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Washington Township High School (New Jersey)

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Washington Township High School
Location
Map
Sewell
,
NJ

United States
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1966
Staff277 [1]
Faculty243 (full and part-time) [2]
Grades9-12
Enrollment3,086 [3]
Color(s)Red, White, and Blue
Athletics conferenceOlympic Conference
Team nameMinutemen/Minutemaids
Information856-589-8500
WebsiteSchool website

Washington Township High School, affectionately referred to as "Township," is a four-year public high school located in Washington Township, in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Washington Township Public School District. It is the largest public high school in South Jersey. As of the 2004-05 school year, the school served 3,070 students.[6] The school building itself is just over a quarter of a mile long. It is located at 509, 519, and 529 Hurffville-Cross Keys Road.

Washington Township High School is the home of the Commerce Bank Arts Centre, which is a 2,500 seat performing arts center located at the center of the school. Most of the school's concerts and events are held there, and many notables have performed in this center, including the Barenaked Ladies, Tony Bennett, Wayne Brady, George Carlin, David Copperfield, Bill Cosby, BB King, Barry Manilow, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Jessica Simpson, and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

History

11-12 Wing

Construction on what is now the 11-12 wing of the high school began in 1962. WTHS opened in September 1966, serving grades 7-12. In the mid-1970s the school became overcrowded (a problem that would plague the school on and off through 1998). As a result, a two-story addition was added in the late 1970s, to the right side of the building, as well as an additional gym, an auditorium, and a new library. The school continued to serve students in grade 7-12 until the 1979-1980 school year.

9-10 Wing

In the late 1970s, construction on what would be the township's first middle school began. In September 1980, WTMS opened, serving 7th and 8th graders. Because of its location right next to WTHS (at the time, what is now the location of the Core was just a parking lot), the two schools would often share facilities.

Despite a new rather large school to house 7th and 8th graders, and more room in the high school, the township was exploding in population at the time, and both WTHS and WTMS were overcrowded only a few years after the middle school opened. In the mid-1980s, planning for yet another new middle school was underway. This time, however, because WT's elementary schools also faced overcrowding, the school district went ahead and built two schools, which would enroll grades 6 through 8, thus relieving all the elementary schools in the district from 6th graders (they also were relieved of all kindergarteners, thanks to an addition at Grenloch Terrace Early Childhood Center). In fall of 1989, Chestnut Ridge Middle School and Orchard Valley Middle School opened for grades 6-8. The former WTMS became part of the high school complex, renamed as the 9/10 Building (as it served mostly students in 9th and 10th grade), while the original HS was also renamed as the 11/12 Building.

The transition wasn't smooth, however. Both CRMS and OVMS weren't finished in time for the new school year. As a result, the newly formed WTHS complex started its first month with split sessions. High school students would have class starting early in the day, while all middle school students would have class in the late afternoon/early evening. During this time period, the high school students also had to share their lockers with the temp middle school students.

Core Building

File:Core 01.jpg
Core building during construction, c. 1997.

Washington Township's population continued to grow, and before the district knew it, they needed to expand the high school yet again. Under a $50 million district wide improvement program [7], a third building was to be built on the site between the 11/12 and 9/10 buildings. The Core building would physically connect the two existing buildings and would include a 2500-seat auditorium (now known as Commerce Bank Arts Centre, administrative and guidance offices, a new Media Center (library), new cafeteria (for 9-10 wing students) and more classrooms. Construction on the core building began in the summer of 1996. Parts of the building opened in 1998, and some classes were moved immediately from both the 11/12 and 9/10 buildings.

The new WTHS

The entire building was completed before the 1998-1999 school year. WTHS was now one building for the first time since the 1988-1989 school year. The three parts of the building were renamed the 11/12 wing, core, and 9/10 wing, and hallways were renamed to integrate the building. Since the new building featured a new library, a united guidance office, and cafeteria for the 9/10 wing, the old libraries and guidance offices in each of the wings as well as the old 9/10 cafeteria were able to be renovated for other uses.

Athletics

The Washington Township High School Minutemen/Minutemaids compete in the Olympic Conference, which consists of nineteen public and private high schools located in Burlington County, Camden County, and Gloucester County, New Jersey. The Olympic Conference operates under the aegis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Recent Highlights

  • The boys cross country team captured the school's first ever South Jersey Group IV Sectional crown in the fall of 2005.
  • Daniel Betteridge and Amanda Jennings were the last two basketball players to surpass the 1,000 point milestone.
  • In 2007, the boys soccer team won the South Jersey Group IV state sectional championship with a 1-0 win over Lenape High School in the tournament final.[9]

Extracurricular activities

Washington Township is home to the NJ 932nd Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. They are one of the most respected groups in the community for their service activities and high standards of their cadets. The current Cadet Commander is C/Major Matt Novin

Music program

The Washington Township High School Minutemen Marching Band is a regionally and nationally recognized band. Under the direction of Mr. Jim Beyer, the band grew to over 225 members in 1997, the same year they achieved a 94.40 at the ACC Championships, a school record that still stands today. Later that season they participated in the 1998 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California and became the first band ever to be decorated in 5,000 live flowers and seeds. Designed by Todd Marcocci, this unique concept and design approach received tremendous support from all major media around the world. The band has also participated in the 1995 and 1997 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, the 2004 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, the 2005 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California and soon will be participating in the 2008 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Since its inception in 1973, the band has placed in the top 10 at the Tournament of Bands (TOB) Atlantic Coast Championships 16 times, and was Chapter One Champions for 16 straight years from 1985 to 2000, winning the Group 3 title from 1985 to 1987 and the Group 4 titles the subsequent 13 years.[10]

In recent years the band has undergone many changes, including becoming a separate ensemble (no longer a required part of the concert band program) and a director change in 2003. In 2004, the Minutemen band became the first South Jersey band to compete in the Bands of America (BOA) Regional at Rutgers University, part of the nation's top marching circuit. The band competes in the United States Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) and will be hosting the 2007 USSBA New Jersey State Championships. The current director is Casey Corigliano.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ Staff:, accessed June 4, 2007.
  2. ^ faculty:, accessed June 4, 2007.
  3. ^ Enrollment:, accessed June 4, 2007.
  4. ^ Average Class Size:, accessed June 4, 2007.
  5. ^ Average Daily Attendance:, accessed June 4, 2007.
  6. ^ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Washington Township Public Schools, accessed April 7, 2007.
  7. ^ referendum amount:, accessed June 20, 2007.
  8. ^ 2007 Baseball - Public Semis/Finals, NJSIAA. Accessed June 13, 2007.
  9. ^ 2007 Boys Soccer - South, Group IV, NJSIAA. Accessed November 14, 2007.
  10. ^ Tournament of Bands - Chapter One History, Tournament of Bands. Accessed July 5, 2007.
  11. ^ Biography of Linda Fiorentino, accessed December 16, 2006.
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