Newton South High School | |
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Address | |
140 Brandeis Road Newton, Massachusetts 02459 U.S.A. |
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Coordinates | 42°18′51.73″N 71°11′11.36″W / 42.3143694°N 71.1864889°WCoordinates: 42°18′51.73″N 71°11′11.36″W / 42.3143694°N 71.1864889°W |
Information | |
Motto | Bona mens omnibus patet. (A good mind is open to all things.) |
Established | 1960 |
School district | Newton Public Schools |
CEEB code | 221548 |
Principal | Joel Stembridge |
Faculty | 143 (as of 2014) |
Enrollment | Approx. 1850 (as of 2017) |
Campus size | 33.477 acres (135,480 m2) |
School color(s) | Blue and orange |
Mascot | Lion |
Newspaper | The Lion's Roar, Denebola |
Yearbook | Regulus |
Website | http://nshs.newton.k12.ma.us/ |
Newton South High School is one of two public high schools in the city of Newton, Massachusetts, the other being Newton North.
Newton South places all students into one of four houses, Goldrick, Wheeler, Cutler, and Goodwin, in which they remain for the duration of high school. Unlike many other schools, houses at Newton South are only for administrative and attendance purposes. They have no effect on the courses or activities of students, except for students' homerooms. Classes are split into 7 blocks, A–G, which are spread over the week.
The school consists of multiple buildings divided into 9 separate administrative groups, in addition to the auditorium and student center. Connections between buildings are fully enclosed, creating the impression the campus is one giant building. Buildings 1 and 2 form an L shaped connection to the main campus body from the southwest corner. They are Goldrick, which also houses a separate preschool department, and Wheeler respectively. In the middle of the southern edge lies the Science building, also known as building 3. It contains the two central corridors to the central and northern campus buildings. In the southeast corner is the S shaped Cutler building (4). Cutler is closely joined with building 5, which contains an indoor field house and associated wellness classrooms. In between the south and central parts of campus lay two open-air parks, while the connection between Cutler and Goodwin (building 6, northeast corner) is the only non enclosed connection between two buildings on campus. The center buildings (number 7) houses the cafeteria and library. The small building 8 used for administration lies next to the northern entrance to campus. Lastly, the northwest corner contains the Van Seasholes Auditorium which is connected to the arts wing (building 9).
As of 2017[update], the school enrolls about 1,850 students. About 60% of them participate in Advanced Placement exams.
The Massachusetts Department of Education rated Newton South as performing at the 88th percentile of state high schools for the 2013 year.
Newton South's mean SAT score for the 2013 senior class was 1849, the fourth-highest mean score in Massachusetts. The 2012 four-year graduation rate was 97%.
The Newton-Beijing Jingshan School Exchange Program is the oldest exchange of public secondary school students between the United States and the People's Republic of China. The city of Newton hosts Chinese students and teachers for four months each fall and sends students and teachers to Beijing each spring. It has become a tradition for the Jingshan students to give an entertaining presentation on their culture to the school shortly before returning to their country.