Did you know that several of our staff members at WMHS today attended this school as a high school student?
Before our current high school building was built, what is now Macopin used to be West Milford’s high school. The middle school was established as the high school in 1968. The land on which the current high school sits was still woods. But, in 1977, the building that is WHMS was established. This change provided a larger, more modern school for the students and staff alike to enjoy. Conversations with a former high school attendant revealed that more than just building has changed throughout the years.
One West Milford teacher who has seen the most change to the school is Mrs. Bozenmayer. Mrs. Bozenmayer was a graduate of the class of 1970, one of the few classes to attend high school in both buildings. One thing Mrs. Bozenmayer likes better about the school now, as opposed to when she attended, is the number of sports available to girls. Her freshman year there were no girl sports, but by her sophomore year they began to form. In fact, Mrs. Bozenmayer was on West Milford High School’s first girls tennis team. Additionally, boys and girls did not take gym class together. They had separate classes and had uniforms for gym as well.
When Mrs. Bozenmayer was a high school student, she never thought about teaching chemistry, although she always loved science. On teacher turn around day when she was in high school, she acted as a chemistry teacher for the day because “all the good teachers were taken.” Now, Mrs. Bozenmayer thoroughly enjoys teaching here in West Milford and is glad she had the experience that she did on teacher turn around day.
Aside from Mrs. Bozenmayer, Mrs. Weiss-Magasic is also a graduate of West Milford High School, as part of the class of 1984. Mrs. Weiss-Magasic felt this high school absolutely had her ready to continue to college, with the science department especially preparing her. As far as the education then to now, Mrs. Weiss-Magasic felt they are equal, but different. The academic focus has always been strong and continues to be today.
Mrs. Weiss-Magasic offered information about some differences from the school then as opposed to what it is like now. The high school today offers more sports overall and especially more sports for girls. Also, there was an active pep club when she attended school that would cheer at the games. Aside from this, the types and number of clubs is not much different.
Graduating West Milford High School soon after Mrs. Weiss-Magasic was Mrs. Metcalf, who graduated in 1986. Mrs. Metcalf had some interesting things to share about what WMHS was like then. For one, when she took Driver’s Ed, there were fake cars you would pretend to drive. You would have to stop the car as if you would when driving and the computer would read whether or not you would crash based on that stop. Mrs. Metcalf felt that attending high school in West Milford prepared her well. One thing she added was that students felt most prepared if they were involved. Mrs. Metcalf was very involved in the school when she attended. She was part of the newspaper, student council, track and cross-country, just to name a few.
Most of the former graduates agreed when the topic of academics came up. Many believed that the high school prepared them for what they needed in order to continue their education after high school. Mrs. Weiss-Magasic talked about the academics in the high school overall and stated, “we’re changing with the times, and we’ve always been excellent.” Furthermore, the opportunities available acted as a major asset to students and that was shown through Mrs. Metcalf. She “took advantage of all of the opportunities offered here” in order to be as prepared as she could be.
West Milford High School does not only staff teachers who attended this school. The secretary, Ms. Freschi, in the main office also graduated from West Milford High School in 1998. An overall statement Ms. Freschi made about the school is that it is just different. The kids are different, as well as the environment of the school. Also, a big change she sees is the lack of interest in the dances, such as homecoming. When she attended high school, they had dances that a majority of the people took part in. Not only did they have dances, there were also annual bonfires.
Ms. Freschi felt that WMHS prepared her for what she wished to do after high school. One department she felt prepared her the most was the business department. Ms. Freschi worked in Manhattan and the skills she acquired during high school, such as computer skills, helped her tremendously.
As a 2001 graduate, Mrs. Welch believes that the English and History departments gave her the writing skills necessary for college, while DECA and TV Science gave her confidence in professional situations. Mrs. Welch also feels that who she has become as a teacher is a direct result of her experiences in West Milford High School. “I realized how lucky I was to have had Ms. Kathleen McDermott-Walter for US History 2. Ms. McDermott-Walter took a subject that I struggled with and made it interesting and exciting. Her enthusiasm for the material she taught was clear to those in her classroom. I try to share my passion for mathematics with my students the way she shared her love of history with her students.”
In terms of then and now, Mrs. Welch sees the biggest changes in terms of technology. On long bus rides home from athletic competitions, students did not have cell phones. If the coach had one, he would pass it around the bus. More often however, students used the pay phones that are no longer available in the school. Though it was less convenient, she believes there was a plus side to being less technology-dependent. “We did not have social media and other technological distracters. I feel that when I was in high school we spent more time interacting face-to-face instead of through text messaging, status updates or tweets. It was nice to pick up your ‘landline’ phone, call your friends house to make plans or just chitchat about the day.”
Additionally, Mr. Willever also graduated WMHS in 2008, being the most recent graduate of the staff members here. An improvement Mr. Willever sees in the school since he attended is the cleanliness. He said, “It’s cleaner now… but maybe that’s because I don’t use the student bathrooms anymore.” Also, something different about the school from then to now is the activity in the clubs. Some clubs that are more active for example are green team and GSA.
Mr. Willever chose to teach here this year because there was a job opening. As most know, the number of jobs available in general, and specifically in teaching, is not high. Mr. Willever went to twelve different job interviews and after not getting those positions, a job opening appeared in West Milford High School and he jumped at the opportunity.
Having students who attended this school work here now can be beneficial in many ways. These teachers bring perspective and an understanding of what it means to be a West Milford student. The basis of West Milford High School seems to have stayed the same and it is evident that it has always been a school focused on academics, with many opportunities available to its students. There is a loyalty in the West Milford community, that not all schools share. Mrs. Welch put it best, saying, “I bleed gold! I am extremely proud to have been a Highlander! My husband, father, sisters, sister-in-law, father-in-law, uncles, aunts and several cousins have or will graduate from WMHS. I am excited to say that my son, a future Highlander, will be part of the WMHS class of 2030.”
