High Point to mark Golden Anniversary

SUSSEX BOROUGH — After opening its doors to about 600 students in September of 1966, High Point High will mark its 50th anniversary with an open house Saturday, Oct. 1, with student-guided tours, historic displays and presentations, and Wildcat Trivia games with prizes.
Alumni games will begin at 10:00 a.m.
A home football game will begin at 2:30 p.m. with tickets sold that day. The Education Foundation is sponsoring a dinner dance at the Lafayette House in the Olde Lafayette Village (75 NJ-15) at 6 p.m. that night with ticket information available by contacting HighPointEF@gmail.com.
In the meantime, the school’s National Art Honor Society (made up of 12 currently participating members) has been at it again creating a mural with a wildcat mascot—this time in honor of High Point’s golden year.
“So far we’ve put in 25 hours of painting work, and we are estimating about 40 more,” said Fine Art teacher and N.A.H.S. advisor Kelly Kuzicki. “The mural is 21 feet long and three feet high — not exactly a small undertaking to be completed in only three weeks. We started with sanded plywood and coated it with primer. It’s decorated in school colors.”
In 1963, the new high school was established by electing a board of education and hiring a superintendent and director of curriculum. In the fall of 1966, the student body of the Sussex High School and members of Newton High from the towns of Branchville, Frankford and Lafayette became unified.
Kuzicki says the project for the mural began when she had decided in collaboration with Supervisor of Humanities Aldo Deodino and Principal Jonathan Tallamy that there were areas around campus that needed a “face lift.”
She continues, “We will be welcoming so many generations of Wildcats back to the campus this Saturday, and the mural offers a sense of pride. A lifelong athlete and currently the coach of three sports, I love the harmonious feeling of school spirit, and this mural will definitely glow with that.”
Principal Jonathan Tallamy adds,
“The mural is the beginning or our ‘Let Our Walls Talk’ initiative to expand our gallery and cultivate school pride,” Principal Jon Tallamy said.
“Good time management and an artistic mind are the key factors to success in my role,” explained H.P. senior and N.A.H.S. President Sadie Grau. “After receiving much help and love from this school academically, I am grateful for the opportunity to give back."
Senior and N.A.H.S. Vice President Nicolina Kanapinski, 17 of Wantage said finishing the mural has become a personal goal.
“It’s a permanent installation, and I’m more than excited for it to be seen," she said. "It is a part of the mark I’ll leave behind when I graduate.”