|
By the late 1950s,
East Brunswick's population began to grow rapidly, and the town's
first high school was built in 1958. When it opened,
students in grades 6 through 9 attended the high school.
Quickly, the school became crowded, and the East Brunswick Board
of Education built the township's first intermediate school in
1961. It was named Hammarskjold School after former United
Nations Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold. The school
housed students from grades 6 through 8.
East Brunswick's population grew even more rapidly in the early 1960s, and
there was a need for another intermediate school. The first site
proposed was the large field next to
Memorial
School. Later, it was decided the school would be built in the
Birchwood area, where Churchill Junior High School currently sits.
The total cost for building the new intermediate school was $1
million.
Although
the cornerstone states 1962, the Churchill School officially opened in
September 1963. It was named after former English Prime Minister
Winston S. Churchill. The new school was officially dedicated on
January 11, 1964, with Clark Donlin serving as Churchill's first
principal. Her Britannic Majesty's Consul in New York, L.J. Evans, was
on hand for the ceremony in place of Winston Churchill, who was 89
years old at the time. When the
school first opened, it contained 23 classrooms and housed students in
grades 5 through 8. Churchill officially became a junior high in 1967
when it changed to a grade 7 through 9 school. At the same time, Hammarskjold also became a junior high with students in grades 7
through 9. As one might imagine, this situation fostered a fierce but
friendly sports rivalry. It was always an event when the Churchill
Cubs and the Hammarskjold Vikings met on the basketball court,
wrestling mat, or football or soccer field.
As East
Brunswick continued to grow, so did the need to add classroom space.
The first expansion of Churchill was completed for the 1968-69 school
year. The new wing, which is now the 600s hall and the classrooms at
the end of the 900s, included a new music room, a woodshop, other
classrooms, and a new library (currently rooms 915, 916, and 917
combined). The original school library was located in what is now
room 801.
The next
big change at
Churchill Junior High School
occurred in the year 1986 when Churchill became the district's only
junior high school, housing students in grades 8 and 9. Hammarskjold
became East Brunswick's middle school, serving 6th and 7th
grade students. To accommodate the extra students that came over from
the former Hammarskjold Junior High School, the district incorporated
the former Roselle Smith Elementary School, which had served the
district as an elementary institution from 1965 through the fall of
1986, into the Churchill campus. The original Churchill building and
the former Smith School were two separate buildings connected by a
sidewalk that was commonly called "The Path." That sidewalk roughly
ran along the same route as the service drive that now runs along the
back of the Gymnasium and Cafetorium.
Despite a
leveling off in population in
East Brunswick in the early 21st century, the number of students
attending its schools continued to grow. Forced to expand again, the
decision was made to connect the former
Smith
School with the original Churchill facility to form one building. To
accomplish the task, the district built a new, long wing known as the
"Core" that now includes music and drama facilities, the gymnasium,
cafetorium, locker rooms, sub-gymnasium, and Nurses’ Office. Also
included in the renovation were new Administrative and Guidance
offices, and a new, spacious Media Center which is located on the
second floor. Opened in 2003 under the leadership of Principal Mark
Sutor, the Core brought the old Churchill and Smith schools together
to make a unified Churchill Junior High School.
back to top
|