Collingswood, New Jersey

Collingswood is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 13,926, reflecting a decline of 400 (-2.8%) from the 14,326 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 963 (-6.3%) from the 15,289 counted in the 1990 Census. Owing in part to its Quaker history, Collingswood is a dry town where alcohol cannot be sold, however restaurant patrons are permitted to bring their own wine and beer to consume. In July 2015, the town introduced an ordinance that will allow craft breweries to operate in the town but not serve food. The ordinance is expected to be passed in August 2015.

History

Quakers settled along Newton Creek and Cooper River in the late 17th Century, establishing what was known as the Newton Colony and eventually Newton Township. Much of what is now Collingswood was a farm owned by members of the Collings family during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Later a section of Haddon Township, Collingswood was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 22, 1888, based on the results of a referendum held that same day. That same year, town resident Edward Collings Knight, a wealthy philanthropist, donated the land that became Knight Park. Knight was a descendant of the Collings family for whom the borough is named.

High school

A high school (also secondary school, senior school, secondary college) is a school that provides adolescents with part or all of their secondary education. It may come after primary school or middle school and be followed by higher education or vocational training.

Terminology

The term "high school" originated in Scotland, with the world's oldest high school being Edinburgh's Royal High School from 1505. The Royal High School was used as a model for the first public high school in the United States, Boston Latin School founded in Boston, Massachusetts.

The precise stage of schooling provided by a high school differs from country to country, and may vary within the same jurisdiction. In all of New Zealand and Malaysia, along with most of Britain and parts of Australia, Bangladesh and Canada, high school means the same thing as secondary school, but instead of starting in 9th grade, these "secondary schools" begin at ages 11 or 12.

Country by country

Australia

In Australia, high school is a secondary school, from Year 7 or Year 8 through to Year 12, varying from state to state. High school immediately follows primary (elementary) school; therefore, a Year-7 Australian high-school student is sometimes as young as 12. In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, the term "high school" generally refers to Years 7–10, whereas the term "College" is used for Years 11–12. In Victoria the term "secondary college" has largely replaced the term "high school" following the reforms of the Labor Government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some schools have retained the name "high school" (such as Melbourne High School) and many have now dropped the "secondary" and are simply known as "college".

Collingswood High School

Collingswood High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Collingswood in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Collingswood Public Schools.

As of the 2012-13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 692 students and 64.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.69:1. There were 229 students (33.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 63 (9.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

Students in grades 9-12 from Woodlynne attend Collingswood High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Woodlynne School District. Students in grades 10-12 from Oaklyn attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Oaklyn Public School District.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 208th-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. The school had been ranked 262nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 267th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 237th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 235th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Marching band

A marching band is a group in which instrumental musicians perform for entertainment, and prepare for a competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear some kind of uniform (often of a military style) that includes the school or organization's name or symbol.

Marching bands are generally categorized by function, size, age, gender, instruments and by the style of show they perform. In addition to traditional parade performances, many marching bands also perform field shows at special events like competitions. Increasingly, marching bands perform indoor concerts that implement many songs, traditions, and flair from outside performances.

History

Band is a general term for an instrumental group. The marching band originated with traveling musicians who performed together at festivals and celebrations throughout the ancient world. It evolved and became more structured within the armies of early city-states, becoming the basis for the military band, from which the modern marching band emerged. As musicians became less important in directing the movement of troops on the battlefield, the bands moved into increasingly ceremonial roles. This intermediate stage led to the modern instrumentation and music for marching bands. Many military traditions survive in modern marching band. Bands that march in formation are often ordered to "dress their ranks" and "cover down your file." They may be called to "attention," and given orders such as "about face" and "forward march." Uniforms of many marching bands still resemble military uniforms.

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, and on the southwest by Delaware. New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state, but the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies entirely within the combined statistical areas of New York City and Philadelphia and is the second-wealthiest U.S. state by median household income as of 2014.

New Jersey was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, with historical tribes such as the Lenape along the coast. In the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. The English later seized control of the region, naming it the Province of New Jersey after the largest of the Channel Islands, Jersey, and granting it as a colony to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton. New Jersey was the site of several decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century.