Staples High School
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| Staples High School | |
| |
| Magnet School | No |
| School District | Westport Public Schools |
| School Colors | Blue and White |
| Coeducational | Yes |
| Year Opened | 1884 (by Horace Staples) |
| Charter School | No |
| Grade Levels | 9-12 |
| School type | Public |
| Principal | John M. Dodig |
| Location | 70 North Avenue Westport, Connecticut, 06880, USA |
| Year-round schedule | No |
| Phone Number | 203-341-1201 |
| Enrollment | 1530 |
| Sports Teams | The Wreckers |
| Mascot | Construction Worker named "the Wrecker" (discontinued as of 2004, until volunteer can be found). |
| Homepage | [shs.westport.k12.ct.us/] |
History
Staples High School was originally built in 1884 by Horace Staples. Staples was a wealthy business man who believed greatly in education. In 1866, Horace Staples offered a piece of land for Westport to build a school on. When the town denied his offer, Staples decided to have the school built himself. Opening on October 31, 1884, Staples High School was a three-story red brick building on Riverside Avenue located on the land now occupied by Saugatuck Elementary School. Beginning with 60 students who paid an annual tuition of $16 to $20, the school had one high school classroom, one grammar school classroom, a library and a laboratory. School lasted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On June 24, 1887, the first graduating class of six young women was handed the first Staples' diplomas. On July 1, 1903, control of Staples High School was transferred from Staples' estate to the Town of Westport. Fifty years after the first graduating class of six, 88 young men and women graduated. In 1958, Staples High School was moved to its current location on North Avenue in order to respond to the expanding needs of the community. In 2005, Dan Woog http://www.danwoog.com wrote and published a 400-page history of the school: "Staples High School: 120 Years of A+ Education."Facilities
- A 25-meter long, 4.2 meter deep, indoor pool
- A radio station, WWPT-FM (90.3 FM)
- An educational television station, Cablevision channel 78
- A recording studio
- A fieldhouse, gymnasium, and fitness center
- An indoor and outdoor track
- A 915 person auditorium
- A 150 person Black box theater
- Two carpentry workrooms
Notability
Governor Wilbur Cross was principal of Staples for the 1885-1886 schoolyear."Back to the Future" actor Christopher Lloyd is a 1957 graduate of Staples.
In 2004 the Wall Street Journal listed Staples among the best public and private schools in the United States of America.
Staples' school newspaper, "Inklings", has won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association gold medal every year since 2000 (with the exception of a silver medal in 1999). The paper has also received the rank of First Place with "Special Honors" from the American Scholastic Press Association since 2001 and has been dubbed "the best school paper in the state" by the Hartford Courant.
Staples' drama department, Staples Players, has received many awards for its mainstage productions, including numerous Moss Hart awards.
Renovations and expansions
The first expansion project came in 1937, which included a two-story building with classrooms. It is what is now the front of Saugatuck Elementary School.Ten years after that, another expansion was built, including a Cafeteria and Gymnasium.
When the school moved to North Avenue in 1958, it consisted of seven separate buildings labeled 1 through 8 (buildings 2 and 3 (Gym/Cafeteria) were together). In 1964, a two-story ninth building was constructed at the south end of the campus.
In 1974, heating pipe problems prompted a project to fix the system.
Modernization
From 1978 to 1981, the school was under a modernization project. It included the following construction:- Redoing of Building 1 to include the Senior Center and Health classes
- Extra music rehearsal room
- New guidance wing (Guidance was before within the main office)
- New Deans office
- New Student Center
- Re-doing of the North Courtyard
- Fieldhouse
- Pool
- Redesign of building exteriors with sheetrock and bricks
- Connector hallways between all buildings
Current renovation
Beginning on July 1, 2003, the campus was reconstructed. For the cost of $76 million, an entirely new 32,000 square meter (110,000 square foot) facility is being built; as of now it is completed.Staples High Wiki
The idea for the Staples High Wiki originally came from student Adam Krellenstein at a Staples High School Computer Club meeting in May of 2005. The Staples High Wiki was officially released to the public on October 31, 2005 and has since been run by Adam, Justin Sherman and Mike Schneider. The wiki may be accessed at http://wiki.stapleshigh.net, though it may only be edited by staff, students, and alumni of Staples.2005-2006
In the 2005-2006 year at Staples, the school had five semi-finalists and one regional finalist from the renowned national high school science competition, the Siemens Westinghouse Competition. Along with the Siemens Westinghouse Competition, another student from Staples was recognized as a Finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search (STS). Also, four students at Staples won the 2006 Moody's Mega Math Challenge amongst 160 high schools in the Tri-State Area; the team received a $20,000 scholarship for first place in the competition. In addition, Staples had five National Merit Scholarship finalists for 2006, an honor bestowed to those students with considerably high scores on the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). Staples is noted for its excellent accomplishments in the sciences, humanities, and performing arts.External links
- [Staples High School official website]
- [Staples student-operated website]
- [Staples Alumni website]
- [Town of Westport]
- [Official Staples High Wiki] (editing restricted to school affiliates)
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