Clarkstown High School North


Clarkstown High School North is a high school located in New City, New York, educating students in grades 9 through 12. Clarkstown North is one of two high schools in the Clarkstown Central School District. Since 2006, North offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme to juniors and seniors.
In 2015 U.S. News & World Report ranked Clarkstown North Senior High School with a silver award as the 135 Best High School in New York State and 1,329 nationally.

Buildings

Clarkstown North consists of three buildings: the main building, the annex, and the new building.

Main

The original building of Clarkstown High School North is the Main, which is built off an early 1900s mansion. Before the construction of Clarkstown High School South, this was the only high school in the Clarkstown Central School District. The Main has the language department, the English department, some of the science rooms, the film making studio, a two-room writer's lab, a two story library, a large gym with boys and girls locker rooms, a smaller gym that serves as the wrestling room, an auditorium and theater department, an orchestra room, a courtyard, a large lunchroom, a special education program, and a bomb shelter. It is the largest building in the school.

Annex

The second building is commonly referred to as the "Annex" and was completed by the 1960-61 school year. Before Felix Festa Middle School was constructed, the Annex was the school district's junior high school. However, the two buildings were not connected, so for a long time students had to walk outside to get from class to class. The Annex is built on a hill and has three floors. The top floor is referred to as the fifth floor, the one right below it in the middle of the hill is the fourth floor, and the bottom floor is the third. The third floor has science rooms, the fourth has math rooms, and the fifth has math rooms, health rooms, study halls, a small gym with locker rooms, and two small cafeterias.
During the 1980s, classrooms were built in trailers called "The Mobiles." The Mobiles had been put up in 1985 during the construction of the new library in the Main. These were demolished before the start of the 2009-10 school year.

New building extension

The new building extension was built during the 2004-2005 school year. This expansion connected the "Main" and "Annex" buildings, and also added many classrooms. The building stands on three floors consisting of specialty classrooms, including a new band room on the middle floor, and art rooms on the bottom floor, as well as many social studies classrooms. It was intended to have air conditioning, but the budget was apparently not met.

Vermin problem and Halloween 2007 walkout

On October 31, 2007 Clarkstown North students, from grades ranging from 9th to 12th grade, held a walk-out to protest the sanitary conditions of the school. The protest started in front of the annex building and students walked to the far ball field. Students chanted and held signs from approximately 12:20pm to 1:00pm while a news helicopter hovered above.
This was the largest walkout in district history. The other previous walkout was in 1975 and happened because students were against the new rules regarding study halls.
Originally, Clarkstown North Students were planning to walk to Town Hall, in the heart of New City, New York. The plan was quickly scrapped as Clarkstown Police Department threatened to arrest anyone who left school grounds on account that it was unlawful assembly and the students could quickly turn into a riot.
The next evening, there was an emergency school board meeting in which students and parents spoke about the conditions at Clarkstown North. The meeting started at 7:30pm and went until 11:30pm. During the meeting, it was revealed that there were over 700 recorded absent students during the walkout, far more than the estimated 200-300. The following day, there was a meeting immediately after school for all students to discuss ways to improve Clarkstown North.

Field renovation

In June of the 2007-2008 school year, construction began on the football field and track. The track and playing field were torn up and replaced by a new rubber track and artificial-turf football field. The renovations were scheduled to be finished by the start of the 2008-2009 school year, but were completed October 25, 2008.

Athletics

The school offers a variety of varsity and junior varsity sports and competes as part of Section One of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. Clarkstown North's rival schools include Clarkstown South, the other senior high school in the Clarkstown Central School District. The winner of the annual football game between the two schools is awarded the Supervisor's Cup. Despite the inherent rivalry, Clarkstown North and Clarkstown South compete together as one "Clarkstown" team in several varsity sports such as ice hockey and swimming/diving.
The varsity baseball team won the 2002 Class A New York State championship.

Ram's Cave

In the Spring of the 2010-2011 school year, the Ram's Cave was created at North. The Ram's Cave is a small school store in the Main that sells snacks, beverages, and school spirit wear to all students in the afternoons. Members of the PTA volunteer their time to manage the store. In the fall of the 2012-2013 school year, the Ram's Cave was relocated and expanded into the library of the School.

Notable alumni