- Newark Memorial High School (NMHS) is a comprehensive high school in Newark, California. It is located to the southeast of Newark's business district, between I-880 and San Francisco Bay.
- History
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Newark Memorial High School was formed in 1983 as part of a school consolidation program instituted by the Newark Unified School District. Prior to the consolidation program, Newark had two high schools (Newark High School on Lafayette Avenue, and Memorial High School on Cedar Boulevard) and two "Intermediate Schools" for grades 7-8, (M. D. Silva Intermediate School on Thornton Avenue and John I. MacGregor Intermediate School on Cedar Boulevard)
- In 1983, both M. D. Silva and John I. MacGregor were closed and the former Newark High School was converted into Newark’s only junior high school, Newark Junior High School. Memorial High School was then renamed Newark Memorial High School and became the sole high school in Newark. The mascots of both Newark High School (Knights) and Memorial High School (Patriots) were abandoned in favor of the Cougars.
- Newark Unified School District
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In addition to Newark Memorial High School and Newark Junior High School, Newark Unified School District has eight elementary schools for grades K-6 (Bunker, Graham, Kennedy, Lincoln, Milani, Musick, Schilling and Snow), a continuation high school (Bridgepoint), two alternative schools (Community Day Schools, for grades 7-12, and Crossroads, for K-12), a pre-school (Whiteford), and an adult school.
- NUSD is governed by a five-member Board of Education, elected at-large to four-year overlapping terms. The 2006 membership and their occupations and terms follow:
- Charlie Murphey, President, engineering manager, 2nd term ends 2010 (unopposed in 2006];
- Ray J. (from love of Ray J.), Vice President, business owner, 3rd term ends 2008;
- Jan Crocker, retired teacher, 2nd term ends 2008;
- Janice Schaefer, teacher, 4th term ends 2008;
- Nancy Thomas from HLN, engineer, 2nd term ends 2010 (unopposed in 2006);
- In June 2003, a five-year parcel tax placed on the ballot by the district, which required a two-thirds vote to pass, failed to win a majority, losing 49.3% to 50.7%.
- Campus
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The Technology Center was opened in 2002. The facility integrates technology, science, mathematics and engineering in its curriculum, with a student testing and reporting (STAR) Lab and the infrastructure for more than 1000 computers. The Technology Center includes a television production center with six edit labs, audio/video production rooms, a television studio with a 25' electronic screen, two project rooms for desktop publishing, four classrooms designated for digital photography, robots, engineering and communications, and specialty math and science labs. High-tech fims with local offices, including Sun Microsystems and AT&T/Comcast were involved in the planning.
- The Student Commons was dedicated in 2004, as part of a project that included renovation and expansion of the cafeteria. The design supports both school and community functions.
- Sustainable design was incorporated in both the Tech Center and the Student Commons, including the use of durable materials (e.g., porcelain and pre-cast concrete panels), which will reduce the long-term impacts and cost of maintenance, and natural light and ventilation (clerestory windows provide energy savings and a more comfortable environment).
- The designs for the Student Commons and the Tech Center earned awards for Deems Lewis McKinley in 2004 from the Coalition for Adequate School Housing / American Institute of Architects California Council (CASH / AIA CC)..
- The NMHS theater is used by the local Stage 1 Community Theatre for their five-production season.
- Students
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As of 2005, there were 2127 students enrolled. Racial and ethnic makeup was 34.5% Hispanic, 30.8% non-Hispanic white, 13.4% Asian, 10.8% Filipino, 8.1% African-American, 1.9% Pacific Islander, and 0.5% Native American. During the year, there were 454 suspensions and 19 expulsions. The average class sizes were 25 students for English and mathematics classes and 29 students for science and social science. Of the students graduating, 27.2% had completed the course requirements for admission to the University of California or the California State University systems. The average scores on the SAT Reasoning Test were 470 for verbal and 493 for math, compared to Statewide averages of 499 and 521, respectively.
- Faculty
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As of 2005, there were 97 teachers, of whom 81 had full credentials, 7 were in internships or pre-internships, 8 had emergency credentials, and 2 had waivers. Twenty-four of the faculty had graduate degrees. There were four academic counselors, responsible for an average of 532 students each, and 1.2 librarians.
- Notable faculty
- Barbara Williams - taught English and drama in the Newark Unified School District from 1965 to 2004; best known for her 2002 production of The Laramie Project, which details the 1998 murder of a gay college student, Matthew Shephard--the production, planned following an earlier attack on a gay student, was staged soon after the murder of local transgendered teen and former pupil of the high school, Gwen Araujo, drawing a protest by Fred Phelps at NMHS; 2003 recipient (along with the student cast and crew of The Laramie Project) of the National Education Association's SuAnne Big Crow Memorial Award; 2004 recipient of the Alameda County Human Rights Commission's first Distinguished Citizen Award;
- Extracurricular activities
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Newark Memorial competes 12 or more boys' sports and 10 or more for girls. The school is in the Mission Valley Athletic League , in the Bay Shore Conference, North Coast Section, of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). The six other schools in the MVAL are James Logan High School, in Union City, and the five public high schools in Fremont: American, John F. Kennedy, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Washington..
- Since 1983, five Newark Memorial coaches have received NCS Honor Coach Awards: Sheri Boots, 1983, softball; Dennis Frese, 1986, girls' basketball; Jay Guerin, 1987, golf; Vance Wahlberg, 1989, and Paul Weiss, 2001, badminton.
- The High School also has very successful Drama and Choir programs. In recent years, the school has staged such productions as Les Misérables, Chicago, Aida, Urinetown, Beauty and the Beast, Assassins, Jesus Christ Superstar, Rent, and The Wiz. The successful Choir (Cougar Chords) has come in first place in various competitions across the country over the past 10 years. They also have the all women's show choir, The Memorial Melodies, which is quite new, but successful as well.
- In addition to a the choir program, Newark Memorial's band program was recently blessed with a new teacher, Audie Tatum. The Newark Memorial symphonic band has performed during the Newark Days parade in Newark, the Double-Ten Parade in San Francisco, and the in the Oracle Arena for a Newark Cougars game.
- Newark Memorial also holds an annual cultural program known as HATS, which stands for Hands Across Time & Space (originally stood for Have A Tolerant Spirit), and is conducted in March. It aims to allow students to display their culture in a creative way and learn about others. HATS is characterized by a series of cultural dances, performed by various clubs such as: Afghan Club, ASL, BSU, FSU, Indo-American, MECHA, Polynesian, PSA and Cougar Fusion. At the beginning of each HATS assembly, students in a "Language Line" recite a specific phrase in their native language. The meaning of the phrase usually urges others to accept all the cultures of the world. Gail Stevens, Head of the Department of Foreign Languages at Newark Memorial, hosts the program. Newark Memorial also has a Ballet Folklorico that has been in existence for over 10 years.
- Notable alumni
- Ron Thompson, 1971, blues guitarist and keyboardist; founder of The Resistors
- Paul Bostaph, c. 1983, drummer with Forbidden, Slayer, Testament, Exodus and Systematic
- Tom Pae, 2001, West Point cadet featured in Time Magazine cover story of 2005-05-22, The Class of 9/11, and multiple newspaper and network news interviews
- Chris Titus, nationally renowned stand-up comedian, whose Fox TV sitcom "Titus" ran from 03/20/2000 - 8/12/2002. Chris is still a headliner in comedy venues across the country, and has twice been a guest on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
- Gwen Araujo, transgender murder victim.
- Monica "Danger" Leon, 2004, was a contestant on the first season of the VH1's reality TV series For the Love of Ray J. Several months after the show wrapped, Leon claimed she was pregnant with the singer's child.
- Edward DeLaRosa, member of the infamous DownSide Crew. DeLaRosa currently resides in Atlanta Georgia living with Lil Scrappy, the BME Clique and Vida Guerra.
- On September 30, 2009, the school was put into lockdown for the first time in nearly fifteen years due to a Union City 16-year-old having a loaded handgun near the campus.
- http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7043792
- External links
- Newark Memorial High School Official Website
- Newark Unified School District
- Google Map of Newark Memorial High School
- Newark High School, Class of 1976 Alumni Site
- We're Halla Nass! - early 70s NHS band
- Scott M. Greenly (NMHS 1984) Memorial Freeway
- 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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