Greenwich High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section may contain original research or unattributed claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.

Greenwich High School
Magnet School	No
School District	Greenwich Public Schools
School Colors	Red and White
Coeducational	Yes
Grade Levels	9-12
School type	Public
Principal	Alan J. Capasso
Location
Enrollment
Sports Teams	The Cardinals
Mascot	The Cardinal
Homepage	[1]

Coordinates: 41°02′23″N, 73°36′43″W

Contents 1 About the School 2 School Organization 3 Extracurricular Activities 4 School Sports 5 Additional Information 6 In popular culture 7 Notable Alumni 8 External links

[edit] About the School

Greenwich High School is a four-year public high school in Greenwich, Connecticut. The school is part of the Greenwich Public Schools system and serves about 2,800 students from diverse backgrounds.

The school's philosophy of "freedom with responsibility" encourages students to make decisions affecting their study and choice of activities. A distinct feature of this philosophy is that students are allowed "opens" in which one-hour blocks of free time are allotted to academically responsible students.

Greenwich High is the only public high school in Greenwich, Connecticut, where over 60,000 people live. This is due to the fact that upwards of 20% of town students go to either private boarding schools or local private schools. Although the town of Greenwich is 85% Caucasian, minorities make up around 35% of the student body. Teachers at Greenwich High School come from Greenwich, other towns in Fairfield County, and neighboring Westchester County, and a few commute from more than an hour away.

The school grows each year, and by 2010 the student population is expected to outgrow the capacity of the school, even though enrollment in Greenwich public schools has started to decline, especially in the wealthiest areas of town.^{[citation needed]}

Greenwich has consistently been rated one of the best public high schools in Connecticut due to its high test scores and high graduation rate.

[edit] School Organization

Entering students are randomly assigned to one of five houses: Bella, Cantor, Clark, Folsom, and Sheldon. However, entering students with older siblings currently attending the school have the option to join their sibling's house or enter the randomized lottery. Each house has its own housemaster, as well as its own guidance counselors and other support services for students. Each house is considered, for the purposes of SAT, AP, and other standardized testing, a separate school and carries a unique school code. Each house, with the exception of Cantor, is one floor and contains three secretaries, three guidance counselors, classrooms, teachers' offices, a housemaster, a learning center aide, a resource room, and a teachers' room. Cantor House has all of these, but has two floors since it was originally the "International Wing", once housing all the foreign language classes and the foreign language computer lab.

The school also has a science wing, which includes physical education, music, and science. In the far end of the science wing is a currently non-functioning Foucault pendulum.

The houses adjoin a one-acre enclosed area called the student center, which serves as the food court, meeting hall, and a place to relax between classes. According to school officials, the student center is the second-largest "room" in Connecticut. A large media center supports all of the school's learning programs and contains over 40,000 books and over 5,000 videos, all of which students can check out and use for research. The media center has experts on all major subjects the school offers.

Numerous computer labs are available throughout GHS for teachers and students. Labs are located in the houses; in the science, foreign language, art, and music wings; and in the Media Center. Additional computers are available in learning centers, the media center and other departments throughout the building.

GHS offers over 295 courses and a wide variety of co-curricular activities.

[edit] Extracurricular Activities

GHS has a number of student activities designed to promote a broad spectrum of interests. The school's student newspaper is The Beak. The yearbook is The Compass. Greenwitch is the school's student literary magazine. Student activities include student government, as well as academic, drama, international, language, service, sports, and special-interest clubs. The Greenwich High School Theater Arts program has been nationally recognized for its excellence.

Examples of Student Activities at GHS:

• Amnesty International
• Habitat for Humanity
• Key Club
• Signettes Club
• Model UN
• Debate Club
• Mandarin Club
• Irani-American Club
• Diversity Awareness
• AIDS Awarness
• Gay-Straight Alliance
• Link Club
• Outreach
• Women's Empowerment

[edit] School Sports

There are 50 GHS varsity sports teams. The Greenwich High School mascot is the Cardinal. GHS is a member of the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC)and the Inter-Scholastic Sailing Association. GHS competes in the Class LL league in CT, which is the league for the largest schools. The Greenwich High School boys' water polo, boys' swimming, girls' water polo, girls' swimming, girls' ski team, football, girls' lacrosse, boys' tennis, and field hockey teams compete in the state playoffs most years. The boys' water polo team is the only public school water polo team in the state. The boys' football program produced NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young and Notre Dame Center John Sullivan (Soon to be drafted into the NFL). GHS was the first public school in the northeast to have a rugby program.

Examples of Cardinal Sports Teams:

• Softball
• Fencing
• Football
• Ice Hockey
• Lacrosse
• Rugby
• Sailing
• Swimming
• Rowing
• Water Polo
• Wrestling
• Volleyball
• Crew

Greenwich High School is the 2006-2007 state champion in football Class LL, field hockey, and swimming.

[edit] Additional Information

The school was designed by a Californian architect and completed in the 1970s. The original design had an open covered walkway between the student center and the science wing. However, this did not suit New England weather and the walkway was converted to an enclosed glass structure. In 1998, a $40 million science and technology wing was constructed.

[edit] In popular culture

Greenwich High School was featured in a segment by Rob Corddry for The Daily Show called "Greenwich or Bussed".

[edit] Notable Alumni

• Steve Young - San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Football Hall of Famer
• Dorothy Hamill - figure skater and Olympic gold medal winner
• Truman Capote - writer
• Matt Lauer - co-host of NBC's Today Show
• Rita Cosby - MSNBC personality
• Trey Wingo - ESPN
• Shane McMahon - WWE
• Stephanie McMahon - WWE
• Lauren Bessette
• Michael Skakel - convicted murderer
• Martha Moxley - Skakel's murder victim

[edit] External links

• Greenwich High School Web pages at Great Schools website
• [2] Greenwich High School "Strategic School Profile 2005-2006", Connecticut Department of Education

Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference
Bassick • Brien McMahon • Central • Danbury • Darien • Fairfield Ludlowe • Fairfield Warde • Greenwich • Harding • New Canaan • Norwalk • Ridgefield • St. Joseph • Stamford • Staples • Trinity Catholic • Trumbull • Westhill • Wilton