Merrimack High School


Merrimack High School is the public secondary school of the town of Merrimack, New Hampshire. It is located in a central area of town on 38 McElwain Street. About 1,200 students from grades 9 through 12 are enrolled in the school. It is a part of the Merrimack School District.
The school is headed by Stephen Claire, the current principal. Former principal Kenneth W. Johnson adopted the motto "Believe, go forward, and inspire" for the school.

History

Merrimack High School was established to serve as the primary public secondary school for the growing town of Merrimack, consolidating high school–level education under the Merrimack School District as suburban development increased in southern New Hampshire.
In the 1995-1996 school year, the district enacted a policy against talking about LGBT issues, called "Prohibition of Alternative Lifestyle Instruction." The policy affected how teachers at Merrimack High taught about literary figures; as of May 1996 the school district had not placed measures against teachers related to this policy. The school board ended the policy effective the 1996-1997 school year.
Following the repeal of the policy, the district revised its instructional governance framework to align with evolving state guidance on inclusive education, curriculum neutrality, and student rights.

Academics

results from the 11th grade class at MHS showed that 64% of the students were proficient in reading, 33% were proficient in writing, and 27% were proficient in math, giving it a "GreatSchools" rating of 4 out of 10. In 2018, 271 students participated in the SAT exams and averaged scores of 530 on the reading/writing portion and 520 on the math portion. Furthermore, about 85% of graduates attended a college, 10% went straight to employment, and about 4% joined the armed forces, leaving 1% undecided of the 286 graduates.
The school’s academic program aligns with New Hampshire statewide graduation requirements, incorporating core coursework, elective offerings, and college- and career-readiness benchmarks.

Extracurricular activities

Merrimack High School offers a variety of clubs and activities for the students to participate in.
Extracurricular programs at Merrimack High School are designed to support student engagement, leadership development, and social participation beyond the classroom.

Athletics

The athletics teams from Merrimack High School are called the "Tomahawks", which are sometimes nicknamed the "Hawks". The school colors are royal blue and white. The school has teams for basketball, baseball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and wrestling.
Merrimack High School competes in interscholastic athletics governed by the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Non-competitive athletic extracurricular activities include archery, hiking/outdoors, and ski/snowboard club.

Artistic activities

Artistic extracurricular activities include marching/concert band, jazz band, chorus, dance, photography, videography, ceramics/sculpture, drawing/painting, broadcast, and theater. The MHS videography department is notable for its yearly student-run spoof productions, such as "Matrix High School" and "Star Sports".

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activities

STEM activities include FIRST Robotics Competition team, math team, Science Olympiad

Student engagement and academic extracurricular activities

Student engagement and academic extracurricular activities include Academy of Finance, environmental awareness, financial literacy, games, Gay-Straight alliance, heath club, Interact club, Merrimack Mentors, Model UN, newspaper, Quiz Bowl, and the National Art Honors Society chapter #2538.

Notable alumni