Ward Melville High School
| Ward Melville High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | Excellence in Education |
| Established | 1968 |
| Locale | Suburban |
| Principal | Thomas Colletti |
| Faculty | 138 |
| Grades | 10-12 |
| Number of students | 2100 approx. |
| Color(s) | Green and Gold |
| Athletics | 22 Varsity and Junior Varsity Teams for boys and 21 Varsity and Junior Varsity Teams for girls |
| Mascot | Patriot |
| Website | WMHS |
Ward Melville High School is a public high school in the Three Village Central School District of Suffolk County, New York on Long Island, serving grades ten through twelve[1]. It is fed by the two junior high schools in the District: Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School and Robert Cushman Murphy Junior High School, and is named after businessman and philanthropist Ward Melville.
Located sixty miles from Manhattan in the Three Village area, Ward Melville High School is situated in East Setauket, NY. The school serves students from East Setauket, South Setauket, Stony Brook, Old Field, Strongs Neck, and Poquott.
The building was originally designed to have 290,700 square feet with capacity for 2,000 students[2], and two new wings were recently built in 2000 to accommodate for the growth of the student body over the years [citation needed]. Each of the three grades currently has approximately 700 students.
The district provides for numerous clubs and activities after school, including a musical/theater arts program and many sports teams[1]. The school offers 25 different Advanced Placement courses and another 25 college courses that are offered credit through several colleges and Universities [citation needed].
Achievements
Ward Melville High School has been recognized as a School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education and carries this designation on each student's transcript and diploma[1]. It was ranked within the top 500 high schools in America in 2004 by MSNBC Newsweek[3].
Approximately three percent of the class are awarded National Merit scholarships, and many more receive national awards from various sources [citation needed].
In 1987, the Ward Melville Football team won the Rutgers Trophy after defeating West Islip in the County Finals 27-14. They had a final record of 9-1. Notable atheletes from that class included: Joe Matassa (All County)- played lacrosse for Duke, Brendan Cody (All State)- played lacrosse for Johns Hopkins, Pat Hughes (All State)- played football for The University of Rhode Island, Joe Tasman (All County)- played football for Salisbury University, Jay White (All League)- played football for Salisbury University, Frank Carroll (All League)- played football for Wagner College and Salibury University, Mike Pinatta (All League), Eugene Bowling (All League), Kyle Kernan (All League)- played lacrosse for Towson.
The proximity of Ward Melville to the State University of New York at Stony Brook has encouraged the school to house a very strong science research program. This program annually produces many winners in the Intel Science Talent Search, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and other science competitions. In 1998, Ward Melville had the highest number of Science Talent Search finalists in the United States (4 out of 40)[4], and in 2006, it tied for the greatest number of semifinalists (12 out of 300)[5].
Notable alumni
Notable alumni of Ward Melville High School include:
- Chris Dieterich (class of 1976) - NFL lineman for the Detroit Lions, 1980-86
- Gary Valentine (class of 1979) - comedian (The King of Queens)
- Mick Foley (class of 1983) - professional wrestler and author
- Kevin James (class of 1983) - comedian/actor (The King of Queens)
- Marco Beltrami (class of 1984) - professional film composer (Scream)
- Andrew Scheps (class of 1984) - Grammy winning producer/engineer (Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Mars Volta, Johnny Cash)
- Michael Israel (class of 1984) - CIO Six Flags, Inc.
- Kevin Kinyon (class of 1984) - founder and President of Gigmasters.com
- Jason Ortenberg (class of 1986) - Visual effects artist for feature films, music videos, and television commercials
- John Fugelsang (class of 1987) - host of America's Funniest Home Videos, 1997-2000
- Todd Sauerbrun (class of 1991) - professional football player, most recently with the New England Patriots (punter)
- Greg Cattrano (class of 1993) - MLL goalie for the Baltimore Bayhawks
- Jarrod Gorbel (class of 1993) - indie singer-songwriter
- Brooke Ellison (class of 1996) - the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard University
- Jamie Stuart (class of 1993) - News 12 Long Island Sportscaster
- Kurt Johnsen (class of 1977) - Forest Scientist, formerly of the Canadian Forest Service, now with the US Forest Service Southern Research Station [1].
External links
- Ward Melville High School website
- Ward Melville's Varsityand JV Lacrosse team in game action against Garden City high school on 4-7-07
- iHomeroom - a social networking site with an emphasis on education for high school students. The site originated as a homework-help blog for Ward Melville students[6].
- Ward Melville Sophomore Companion - an educational homework resource for 10th graders.
- Article about A.J. Nunziato the most successful baseball player in the school's history
References
- ^ a b c "Ward Melville High School Profile". Retrieved 2007-04-05.
- ^ "Ward Melville High School Project Page". Wiedersum Associates, P.P.L.C. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
- ^ "The Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools". Newsweek. 2004. pp. p. 5. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
{{cite web}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ "Finalists of the 57th Annual Science Talent Search". Science Service. 1998. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
- ^ "Official 2006 Semifinalist Book" (PDF). Science Service. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
- ^ "iHomeroom: About Us". Retrieved 2007-04-05.