Nottingham High School (New Jersey)
Nottingham High School (also formally known as Hamilton High School North ) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades located in Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, operating as one of the three secondary schools of the Hamilton Township School District; the other high schools in the district are Hamilton High School West and Steinert High School (Hamilton High School East).[3]
Nottingham High School | |
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Location | |
Nottingham High School Nottingham High School Nottingham High School | |
United States | |
Coordinates | 40.229847°N 74.708564°W |
Information | |
Other names | Hamilton High School North |
Type | Public high school |
Motto | Ad Astra Per Aspera |
School district | Hamilton Township School District |
NCES School ID | 3406540[1] |
Principal | Frank Ragazzo |
Faculty | 92.5 FTEs[1] |
Grades | 9-12 |
Enrollment | 1,258 (as of 2017-18)[1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 13.6:1[1] |
Color(s) | Navy Blue Gold[2] |
Athletics | Football, Basketball, Baseball, Wrestling, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Lacrosse |
Athletics conference | Colonial Valley Conference |
Mascot | Polaris |
Team name | Northstars[2] |
Website | School website |
As of the 2017-18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,258 students and 92.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.6:1. There were 545 students (43.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 107 (8.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Awards, recognition and rankings
Nottingham High School was the recipient of U.S. News and World Report's Bronze recognition for America's Best High Schools in both 2017 and 2018. Nottingham received an overall Niche grade of a B+ and was ranked as the 7th most diverse public high school in New Jersey. This school was the 231st-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.[4] The school had been ranked 276th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 264th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[5] The magazine ranked the school 260th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[6] The school was ranked 246th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[7]
Athletics
The Nottingham High School Northstars[2] compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, which operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[8] With 1,027 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as Central Jersey, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 822 to 1,068 students in that grade range.[9] The football team competes in the Valley Division of the 95-team West Jersey Football League superconference[10] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Central Jersey Group IV for football for 2017-18.[11] The school operates as the host school / lead agency for an ice hockey program with Hamilton High School (West), under an agreement that expires at the end of the 2018-19 school year.[12]
Nottingham's 2012 football team won the Central Jersey Group III state championship game after defeating Neptune High School by a final score of 35-24 in a game played at The College of New Jersey. The team finished with a record of 11-1, earning the program's first state title and becoming the first Mercer County team since 1989 to win a football championship.[13][14]
The girls' softball team won the Group III state championship in 1987 (vs. West Morris Mendham High School by a score of 2-1[15]) and 1990 (vs. Morris Hills High School by a score of 6-4).[16][17]
Nottingham's wrestling team is referred as the "Swamprats." The Nottingham boys' swimming team had been to the NJSIAA state tournament for seven consecutive years from 2000-2006. The boys' baseball team won the 2008 Mercer County Tournament beating Notre Dame. The 2009 girls' spring track team was the first in Nottingham history to participate in the Penn Relays. The 2011 Nottingham Boys' Track Team was the first ever team in Nottingham history to go undefeated, winning the Mercer County Tournament and the Central Jersey Group III sectional championships.
In 2018, the boys' basketball team defeated Chatham High School by a score of 60-53 in the tournament final at Rutgers University to win the school's first ever Group III state championship for basketball.[18]
Fall | Coach | Winter | Coach | Spring | Coach |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Football | Jon Adams | Girls' Basketball | Lauren Kelly | Girls' Spring Track | Melissa Foley |
Girls' Soccer | Elyse Diamond | Boys' Basketball | Chris Raba | Boys' Spring Track | Jason Marasco |
Boys' Soccer | Mike Braender | Baseball | Mike Braender | Field Hockey | Jennifer Cicale |
Ice Hockey | John J. Russo | Softball | Danielle Wilson | Cheerleading | Sunny Lugo |
Golf | |||||
Girls' Tennis | Jon Schwartz | Wrestling | Jason Marasco | Boys' Tennis | Andrew Pursell |
Cross Country | Melissa Foley | Girls' Swimming | Andrew Parsons | Athletic Trainer | John Telencio |
Debate | Kenneth Klek | Boys' Swimming | Anthony DeBonis | Dance Team | Lauren Flaherty |
Boys' Lacrosse | Jerry Lynch | Girls' Lacrosse | Kristen Bell | Step Team | Melinda Haines |
Courses
Nottingham offers Advanced Placement program (AP) courses in AP United States History, AP European History, AP Computer Science, AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP French, AP Spanish, AP English Literature and Composition, and AP United States Government.
There is a FIRST robotics team available. (TEAM 2191)
Performances
The school has two core shows every year:
The annual Murder Mystery Dessert Theater and The Spring Musical.
Previous murder mysteries include "Offed at the Bake Off" (premiere workshop) - 2013, "Til Death Do Them Part" (premiere) - 2012, "An All You Can Murder Buffet" (premiere) - 2011, "Murderous Night at the Museum" (premiere) - 2010, and "A Family Reunion to Die For" (premiere) - 2009
Previous musicals include Damn Yankees (2011), High School Musical (2010) and Footloose (2009).
Administration
The school's principal is Frank Ragazzo. His core administration team includes three vice principals.[19]
Notable alumni
- Saquan Hampton (born 1995, class of 2014), American football safety who has played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints.[20]
Sister schools
The two other high schools in the district (with 2017-18 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[21]) are:
- Hamilton High School West[22] (also known as Watson; 1,243 students)
- Steinert High School[23] (East; 1,255)
References
- School data for Hamilton North - Nottingham, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
- Hamilton High School North, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 29, 2016.
- About Our District, Hamilton Township School District. Accessed January 26, 2020. "The Hamilton Township School District is comprised of a diverse group of nearly 12,400 students. It consists of 23 schools; which include 3 high schools, 3 middle schools, and 17 elementary schools."
- Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
- Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed November 14, 2012.
- Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 6, 2011.
- "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
- League & Conference Affiliations 2016-2017 Archived 2012-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 10, 2017.
- General Public School Classifications 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of December 15, 2015. Accessed December 12, 2016.
- Divisions, West Jersey Football League. Accessed September 25, 2017.
- NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2017-2018 Archived 2017-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2, 2017. Accessed September 25, 2017.
- NJSIAA 2017 - 2019 Co-Operative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 2, 2017.
- Behre, Bob. "'Star Power: Nottingham High football wins program's first state title", The Times (Trenton), December 8, 2012. Accessed October 18, 2013. "Nottingham unleashed those weapons and, appropriately, came up with a number of big stops in the second half when it wrested control of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group III championship game yesterday at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. Senior quarterback Luke Westerberg was efficient and deadly, going 9-for-12 passing with 218 yards and two long touchdowns and he ran for another score as second-seeded Nottingham defeated fourth-seeded Neptune, 35-24, in front of a roaring and packed Lions Stadium."
- Goldberg, Jeff. NJSIAA Football Playoff Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 19, 2015.
- Tatum, Kevin. "Florence Girls Take First Title; Delsea Falls", The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 7, 1987. Accessed September 30, 2015. "In the other state finals, Hamilton North beat Mendham, 2-1, in Group 3, and Edison took the Group 4 title by beating Belleville, 8-0."
- 1990 NJ State Champions Softball Team, Northstar Hall of Fame. Accessed September 30, 2015. "A 6-4 victory over Morris Hills earned the team the New Jersey State Group III title."
- History of the NJSIAA Softball Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 26, 2018.
- Johnson, Greg. "Nottingham boys basketball captures first state title in school history", The Trentonian, March 11, 2018. Accessed February 3, 2020. "The finality of the first state championship in school history Sunday night at Rutgers University evoked all the surreal feelings that come with lifting a community’s spirits in a way never before. Senior Cliff Joseph heaved the ball into the air underhanded, twirled and rushed to celebrate in a mob at midcourt with his teammates as the final seconds ticked in Nottingham’s 60-53 win over Chatham in the Group III final."
- Administration Team, Nottingham High School. Accessed January 26, 2020.
- Edelstein, Jeff. "Saquan Hamptom, Nottingham grad, readies for NFL draft with his right-hand (also Nottingham!) man", The Trentonian, December 17, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020. "Saquan Hampton is a 2014 football-playing graduate of Nottingham High School, went on to become one of the nation’s top free safeties during his career at Rutgers, and he’s a near-sure thing to be drafted by an NFL team this April."
- District data for the Hamilton Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
- Hamilton High School West, Hamilton Township School District. Accessed January 26, 2020.
- Steinert - Hamilton High East, Hamilton Township School District. Accessed January 26, 2020.