New Castle Chrysler High School

New Castle High School
Motto	Non Pro Schola Sed Pro Vita (Not For School But For Life)
Type	Public high school
Principal	Chris Walker
Asst. Principal	Kenon Gray
Students	1,206 (2009-10)
9-12
Location	801 Parkview Drive, New Castle, Indiana, USA
Coordinates	39°54′43″N 85°22′38″W / 39.91194°N 85.37722°W / 39.91194; -85.37722Coordinates: 39°54′43″N 85°22′38″W / 39.91194°N 85.37722°W / 39.91194; -85.37722
District	New Castle Community School Corporation
Colors	green and white
Athletics	North Central Conference
Mascot	Trojans
Yearbook	Rosennial
Newspaper	The Phoenixhttp://www.ncphoenix.net/
Website	nccsc.k12.in.us

New Castle High School is a public high school in New Castle, Indiana whose name is commonly abbreviated to NCCHS. It is part of the New Castle Community School Corporation and has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students^[1]. NCCHS is the largest high school in Henry County.

The present high school originated from the New Castle Academy in 1870.^[2] In 1895, New Castle High School was constructed. Because of its distinctive appearance, the building became known as "The Castle." In response to a significant increase in enrollment, a new senior high school was constructed in 1923-24 at 14th and Walnut Streets. Plans to construct an additional wing and a multi-purpose facility were never developed. Instead, physical education classes were conducted at the National Guard Armory across the street and basketball games were played at the YMCA in the "Church Street Gym." The Walnut Street location served as the senior high school until 1958 when a new high school facility was completed. The 1924 structure then joined the 1895 "Castle" building as a junior high school. In 1973, eighth and ninth grade students began attending the newly-constructed Parkview Junior High School. The "Castle" was subsequently demolished, and the Walnut Street school exclusively housed seventh grade students until 1999. The location was home to the Raintree Education Center until 2010; the building was sold to a private owner in 2011.

Present location

Located just west of Baker Park at the corner of Parkview Drive and Ross Street, a new three-story Walter P. Chrysler Memorial High School opened to students in the fall of 1958. The structure was modern for its era and featured an expansive facade of windows on the north and south sides. Two new cafeterias, a business wing, and a vocational wing were in place by the 1960s. Construction of Bundy Auditorium in 1972 as part of the adjoining Parkview Junior High School provided a place for school events and activities. A new swimming facility was put into use at this time. In 1979, the school board renamed the facility New Castle Chrysler High School.

In 1998, the school board began a $25 million project to significantly renovate the high school, add air conditioning, and upgrade its technological infrastructure.^[3] The former business wing, or "C" wing, was demolished to make room for a new entrance and improved parking. A new three-story academic wing was built to provide more classroom space and improved science facilities. In 1999, freshmen students were moved from Parkview Junior High School to the newly-expanded high school.

During the summer of 2011, most of the vocational (New Castle Area Career) programs that had been formerly housed at the Eder site in Knightstown (Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Home campus) was moved primarily into the E and T-wings of New Castle High School. Only the student radio station, WKPW (90.7 FM), remained in Knightstown, Indiana where it had been moved from the Eder site to Knightstown High School by early-2010.

Name change

On November 12, 2007, the school board voted 3-2 to rename the school "New Castle High School" effective July 1, 2011.

Academics

Freshman Academy

Beginning with the 2007-08 school year, administrators implemented the Freshman Academy, a new program designed to help freshmen become better adjusted to the transition from middle school to high school. Program goals include increased attendance, reduction in disciplinary problems, and academic improvement. Freshman students are required to eat lunch together, enroll in study hall, and attend freshman--only classes in English, science and math. Students' classrooms and lockers are located in a designated hallway on the third floor. Holding students accountable as well as responsible for turning in regular assignments and homework is part of the expectation of the program. The percentage of freshmen passing all classes per semester steadily showed improvements three out of the first four years this statistic was tracked at NCCHS. The school's dropout rate began decreasing while its graduation rate started showing improvements the third and fourth year after the implementation of the Freshmen Academy. School officials believe this is at least partially attributed to the "failure is not an option" philosophy of its freshman academy that has generally followed these students into upper grades.

Curriculum Mapping

During the 2010-11 school year, a new academic initiative had one-third of the school's teachers receiving training on the Atlas Curriculum Mapping program. Curriculum Mapping is a systematic way to track what students should know and do while insuring what is being taught in all subjects are aligned to Indiana academic standards as well as recently-adopted national common core standards. By the fall of 2011 over one-half of NCCHS's teachers had been brought "on board" with how to curriculum map. The process allows for greater collaboration between teachers as discussions take place about how to align the school's curriculum both vertically (from grades 9 up through 12) and horizontally (inter-departmentally and across multiple disciplines). Primary topics for professional deliberations include (1) prioritizing what is being taught, (2) how to avoid unnecessary duplication of topics/standards, and (3) how to shore up gaps when it is discovered important topics/standards are not being effectively taught in the curriculum. http://www.curriculummapping101.com/curriculum-mapping-general

Extra curricular

Athletics

New Castle Chrysler High School is a member of the North Central Conference and has programs in football, soccer, cross country, volleyball, tennis, basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, track, golf, softball, and baseball. The boys basketball team won the state championship in 1932^[4] and the Class 3A state championship in 2006. In 2007, the volleyball team won the Class AAAA state championship.^[5] The New Castle Fieldhouse is home of Trojan athletics and is billed as the largest high school fieldhouse in the world.^[6] The facility was profiled in a 2004 USA Today article.

Former athletes

• Steve Alford - Indiana University and NBA. Currently head coach of the University of New Mexico's men's basketball team. Steve Alford was the featured speaker at the school's Achievement Day on September 30, 2011.
• Kent Benson - Indiana University and NBA.

Music

NCCHS has an active music department. Performance groups include wind ensemble, concert band, jazz ensemble, jazz lab band, brass choir, woodwind choir, winter percussion ensemble, color guard, chorale, chamber singers, varsity choir, madrigals, jazz choir, show choir, and various other solo and ensemble groups. The band and choir travel out of state on a four-year cycle to experience a variety of musical performances.

The Trojan Marching Band is the school's largest performance group and has earned numerous awards throughout its history. The band is a frequent top finisher in the Indiana Marching Band State Finals at the RCA Dome. In 2005, the band received the ISSMA All-Music Award. Prior to 1979, the Trojan Marching Band participated in "track style" shows^[7] and was a regular performer at the Indiana State Fair, twice earning first place in the marching band contest. During its history, the band has performed in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Disney's Magic Music Days.

References

1. ^ Enrollment by Grade, New Castle Chrysler High Sch
2. ^ The History of New Castle High School
3. ^ The History of New Castle Chrysler High School
4. ^ Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame - Orville Hooker
5. ^ Indiana High School Athletic Association
6. ^ News article, paragraph three, from USA Today, February 25, 2004.
7. ^ Trojan Marching Band