Newton High School (New Jersey)


Newton High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Newton, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Newton Public School District. Students from Andover Borough, and Andover and Green townships, attend the high school as part of sending/receiving relationships.
As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 715 students and 66.0 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1. There were 125 students eligible for free lunch and 26 eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

History

Newton's residents approved a 1916 referendum to build a high school. A winning bid was accepted that year, but delays related to obtaining workers and inflated costs during World War I extended the construction. This original building is now Halsted Middle School, with a new building being constructed on Ryerson Avenue in the 1950's. Newton High School had served the region, with 13 districts sending students as part of sending/receiving relationships. The opening of High Point Regional High School in September 1966 ended the attendance of students from Branchville Borough, Frankford Township and Lafayette Township. Students from Fredon Township, Hampton Township, Sandyston Township, Stillwater Township and Walpack Township left Newton High School with the opening of Kittatinny Regional High School in 1975.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 168th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 130th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 167th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 160th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 168th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Academic achievements

SAT Scores

In the 2013-14 school year, Newton High School ranked second in Sussex County out of nine other public high schools in SAT scores.

Graduation rates

According to the New Jersey Herald, the graduation rate for Newton High School is 84.8%. This rate exceeds the national high school graduation rate of approximately 70%.

Extracurricular activities

Newton High School offers a variety of extracurricular activities, clubs, and groups. They include Aurora yearbook, Calliope magazine, Student Council, Peer Leadership, Red Cross Club, Best Buds, Future Farmers of America, Interact, Art Club, Multicultural Club, and Spanish/German/French clubs. Honor Societies include the National Honor Society, French National Honor Society, German National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society. Academic Leagues include various Science Leagues, Math League, and the Academic Bowl.

Jazz Band

The Newton High School Jazz Band program has been highly successful over the past years. Jazz Band is considered an extracurricular, but the high school also offers Concert Band and Wind Ensemble courses which can be added to one's school schedule.

Robotics team

Newton High School's FIRST Robotics Competition team, team 3142, won the Rookie All-Star Award in the New York City Regional Competition in 2010.

Athletics

The Newton High School Braves compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. With 578 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North I, Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 495 to 762 students in that grade range. Prior to the 2010 realignment, the school participated in the Sussex County Interscholastic League until the SCIL was dissolved in 2009.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey program with Lenape Valley Regional High School, under an agreement that expires at the end of the 2017-18 school year; Lenape Valley is the host school for joint boys' and girls' swimming programs shared by the two schools that expires at the end of the 2017-18 school year.
The Newton High School students who cheer on the school's athletic teams are known to be incredibly prideful, often displaying large heads of school athletes.

Field hockey

The field hockey team won the North I Group I state sectional championship in 1976 and 1979, and won the North I Group II title in 1981-1986.

Wrestling

The team won the North I Group I state sectional championships in 2009 and 2010, won against Kittatinny Regional High School both years. 2009 marked the program's first sectional title, achieved with a 40-26 win against Kittatinny. The team won its second consecutive title with a 36-28 win against Kittatinny, and made it to the Group I state championship before losing to Paulsboro High School.

Boys' baseball

The program finished the season with an undefeated 12-0 record and won its first sectional championship in 2017, with a 28-14 win against Lakeland Regional High School in the final game of the North I, Group II tournament, played at Kean University.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are: