Newton High School (New Jersey)

Newton High School
Address
44 Ryerson Avenue Newton , Sussex County , New Jersey 07860 United States
Coordinates	41°03′02″N74°45′33″W / 41.050515°N 74.759079°W / 41.050515; -74.759079
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1916
NCES School ID	341140005384 [1]
Principal	Jeffrey Waldron
Faculty	60.0 FTEs [1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	719 (as of 2022–23) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	12.0:1 [1]
Color(s)	Maroon and   white [2]
Athletics conference	Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (general) North Jersey Super Football Conference (football)
Team name	Braves [2]
Rival	Kittatinny Regional High School
Publication	Calliope [3]
Yearbook	Aurora [4]
Website	www.newtonnj.org/o/nhs

Newton High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Newton, in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, 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. ^{[5] [6]}

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 719 students and 60.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. There were 82 students (11.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 6 (0.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. ^[1]

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 delayed completion of the construction. This original building is now Halsted Middle School, with a new building being constructed on Ryerson Avenue in the 1950s. Newton High School had served the region, with 13 districts paying tuition to send 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. ^{[7] [8]}

The Newton Public School District was notified in August 1974 that students from Fredon Township, Hampton Township, Sandyston Township, Stillwater Township and Walpack Township would leave Newton High School with the opening of Kittatinny Regional High School in 1975, which resulted in a drop of 400 students in the Newton district. ^{[9] [10]}

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. ^[11] 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. ^[12] The magazine ranked the school 160th in 2008 out of 316 schools. ^[13] The school was ranked 168th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. ^[14]

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. ^[15]

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%.^{[ citation needed ]}

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 (which include the highly successful physics, biology, earth science, and chemistry teams), Math League (a consistent leading county contender), 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 (for lower level performers) and Wind Ensemble (for more advanced instrumentalists) 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. ^[16]

Athletics

The Newton High School Braves ^[2] compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools from Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). ^{[17] [18]} Prior to the 2010 realignment, the school participated in the Sussex County Interscholastic League until the SCIL was dissolved in 2009. ^[19] With 514 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range. ^[20] The football team competes in the American White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. ^{[21] [22]} The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 478 to 672 students. ^[23]

The school participates as the host school / lead agency for a joint cooperative ice hockey team with Lenape Valley Regional High School, while Lenape is the host school for co-op boys / girls swimming teams. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. ^[24]

Field hockey

The field hockey team won the North I Group I state sectional championship in 1976, 1979, 2014 and 2016-2018, and won the North I Group II title in 1981-1986. ^[25]

Wrestling

The team won the North I Group I state sectional championships in 2009 and 2010, winning against Kittatinny Regional High School both years ^[26] 2009 marked the program's first sectional title, achieved with a 40-26 win against Kittatinny. ^[27] 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. ^[28]

Boys' baseball

• The 1985 boys' baseball team won the Group II state championship, with a 4-3 win against Shore Regional High School on a run scored in the bottom of the ninth in the tournament final. ^{[29] [30]}

Girls' basketball

• In 2001, the girls' basketball team took the North I, Group II title, edging Harrison High School 67-65. ^[31] The 2002 team repeated the title, topping Indian Hills High School 62-56 in the tournament final. ^[32] The team won for a third consecutive year in 2003, defeating Dumont High School 67-46. ^[33]

Boys' soccer

• The boys' soccer team won the North I, Group II state sectional championship in 1999 with a 2–0 win over Hopatcong High School. ^[34]
• The 2005 team won the North I, Group II state sectional title with a 2–0 win against Glen Rock High School. ^[35]
• The 2011 team won the North I, Group II state sectional title with a 1–0 win against Mountain Lakes High School. ^[36]
• The team won the Group II state championship in 2012, defeating Holmdel High School in the tournament final. ^[37]

Football

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. ^{[38] [39] [40]}

Ice hockey

The ice hockey team won the McMullen Cup in 2013 and the Haas Cup in 2017. ^[41] The 2013 team, as a co-op with Lenape Valley Regional, won the McMullen Cup with a 4-1 win against Bernards High School in the championship game played at the Richard J. Codey Arena. ^[42] The 2017 co-op team defeated Vernon Township High School by a score of 2-1 at the Mennen Arena to become the first school from Sussex County to win the Haas Cup. ^[43]

Administration

The school's principal is Jeffrey Waldron. Core members of the school's administration include the two assistant principals. ^[44]

Notable alumni

• John C. Mather (born 1946), winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006. ^[45]

References

1. School data for Newton High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
2. Newton High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
3. Calliope, Newton High School. Accessed May 17, 2022.
4. Aurora, Newton High School. Accessed May 17, 2022.
5. Newton High School 2013 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 7, 2016. "Newton High School serves students from Andover Township, Andover Borough, and Green Township as well as historic Newton."
6. Obernauer, Eric. "Andover BOE to consider its send-receive options with Newton High School", New Jersey Herald , January 19, 2015. Accessed May 30, 2016. "The send-receive arrangement, under which the K-8 Andover and Green school districts pay tuition to send their students in grades 9-12 to Newton High School, has been under scrutiny ever since a dispute arose nearly a year ago between the sending districts and Newton over the sharing of costs for Newton's multipurpose turf field."
7. Wright, Kevin M. Newton Public Schools, Newton, NJ. Accessed December 4, 2017. "At that time, thirteen school districts sent students to Newton High School while two districts sent elementary school children here. Frankford, Lafayette and Branchville students departed Newton High School in 1964 when the High Point Regional district was formed. Kittatinny Regional District subtracted students from Hampton, Stillwater, Fredon, Sandyston and Walpack Townships in September 1975."
8. Carlson, Joe. "High Point High School celebrates 50 years", New Jersey Herald , October 2, 2006. Accessed December 4, 2017. "The school opened in 1966 with students from Sussex and Wantage, Lafayette, Frankford and Branchville. Prior to High Point's opening, Sussex and Wantage students attended Sussex High School. Frankford, Lafayette and Branchville students attended Newton High School."
9. "Loss of Pupils Boosts Newton School Taxes", The News, February 19, 1975. Accessed March 25, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The loss of tuition pupils to the new Kittatinny Regional High School has hiked the tax levy to support the local school budget for 1975-76 by $183,051 over last year.... The budget is figured on an enrollment of 1,894 students, a drop of 399 pupils as compared to the previous year. With the opening of the new Kittatinny Regional High School in September, tuition students from Hampton, Stillwater, Fredon and Sandyston-Walpack will no longer be attending Newton High School."
10. Sullivan, Ann Marie. "Sussex Sidelights", Paterson News , August 29, 1974. Accessed April 4, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Kittatinny Regional Board of Education will soon officially notify Newton High School officials that all students from the regional district will be withdrawn next year, except for seniors. The new regional district, comprised of Fredon, Hampton, Stillwater and Walpack, will open its new facility in September, 1975. Newton, which now accepts those students on a tuition basis, must be notified by resolution of the regional board of the withdrawal of students, because of budget appropriations."
11. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly , September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
12. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2012. Accessed September 3, 2012.
13. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2011.
14. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly , September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
15. Newton High School 2013 Performance Report, New Jersey Department of Education.
16. About Us, Team 3142 Aperture. Accessed May 14, 2016.
17. Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and is comprised of 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."
18. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
19. Home Page, Sussex County Interscholastic League, backed up by the Internet Archive, as of February 4, 2012. Accessed November 20, 2014.
20. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
21. Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record , July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."
22. Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record , July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions."
23. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
24. NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
25. History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
26. NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2021.
27. Staff. "Newton 40, Kittatinny 26 (High school Wrestling scores & results)", The Star-Ledger , February 13, 2009. Accessed August 11, 2011."Newton, No. 11 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, rolled to its first sectional title in Hampton. Kittatinny, which won the Group 1 title last year, its eighth group championship, held an 11-6 lead before its Sussex County rival, Newton, won the next four bouts to take a 24-11 lead."
28. Lashley, Josh. "Newton wrestlers prepare for 2010/11 season: Hoping to best last year's second place finish", The Sparta Independent, December 15, 2010. Accessed August 11, 2011. "The Braves won the North I Group I sectional crown with a 36-28 win over Kittatinny last February. In the State Group I semifinals, Newton toppled Robbinsville, 39-21. Paulsboro, a stalwart in Group I for many, many years, defeated Newton in the Group I State team championship match last year."
29. NJSIAA Baseball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
30. Zedalis, Joe. "Shore comes up short, loses to Newton in 9", Asbury Park Press , June 16, 1985. Accessed December 24, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "On an afternoon when every game was a tough one to lose, Shore's 4-3 nine-inning loss to Newton in the NJSIAA Group II baseball championship was an even more bitter pill to swallow considering the unusual circumstances that surrounded the scoring of the decisive run."
31. 2001 - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 12, 2007.
32. 2002 Girls' State Basketball - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 12, 2007.
33. 2003 Girls' Basketball - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 12, 2007.
34. Public Group Semifinals - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 12, 2007.
35. 2005 Boys' Soccer - North 1, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 12, 2007.
36. Staff. "Mountain Lakes (0) at Newton (1), NJSIAA Tournament, Final Round, North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 - Boys' Soccer", The Star-Ledger , November 11, 2011. Accessed September 28, 2012. "Brett Conrads fired in a through ball from Steven Churchill with six minutes remaining to give Newton a 1-0 victory over Mountain Lakes in the NJSIAA/Sports Authority North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 sectional final on Friday in Newton."
37. NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
38. Stypulkoski, Matt. "Newton tops Lakeland for 1st title in 99-year history", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 1, 2017. Accessed December 4, 2017. "For the first time in its 99-year history, Newton can call itself a state champion. The fourth-seeded Braves also capped the first undefeated season in program history by downing second-seeded Lakeland, 28-14, in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 final at Kean University in Union on Friday night."
39. "Football - 2017 NJSIAA North 1, Group 2 Playoffs", NJ.com. Accessed December 4, 2017.
40. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
41. NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 1, 2020.
42. Hachey, Chris. "Bernards (1) at Newton (4), McMullen Cup, Final Round - Boys Ice Hockey", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 23, 2013, updated August 25, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2021. "Two power-play goals helped Newton-Lenape Valley down Bernards, 4-1, to win the McMullen Cup at Codey Arena in West Orange."
43. Tredinnick, Andrew. "Newton Lenape Valley tops Vernon to claim Haas Cup", New Jersey Herald , February 17, 2017. Accessed January 26, 2021. "And, for the first time in the 17-year history of the Haas Cup, a Sussex County team lifted the silver bowl. Newton-Lenape Valley got it done with a 2-1 victory over Vernon in the Haas Cup final on Thursday night at Mennen Arena, ending Morris County’s 16-year reign as champions at the top of the tournament."
44. Administrative Team, Newton High School. Accessed February 16, 2024.
45. John C. Mather autobiography, Nobel Prize. Accessed June 29, 2008. "When I finished 8th grade, it was time to go to high school, and my parents decided to send me to Newton High School, where they thought we would get the best available education in our area."

External links

• Newton High School web pages
• Newton Public School District
• School Performance Report for Newton High School , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Newton Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• SaveNHS.org