West Morris Central High School

West Morris Central High School
Location
West Morris Central High School
West Morris Central High School
West Morris Central High School
259 Bartley Road
Chester, NJ 07930
Coordinates 40°48′30″N 74°43′54″W / 40.808319°N 74.731654°W / 40.808319; -74.731654Coordinates: 40°48′30″N 74°43′54″W / 40.808319°N 74.731654°W / 40.808319; -74.731654
Information
Type Public high school
School district West Morris Regional High School District
Principal Michael Matyas
Asst. Principals Toni Liskiewicz
Timothy Rymer
Faculty 99.6 FTEs[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,283[1] (2015–16)
Student to teacher ratio 12.9:1[1]
Color(s)      Columbia Blue, Navy Blue    and
     Gray[2]
Athletics conference Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference
Team name Wolfpack[2]
Newspaper Paw Print[3]
Website School website

West Morris Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey, United States, where the school is located, operating as part of the West Morris Regional High School District.[4] The school has a Chester Township mailing address. Other communities served by the district are Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough and Mendham Township, whose students attend West Morris Mendham High School.[5]

As of the 2015-16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,283 students and 99.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.9:1. There were 10 students (0.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and none eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

The school is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The school has offered the IB Diploma Programme, as part of the International Baccalaureate Organization, since January 1998.[6]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 11th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[7] The school had been ranked 56th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 43rd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[8] The magazine ranked the school 42nd in 2008 out of 316 schools.[9] The school was ranked 41st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[10]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 92nd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 32 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (87.1%) and language arts literacy (96.8%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[11]

In The Washington Post's 2011 issue "Ranking America's High Schools", West Morris Central was ranked 10th in the state and 408th in the nation.[12]

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 535th in the nation among participating public high schools and 43rd among schools in New Jersey.[13] The school was ranked 226th in the nation and 20th in New Jersey on the list of "America's Best High Schools 2012" prepared by The Daily Beast / Newsweek, with rankings based primarily on graduation rate, matriculation rate for college and number of Advanced Placement / International Baccalaureate courses taken per student, with lesser factors based on average scores on the SAT / ACT, average AP/IB scores and the number of AP/IB courses available to students.[14]

West Morris Central High School History Teacher, Roseanne Lichatin, was named the 2005 Preserve America History Teacher of the Year, and was recognized with the honor by First Lady Laura Bush.[15]

Athletics

The West Morris Central High School Highlanders[2] compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, an athletic conference made up of high schools located in Morris County, Sussex and Warren counties, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[16] With 964 North II, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 778 to 1,062 students in that grade range.[17] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had been a member of the Iron Hills Conference.[18]

School colors are Columbia blue. navy blue and gray. Interscholastic athletic teams at West Morris Central include baseball, basketball (men and women), cross country (men and women), fencing (men and women), field hockey (women), football, golf (men and women), ice hockey (men), lacrosse (men and women), soccer (men and women), softball, swimming (men and women), tennis (men and women), track and field spring (med and women), track and field winter (med and women), volleyball (women) and wrestling.[2]

While the original school mascot was the Highlander, many West Morris Central teams have taken on the name Wolfpack, though some teams still call themselves the Highlanders out of respect for school tradition.[19]

The boys' tennis team won the Group III state championship in 1990, defeating Ramapo High School in the tournament final.[20]

The boys' soccer team won the 2000 Group III state championship after playing Ocean City High School to a 0-0 tie in the title game.[21]

The football team won the North II Group III state sectional championships in 2001, 2004, 2009, and 2012.[22] The 2001 football team won the North II, Group III state championship against West Morris Mendham High School by a score of 15-14.[23] The 2004 football team won the North II, Group III state championship against West Morris Mendham High School by a score of 10-7.[24] The 2009 football team won the North II, Group III state championship against Passaic Valley High School by a score of 28-19.[25]

The girls' lacrosse team won the 2001 North A championship, defeating Bridgewater-Raritan High School 8-7 in the tournament final.[26]

The 2002 girls' softball team won the North II, Group III sectional state championship, edging Cranford High School by a score of 1-0.[27]

The boys' wrestling team won its first ever Iron Hills-Iron title in 2006. The Wolfpack wrestlers were considered as high as number two in the Daily Record area, and was voted a top ten team in Region 1 of NJSIAA wrestling. The team was led under the guidance of Ken Rossi who was a two-time state finalist for Jefferson High School.

The boys' lacrosse team won the Group II state championship in 2007 with an 8-7 win against Ramapo High School in the tournament final.[28][29]

The 2008-09 girls' basketball team won the Morris County Tournament by advancing to the finals and defeating top-seeded Hanover Park High School by a score of 42-32 for the championship, winning the county title for the third time in program history, having most recently won in 1993.[30]

The 2009 women's volleyball team won the Group III state championship against Northern Highlands High School, for the program's first group title in school history, in a season in which they also won the Morris County Tournament and were American Division champions in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference.[31][32] The Lady Highlanders currently have the most County Championships in Morris County, including four consecutive MCT titles from 2000 to 2003.[33]

The field hockey team won the North I Group III state sectional championship in 2010 and 2012.[34]

Activities

The clubs at West Morris Central include: Bowling Club, Academy of Science, Art Club, Jazz Band, Book Club, Cheerleading, Chess Club, Chinese Club, Color Guard, Concert Choir, Debate Club, Musical, Environmental Club, Film Club, Fly Fishing Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Future Educators, GSA (Gay–straight alliance), Habitat for Humanity, Literary Magazine, Baroque Orchestra, Marching Band, Math League, National History Club, Newspaper, Pep Band, Photography Club, Prayer Group, Science League, Self Defense Club, Ski Club, Sound and Lighting, Stage Craft, Student Council, SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), The Noteworthies (male A Cappella singing group), The Howlers (co-ed A Capella singing group), The Loreleis (female A Cappella singing group), STEM Club (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), TV/Radio Club, Veterans Oral History Club, Women's Ensemble and the Yearbook.[35]

West Morris Central has three student-run a cappella groups, the Noteworthies, the Loreleis, and the Howlers. The Noteworthies are an all-male singing group established some time between the 1970s and 1980s. Not long after came The Loreleis, an all-female singing group. The Howlers are the mixed male and female singing group. During the school year, the groups perform in various local placesand in June, they host their own Cabaret in which they sing all of the music they have rehearsed and taught themselves in the second semester of the school year. The students sometimes create their own arrangements to be performed at Cabaret.

West Morris participates in the National Honor Society, as well as the French National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society and Chinese National Honor Society.

WMCHS is also home to Central Theatre, West Morris' theatre troupe. They produce three shows each year: one in the fall, one in the spring, and two during the summer.

West Morris Regional Chromebook Initiative

Beginning with the West Morris Central Class of 2020, all students shall receive a district-issued Chromebook to be used during classes and testing. These Chromebooks give access to G Suite for Education, as well as other apps facilitated by the school and district.

  • Students in the Class of 2020 receive a Dell Chromebook 11-3120.
  • Students in the Class of 2021 receive a Lenovo N23 Yoga.
  • Students in the Class of 2022 receive a Dell Chromebook 5190.

To enhance the 1:1 computer initiative, all students in the Class of 2019 either receive a hand-me-down Chromebook that were previously used on COWs (Computers on Wheels) or a Dell Chromebook 5190.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[36]

  • Michael Matyas, Principal
  • Toni Liskiewicz, Assistant Principal
  • Timothy Rymer, Assistant Prinicpal

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 School data for West Morris Central High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed 14 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 West Morris Central High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 30, 2015.
  3. ↑ Home Page, Paw Print Newspaper. Accessed September 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ About WMRHSD, West Morris Regional High School District. Accessed July 14, 2011. "West Morris Central High School (WMC) serves Washington Township. West Morris Mendham High School (WMM) serves Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough and Mendham Township."
  5. ↑ West Morris Regional High School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 4, 2016. "Established in 1958, the West Morris Regional High School District operates two schools, West Morris Central High School and West Morris Mendham High School. The regional district serves the students of five Morris County communities: Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township and Washington Township. Students from Washington Township attend West Morris Central High School, and students from the Chesters and the Mendhams attend West Morris Mendham High School."
  6. ↑ West Morris Central High School, International Baccalaureate. Accessed August 26, 2014.
  7. ↑ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 28, 2012.
  9. ↑ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed July 14, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  11. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 2, 2012.
  12. ↑ Mathews, Jay. "Ranking America's High Schools 2011: New Jersey", The Washington Post. Accessed July 15, 2011.
  13. ↑ Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013.
  14. ↑ Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2012", The Daily Beast / Newsweek, May 20, 2012. Accessed May 23, 2012.
  15. ↑ Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Preserve America History Teacher of the Year Award Ceremony, Office of the First Lady press release dated October 14, 2005.
  16. ↑ League & Conference Affiliations 2016-2017, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 10, 2017.
  17. ↑ General Public School Classifications 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of December 15, 2015. Accessed December 12, 2016.
  18. ↑ Home Page, Iron Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 2, 2011. Accessed November 26, 2014.
  19. ↑ Staff. "Villa Walsh players go ape over new mascot", Daily Record (Morristown), September 24, 2004. Accessed July 24, 2011. "The official nickname for the West Morris athletic teams is the Highlanders but many of the school's sports teams, including recently the girls' soccer team, have requested to be called the Wolfpack following the school's football team."
  20. ↑ History of Boys Team Tennis Championship Tournament, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 19, 2017.
  21. ↑ 2015 Soccer Championships Program, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of December 15, 2015. Accessed March 14, 2017.
  22. ↑ Goldberg, Jeff. NJSIAA Football Playoff Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 19, 2015.
  23. ↑ 2001 Football Championship - North II, Group III, NJSIAA. Accessed October 20, 2007.
  24. ↑ Brooks, Maurice. "Football", Daily Record (Morristown), December 4, 2004. Accessed July 24, 2011. "Critchley's theft was the signature play in a hard-fought Section 2, Group III championship game won by West Morris 10-7."
  25. ↑ Hague, Jim. "West Morris Captures Football Championship: North 2, Group III Championship", Daily Record (Morristown), December 4, 2009. Accessed July 24, 2011. "Burton carried the ball 16 times for 158 yards and scored a touchdown, returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and threw a 47-yard touchdown pass, leading West Morris to a 28-19 victory over Passaic Valley in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group III championship game at Giants Stadium."
  26. ↑ 2001 NJSIAA Girls' Lacrosse - North A, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed April 26, 2007.
  27. ↑ 2002 Softball Tournament - North II, Group III, NJSIAA. Accessed April 26, 2007.
  28. ↑ 2007 Boys' Lacrosse - Group II, NJSIAA. Accessed October 20, 2007.
  29. ↑ History of the NJSIAA Boys' Lacrosse Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 1, 2017.
  30. ↑ Staff. "West Morris 42, Hanover Park 34 — Morris County Tournament (High school Girls' Basketball scores & results)", The Star-Ledger, February 27, 2009. Accessed March 2, 2012. "Third-seeded West Morris, No. 19 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, improved to 22-2 by winning its third MCT final and first since 1993. It was its 12th straight victory in a streak that includes triumphs over Morris Knolls and Columbia, the teams it lost to earlier in the season. Top-seeded and No. 17 Hanover Park fell to 22-2."
  31. ↑ Fenton, Kelly. "West Morris Central girls' volleyball team wins crown", Observer-Tribune, November 20, 2009. Accessed July 24, 2011. "After falling to Northern Highlands a year ago in the Group 3 finals, the Lady Highlanders wanted another shot. While they would have played whoever was across the net from them on Saturday in the Group 3 championship at William Paterson University, they were happy to see those other Highlanders make it through their side of the bracket. For one game and the first part of the next, it appeared the script was headed for a repeat of last year. But West Morris rallied, and won its first-ever volleyball group title, beating Northern Highlands 18-25, 25-20 and 25-17."
  32. ↑ Havsy, Jane. "West Morris reached all its goals", Daily Record (Morristown), December 17, 2009. Accessed July 24, 2011. "During preseason, the West Morris volleyball players wrote their goals on the white squares of a poster made up to look like a checkered flag. West Morris lived up to all three, winning the MCT for the first time since '07, a share of the inaugural NJAC-American Division, and finally earning the first NJSIAA Group III title in school history."
  33. ↑ Staff. "West Morris makes it four titles in a row", Daily Record (Morristown), November 1, 2003. Accessed July 24, 2011. "Devon Brothers and her West Morris volleyball team were not superstitious leading up to Saturday's Morris County Tournament final against Morris Knolls "We were just thinking 'four times in a row,'"Brothers said. [...] she had 24 assists, four kills and four aces to lead West Morris to its fourth-straight MCT title 25-14, 25-21, 25-8 over the rookie Golden Eagles."
  34. ↑ History of the NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 19, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Clubs and Activities - West Morris Central High School". www.wmchs.org. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  36. ↑ Parent - Student Handbook 2018-2019, West Morris Central High School. Accessed September 27, 2018.
  37. ↑ Duggan, Dan. "Rutgers fullback Michael Burton's path from walk-on to the NFL Draft paved by determination", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 2, 2015. Accessed August 13, 2015. "And that dedication is how Burton has transformed from a walk-on out of West Morris Central High into a potential NFL Draft pick."
  38. ↑ Howell Jr., Tom. "News Teen fights for safer roads after friend's death", New Jersey Herald, November 22, 2008. Accessed August 13, 2018. "Kyleigh, a star athlete at West Morris Central High School, died when an Audi TT driven by a 17-year-old boy careened into a tree on Fairview Avenue in Long Valley."
  39. ↑ Arentowicz, Terry P. That Empty Feeling: The Real Story of One 72-Hour Rescue Mission Into Laos, p. 66. AuthorHouse, 2013. ISBN 9781491836262. Accessed November 6, 2017. "The youngest member of Young's crew was Sergeant Larry W. Maysey. The Pararescue specialist had graduated from West Morris Regional High School in Chester, New Jersey, only two years prior to being sent to Viet Nam."
  40. ↑ Garber, Phil. "Mendhams, Long Valley heavy into top ranks of Trump campaign ", Observer-Tribune, August 31, 2016. Accessed November 22, 2016. "And last week, Trump's campaign hired Bill Stepien, 38, of Long Valley, a graduate of West Morris Central High School and Rutgers."
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