| Naperville North High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 899 N. Mill St. Naperville, Illinois, 60563 United States |
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| Information | |
| School type | public secondary |
| Opened | 1970 |
| School district | Naperville Comm. Unit S.D. 203 |
| Superintendent | Dr. Mark Mitrovitch |
| Principal | Kevin Pobst[1] |
| Staff | 273[2] |
| Faculty | 240[3] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | coed |
| Enrollment | 3,086[4] |
| Average class size | 22.9[4] |
| Campus | suburban |
| School Colour(s) | blue orange[5] |
| Athletics conference | DuPage Valley Conference |
| Nickname | Huskies [5] |
| Average ACT scores | 25.4[4] |
| Publication | Chrysalis[6] |
| Newspaper | 'The North Star[6] |
| Website | http://schools.naperville203.org/north/ |
Naperville North High School is a public four-year comprehensive high school located at the corner of Ogden Avenue and Mill Street in the northern-central part of Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the counterpart to Naperville Central High School of Naperville Community Unit School District 203.
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The building was constructed in 1970 comprising 152,347 square feet (14,000 m²). Additions to the building were made in 1974, 1986 and 1992, increasing the size to the current (as of 2005) 449,665 square feet (42,000 m²). From the time of its construction until the 1992-1993 academic year, Naperville North was the only high school in its district to have a swimming pool. Thus Naperville Central High School students who took Physical Education courses in swimming or desired to compete in swimming and/or diving would be bussed from Naperville Central to Naperville North. The pool and the stadium will undergo major renovations and are to be completed before the start of the 2009-2010 school year.
In 2008, Naperville North had an average composite ACT score of 25.4, and graduated 100.0% of its senior class. Naperville North has not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which with the ACT, are the assessment tools used in Illinois to fulfill the federal No Child Left Behind Act. One student subgroup failed to meet expectations in reading and mathematics.[4]
In 2010, Newsweek ranked Naperville North #1332 in their annual list of the top 1500 American public high schools, based upon the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests given at a school, divided by the number of seniors graduating that year. In 2005, the school was ranked #1008, in 2007, #1082, in 2008 #926, and in 2009 #1331.[7]
Naperville North is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Illinois State Department of Education.
Naperville North competes in the DuPage Valley Conference (DVC). Naperville North is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), which governs most interscholastic sports and competitive activities in Illinois. The school's teams are stylized as the Huskies.
The school sponsors interscholastic athletic teams for young men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo. Young men may also compete in baseball, football, and wrestling, while young women may compete in badminton, cheerleading, and softball. In addition to the above sports, the school also offers club sports in lacrosse, ice hockey, and ultimate frisbee.[8]
The following teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament or meet:[9]
- Volleyball (girls): From 1975–87, Naperville North played its home football games at Naperville Central.[10] In 1988, Naperville North opened Harshbarger/Wlezel Stadium as its new home field.[10]
The school is also host to a Certamen; a quizbowl-like team, placing first in the 2004 state Latin convention; the Northern Lights, a nationally competitive winter guard; the Marching Huskies marching band, who tied for second in the state championship in 2005 and took fourth in state in 2009; and a drama department that contributes regularly to the Illinois High School Theatre Fest. Notable recent IHSTF productions with North students in the cast or crew began with The Kentucky Cycle in 1999, ending a decade-long absence from the festival, and have since included West Side Story, Pirates of Penzance and Macbeth. In 2000, a Naperville North adaptation of 12 Angry Men (presented as Twelve Angry Jurors), was selected to perform as a showcase at the IHS Theatre Festival.[11] More recent selections taken to state include The Laramie Project, Angel's Fall and Wings. The Naperville North theatre recently received a technical over-haul, allowing for better lighting and control mechanisms. North's newspaper, the North Star, has won numerous local and state-wide awards.
The Math Team at Naperville North has been the DuPage Valley Conference champions for 28 consecutive years and were Illinois state champions 14 of the last 16 years, and won ten consecutive Math Team state championships (1998–2007). Naperville North also participates in the North Suburban Math League. In 2008, the math team competed at the ICTM Regional competition at the College of DuPage and placed 1st overall. During the ICTM State competition at the University of Illinois in 2008, Naperville North lost to IMSA, which prevented North from winning their 11th consecutive state championship. They received 2nd place overall.[12] In 2009, Naperville North regained the state title, their fourteenth in sixteen years.[12][13] The WYSE team won the state championship from 1999 to 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Naperville North has a Junior State of America (JSA) chapter. Naperville North's JSA chapter is well known, and has a high chapter membership in the Midwest state. They are debaters who form a tight knit group. The chapter is also involved in the state structure of JSA. Naperville North also has a DECA Chapter. The DECA chapter has grown in size and in caliber. In the past five years, Naperville North's DECA chapter has had over fifty different state qualifiers, ten state winners (top three), five national winners, including one taking the championship, and elected a State Vice President, one of the five student leaders who lead Illinois DECA.
In the winter of 2011, NNHS announced they would be discontinuing their school paper, "The North Star". This happened as a result of budget cuts in the DuPage County school district.
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In addition to its reputation for strong academics, athletics, and activities, NNHS is also well-known for its traditions. Many of these traditions come in the form of events and shows on campus throughout the year. The list below is not all-inclusive, but highlights many of the most popular and longest lived traditions at Naperville North.
Homecoming is put on annually by the Key Club, and consists of a full weeks worth of events, including themed dress-up days for each day of the school week. One of the most popular of these is the annual Homecoming Car Show, held in the athletic parking lot, where students bring in their cars (or their parents' cars) to show off during lunch hours, competing for titles such as "Best Muscle Car" or "Dirtiest Car" of the year. Another popular event is the annual The Price Is Right game show, sponsored by Student Government, where students compete to participate in games based on those in the TV show. Traditionally, the Wednesday before the Homecoming dance is when the Homecoming Coronation and Bonfire take place. The Bonfire is an outdoor dance near a large Bonfire that benefits the Tech Crew. On the Friday before the dance, the week's events culminate in the Homecoming Assembly, an all-school pep rally filled with events such as fall sports recognition and contests between the different classes. During halftime of the Homecoming football game, the Homecoming Coronation is announced by Student Activities and is chauffered around the track in cars donated by a local car dealer. The dance is traditionally held on a Saturday night.
Naperville North seniors are a part of more traditions than any other students in the school. One of the most well-known traditions for seniors is the creation of a "Senior Theme" for the year, which shows up on t-shirts, senior events, and so on. On the first day of school each year, the Seniors come dressed in costume (based upon the senior theme) and participate in a tailgate at the football stadium. Seniors are then allowed to enter the building, where traditionally they run through the halls, scream, cheer, and celebrate the beginning of their year. Seniors also dress up in themed costumes on Fridays for Senior Theme Fridays, which often include activities in the Small Cafeteria during and in between lunch hours. At the end of the year, Seniors enjoy Senior Week, which includes Senior Celebration, an overnight lock-in held at the school, and is largely considered one of the best events of Senior year. Student Government's Mr. NNHS, an all-male talent and beauty pageant, is also held during Senior Week, and is one of the funniest and most widely attended events of the school year, selling out almost every year.[14] Seniors also get to participate in the Senior Fashion Show, an event held late in the year to promote local businesses. Seniors are also given the privilege of purchasing parking passes to park in the main parking lot.
The annual Spring Dance is a turnabout dance (a.k.a. Sadie Hawkins dance) and is also one of the most popular events held each year. Sponsored by Student Government, the week leading up to the dance is full of themed dress-up days for each school day and other events. The most popular of these events is Airband, a dance and lip-sync competition consisting of teams of students. While any student may participate, by tradition Airband contestants are almost exclusively Seniors. Airband is almost universally recognized as the largest, most exciting, and most widely-attended annual event at NNHS. The top-three teams each year (determined by a panel of judges) perform at the Spring Assembly, held the Friday before the Spring Dance. The dance is traditionally held on a Saturday evening.
One of the greatest athletic traditions is the Crosstown Classic football game against rival Naperville Central High School, held every fall. First Class, a student-led discussion section designed to promote good character and community, is held every month on late-arrival Wednesdays. Every Friday morning before a football game, the drum line marches through the hallways playing their drums. The annual Holiday Assembly is one of the best assemblies of the year, featuring numerous student performers. The annual Disco Dance, usually held around Thanksgiving, is a very popular event where students dress in their favorite disco attire and dance to disco music.
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