Roxbury High School

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Roxbury High School
A Commitment to Excellence in Education"
Location
1 Bryant Drive Succasunna, NJ 07876
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1903
Principal	Jeffrey Swanson
Asst. Principal	Dr. Linda Bowles Stuart Mason Dominick Miller
Faculty	119 (on FTE basis)[1]
Enrollment	1,571 (as of 2009-10)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	13.20[1]
Color(s)	Blue and gold
Athletics conference	Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference
Nickname	Gael
Website	School website

Roxbury High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Succasunna section of Roxbury Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Roxbury School District.

Roxbury High School's students come from Roxbury Township, as well as from Mount Arlington, who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Mount Arlington School District.^[2]

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,571 students and 119 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.20.^[1]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 115th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 98th in 2008 out of 316 schools.^[3] The school was ranked 113th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.^[4] Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 148th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 1 position from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (82.4%) and language arts literacy (95.1%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).^[5]

Campus

Roxbury High School consists of one rectangular building with various wings. The school only has windows on the front of the building, which faces northwest. This was done in order to save on energy costs, as the school was built during the prelude to the 1973 energy crisis. In 2003 a referendum was passed to add a music suite and an athletic training area/weight room to the original facility. The school shares Bryant Drive with nearby Eisenhower Middle School. Behind the school are athletic fields, including a track and a football field. A wooded area is also used for the "Project Adventure" program (which includes various types of climbing and trust-building activities for freshman).

Languages spoken at home

The most common language spoken at home other than English (96%) is Spanish at (6%) of homes. Russian (0.5%), Gujarati (0.5%), Polish (0.1%), and Macedonian (0.2%) follow^{[citation needed]}

Performing arts

Roxbury High School offers a comprehensive, fully curricular performing arts curriculum. Its offerings include:

Band

The Roxbury Marching Gaels have won State Championships, and have shaped themselves into one of the best marching bands on the East Coast. In 2005, Roxbury performed "The Music of Scheherazade", and placed 2nd at the United States Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) New Jersey State Championships with a score of 96.70, and 4th overall at the USSBA East Coast Championships at Giants Stadium with a score of 96.48. Also in 2006, the music from Stravinsky's "The Firebird" won them second place at USSBA Regionals with a score of 97.375, a new record in the school at the time. In 2007, Records were broken with the Gaels performing their show "Deja View" winning them USSBA Group 6 Open NJ State Championships, and then winning 1st place overall at the USSBA Regionals with a score of 98.00. Then in 2009, Roxbury won 1st place at National Championships with their show "Upon A King". They received a score of 98.188, Roxbury's highest score ever received.

The Roxbury Honors Wind Symphony has distinguished itself as a prominent band in the Eastern United States, and has received many "superior" ratings. It has also performed at the prestigious Midwest Clinic. The Roxbury Bands are conducted by Todd Nichols, Richard Hartsuiker, and Sarah Bednarcik.

• The Roxbury Marching Gaels (for full staff go to http://www.roxburybands.org/marching-band/staff)
• The Ninth Symphony (directed by Sarah Bednarcik)
• The Symphony Band (directed by Richard Hartsuiker)
• The Honors Wind Symphony (directed by Todd Nichols)
• The Jazz Ensemble (directed by Todd Nichols)
• The Jazz Lab Band (directed by Richard Hartsuiker)

Composer Robert Farnon composed The Gaels: An American Wind Symphony, as a commission to the Roxbury High School band in honor of the school's mascot, the gael. The piece made its world debut in May, 2006. It was performed by the Roxbury High School Honors Wind Symphony under the direction of Dr. Stanley Saunders, a close friend of Farnon.

The band has also performed in New York City's world renowned Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center.

Choir

The Roxbury Choir program is a notable performing group. The select ensembles tour every year to regional and national contests and festivals; on these tours they have taken home many awards including "Best Overall Choir" from these contests. Roxbury's Director of Choral Activities, Lorraine Lynch, initiated the Roxbury Invitational Choral Festival, which is held annually, attracting two dozen choirs from as far as Maine and Virginia. The 2006 tour took the Roxbury Choir to the Music in the Parks Festival, where the choir received six 1st place trophies, six overall ratings of Superior, and the overall best choir of the day. In March 2007, Classic Sounds Honors traveled to Carnegie Hall for the second time.

• Roxbury Concert Choir
• Roxbury Classic Sounds Honors
• Roxbury Freshman Women's Ensemble
• Roxbury Revelation
• Roxbury Vocal Jazz
• Roxbury Chorale
• Roxbury Madrigals
• Roxbury Melodies
• Roxbury Select Men's Choir

Dance

There are five levels of sequential curricular dance classes offered. Headed By Rebecca Pietras, Students learn basic technique and various styles of dance including hip-hop, lyrical, modern, and jazz. The curriculum is suited for dancers of all levels of skill.

Extracurricular activities

Extra- and co-curricular activities include:

Languages

• French National Honor Society
• French Club
• Spanish National Honor Society
• Spanish Club

Academic

• Academic Decathlon
• Literary Magazine
• Math League
• Math Team
• National Honor Society
• National Art Honor Society
• Science League
• Computer Science League
• Roxbury Technology Association
• Debate Team

Student government and leadership

• Conflict Resolution Team
• Echo (yearbook)
• Peer Leadership
• Roxbury Review (newspaper) a three time winner of the GSSPA best all around paper.
• Prime Time Roxbury (television)
• Student Council
• Student Empowerment/Advocacy (SEA)
• Guardian Angels

Other

• Sports Medicine Club
• Ski/Snowboard Club
• Fencing Club
• Drama Club
• Rotary Interact Club
• Key Club
• Lighthouse Bible Club - RIP MS. Bauer
• Varsity "R" Club
• Color guard

Athletics

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Roxbury High School's Mascot is the Gaels, an Irish Warrior, which was a nickname given to the football team in the 1930s by local news writers because of three Irish brothers on the team that were standouts. The Roxbury High School Gaels now compete in the American Division of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.^[6][7] Prior to the realignment that took place in 2010, Roxbury had participated in the now defunct twenty-member Iron Hills Conference. With 1,144 students in grades 10-12, the school is classified by the NJSIAA as North I Group IV, a category that includes schools with enrollment of 1,120 to 2,479.^[8]

Overview

The Roxbury athletic program is best known for their football, wrestling, baseball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls track and field, and girls soccer teams. Sports offered include basketball, cross country, football, golf, field hockey, swimming, soccer, tennis, lacrosse, wrestling, track, volleyball, baseball, ice hockey, and softball. The Gaels once had a bowling team, but it is no longer in existence. Through 100 years of athletic competition, Roxbury has amassed 159 team championships in 18 sports, only second to Morristown High School for the Morris County record.

Football

The first Roxbury Football Team was formed by students in 1913, who were coached by fellow classmate Frank DeMott ‘15. When the team took the field for the first time, the result was a 7-0 loss to Newton, the worst defeat in program history to this day. In the next few years to come Roxbury would face some interesting opponents such as the Hercules Powder Works Company, the Alumni, and the Chester Boy Scouts. Under Coach J.B. Shambaugh, the 1926 team won the school its first State Championship, taking the Class 'C' Regional title. Two years later, the 1928 squad annexed the second State Championship in school history under Coach Robert Mohor, whose only season at the helm ended with the utmost honor.

There have been many big rivalries in Roxbury's illustrious history. The first of Roxbury's early rivals was Dover, who they beat for the first time in 1917 by a score of 7-6. A turkey dinner was given to the team whenever they topped the Tigers. By 1929, Hackettstown became the annual Thanksgiving Day contest. Many tough games were played in that series, ending in 1976 with a 34-7 Gael victory. Roxbury and Hackettstown have not played since. One of the most intense rivalries in the state began in 1965, Roxbury versus Randolph. Some of the more exciting contests were a 7-0 Randolph victory in 1987 in front of 10,000 people and a 6-6 tie in 1991 ending Randolph's 56 game winning streak. The series is currently 26-18-2 in favor of Randolph, with Roxbury's last win in the series coming with a 21-0 shutout in 2009.

The early 30's saw a string of five County Class 'B' Championships, climaxed by Roxbury's only undefeated season in 1934. Roxbury's greatest eleven took home the championship for all of Morris County in 1934, led by the All-State back Vin "Tiny" Reilly ‘35. The 1941 team, known as the Galloping Gaels, registered 6 shutouts. In addition to winning the Morris County Championship, the 1942 team posted the Gaels' 100th victory. The 1959 team won the school's third State Championship, being declared North II, Group II Champions after showing a 6-2-1 mark. Roxbury's 200th win came in 1964 and the 300th win came in 1979, a 30-10 win over Dover High School. The 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, and 1973 teams all won Iron Area Conference crowns. Roxbury's 400th win was in 1998 over Columbia, 40-0.

The '86 and '87 teams advanced to the State Finals, losing to Union High School on both occasions. 1987 was the senior season of Dave Moore ‘88, a future NFL pro-bowler, whose #88 will never be worn again at Roxbury. The '95 and '96 teams won Iron Hills Conference-Iron Division titles, but came up just short in the State Tournament. But after a 7-2 regular season, breakthrough came in the 1998 postseason. Led by Coach John Quinn, and for the second time in six days, Roxbury defeated Randolph 23-12 in the State Semifinals, setting up a final with heavily favored Plainfield at Giants Stadium. One touchdown was all the Gaels needed, winning the third State Championship in school history, and first in 39 years, with a 7-6 victory. The highlight of the 2001 season was Roxbury's stunning, 27-26 last second win over Elizabeth, ranked #13 in country and #2 in the state, in the first round of the State Playoffs.

2002 marked Head Coach Cosmo Lorusso's first year in Roxbury. The '02 team were IHC-Iron Tri-Champions and advanced to the semifinals before losing to Morristown. The next five years featured talented teams with impressive records, but came up just short of a conference championship on several occasions. The 2008 season began with a disappointing loss. However, the '08 Gaels responded with an eight game winning streak, including an instant classic, 35-29 win over Morristown, which propelled the team to the final IHC-Iron crown to be contested. The 2009 team jumped to an 8-0 start, quickly winning the inaugural Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference-American Division championship. After two sound victories to start the '09 postseason, Roxbury faced East Orange in the State Final, to be played at Giants Stadium. The Gaels won a 14-6 thriller, clinching the 5th State Title in school history, as well as setting the school record for wins in a season with 11. In 2012, the Roxbury High School Football Gaels will play its 100th season of football, an event sure to be marked with a grand celebration for a grandeur program.

Boys Lacrosse

The history of lacrosse being played at Roxbury dates back to 1993. Coach Steve Manitta started the program at club status, where it remained through the 1994 season. The first year of accreditation as a varsity spot proved difficult, with the Gaels ending at 4-10. However, 1995 did mark the first major victory in program history, a 7-6 victory over State Champion Kinnelon. The following season marked two new breakthroughs for Roxbury: winning its first Morris County Tournament game and making the New Jersey State Tournament. 1999 was another great year for the Gaels, led by Jim Grau ’00, deposing of chief rival Randolph twice, including in the Morris County Tournament.

The next breakthrough for the rapidly growing program came in 2008, when the Steve Donnelly led the Gaels to its second winning season and second State Playoff appearance in 2008, the first in twelve seasons for both. However, the apex of the lacrosse program was reached the following year, as Coach Donnelly’s charges at last bought home the long awaited banner, annexing the Klank Conference Championship. In the title clinching, 17-8 victory over Morris Hills, Justin Meeth ’09 set a school record for goals in one game with seven. As a result of this fine 11-6 campaign, Chris Biank ’10 became the first all-state selection in school history, furthermore proving a newer program compared to other sports is no vice to Roxbury’s tradition and success.

The 2010 season proved yet another landmark for Roxbury, with the Gaels winning the program’s first State Playoff game, 14-4 over Toms River South. Tommy Leahy ’10 stood out with five goals for Roxbury. The future looks to be bright for Roxbury under head coach Jon Benbow. The 2012 Gaels, celebrating the 20th season of Roxbury Lacrosse, will be led by Michigan-bound recruit Brendan Riefberg ’12.

Written by Will Harrigan ’11. Roxbury High School Historian, Morris County Basketball Historian. 2012.

The 2007-08 Roxbury Gaels Varsity Ice Hockey team had a record-setting 22-1-1 season record, having won the HAAS Cup as the HAAS Division champions. Their only loss came in the second round of the State Playoffs against Morris Knolls High School.^[9]

From 1996-1998 the Roxbury Gaels Baseball team won three consecutive Morris County Championships, beating rival Randolph High School in both '96 and '97. The team was coached by Bruce Shatel.

In the 1995-96 season, the Roxbury wrestling team won the North Jersey Section II Group IV state sectional title. The Gaels also won the state sectional title during the 2003-04 season, this time as a member of the North Jersey Section II Group III competition.^{[citation needed]}

The Girl's Basketball team, during the 2003-04 season, posted a 25-2 record and won the Iron Hills Conference, Iron Division Championship. Going undefeated in the conference, they also finished ranked number #18 in The Star-Ledger's Top 20,^{[citation needed]}

In March 2005, Roxbury's Ryan Fikslin won the individual 103 lb. wrestling championship in Atlantic City.^[10]

In both the fall of 2004 and 2005 the Roxbury girl's cross country team won County, Conference, Sectional and State championships and was invited to the Nike National Championships which they placed in the top 10 both years.

The baseball team won the 2001 NJSIAA North II, Group IV state title with a 4-1 win against West Orange High School.^[11]

The girls soccer team won the 1997 Group IV state title with a win over Eastern High School.^[12] The team won the 2004 North I, Group IV sectional title, topping Randolph High School 3-0 in the tournament final.^[13] In 2005, the team repeated the feat, winning the sectional championship against Montclair High School, 2-1.^[14] The team lost in the Group IV state championship game in both 2004 and 2005, falling to Brick Memorial High School and Eastern High School in those two seasons.^[12]

The soccer team won the 1999 North II, Group IV title with a 5-2 win over Columbia High School.^[15]

The Roxbury Varsity Cheerleaders placed first at the Pocono Regionals 2007. At the 2008 UCA Nationals in Orlando, Florida, Varsity placed 17th in the nation and Junior Varsity placed 14th. Roxbury Varsity also placed first at the 2008 Pocono Regionals. In February, at the 2009 UCA High School Nationals in Orlando Florida, Varsity placed 5th in the nation in Division 1 for Small Varsity and Junior Varsity placed 12th in the Small Junior Varsity Division.

Departments

Roxbury High School consists of the following departments: Business and Marketing, Family and Consumer Studies, Industrial Arts and Technology, Mathematics, Language Arts, PE and Health, Social Studies, Science, Special Education, Visual Arts, and World Languages.

Curriculum

The school follows the New Jersey state curriculum.

In order to graduate, the school requires 4 years of English classes, 4 years of Physical Education, 3 years of mathematics, 3 years of sciences, 3 years of history, 1 years in foreign language, 1 year of a practical art, and 1 year of a fine/performing art.

Practical arts include keyboarding, woodworking, and cooking classes. Fine/performing arts include band, orchestra, choir, and dance, as well as any art-related class (for example, Ceramics).

Students who fulfill the requirements before their normal graduation are not permitted to graduate early. Students must carry at least 35 credits (7 full-year classes) worth of courses per semester.

SAT scores

Average SAT scores for the 2004–05 school year were 532 on the Mathematics section and 529 on the Verbal section. 79% of students took the test.

Faculty

There are very roughly 200 faculty members. Some in teaching positions have bachelor's or master's degrees, with a small number of doctoral degree holders. Core members of the school's administration are:^[16]

• Jeffrey Swanson, Principal
• Dr. Linda Bowles, Assistant Principal
• Alexis Korsak, Assistant Principal
• Domonic Miller, Assistant Principal

Notable alumni

• Brendan Buckley (born 1974, class of 1992), is now a drummer in Shakira's band.^[17]
• Dave Moore (born 1969), class of 1988, was a football player, played for the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. ^[18]

References

External links

• Roxbury High School website
• Roxbury High School's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Roxbury School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• Roxbury High School Yearbook Archive

Coordinates: 40°51′50″N 74°38′40″W / 40.863961°N 74.644469°W / 40.863961; -74.644469

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