Tappan Zee High School
Tappan Zee High School is a public high school located in Orangeburg, New York in Rockland County. The school serves students in grades 9-12 and is part of the South Orangetown Central School District. The school derives its name from the nearby Tappan Zee section of the Hudson River.
Tappan Zee High School(TZHS) | |
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Address | |
15 Dutch Hill Road , 10962 | |
Coordinates | 41°02′57″N 73°57′15″W |
Information | |
Established | 1965 |
School district | South Orangetown Central School District |
Asst. principals | Juliet Gevargis-Mizimakoski Richard Neidhart |
Faculty | 74.3 FTEs[1] |
Grades | 9-12 |
Enrollment | 1,095 (as of 2015-16)[1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 14.7:1[1] |
Color(s) | Red and White |
Athletics | Section 1 (NYSPHSAA) |
Mascot | "Zee" |
Team name | The Dutchmen |
Website | http://blogs.socsd.org/tzhs/ |
The school draws students from Orangetown, New York, which comprises the villages and hamlets of Blauvelt, Grandview, Orangeburg, Tappan, Palisades, Piermont, Upper Grandview, Sparkill, and portions of South Nyack.
As of the 2015–16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,095 students and 74.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.7:1. There were 129 students (11.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 14 (1.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
In 2006, the school dedicated new athletic fields, including an artificial turf football/lacrosse field surrounded by a new track. The football field also has lights and bathrooms. The renovation also included new baseball and softball fields and new tennis courts.
Board of Education
The Board of Education is elected to oversee the entire South Orangetown Central School District. The five members are elected to three year terms, with no term limits. The current members of the board are:[2]
Administration
The district's administration is composed of:
- Dr. Robert Pritchard, Superintendent of Schools
- Dr. Brian Culot, Assistant Superintendent
- Dr. Karen Tesik, Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services
- Alicia Koster, Executive Director of Finance & Management Services
- George Brady, Director of Technology
Core members of the high school's administration are:[4]
- Rudy Arietta, Principal
- Melissa Luciano, Assistant Principal
- Richard Neidhart, Assistant Principal
Extracurricular Activities
Clubs
Tappan Zee High School offers different clubs for students after school. This includes Academic League, Aquaponics, Chess Club, D.E.C.A., Drama Club, French Club, GSTA (Gay Straight Transgender Alliance), Japanese Club, Leo Club, Math Team, Model U.N., Multi-Cultural Club, Robotics Club, S.A.D.D.(Students Against Destructive Decisions), Science Olympiad, Social Justice Club, Spanish Club, Tapress (school newspaper), Tones (school literary magazine), Yearbook, and Youth and Government.
In addition, Tappan Zee High School hosts a play in the fall and a musical in the spring every year.
Honor Societies
The high school has multiple honor societies that students can apply for, such as National Honor Society, Computer Science Honor Society, History Honor Society, English Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, French Honor Society, Italian Honor Society, and Spanish Honor Society.
Criteria for the different honor societies vary. For example, students can join Mu Alpha Theta at the end of their freshman year, but cannot apply to the National Honor Society until their junior year.
Music
Students at Tappan Zee High School are offered multiple music classes, such as Singing Actor, Interactive Music, and Chorale Conducting. Students who take music lessons privately can join the Applied Music class, which does not involve taking a class during the school day, but some paperwork is required from the private teacher. Some classes require an audition, including Chorale, Concert Band, Concert Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Orchestra, and Concert Choir.
Students can also join musical clubs, such as Accafellas, Bella Acapella, Chamber Orchestra, Handbell Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Pep Band, and Quartet Club.
Sports
Tappan Zee High School has multiple teams in numerous sports.
Fall Teams
- Football (Junior Varsity and Varsity, only boys' teams)
- Soccer (Junior Varsity and Varsity, girls' and boys' teams)
- Tennis (Junior Varsity and Varsity, only girls' teams with boys' team competing in spring)
- Volleyball (Junior Varsity and Varsity, only girls' teams)
- Cross Country (Varsity, girls' and boys' teams)
- Swimming (Varsity, only girls' team with boys' team competing in winter)
- Cheerleading (Varsity, Coed)
Winter Teams
- Basketball (Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity boys' teams, Junior Varsity and Varsity girls' teams)
- Ice Hockey (Junior Varsity and Varsity)
- Wrestling (Junior Varsity and Varsity, only boys' teams)
- Swimming (Varsity, only boys' team with girls' team competing in fall)
- Indoor Track & Field (Varsity)
- Bowling (Varsity, girls' and boys' teams)
- Fencing (Junior Varsity and Varsity for épée and foil, girls' and boys' teams)
- Cheerleading (Varsity, Coed)
- Skiing (Intramural, boys' and girls' teams)
Spring Teams
- Baseball (Junior Varsity and Varsity)
- Softball (Junior Varsity and Varsity)
- Golf (Varsity)
- Tennis (Junior Varsity and Varsity, only boys' team with girls' team competing in fall)
- Outdoor Track & Field (Varsity)
- Lacrosse (Junior Varsity and Varsity, girls' and boys' teams)
In addition to playing on a team, junior and senior varsity athletes can join VAASA, Varsity Athletes Against Substance Abuse.
Student Government
Students elect multiple people to represent them. The student government is known as the Student Organization. Each grade elects eight delegates. In addition to the 32 delegates, the entire student body elects four officers: a president, a vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer. The Student Organization, often referred to as S.O., runs multiple events throughout the year, such as fundraisers for different charities, book drives, a spirit week, and a pep rally.
Students in each grade also elect a class president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The class officers' only capacity is to fundraise for their class's prom, which occurs at the end of their senior year. They do this by holding fundraisers, such as selling class shirts and rings.
Notable alumni
- Salman Ahmad, musician
- Neil Berg, composer/lyricist
- Alan Jacobs, film director, screenwriter and producer
- Angelina Jolie, American actress
- Brian O'Connell (born 1963), musician
- Hayden Panettiere, actress
- Michael Rispoli (born 1960), character actor who appeared in The Sopranos as Jackie Aprile, Sr..[5]
- Brooke Smith, actress
References
- School data for Tappan Zee High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed October 27, 2018.
- "Meet the Board". South Orangetown Central School District. 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- "Budget Vote". South Orangetown Central School District. 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
- Home Page, Tappan Zee High School. Accessed October 27, 2018.
- Rodriguez, Justin. "Actor trades Hollywood glitz for life in Pine Bush", Times Herald-Record, July 26, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2018. "Rispoli actually first heard of Pine Bush as a senior at Tappan Zee High School in 1977."