Sayreville War Memorial High School
Sayreville War Memorial High School (SWMHS) is a four-year public high school located in the Parlin section of Sayreville, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Sayreville Public Schools district. The school is home to the Sayreville Bombers, who are best known for their varsity football and track program. Sayreville's colors are blue and grey. The name "War Memorial" comes from the World War II veterans who reside in the borough.[5] The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1946.[4] As of the 2017-18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,739 students and 128.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.6:1. There were 471 students (27.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 141 (8.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]
Sayreville War Memorial High School | |
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Address | |
Sayreville War Memorial High School Sayreville War Memorial High School Sayreville War Memorial High School | |
820 Washington Road (CR 535) , 08859 United States | |
Coordinates | 40.46277°N 74.323919°W |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
Established | 1939 (orig. location) 1962 (curr. location)[1] |
School district | Sayreville Public Schools |
Superintendent | Richard Labbe |
NCES School ID | 3414640[2] |
Principal | Dale Rubino |
Vice principals | Megan Romero Michael Salum Katelyn Zurawski |
Faculty | 128.2 FTEs[2] |
Grades | 9 to 12 |
Enrollment | 1,739 (as of 2017-18)[2] |
Student to teacher ratio | 13.6:1[2] |
Color(s) | Blue gray[3] |
Team name | Bombers[3] |
Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[4] |
Yearbook | Quo Vadis |
Website | www |
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 163rd-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.[6] The school had been ranked 241st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 232nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[7] The magazine ranked the school 213th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[8] The school was ranked 217th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[9]
Schooldigger.com ranked the school 222nd out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 1 position from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[10]
Athletics
The Sayreville War Memorial High School Bombers[3] compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, made up of public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area and operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[11] Sports consist of tennis, bowling, softball, field hockey, soccer, basketball, swimming, football, cross country, track and field, baseball and wrestling. With 1,248 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015–16 school year as Central Jersey, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,082 to 2,349 students in that grade range.[12] The football team was reclassified into Central Jersey, Group V for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and then into North Jersey II, Group IV starting with the 2015 season.[13]
Championships
The boys' basketball team won the Group I state championship in 1951 (defeating Verona High School in the tournament final) and 1952 (vs. Dunellen High School).[14]
The boys' track team won the Group IV state indoor relay championship in 1968.[15]
The field hockey team won the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional championship in 1975.[16]
The football team won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 1997, the Central Jersey Group IV title in 2010, 2011 and 2012,[17][18] and the North Jersey II Group IV title in 2016.[19] Prior to the creation of the playoff system, the team had unbeaten seasons in 1941 (6-0-1), 1946 (9-0) and 1949 (8-0).[20]
The boys' bowling team won the Group III state championship in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013, and 2016; the six group title are the second most of any school in the state. The team won the Tournament of Champions in 2008, 2009 and 2013, and 2016, making the program the only one to win the ToC more than twice.[21]
The wrestling team won the North II Group III state sectional championship in 2008.[22]
Hazing
On October 6, 2014, in the wake of a criminal investigation into allegations of repeated serious hazing among members of the football team, Sayreville's school superintendent Richard Labbe, himself a former assistant football coach at SWMHS, announced the cancellation of the remainder of the high school's 2014 football season for its varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams.[23] The school suspended seven students after county prosecutors charged them with crimes including sexual assault of their younger teammates, in a case that received widespread media coverage[24][25][26][27] and "focused national attention on hazing".[28] The athletic director resigned; the head coach was transferred to an elementary school;[29][30] and the seven students remained suspended for the duration of the 2014–2015 school year. By August 2015, six of them were sentenced to probation and community service for lesser crimes ranging from hazing to simple assault.[31][32] The seventh criminal case was settled in February 2016.[33] According to junior varsity players, "the same thing had been done to them by upperclassmen when they were freshmen. It's been going on for a long time."[5]
Clubs and activities
- AFJROTC
- Co-op
- Costume Crew
- Cued Speech Club
- Debate Club
- DECA
- Downhill Club
- Echo Lites (newspaper)
- eSports Team
- FBLA
- Film and Television Society
- Fishing Club
- French Club
- French Honor Society
- Gay-Straight Alliance
- History Club
- Improv Troupe
- Interact Club
- International Society
- Japanese Club
- Jazz Band
- Knitting Club
- Library Council
- Makeup Crew
- Marching Band
- Math Club
- Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor)
- Muslim Society
- National Honor Society
- Odyssey of the Mind
- Perpetual Motion Dance Club
- Platinum Soundz step squad
- Quo Vadis (yearbook)
- Red Cross Club
- SADD
- Sayreville Choir
- Sayreville Singers
- Science Rules Club
- Spanish Honor Society
- Stage, Sound and Light Crews
- STEAD
- Student Council
- Teen Institute (TIGS/LMTI)
- Theater Society
- Vox Humana
- Winter Guard
Administration
Core members of the school's administration are:[34]
- Dale Rubino, Principal
- Megan Romero, Vice Principal
- Michael Salum, Vice Principal
- Katelyn Zurawski, Vice Principal
Notable alumni
- Barry T. Albin (born 1952, class of 1970), justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court[35][36]
- Jon Bon Jovi (born 1962, class of 1980), lead singer of the rock band Bon Jovi[37][38]
- Jamaal Bowman, political candidate and educator
- Randy Corman (born 1960, class of 1978), New Jersey politician and judge who represented the 19th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 1994[39]
- Greg Evigan (born 1953, class of 1971), actor who appeared in B.J. and the Bear and My Two Dads[40][41]
- Kene Eze (born 1992, class of 2010), soccer player for North Geelong Warriors FC, after setting SWMHS record with 106 career goals[42]
- Jehyve Floyd (born 1997), basketball player for Larisa of the Greek Basket League.[43]
- Marilyn Ghigliotti (born 1961, class of 1979), actress who played the character Veronica Loughran in Kevin Smith's cult hit Clerks[44]
- Dulé Hill (born 1975, class of 1993), actor on Psych, and earlier on The West Wing[45]
- Rhonda Rompola (born 1960, class of 1978), head women's basketball coach at Southern Methodist University[36]
- Edward D. Thalmann (1945–2004, class of 1962), expert in diving medicine[46]
- John S. Wisniewski (born 1962, class of 1980), member of the New Jersey General Assembly who has served as Deputy Speaker since 2004[35][37]
- Victor J. Wolski (born 1962, class of 1980), federal judge[39]
References
- Sayreville Historical Society, ed. Sayreville, p. 65. Arcadia Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0738504904. Accessed September 27, 2016.
- School data for Sayreville War Memorial High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
- Sayreville War Memorial High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 3, 2015.
- Sayreville War Memorial High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 8, 2018.
- Zernike, Kate; and Schweber, Nate. "Sayreville High School Arrests Divide a Town That Lived for Football", The New York Times, October 12, 2014. Accessed September 27, 2016. "Maureen Jenkins, who organized the vigil on Sunday evening, noted that the original 'bombers' were the town's World War II veterans, not to mention the other teams at the high school."
- 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 September 7, 2012.
- Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 14, 2011.
- "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
- New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009–2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 1, 2012.
- 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.
- Ryan, Chris. "Football: Sayreville reclassified to North 2, Group 4", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 24, 2015. Accessed September 27, 2016. "After years falling under a Central Jersey classification, Sayreville — along with its four state championships — has been shifted to North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 for the 2015 season. Sayreville was a force in Central Jersey, Group 4 in recent years, winning three straight titles from 2010-2012. Sayreville made the jump to Central Jersey, Group 5 in 2013, where it suffered a semifinal loss to Manalapan."
- Public Past State Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 24, 2017.
- History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 24, 2017.
- History of the NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 22, 2017.
- Sayreville Football Team Preview, MaxPreps.com. Accessed June 2, 2016.
- Goldberg, Jeff. NJSIAA Football Playoff Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 19, 2015.
- Perez, Braulio. "Sayreville's secret weapon comes up big time in championship battle", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 3, 2016. Accessed December 9, 2016. "Mike Germann (44) of Sayreville celebrates after recovering a fumble during the second half of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 championship football game between Sayreville and Middletown North at Rutgers University's High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ on 12/3/16. Sayreville won 41-14."
- Haley, John. "Unbeaten Sayreville chasing history; Sayreville playoff history", The Star-Ledger, November 15, 2012. Accessed November 3, 2015. "Apparently those old-timers I spoke with weren't old enough because Sayreville, which began playing in 1940, finished 9-0 in 1946 and 8-0 in 1949. The 1941 team finished 6-0-1."
- History of NJSIAA Boys Bowling Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 27, 2016.
- History of the NJSIAA Team Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 24, 2017.
- Stanmyre, Matthew. "Sayreville High School, rocked by hazing allegations, cancels football season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 6, 2014. Accessed September 28, 2016. "As a hazing investigation by local and county authorities moves forward, the Sayreville War Memorial High School football season has been canceled, superintendent Richard Labbe said Monday night. The decision came after an emotional meeting that lasted more than two hours at the school with Labbe and parents of football players. The decision to cancel the season affects all levels of play -- freshman, junior varsity and varsity, Labbe said."
- Kaplan, Emily; and Hanlon, Greg. "Football-centric town of Sayreville divided by lewd hazing allegations", Sports Illustrated, October 7, 2014. Accessed September 28, 2016. "According to SI sources, including one close to the investigation, the allegations are lewd: Investigators are looking into whether upperclassmen on the Sayreville football team digitally penetrated underclassmen on the team."
- Staff. "Seven Sayreville (N.J.) football players charged in hazing scandal", USA Today High School Sports, October 10, 2014. Accessed December 9, 2016. "Seven members of the Sayreville (N.J.) football team are facing charges for their roles in a hazing scandal that caused school officials to cancel the remainder of the season earlier this week."
- Ansari, Anzadeh. "Seven teens charged in Sayreville High School assaults", CNN, October 11, 2014. Accessed December 9, 2016.
- Stanmyre, Matthew; Coleman, Vernal (December 28, 2014). "Voices from the locker room: Inside the Sayreville football scandal". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- Epstein, Sue (January 4, 2016). "Meet the man who will prosecute 5 of N.J.'s most high profile cases in 2016". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- Coleman, Vernal (January 6, 2015). "Sayreville football to return in 2015, says district superintendent". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- Coleman, Vernal (February 24, 2015). "Former Sayreville head football George Najjar retains teaching position following hazing scandal". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- Newman, Andy; Grant, Jason (August 10, 2015). "2 Sayreville Football Players Cleared of Serious Charges in Hazing Case". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
- Amaral, Brian (August 31, 2015). "6 Sayreville football players in hazing case avoid detention, Megan's Law". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- Kent, Spencer. "Former Sayreville football player charged in hazing incident sues prosecutor, district", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 26, 2016. Accessed September 27, 2016.
- SWMHS Administration, Sayreville War Memorial High School. Accessed October 7, 2019.
- Members of the SWMHS Hall of Fame, Sayreville War Memorial High School. Accessed March 3, 2016.
- Becker, Arielle Levin. "Graduated in Borough: Sayreville honors 5 in H.S. hall of fame", Home News Tribune, May 21, 2005. Accessed October 13, 2014. "After graduating from high school in 1970, inductee Barry T. Albin went on to earn a law degree, serving as an assistant prosecutor, president of the New Jersey Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and, since 2002, an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.... Rhonda Rompola a 1978 graduate won two national basketball championships while attending Old Dominion University."
- Peters, Jeremy W. "Politicians of All Stripes Join the Line for Bon Jovi", The New York Times, December 16, 2007. Accessed September 20, 2011. "'Who would have thought?' said John S. Wisniewski, a Democratic assemblyman who graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School with Mr. Bon Jovi. 'I'm probably one of the few people in my graduating class who was involved in politics then and involved in politics now. And most of my friends looked at me like I had two heads.'"
- Acker, Michael. "Bon Jovi pays surprise visit to his old school", Suburban-EBS, March 23, 2006. Accessed September 27, 2016. "The man who may well be the borough's most famous son made a return to his alma mater last Thursday. Jon Bon Jovi arrived at Sayreville War Memorial High School the morning of March 16 to talk to more than 60 students for a half-hour in the school auditorium, an appearance filmed by ABC for the 20/20 television show."
- Acker, Michael. "Inductees include boro officials, judge, diver; Second annual round of SWMHS inductions scheduled for May", Suburban, April 13, 2006. Accessed October 9, 2018. "The honorees in this second round of inductions - the Hall of Fame was created last year - are Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA) Executive Director and former state Sen. Randy Corman, Borough Councilman Stanley Drwal, national diving champion Reyne Borup Quackenbush, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Victor J. Wolski, and SERA Vice Chairman and volunteer firefighter Raniero Travisano.... Corman, who graduated from Sayreville with the class of 1978, is another public official being inducted into the Hall of Fame."
- Staff. "Sayreville Native Stars In Hallmark Channel Film", News Record, November 7, 2008. Accessed September 20, 2011. "Evigan, who was recently inducted into the Sayreville War Memorial High School Alumni Hall of Fame for his contributions to the arts, began his career as something of a teen idol, and starred in the original Broadway casts of Jesus Christ Superstar and Grease."
- Acker, Michael. "Four alumni inducted into h.s. Hall of Fame Honorees' careers range from actor to funeral director", Suburban, May 24, 2007, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 26, 2011. Accessed October 9, 2018. "Evigan graduated in 1971 and went on to act in a wide array of television shows and films. He portrayed B.J. McKay in the BJ and the Bear TV series and Joey Harris in My Two Dads."
- Kene Eze - 2010 Men's Soccer, William Paterson University. Accessed August 15, 2016. "Hometown: Sayreville, N.J.; High School: Sayreville War Memorial... His school's all-time leading scorer, he also was an all-county and all-division pick in 2008 and 2009... Also a second-team all-state honoree as a junior, he scored 106 career goals"
- Jehyve Floyd, ESPN. Accessed May 13, 2020. "Hometown: Parlin, N.J.; School: Sayreville War Memorial High"
- Beckerman, Jim. "It Was Slow Going at the Quick Stop: 'Clerks' Stars Kept Waiting", The Record (New Jersey), November 4, 1994. "A 20-year Sayreville resident, she plays Veronica, girlfriend of the hapless clerk Dante (O'Halloran).... A graduate of Sayreville High School and a friend of O'Halloran's for several years, Ghigliotti has acted opposite him in theater productions of "Wait Until Dark" and the off-off Broadway production "Sabona."
- Granieri, Laurie. "Sayreville native Dule Hill gears up for show's new season", Home News Tribune, August 7, 2009. Accessed October 13, 2014. "The biggest challenge for me is not making Gus too nerdy or too cool. Because Gus is a nerd, says Hill, 34, who grew up in Sayreville and is a 1993 graduate of Sayreville War Memorial High School."
- Burkard, Tom (April 20, 2002). "Yearbook—Sayreville 1962" (PDF). The South Amboy – Sayreville Times. Retrieved October 11, 2014.