Newton South High School is one of two public high schools in the city of Newton, Massachusetts, United States, the other being Newton North.
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History and student life
By the late 1950s, Newton's sole public high school, Newton High, grew to 3,000 students. Newton built a new school, Newton South, in the Oak Hill neighborhood in 1960. The school is organized into four student houses—Cutler, Goldrick, Goodwin, and Wheeler—each with a student commons.
Newton South was the first public high school to create a gay–straight alliance in the United States in the early 1990s.
Newton South features two award-winning student newspapers, Denebola and The Lion's Roar.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Newton South as the 446th-best high school in the country and 20th-best in the Massachusetts in its 2020 rankings.
The school is part of the Newton Public School District.
Public attention
The school gained notoriety in 2002 for its "Senior Scavenger Hunt", a student-organized contest that featured theft, vandalism, illegal drug use, and various sexual acts committed by the graduating seniors in exchange for points.
On February 8, 2007, the Newton South STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition chapter organized a Darfur Benefit Concert with the well known band, State Radio, raising over $230,000 for Save the Children and the Genocide Intervention Network.
In September 2013, the school's powderpuff football tradition was canceled due to hazing, injuries and sexism. Students protested the decision.
Sports
Newton South competes in the DCL (Dual County League).
Awards and recognition
Newton South was named America's top athletic program by Sports Illustrated in 2010.
Notable alumni
Josh Altman, class of 1997, real estate agent on Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles
Nili Brosh, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter
Veronica Burton, class of 2018, professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association
Marisa Catalina Casey, class of 1997, co-author of Born in Our Hearts: Stories of Adoption, is the founder and executive director of the arts education nonprofit Starting Artists, Inc. located in Brooklyn
Geoffrey Gray, class of 2015, American-Israeli professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Marin Hinkle, class of 1984, actor for Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and CBS's Two and a Half Men
Darvell Huffman, class of 1986, former NFL player for the Indianapolis Colts
Alex Karpovsky, class of 1993, actor for HBO's comedy-drama Girls and Amazon's Homecoming
Caroline Kaufer, class of 1980, software executive and philanthropist
John Krasinski, class of 1997, filmmaker and actor for NBC's comedy The Office, A Quiet Place, and A Quiet Place Part II
Ben Kurland, class of 2002, an actor in The Artist, which won five Academy Awards
Bill Lichtenstein, class of 1974, Peabody Award-winning journalist, filmmaker, radio producer