Manchester Central High School
Encyclopedia
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. Located in the heart of Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, over 2,400 students attend from communities such as Auburn
Auburn, New Hampshire
Auburn is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,953 at the 2010 census. The town was called by WMUR News 9 as number one of "New Hampshire's Most Beautiful Towns" in July 2010. It was also named 18 in The New York Times' "Top 200 Towns To Raise a Family."-...
, Candia
Candia, New Hampshire
Candia is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,909 at the 2010 census. The town includes the villages of Candia, Candia Four Corners and East Candia.-History:...
, Hooksett
Hooksett, New Hampshire
Hooksett is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 13,451 at the 2010 census. The town is located between Manchester, the state's largest city, and Concord, the state capital...
, and Manchester. The name was changed from Manchester High School in 1922 when Manchester West High School
Manchester High School West
Manchester High School West, known as West High or West, is a public high school located in Manchester, New Hampshire. According to the Blue Book: Manchester High School West Hand Book , the school was officially opened in September 1923 as a grade school and high school, hosting the seventh and...
opened. Including Central, Manchester has a total of three public high schools.
Its athletics teams are nicknamed the Little Green (after Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
's Big Green), and predictably, the school colors are green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
and white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
. Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
named the school's athletic department as the best in the state of New Hampshire in 2005.
The school originally had crimson red as its school color, but Concord High School
Concord High School (New Hampshire)
Concord High School is a high school in Concord, New Hampshire in the United States.- History :Concord's first public high school was established in 1846. The original building was the building on the corner of State and School Streets. A new school house was built in 1862, which stood until April...
had taken the color soon after. After the turn of the century, the two schools decided that the winner of a league championship would keep its colors; Concord won, and Manchester Central chose forest green as its new color.
John Rist, the school's most recent principal, retired in June, 2011. As of July, 2011, a replacement principal had not been hired.
Central High School's student newspaper The Little Green is a highly respected publication. The Little Green was commended by Columbia Scholastic Press and featured in the Manchester Daily Express as well as the New Hampshire Union Leader
New Hampshire Union Leader
The New Hampshire Union Leader is the daily newspaper of Manchester, the largest city in the state of New Hampshire. As of September 2010 it had a daily circulation of 48,342 and the circulation of its Sunday paper, the New Hampshire Sunday News, was 63,991. It was founded in 1863.It was called...
.
Diversity at Central
Manchester Central High School prides itself on its diverse student population. On a daily basis, Central's faculty teaches students from sixty different countries who speak thirty different languages. New Hampshire Public RadioNew Hampshire Public Radio
New Hampshire Public Radio is a public radio network serving the state of New Hampshire. NHPR is based in Concord and operates seven transmitters and six translators covering nearly the whole state. All signals carry the same programming, which comprises news and talk shows on weekdays and a mix...
was so intrigued by the wide array of student backgrounds at Central that it decided to compose a project entitled "Culture Lessons" in 2006. The project's objective was to dive into the core of "a school with a very diverse population in a very homogeneous state".
Notable alumni
- Jane BadlerJane BadlerJane Badler is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Diana, the chief antagonist in NBC's science fiction TV series, V, between 1983-85. Badler also appeared in ABC's "reimagined" version of V in 2011, again playing an alien named Diana, who this time is the mother of...
, actress, star of the 1983 TV miniseriesMiniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
V and its sequelSequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
s - Rogers BloodRogers BloodRogers Blood was a United States Marine Corps officer who received the Silver Star posthumously for his actions in combat during World War II.-Early life:Rogers Blood was born at Manchester, New Hampshire, on 29 January 1922...
(1922–1944), a United States Marine Corps ReserveUnited States Marine Corps ReserveThe Marine Forces Reserve is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command in the U.S...
officer and posthumous recipient of the Silver StarSilver StarThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
for his actions during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... - James BroderickJames BroderickJames Joseph Broderick III was an American actor.-Life and career:Broderick was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, the son of Mary Elizabeth and James Joseph Broderick, Jr....
, actor and father of actor Matthew BroderickMatthew BroderickMatthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his... - James O. FreedmanJames O. FreedmanJames Oliver Freedman was a university president. A graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, he served briefly as Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School; as the sixteenth president of the University of Iowa from 1982 to 1987; and as the fifteenth president of Dartmouth College,...
, former president of Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... - Rene GagnonRene GagnonRene Arthur Gagnon was one of the U.S. Marines immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's famous World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.-Early life:...
, United States Marine, one of the raisers of the American flag at Iwo JimaIwo JimaIwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo... - Chip KellyChip KellyCharles "Chip" Kelly is the head football coach at the University of Oregon. Widely regarded as one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football today, the 2009 and 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, 2010 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, 2010 Walter Camp Coach of the Year, 2010 Sporting...
, University of Oregon head football coach - Grace Metalious, author of Peyton PlacePeyton Place (novel)Peyton Place is a 1956 novel by Grace Metalious. It sold 60,000 copies within the first ten days of its release and remained on the New York Times best seller list for 59 weeks. It was adapted as both a 1957 film and a 1964–69 television series....
- Bob Montana, creator of ArchieArchie ComicsArchie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
- Adam SandlerAdam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
, comedian and actor - Joseph Jedrysik, assistant chaplain at Pearl Harbor, fought and was killed at the base of the American flag.
Departments
The school is rich in academics. There are fifteen departments, all of which boast a multitude of classes. The departments are:- Art
- Business
- Family and Consumer Science
- English
- English Language Learners
- Extended Learning Opportunities
- Mathematics
- Music
- Physical-Health Education
- Science
- Social Studies
- Special Education
- World Languages
Unfortunately, recent legislation has been enacted to make the three Manchester high schools the same. This would rob Central of some of its academic diversity. Central stands the most to lose, as it offers some classes which the other Manchester schools do not offer.