| Parsippany Hills High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 20 Rita Drive Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ 07950 |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Motto | "Knowledge is Power" |
| Established | 1969 |
| School district | Parsippany-Troy Hills School District |
| Principal | Nancy A. Gigante |
| Asst. Principal | Michael DiSanto Lisa Garofalo Todd Ricker |
| Faculty | 87 (on FTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | 9 - 12 |
| Enrollment | 1,154 (as of 2009-10)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 13.26[1] |
| Color(s) | Black, Blue, and White |
| Athletics conference | Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference |
| Team name | Vikings |
| Publication | Runes |
| Website | School website |
Parsippany Hills High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school, one of two high schools in the township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade as part of the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District. Built in 1969, the school serves students who live in the western half of Parsippany. Its companion school in the district is Parsippany High School.
As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,154 students and 87 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.26.[1]
The school is located at coordinates .
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The school was the 50th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 87th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[2] The school was also ranked 87th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[3]
PHHS was ranked #7 out of 98 schools in the 2010 "FG" District Factor Group (socioeconomic measure).
Parsippany Hills High School offers the basic math, science, English, and history courses, but also has a wide range of elective courses ranging from human development to choir to marketing. Parsippany Hills also offers its students a wide range of Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
96.8% of Parsippany Hills teachers hold a master's degree or doctorate in the field that they teach in. Parsippany Hills also has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10.6 students per every faculty member.[3]
Parsippany Hills students can usually easily connect to the Internet, with most school computers having Internet connections.[3] Also, most wall-mounted televisions in the school are equipped with cable television.
In order to graduate from Parsippany Hills High School, a student must take at least 24 credits of courses, where one credit equals a one period full-year class. A student must take four years of English, three years of mathematics, three years of science, three years of social sciences, one year of a career development course, one year of a foreign language, and one year of a visual and performing arts elective. In addition, all students must pass the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) in their junior or senior year.[4]
Parsippany Hills High School uses the standard four marking period year, which are known as quarters. Two quarters make up one semester.[5] The school does not use any form of block days in order to schedule classes. Rather, the classes are scheduled into an 8-period day, where periods last for about forty minutes each with four minutes in between classes.
Parsippany Hills offers a wide range of artistic classes, from drawing to ceramics. Parsippany Hills has a large drama club, known unofficially as the Parsippany Hills Players. Past productions have included The Odd Couple: Female Version, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, Picnic, Zombie Prom, The Importance of Being Earnest, Bye Bye Birdie, Aida, and Seussical. In the spring 2007 production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the Parsippany Hills Players saw a record audience.
The marching band, in circuit from June to November, has taken a total of six Northern USSBA States Championship titles ('94, '97,'04, '06, '07, '08) and three State Championship titles ('02, '04, '08). In both 2004 and 2008, PHHSMB captured two championship titles. At the All-State Championships in 2006, they tied with long-standing rivals Verona High School, but won more captions than any other band. At the State Championship competition in 2007, PHHSMB placed second (out of 17). A week later, the band finished first with a score of 94.85 and took first place in every caption except for color guard. In 2008, PHHSMB finally went an undefeated season for the first time in over 20 years, winning both titles of State Champions and Northern States Champions.
The Parsippany Hills High School Vikings participate in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[6] Students at Parsippany Hills can play many sports, such as tennis, football, soccer, cross country running, field hockey, cricket, volleyball, and cheerleading in the fall, swimming, basketball, ice hockey, wrestling, track, and cheerleading in the winter, and baseball, softball, tennis, and golf in the spring.
The football team was in the 2005 playoffs as the third seed in the North I, Group III bracket, and won the first two rounds, beating #6-seed West Milford High School 13-6 and number-two Wayne Valley High School 27-7, before losing to top-seeded Wayne Hills High School 46-0 in the sectional finals.[7]
The Vikings were also in the North I Group III playoff finals again in 2006. They came in as 4th seed, and won the first two rounds, beating 5th-seeded Roxbury High School 28-7 and top seeded and heavy favorite Teaneck High School 38-20. They played Wayne Hills High School again for the title for the second consecutive year, but fell short once again against the top public in the state, by a 23-12 final score.[8]
In 2007, the football team once again made it into the playoffs, as the 8th seed. For the third straight year they faced and lost to Wayne Hills High School 49-0, this time in the first round.
Parsippany Hills entered the 2006-07 wrestling season with no losing seasons, dating back to the school's founding in 1969. Recent notable achievements include the 2005-06 District IX championship and the 2003-04 Iron Hills Conference Championship (first since 1989).
Individually, Parsippany Hills recently saw their streak of state place winners end at school record six straight years and has placed someone in the State's top 8 in nine of the last ten years. Recent State place winners include Evan Galipeau, Paul Galipeau, John Hesse and Chris Madia.
The 2007 boys soccer team won the North II, Group III state sectional championship with a 2-1 win over West Morris Mendham High School in the tournament final.[9]
Also in 2007, the competition cheerleading squad captured the American National Championship in a competition in Baltimore, Maryland.
Parsippany Hills High School's primary rivals are Parsippany High School and in football, Wayne Hills High School. Rivalries have also been seen between the Vikings and Morris Hills High School and Morris Knolls High School during crucial football, basketball, and baseball games. Hanover Park High School is Parsippany Hills' rival in wrestling.
Parsippany Hills does not support random drug testing of participants in extracurricular activities.[10]
Parsippany Hills High School has an active student council. The student council currently consists of an executive board, with ten members, one non-voting student Board of Education representative, one state officer, and a general assembly (two representatives from each homeroom. The student council general assemble convenes twice a month, with one meeting during the school day and the other in the evening.[11]
Parsippany Hills offers many after-school activities, from Academic Decathlon, JSA, FCCLA, DECA, Key Club, Habitat for Humanity to FBLA, along with a steering committee for each grade, which functions as a smaller student council for that grade along with two faculty advisors. Other clubs include the Peerleaders' Activities Council, Anime Club, Library Pages Club, Animal Lovers Club, Garden Club, Math Club, ERASE Club and the Yearbook Club (Aegis). Parsippany Hills also has National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, and International Thespian Society chapters.[11]
The 2008-2009 school year saw the opening of the new "N-Wing" in the back of the school, which is a two-floor offshoot of the main "D-wing." The N-wing is equipped with whiteboards instead of blackboards, and each classroom is equipped with a ceiling-mounted projector.
Core members of the school's administration are:[12]