West Morris Central High School

Infobox_School | name = West Morris Central High School


imagesize =
motto = Make your life extraordinary!
established =
grades = 9 - 12
district = West Morris Regional High School District
type = Public high school
principal = Michael J. Reilly, Ed.D.
asst principal = Gil Moscatello
Bob Perkins
Anne Steffan
enrollment = 1,313 (as of 2005-06
faculty = 106.6 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 12.3
nickname = Wolfpack and Highlanders
conference = Iron Hills Conference
colors = Columbia Blue, White and Grey
publication = "The Highlander"
location = 259 Bartley Road
Chester, NJ 07930
information = 908-879-5212
website = [http://www.wmchs.org/ School website]

West Morris Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in grades 9 through 12 and is a member of the West Morris Regional High School District. The school serves students from Washington Township, New Jersey, United States, where the school is located. [http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc07/narrative/27/5660/27-5660-000.html West Morris Regional High School District 2007 Report Card Narrative] , New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed July 17, 2008. "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 district serves the students of five Morris County communities, Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township and Washington Township, in grades 9 through 12. Students from Washington Township attend West Morris Central High School, and students from the Chesters and the Mendhams attend West Morris Mendham High School."] However, the school has a Chester mailing address.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,313 students and 106.6 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis, for a student-teacher ratio of 13.3. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3417550&ID=341755004550 West Morris Central High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2007.]

The school is a member of, and fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the New Jersey Department of Education. The school has offered the IB Diploma Programme, as part of the International Baccalaureate Organization, since January 1998. [ [http://www.ibo.org/school/001034/ West Morris Central High School] , International Baccalaureate Organization. Accessed August 23, 2007.]

Its sister school, West Morris Mendham High School, serves students from Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough and Mendham Township.

Awards and recognition

The school was the 42nd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 314 schools statewide, in "New Jersey Monthly" magazine's September 2008 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools". The school was ranked 41st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. [ [http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"] , "New Jersey Monthly", September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.]

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. [ [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/10/20051014-11.html 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.]

Athletics

West Morris Central High School Highlanders compete in the Iron Hills Conference, an athletic conference made up of high schools located in Essex County, Morris County and Union County. While the original school mascot was the Highlander, many West Morris Central teams have taken on the name Wolf Pack. Some teams still call themselves the Highlanders out of respect for former graduates.

The athletics at West Morris Central include: Cross country, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, softball, volleyball, wrestling, and the newly added swim team.

Boy's wrestling won its first ever Iron Hills-Iron title in the school history 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 the prestigious Region 1 of the NJSIAA wrestling. The team was led under the guidance of Ken Rossi who was a two-time state finalist for Jefferson High School.

The girls tennis team won all-conference during the 2007 season and Ariel Lin (class of '11) won 2nd singles at the Morris County Tournament. The team ended their season undefeated in conference; 15-0

The girls' lacrosse team won the 2001 North A championship, defeating Bridge-Raritan High School 8-7 in the tournament final. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/scripts-bracketmaker/tmenu.cfm?tid=5828&tclass=North%20A 2001 NJSIAA Girls Lacrosse - North A] , NJSIAA, accessed April 26, 2007.]

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. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=221011&tclass=Group%20II 2007 Boys Lacrosse - Group II] , NJSIAA. Accessed October 20, 2007.]

The 2002 girls softball team won the North II, Group III sectional state championship, edging Cranford High School by a score of 1-0. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=17060&tclass=North%20II%2C%20Group%20III 2002 Softball Tournament - North II, Group III] , NJSIAA, accessed April 26, 2007.]

The 2001 football team won the North II, Group III state championship against West Morris Mendham High School by a score of 15-14. [ [http://njmorriscountyonline.com/2001njmorrissportsarchive/html/12_01_01_wmc_football.html 2001 Football Championship - North II, Group III] , NJSIAA, accessed October 20, 2007.]

The 2005 football team won the North II, Group III state championship against West Morris Mendham High School by a score of 10-7

Activities

The clubs at West Morris Central include: Bowling Club, Academy of Science, Art Club, Jazz Band, Book Club, Cheerleading, Chess Club, Color Guard, Concert Choir, Debate Club, Musical, Environmental Club, Film Club, Fly Fishing Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Future Educators, GSA, Habitat for Humanity, Literary Magazine, Marching Band, Math League, National History Club, Newspaper, Photography Club, Prayer Group, Science League, Self Defense Club, Ski Club, Sound and Lighting, Stage Craft, Student Council, SADD, Technology Student Association, TV/Radio Club, Veterans Oral History Club, Women's/Men's Ensemble and the Yearbook.

West Morris participates in the French Honor Society, German Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and the National Honor Society.

Notable alumni

*Tashy Bohm (Class of 1997) - Swimmer in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 and 200 backstroke.
*Frederick J. Chiaventone (Class of 1969) - Author of "A Road We Do Not Know" and "Moon of Bitter Cold".
*Jamie Smith (Class of 1990) - U.S. Ranger killed in action in Somalia and portrayed in the 2001 film "Black Hawk Down". [Hanley, Robert. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DE1530F934A35753C1A965958260 "THE SOMALIA MISSION; Relatives Recount Dreams of 2 Killed in Somalia"] , "The New York Times", October 7, 1993. Accessed December 26, 2007. "Mr. Smith, himself a retired Army Ranger captain who lost the lower half of his left leg in combat in Vietnam in 1967, shared portions of his 21-year-old son's letter, dated Sept. 25, at a news conference near their home here and talked about his son's boyhood, his decision to enlist in the Army after graduating from West Morris Central High School here in 1990 and his death after a month's duty in Somalia."]

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are: [ [http://www.wmchs.org/AboutWMC/facadmin.html#admin School Administration] , West Morris Central High School. Accessed September 29, 2007.]
*Principal: Michael J. Reilly, Ed.D.
*Assistant Principals: Gil Moscatello, Bob Perkins, Anne Steffan
*Athletic Director: Kent W. Schilling

References

External links

* [http://www.wmchs.org/ West Morris Central High School]
* [http://www.wmrhsd.org/ West Morris Regional High School District]
*NJReportCard|27|5660|030|West Morris Central High School
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3417550 Data for the West Morris Regional High School District] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://groups.google.com/group/west-morris-central-high-school---class-of-1983 Class of 1983]