Staples High School

Staples High School is a public high school located in the town of Westport, Connecticut, United States. Staples High School is named after Horace Staples, who founded the school on April 26, 1884.[3][4] Westport is one of eight school districts in District Reference Group A (along with Darien, Easton, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, and Wilton).[5]

Staples High School
A blue crest with a torch, ribbon with '18' on the left side and '85' on the right. Below the torch is a shield that features a grapevine, bridge & water, an arrowhead, cannon & cannonballs and an old English 'S', with the words "RESPECT FOR LIFE" engraved on a ribbon below the shield. The entire crest is contained inside a wreath.
Main building, December 2011
Location
70 North Avenue

Westport
,
Connecticut
06880

United States
Coordinates41°09′14″N 73°19′41″W
Information
TypePublic high school
EstablishedApril 26, 1884 (1884-04-26)
School districtWestport Public Schools
CEEB code070920
PrincipalStafford Thomas Jr.[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,858 (2018-19)[2]
Color(s)Navy blue and white
  
MascotConstruction worker named "the Wrecker"
NicknameWreckers
PublicationSoundings
NewspaperInklings
YearbookStapleite
Websiteshs.westportps.org

Campus

The school was first located at Riverside Avenue in a three-level red brick building.[6] In 1958 Staples High School moved to its current location on a 9-acre (3.6 ha) campus at 70 North Avenue.[7] As of 2020, the neighborhood around the high school is known as the Staples census-designated place.

History

Seeing the "town’s lack of progress in education," Horace Staples, a wealthy businessman with interests in shipping, hardware sales, and banking, founded Staples High School.[6] Initially Staples intended to fund the school via an interest left in his will; however, that interest became known while he was still alive, and led to the school's foundation being laid in 1884.[8] On April 24, 1884, businesses closed early in Westport to celebrate the dedication of Staples High School.[6] Connecticut Governor Thomas M. Waller attended the opening.[6]

Front of Staples High School

In the first year of operation, commencing in the fall of 1884, Staples High School had 60 of the 807 students attending schools in Westport.[8]

On June 24, 1887, Staples High School conferred its first high school diplomas to six female students who comprised its first graduating class.[6]

In 1909 the Town of Westport accepted control of Staples High School from the Horace Staples estate.[6] From 1966 to 1969, Staples attracted some of the biggest names in music to perform in concert. The Animals, Cream, The Yardbirds, The Young Rascals, Sly and the Family Stone and Louis Armstrong to name a few. A short documentary was produced in 2017.

Activities

Inklings

The school newspaper, Inklings, has won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association gold medal every year since 2000 (in addition to a silver medal in 1999).[9] The paper has also received the rank of First Place with "Special Honors" from the American Scholastic Press Association since 2001 and has been dubbed "the best school paper in the state" by the Hartford Courant.

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Main Office - Staples High School". shs.westportps.org. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  2. "Staples High School". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  3. Woody Klein; Westport Historical Society (Conn.) (May 2000). Westport, Connecticut: the story of a New England town's rise to prominence. Greenwood Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-313-31126-0. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  4. Charles Melbourne Selleck (1896). Norwalk: v. 1 and supplement. The author. p. 74. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  5. "WCGMF-Discovery | Communities: By DRG". Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2007-03-06. Web page titled "Find a Community: By Educational Reference Group (DRG)" at the "Discovery 2007 / An initiative of the William Caspar Graustein Fund" Web site. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
  6. Woody Klein; Westport Historical Society (Conn.) (May 2000). Westport, Connecticut: the story of a New England town's rise to prominence. Greenwood Press. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-313-31126-0. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  7. Woody Klein; Westport Historical Society (Conn.) (May 2000). Westport, Connecticut: the story of a New England town's rise to prominence. Greenwood Press. p. 382. ISBN 978-0-313-31126-0. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  8. Woody Klein; Westport Historical Society (Conn.) (May 2000). Westport, Connecticut: the story of a New England town's rise to prominence. Greenwood Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-313-31126-0. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  9. Inzitari, Vanessa (21 March 2011). "Staples Student Newspaper Wins Big". The Daily Westport. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  10. "Westport remembers Marilyn Chambers," The Hour (Norwalk, CT), Monday, April 13, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  11. Connor, Tim. "The Story of M". Connecticut Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  12. "John DiBartolomeo Basketball Player Profile, Maccabi Fox Tel-Aviv, Rochester, News, Winner League stats, Career, Games Logs, Best, Awards - eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  13. "In Historic Suburban Shift, 22-Year-Old Will Haskell Beats Incumbent State Sen. Toni Boucher".
  14. Garrity, Philip (2015-01-14). "The Man In The Maze: Stew Leonard Jr". westchestermagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  15. Bailer, Darice (December 24, 2000). "The View From / Westport; It's a Quantum Leap For High School Senior". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  16. Marley Brant (1 October 2006). Happier days: Paramount Television's classic sitcoms, 1974-1984. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-8230-8933-8. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  17. "Clemson's Mike Noonan To Be Inducted into Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame".
  18. Dan Woog (15 February 2013). Harlem Shake and Westport Too!. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  19. Yolen, Jane. "A Short Biography". janeyolen.com. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
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