John Jay High School (Cross River, New York)

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, which opened in 1956,^[3] is named after John Jay, a Founding father of the United States, and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who lived nearby. Over the years, the school has been heavily criticized for its mascot, the Indians.

History

This school opened for business in the mid-1900s. The technology department throughout the years has not advanced very much and, as of 2015, is on par with 2005 technology. The school has focused much of its money on athletics. For example, in 2015, instead of adding air conditioning, which could greatly benefit students in the summer and fall, they chose to redo the athletic fields and install 6 tennis courts, even though there are tennis courts located at Fox Valley Park, not too far away from the campus.

'Vagina Monologues' censorship controversy

John Jay briefly made national and international^[4] 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^[5] and was invited by parents for a school visit. The suspension was put on hold while policies were reviewed and eventually rescinded.^[6]

Athletics

Cross Country

John Jay has an exceptional Cross Country team, coached by Tom Nohilly. In 2013 the girl's section of the team were the State of New York Cross Country Federation Champions. These athletes gathered the school's first ever federation athletic title.

Bowling

John Jay's Varsity bowling team was accepted into county-wide sectionals in the 2008 season. The 2009-2010 boy's team won the league title. In 2015, Alex Melnychuk set a school record score.

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 has made it to the sectional tournament every year since 2001. In 2008, the team turned in a 15-3-2 record and won its first League Championship since 1987. In 2015, the team was very mediocre with sophomore, Cole Verbeke being their top player. ^[7]

Football

The football team has reached the section finals for the three of the previous five years.

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 2007 John Jay was the New York State runner up in Class B to Jamesville-Dewitt High School after ending Huntington High School's 63-game winning streak in the State semifinals.

Ultimate Frisbee

John Jay High School's Ultimate Frisbee team, Air Raid, was formed in 2007 by students who, in that same year, coached themselves to a 2nd-place finish losing 15-10 against Beacon High School in the inaugural New York State Championships tournament.Since that time they have earned multiple first place titles starting with a return in 2008 to defeat the raining champions Beacon High School. Their second came when Air Raid in the 2011-2012 season, the team won their 3rd state championship and tied for 5th at the Northeastern Regional championships. During the 2012-2013 season, the team began including female students on the roster of both their A & B teams. http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html

Student life

School dances

By 2010, due to declining attendance of school dances, the school reduced the number of dances, now only holding prom.^[8]

Architecture

John Jay has a sublime Architecture program. The program is spearheaded by architectural genius and Frank Lloyd Wright devotee, Steven "Stevie Z" Zoeller. His assistant, Joseph Rocchio, also helps to inspire the program's budding young architects.

Vocal Jazz

John Jay High School's Vocal Jazz ensemble, directed by Steven Morse, has competed at Berklee College of Music's High School Jazz Festival ever year but one since 2003. The group, ranging from 15-35 students and accompanied by a rhythm section, placed 2nd in the nation in the 2013 competition (their best finish to date,) by only one point out of all Division 1 schools.^[9] In the 2012 competition, three of John Jay's students were recognized for Outstanding Musicianship. The group finished in 3rd place at that competition.^[10]

A Cappella groups

John Jay High School has 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 perform at various local venues throughout the school year, including school concerts, community service performances, and seasonal events.

Mock Trial

Since the early 1990s, John Jay has reached the quarter-finals of the Westchester County Tournament. 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). In 2007, JJHS Mock Trial Team advanced to the semi- final round of the Westchester County Championships.

Model United Nations

The John Jay Model United Nations Club, has been gaining popularity in recent years. In 2014, the club hosted their first conference, called JJMUNC, that had over 200 delegates. The President and Secretary-General of JJMUNC I was Jeffrey Steckler, and the President of the club, as well as the Secretary-General for JJMUNC II in 2015 is Daniel Gordon. For the Model United Nations Club, the President also serves as the Head Delegate, and brings in several awards per year.

Junior State of America

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

JJTV Club / MSG Varsity / Excellent Fun

JJTV produces video content relevant to the student body and recently has partnered with Cablevision's MSG Varsity to provide sports-related content for their channel. Excellent Fun is a separate filmmaking club that focuses on online comedy videos and music. The studio that houses these clubs was built during the summer of 2007, and utilizes industry standard editing and camera equipment.

Science Olympiad

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

Theater

John Jay High School's theater program typically produces two major performances per school year: a drama in the fall, and a musical in the spring. In the 2013-2014 school year, JJHS put on Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound and Eugene Ionesco's The Bald Soprano in the Fall^[11] and Jonathan Larson's Rent in the Spring.^[12]

Wind Ensemble

The Wind Ensemble traveled to Williamsburg, VA, to compete at Heritage Festivals on April 23–26, 2009, where it won a total of four awards. John Jay High School News, page 4

Notable alumni

• Alexander Chaplin (1971-), actor.^[13]
• Matthew Del Negro (1972-), actor.
• Foot Log (1804-), Foot
• Chitoper Bool (1999-), Woodsman
• Granite (8-), Granite
• Andy Milonakis (1976-), actor.^[14]
• Mike Bocklet, Professional lacrosse player.
• Benjamin Grinnell (1983-), Professional lacrosse player.^{[15] [16]}
• Matt Glaser (Class of 1974), Jazz/bluegrass musician.
• Joan Slonczewski (1956-), Biologist and Science Fiction author.
• Robert Reich (1945-), former secretary of labor in the Clinton Administration.^[17]
• Campbell Scott (1961-), actor and director.^[18]
• Stanley Tucci (1960-), actor and director.^[18][19]

References

External links

• John Jay High School Web site
• John Jay High School Football Web site
• John Jay Wrestling Web Site
• Varsity Lacrosse Team Photos
• John Jay Ultimate Web Site
• Model United Nations Conference Website
• mll.stats.pointstreak.com