Morris Hills High School is a comprehensive regional four-year

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in the borough of Rockaway, in Morris County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, serving students in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

s as one of the two secondary schools of the

Morris Hills Regional High School District The Morris Hills Regional District is a comprehensive regional state school, public school district that consists of two four-year public high schools serving four suburban communities in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. sta ...

. The high school serves students from Wharton, Rockaway Borough and parts of Rockaway Township.Home page
, Morris Hills High School. Accessed July 15, 2011. "Morris Hills High School, located in Rockaway, New Jersey, serves the residential communities of Rockaway Borough, Rockaway Township, and Wharton.... The school was first opened for classes on September 9, 1953. A 39 acre site that was the former Gunther Estate serves as campus for Morris Hills." Students come to Morris Hills from Copeland Middle School, Alfred C. MacKinnon Middle School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, as well as local private schools. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,141 students and 116.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 9.8:1. There were 203 students (17.8% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the provision of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. The practice was once common in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with the ...

and 92 (8.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Morris Hills High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed December 15, 2024. The campus of Morris Hills houses The Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, a science-oriented magnet school operated as a joint effort with the Morris County Vocational School District and open by competitive application to all students from Morris County. The other high school in the district is

Morris Knolls High School Morris Knolls High School (MKHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Denville Township and most of Rockaway Township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operati ...

, which serves students from Denville and portions of Rockaway Township.

History

The school opened in September 1953 as the district's first high school. The school is located on the former Gunther Estate.

Awards and recognition

For the 1996–97 school year, Morris Hills High School was named a "Star School" by the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve. The school was the 71st-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 42nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 70th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 106th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 101st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"
''

'', September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 64th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 35 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.6%) and language arts literacy (97.8%) components of the

High School Proficiency Assessment The High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA, pronounced "hess-pah" (/ˈhɛspə/) or sometimes just "H-S-P-A") was a standardized test that was administered by the New Jersey Department of Education to all New Jersey public high school students in ...

(HSPA).

School media

''The Morris Hills Hilltopper'', the school's official newspaper, is published four times a year in color. Students write all articles and take the majority of the photos, as well as set up the design and comics. ''SEED Magazine'' is the school's annual literary magazine. All students are allowed to submit prose or poetry, or visual works of art (though not all are put into the actual magazine).

Extracurricular activities

Morris Hills houses a large variety of extracurricular activities for its students, ranging from bible club (Velocity) to its very own DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) Club. Many have gained recognition or awards for their duties in the community or their overall excellence in their field, including the Morris Hills Stage Crew (part of drama club), which placed third in the ITS Statewide festival in the 2005-2006 year. Any student is permitted to join any club. A partial list of clubs include: *

Academic Decathlon The Academic Decathlon (also called AcDec, AcaDeca or AcaDec) is an annual Student competition, high school academic competition organized by the non-profit United States Academic Decathlon (USAD). The competition consists of seven objective mult ...

(with honorable essay mention for the 2006-07 year) *E.R.A.S.E. (Eliminate Racism and Sexism Everywhere) *G.S.A. (Gay-Straight Alliance) *Interact (which hosts a benefit show every year) *DDR Society (

Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance ...

) *Chess Club *

Leo Club Leo clubs are a youth organization of Lions Clubs International. As of 2025, Leo Club operates in over 140 countries often collaborating with United Nations over impactful projects. Leo clubs encourage youths to develop leadership qualities by ...

* DECA *

Mock trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

FCCLA The Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA, formerly known as the Future Homemakers of America, FHA) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit career and technical student organization for young men and women in family and consumer scie ...

(formerly Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) *Ecology Club *Peer Listening *

International Thespian Society The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honor society for high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary educ ...

*DRAMA Club *Pit Band *Marching Band *Jazz Band *Chorus *Knights Templar Choir *Women's Choir *Madrigals *

Model Congress Model Congress gives students a chance to engage in a role-playing simulation of the United States United States Congress, Congress. Such events are hosted by the Congress itself, Rutgers University, American International College, University of Ma ...

*Yearbook Club *

Technology Student Association The Technology Student Association (TSA) is a national non-profit Career and technical student organization, career and technical student organization (CTSO) of over 300,000 middle and high school student members engaged in Science, technology, e ...

FBLA The Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA, is an American career and technical student organization (CTSO) headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Established in 1940, FBLA is a non-profit organization of high school ("FBLA High School"), mi ...

Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. Key Club International is the high school branch of the Kiwanis International family, classified as a Service Leadership Program ...

Junior State of America The Junior State of America (formerly the Junior Statesmen of America), abbreviated JSA, was an American non-partisan youth organization. The purpose of JSA was to help high school students acquire leadership skills and the knowledge necessary t ...

Athletics

The Morris Hills High School Scarlet KnightsMorris Hills High School

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Morris,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the

(NJSIAA). The school had previously participated in the

Iron Hills Conference The Iron Hills Conference was an athletic conference of twenty high schools located in Essex County, Morris County, and Union County in New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlanti ...

, which included schools in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, Morris and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

counties. With 985 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range. The football team competes in the Patriot White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 700 to 884 students. Interscholastic sports offered at Morris Hills include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball and wrestling. The school participates in a joint ice hockey team with

as the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. The boys cross country running team won the Group III state championship in 1954, 1975–1977, 2004 and 2005, and won the Group II title in 2003.NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The boys track team won the Group IV spring / outdoor track state championship in 1962, in Group III in 2007 (as co-champion) and in Group II in 2012.NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The baseball team won the North II Group III state sectional championship in 1966.Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024

, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The baseball program won 135 games in a span of six seasons with a Morris County Tournament Championship (2002), a North I Group III state sectional title (2004), and five Iron Hills Conference (Hills Division) championships (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007). The boys fencing team was the overall state champion in 1975. The football team won the NJSIAA North II Group III state sectional championship in 1975 and 2016. After finishing the 1974 season with a 1–8 record, the team won the 1975 North II Group III state sectional title with a 7–0 victory against Phillipsburg High School in the tournament final to finish 10-1 for the season. In 2016, the team won the North II Group III state sectional title, the program's second title and its first in 41 years, with a 27–14 win in the tournament final against

Parsippany Hills High School Parsippany Hills High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade as one of the two second ...

. As a

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

event, the Hills football team plays against Morris Knolls in an annual rivalry game played at the beginning of every school year. The teams have played each other since 1972, with Morris Knolls winning 15 of the 25 games through the 2017 season.

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore reports that ...

had the rivalry at 26th on their 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football". The boys track team won the indoor track public state championship in Group III in 1978, and won the Group II title in 2006, 2008 and 2009. The girls team won the Group III title in 1983 (as co-champion). The wrestling team won the North II Group III state sectional title in 1987. The 1997 softball team finished the season with a 29–2 record after winning the Group II state championship by defeating

Delaware Valley Regional High School Delaware Valley Regional High School is a regional, four-year public high school and school district, that serves students in western Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The boys' track team won the Group II state indoor relay championship in 2006 and 2008. The boys' basketball team made the state tournament for the first time in 10 years in 2006, though it lost in the first round to 6th-seeded Passaic Valley High School 67–45. The boys ice hockey team, established in 1958, was one of the first high school teams in New Jersey along with the Morristown School (now Morristown-Beard School), Montclair High School, Livingston High School, and West Orange High School. They won the state championship for the 1960–1961 season. They have also won seven divisional titles including two Charette Division titles (2003, 2017), four Haas Division titles (1991, 1996, 1997, 2004), and one Halverson Division title (2005).

Cross country / track and field

Perhaps the most successful athletics program at Morris Hills is its men's cross country and track and field teams, both of which have been very successful in the state, under head cross country coach Sean Robinson, who took the position in 2002.Lambert, Jim
"Morris Hills Shakes and Bakes its way to Group 2 sectional sweep"
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'', February 12, 2011. Accessed August 20, 2011. Robinson took the head indoor track and field coaching position in 2006. In that year, the Scarlet Knights won every major championship they entered (conference, county, state group and state group relay), the first time that had happened in county history. The Scarlet Knights repeated the feat in 2008, 2009 and 2011. Robinson was coach during Morris Hills' county track and field championship victory in 2006, the first time the Scarlet Knights had won since 1977. Since becoming head coach, Robinson has led the Scarlet Knights to six NJSIAA state championships, 11 NJSIAA Sectional Championships, two NJSIAA State Relay Championships, nine Conference Championships, and seven county titles. He also has two State Coach of the Year, 1 NFHS State Coach of the Year Honor, five Area Coach of the Year Honors, and seven Excellence in Coaching Awards under his belt. He was inducted into the NJSCA Hall of Fame in March 2015. Morris Hills has also had over 34 All-American honors distributed to its XC/TF athletes since 1999, largely with the success of the school's 4 x mile relay, 4 x 800 relay and shuttle hurdle relay teams. At the 2009 Nike National Outdoor Track Championship the Morris Hills 4x800 won the race to secure the title of national champions after having the US#2 All-Time Performance of 7:31.60 (breaking the national record) at the Penn Relays. Keith Lindsley, the 2007 NJSIAA Athletic Assistant Coach of the Year, is the current sprint/hurdles coach. Morris Hills was selected to participate in the inaugural Nike Team National Cross Country Championship in 2005, where they finished 13th. The following is a list of championship titles in Morris Hills cross country/track and field history.

Marching band

In 1998, the Morris Hills High School Marching Band, under Director Michael Sopko, was recruited to film an MTV Commercial for the MTV Video Music Awards. The marching band was chosen after being spotted by MTV associates during their annual competition at Giants Stadium. In the commercial, the marching band played clips from nominated songs and ended in a human formation of the MTV symbol. The commercial was aired several times daily leading up to the awards ceremony. The band was named the 2010 USSBA Group 2 Open New Jersey State Champions. In 2016, Michael Sopko retired from his position as the band's leader. Richard Hartsuiker, a former Roxbury music teacher, replaced Sopko and continued Morris Hills' musical traditions, by directing the Marching Band, directing the Concert/Jazz Bands, and assisting with the Spring Musical.

Administration

The school's principal is Todd Toriello. His administration team includes three assistant principals.MH Administration
Morris Hills High School. Accessed March 20, 2025.

Notable alumni

Army chief of staff visits alma mater 140515-A-KH856-386

Bruce Bannon Bruce Patrick Bannon (born March 11, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the early 1970s. He played college football for Penn State Univers ...

(born 1951),

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

Mike Lynn Michael Lynn III (May 18, 1936 – July 21, 2012) was an American football general manager and executive. He served as the general manager of the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings from 1975 to 1990. Early life Lynn's father died o ...

(1936–2012),

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

executive who served as the general manager of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

from 1975 to 1990 *

Clifford Meth Clifford Meth is an American writer, editor, and publisher best known for his dark fiction, as well as his publishing imprint Aardwolf Publishing. He has said that his work is often "self consciously Jewish." Early life Meth grew up in Rockaway, ...

(born 1961, class of 1979), author and editor * Sue Naegle, former president of HBO Entertainment *

Raymond T. Odierno Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the United States Army and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odier ...

(born 1954, class of 1972), retired

four-star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who served as the 38th chief of staff of the Army *

Gustave F. Perna Gustave F. Perna (born 15 April 1960) is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as the chief operating officer of the federal COVID-19 response for vaccine and therapeutics. He previously served as the chief operating of ...

(born 1960, class of 1978), retired

four-star

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who last served as the chief operating officer of the federal COVID-19 response for vaccine and therapeutics *

Rodrigo Santiago Rodrigo Daniel Santiago Pintos (born February 17, 1990, in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a professional soccer player from Uruguay who currently plays for the New Jersey Alliance. Raised in Rockaway, New Jersey, Santiago played prep soccer at Morri ...

(born 1990), professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player for the New Jersey Alliance *

Rachel Wainer Apter Rachel Wainer Apter (born July 22, 1980) is an American lawyer who serves as a justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Early life and education Wainer Apter grew up in Rockaway, New Jersey, where she attended Morris Hills High School. She ...

(born 1980), lawyer who serves as

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the

Supreme Court of New Jersey The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

Racioppi, Dustin
"North Jersey native tapped by Gov. Phil Murphy to state Supreme Court. Here's who she is"
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'', March 15, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2021. "Wainer Apter grew up in Rockaway and graduated from Morris Hills High School."

References

External links

Morris Hills High SchoolMorris Hills Regional School District
*
School Data for the Morris Hills Regional High School District

MHRD District Hall of Fame
{{Authority control Rockaway, New Jersey Rockaway Township, New Jersey Wharton, New Jersey 1953 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1953 Public high schools in Morris County, New Jersey