season of 2002, as well as a lopsided victory over Carmel High School in the 2003 season just two years after a 2-8 season. After being seen as the favorite for the sectional title in 2006 and being ranked 6th in the state, the Indians were upset by Carmel 13-7 in OT at Carmel High School and was seen as one of the best games of the year by the Journal News.

Lacrosse

John Jay High School's lacrosse team is nationally recognized and has been ranked in the top 25 in the country in multiple polls for the majority of the past 6 years. They have been NYS Section 1 Champions 7 times since 1997, including a streak of 4 years in a row from 2005-2008. In 2006 John Jay was the New York State runner up in Class B after ending Huntington High School's 63 game winning streak in the State semifinals.

Ultimate Frisbee

The team was formed in 2007 by students who coached themselves and placed 2nd in state championships as a first year team. In 2008 the team managed a 1st place finish in the state, and 8th in the nation. Also, in 2011 Air Raid won the New York State Championship, and is going to Eastern Championships in 2012.

Student life

A Cappella Groups

John Jay High School boasts three a cappella groups, one all-female (The Noteables), one all-male (The Rolling Tones), and a newly-formed co-ed (The Treble Makers), founded in 2008. All three a cappella groups have wide repertoires and perform at various local venues throughout the school year, including school concerts, community service performances, and seasonal events. Each group has a unique sound and personality, but all three are praised for their impressive performances and creative arrangements.

Mock Trial

In 2007, JJHS Mock Trial Team continued its long standing tradition of winning as they entered the semi- final round of the Westchester County Championships. In what was deemed as an "epic battle", JJ went against arch-rival (and eventual 2007 champion) Blind Brook High School in their quest to be the County champions. JJHS fell to Blind Brook in this round.

John Jay's Mock Trial team has a long-standing tradition of excellence. Since the early 1990s, John Jay has never failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Westchester County Tournament. Often, John Jay competed against and defeated some of the best teams in New York State. Many of these spectacular matches even garnered media coverage.

2005 was one of the best years for John Jay's Mock Trial Team in recent memory. In 2005, John Jay set the record for winning a match by the largest margin of victory in New York State Mock Trial history (John Jay:55, Hackley:12). Also during this year, John Jay faced Blind Brook in the Tournament Finals. Newspapers called the match "Biblical,"[1] with "some of the finest performances in history."[2] For its efforts during the tournament, John Jay obtained the "2005 New York State Mock Trial Champion" trophy. This trophy is still on display in the classroom of John Jay Mock Trial Faculty Adviser, Richard Clinchy.

Members of John Jay's Mock Trial Team (self ascribed "Mocksters") are some of the most spirited and learned students at the High School. In 2004, the team coordinated with school faculty and staff to be included into John Jay's annual Homecoming pep rally. Be it through announcements of stellar victories over John Jay's P.A. system or attending class in professional attire on tournament days, John Jay's Mock Trial team has become synonymous with school spirit.

The reputation of John Jay's Mock trial team is widely known. Members of the team attend top undergraduate, graduate, and law programs around the world. Recent Mock Trial alumni have attended Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Brown, Amherst, Hampshire, Williams, Columbia, George Washington University, Georgetown and Oxford. These achievements are well deserved. Iraq War Veteran and former Mock Trial President Rob McFarlane (Col. USMC, Ret.) has often commented how his participation in John Jay's Mock Trial team was excellent preparation for the harsh realities of war.

Junior State of America

In 2005, a chapter of the Junior State of America (JSA) was founded at John Jay High School. [1]

JJTV Club / Studio

The JJTV Club became a class in 2007. The class is now taught separately, and the studio remains in use by the club and the district. The studio was built during the summer of 2007, and is currently one of the most technologically advanced rooms in the school, utilizing industry standard editing and camera equipment.

Science Olympiad

John Jay High School has attended the New York State Science Olympiad - usually held at West Point - every year since its founding. In 2010, a new event called "Protein Modeling" was created, and John Jay came first in the entire state for an "extraordinary construction of [influenza] surface proteins." [2]

Wind Ensemble

Directed by Jeffrey Richardson, the Wind Ensemble is a group of the best musicians in the school, some of whom are the best in the state of New York. This is evident with frequent placement in all-county and all-state bands and orchestras run by NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association). The W.E. traveled to Williamsburg, VA, to compete at Heritage Festivals on April 23–26, 2009. The repertoire included a Copland-based piece by John Zdechlik called Chorale and Shaker Dances, preceded by a prelude originally written chorally by Pavel Tschesnokoff and arranged for concert band by Bruce Houseknecht called Salvation is Created.

The W.E. won a total of four awards. The first was a plaque indicating that they won gold for getting a 90 or higher from all 3 judges. The second award was a written invitation to go to a more demanding competition in 2010 with the eventual possibility of performing at Carnegie Hall. The third award, known as the Award for Best Band, was a gold trophy for scoring the highest overall score for schools of a particular (yet unknown) size range. The fourth award was the Adjudicator's Award, since the three judges liked the W.E. out of all the groups that performed that weekend. John Jay High School News, page 4

A few alumni of the ensemble have gone on to college as music performance majors at schools including but not limited to: Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, SUNY Purchase, Bard College, Manhattan School of Music, Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, and the New England Conservatory of Music.

Winners of the John Philip Sousa Award: Cale Israel (2008)- trombone, Rachel Lopkin (2009)- flaut Stephen DiGregoria (2010)- horn

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ http://jjhs.klschools.org/home.aspx School homepage
  2. ^ Katonah-Lewisboro School District, http://www.klschools.org/home.aspx
  3. ^ Article about the 'censorship' incident on Spiegel Online, major German magazine Der Spiegel's internet section (in German)
  4. ^ Appearance on the Today Show by the students, the author and the president of the school district's education board
  5. ^ Story on WCBS-TV after the suspension was lifted.
  6. ^ John Jay High School Varsity Men's Soccer Web site
  7. ^ Chaplin's imdb.com profile
  8. ^ Turco, Al. "Democrat Robert Reich says he’s prepared to make a difference in Mass.", Stoneham Independent, March 20, 2002. Accessed April 21, 2008. "Reich started out as a graduate of John Jay High School, a regional public high school in small-town Cross River, New York."
  9. ^ a b "GLUTTONS FOR PUNISHMENT: Actors take over the kitchen to whip up the cinematic souffle `Big Night'", The Dallas Morning News, September 28, 1996. "...the pair - Mr. Tucci is 35, Mr. Scott 34 - have been friends since John Jay High School in Cross River, NY..."
  10. ^ Stanley Tucci profile, TV.com, accessed April 8, 2007. "He studied at John Jay High School Cross River, New York. "

Christine Tucci 1967-

External links