- Woodbury Junior-Senior High School (WHS) is a comprehensive community middle school and public high school that serves students in sixth through twelfth grades from Woodbury, in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Woodbury Public Schools system.
- As of the 2005–06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 752 students and 65.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 11.5.
- In 2004, it was selected as a NASA Explorer School, one of only 50 in the entire country to work hand-in-hand with NASA on improving technology and science education within the school. In 2007, NASA selected Woodbury to experience a 'Weightless Wonder' flight on a C-9 aircraft so that they could test their proposed experiment examining the performance-related effects of reduced gravity on simple robotic designs. The class of 2003 was the school's 100th graduating class, making Woodbury High School one of the oldest secondary schools in South Jersey and the oldest in its athletic conference.
- In 2006, Woodbury was the #1 ranked high school in Gloucester County by New Jersey Monthly and Philadelphia Magazine. The school was the 203rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2008 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools. The school was ranked 111th in the magazine's September 2006 issue.
- Athletics
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Woodbury High School is the oldest member school in the Colonial Conference, which is composed of small schools whose enrollments generally do not exceed between 850 students for grades 9–12. It is classified by the NJSIAA as a Group I public school, the smallest category a New Jersey high school can be designated. As of the 2006–07 school year, the South Group I consists of 22 high schools ranging in enrollment from 110 to 490 students, with Woodbury's enrollment of 287 students placing it in the middle of the range. The boys' tennis team won the 2005 South, Group I state sectional championship with a 3-2 win over Schalick High School. In 2007, the girls' track & field team won the NJSIAA Group I State Championship, and the boys' track & field team came in second in the state, losing by 1 point to Metuchen. The annual Thanksgiving Day rivalry football game is against Gateway High School.
- Sports offered
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Boys – soccer, football, cross country, basketball, indoor track, swimming, track & field, golf, baseball, tennis, wrestling
Girls – soccer, tennis, cross country, field hockey, cheerleading, basketball, indoor track, swimming, track & field, softball - 1952–53: Year of Champions
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Woodbury High School had one of the most historic school years for a sports program in United States history in 1952–53. Every single athletic team, boys or girls, either tied for or outright won titles. At no other high school in the country has this type of success ever occurred, before or since. All sports teams combined produced an overall record of 75–13–1 (.842 win percentage) with 10 championships. At the time, Woodbury was classified as a Group III regional high school and was much bigger than its small Group I classification today. The championships won during 1952–53 are:
- Colonial Conference titles
- Baseball (14–2–1)
- Football (8–0)
- Boys' basketball (16–6)
- Track (5–2)
- South Jersey Group III titles
- Cross Country (7–0)
- Football
- West Jersey League championships
- Field Hockey (7–3)
- Girls' tennis (8–0)
- Girls' basketball (10–0)
- State championships
- Track – Group III Medley Relay
- Academic excellence off the field
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The boys' soccer team has earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's High School Boys Team Academic Award for five consecutive seasons (2003–04 through 2007–08). To qualify for the award, the team must have a minimum grade point average of 3.25 for the entire academic year. The team GPA is determined by adding every player’s GPA, then dividing by the number of players. Woodbury is the only South Jersey boys' soccer team to be recognized in each of the past five years. For the 2006–07 award, Woodbury High School was only one of 61 schools in the nation to receive this honor for both its boys' and girls' teams.
- Snapping 'the streak'
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Woodbury High School is responsible for halting the longest winning streak in New Jersey football history. Long time rival Paulsboro High School had recorded 63 consecutive wins over the span of six years (1992–1998), but on September 26, 1998, Paulsboro fell to Woodbury, 14–13, after missing a 32-yard field goal with four seconds remaining. The 63 wins still holds as the record to this day.
- Administration
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Core members of the school's administration are:
- Denise Dunham – Principal, Junior/Senior High School
- Jason Vivadelli – Assistant Principal, Senior High School
- Thomas Braddock – Assistant Principal, Junior High School
- Grant Shivers – Director of Athletics and Student Activities
- Popular culture
- Presidential cornerstone
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Following a devastating fire in 1910 that burned the original high school down, it was rebuilt in 1911 with then-governor and future president, Woodrow Wilson, laying the cornerstone for the new Woodbury High School.
- Super Bowl connection
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When former Thundering Herd head football coach Jim Boyd stepped down after the 2000 season, then-assistant coach Zack Valentine got promoted to become the newest head coach. Valentine is a Super Bowl-winning linebacker who played for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers from 1979–1981 as a member of the famous "Steel Curtain" defense. He began his career in the Woodbury school system in 1995 as a substitute teacher,
[ and then in 1998 became a full-time physical education teacher.][ Valentine also played for the Philadelphia Eagles briefly before an injury prematurely ended his career. He is still currently the head football coach.]- 1987 Philadelphia Eagles training camp
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The high school's football stadium was used by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1987 as the home of their training camp.
[ Philadelphia Eagles at WHS training camp articles. Google.com, accessed August 7, 2009.] The school district had given permission to the Eagles to utilize their field. All-time NFL greats Seth Joyner and Reggie White were among those on the 1987 roster who practiced at Woodbury High School.- Filming location
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In October 2000, an independent mockumentary movie, Bottomfeeders, filmed scenes in front of the high school's main entrance for a presidential candidate's speech. Local residents and students were used as the rallying crowd who supported the candidate.
[ "Bottomfeeders" Filming Locations - IMDB.com, accessed April 4, 2007.] - Notable alumni
- Herb Baptiste (Class of 1943), one of The Star-Ledger's top ten best wrestlers in New Jersey during the 1940s.
[ Star Ledger's Top 10 Wrestlers of Each Decade - NJ.com, accessed October 11, 2007.]
- Arthur 'Ted' Browne (Class of 1940), he played baseball in the Negro League on the Zulu Cannibal Giants team, sporting his "Zulu" name Lakola.
[ Negro League Players' Association news, accessed October 11, 2007.]
- Van Bruner (Class of 1952), world record holder of 65-yard indoor dirt track high hurdles; ran in finals of 1952 Olympic Trials and also in first round of the 1965 Trials.
[ The Bruner Firm Products page, accessed October 11, 2007.]
- Dave Budd (Class of 1956), power forward for the New York Knicks who also shared responsibility in guarding Wilt Chamberlain during his 100-point NBA game.
[ Dave Budd player profile, accessed March 15, 2007.]
- Richard Caton (Class of 1979), a track star who ran 1:49.7 (800m) as a senior and 4:13.9 (1600m) as a junior.
[ South Jersey Track Hall of Fame. Accessed April 15, 2008.]
- Stephen Decatur (Class of 180?), an American naval officer notable for his heroism in the Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812.
- Shannon Gantt (Class of 2007), one of only 75 girls in New Jersey prep school history to score 2,000+ points in her basketball career (her 2,141 ranks 42nd all-time).
[ NJ.com Girls' High School Basketball Year in Review 2007, accessed October 10, 2007. "The state's 2,000-point scoring list expanded to 75 with the addition of five seniors...Checking in at No. 42 was dynamic 5-5 guard Shannon Gantt of Woodbury with 2,141."]
- James Lawrence (Class of 180?), an American naval officer of "Don't give up the ship!" fame.
- Lori Lewis (Class of 1978), one of The Star-Ledger's best New Jersey girl track athletes of the 1960s & 1970s.
[ NJ.com: Best Track Girls of the Decades. Accessed April 15, 2008.]
- Mike McBath (Class of 1964), a defensive end for the Buffalo Bills from 1968–1973, part-owner Orlando Predators.
- Bryant McKinnie (Class of 1996), currently an offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings.
[ Bryant McKinnie player profile, accessed March 15, 2007.]
- Jack Pierce (Class of 1980), Olympic bronze medalist in the 110 meter high hurdles at the 1992 Olympic Games.
[ South Jersey track & field HOF paragraph, accessed June 11, 2007.]
- Milt Plum (Class of 1952), quarterback and two-time Pro Bowler for the Cleveland Browns.
[ Milt Plum statistics, databasefootball.com. Accessed June 11, 2007.]
- Chris Pressley (Class of 2004), fullback for the Cincinnati Bengals.
[ Bengals.com. "Was this the same son that came home at 3 in the morning after mopping floors at Wendy's and woke three hours later to finish off his 4.0 run at Woodbury High School and help keep the family afloat?" Accessed June 5, 2009.]
- H. Browning Ross (Class of 1943), an Olympian in long-distance running (1948 & 1952).
[Heath, Jack. "Jack on Jack: A Look at Coaching Legend Jack Pyrah", Runners Gazette. Accessed June 5, 2007. “I first saw Browning when he was a senior at Woodbury High School. He ran in the AAU championships as a high school kid against grown-ups. He was also New Jersey State Champ in the mile. I don’t think people realize just how good Browning was. Many of the area high school coaches never even heard of him.”]
- School programs
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Extracurricular activities (other than sports) that are offered at Woodbury Junior-Senior High School include, but are not limited to, the Alternative Power Program, Junior & Senior High School Yearbooks, National Honor Society, Theater Club, Video Tape/A.V. Club, White & Gold newsletter, Choir, Orchestra Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Key Club, Interact Club, Bowling Club, Ladybug Club, Math and Science Leagues, Academic Bowl, French Club, Outdoor Club, peer mentoring program, Boys/Girls State, Governor's School, Gay and Lesbian Alliance, and a Student Council.
- Notes
- The modern day Woodbury High School was established in 1902 and is usually recognized as that year. However, the precursor schools that evolved into WHS were actually established in 1791.
- Blue is not an official color; only white and gold are the official colors of Woodbury High School. The color blue is often partnered with gold for the school's athletic teams' uniforms, thus it is often confused to be blue and gold instead of white and gold.
- Due to small enrollment and the inability to field full teams themselves, the cross country, swimming, and wrestling teams have combined with Gateway Regional High School to form a Woodbury/Gateway athletic partnership.
- To put the championships into perspective, in the early 1950s there were far fewer sports to participate in at the high school level, and Title IX would not occur for twenty more years.
- The field hockey team was tied with two other schools as three-way co-champions.
- Decatur and Lawrence attended the Woodbury Academy, which was built in the 1700s and is the precursor to the present day school.
- External links
- Woodbury Junior-Senior High School
- Data for the Woodbury Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
- Superintendent Jones' daily school blog
- South Jersey Sports: Woodbury HS
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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