Robotics Team 2554, The Warhawks, is a
FIRST Robotics Competition team that started in the 2007–2008 school year at John P. Stevens High School. The team consists of two major sub-teams: Operations and Build; the Operations sub-team is responsible for bringing in the money to maintain tools and buy parts for the robot, which is done through sponsorships from other companies and local fundraising events, along with automating tasks to expedite organization of the Build sub-team while managing the social media presence of Team 2554. The build team is responsible for building the competition robot. As a part of FRC, the team competes in 2 district events in the First Mid-Atlantic Region, competing against other teams in the region. The team also participates in off-season competition events, such as Brunswick Eruption, after the official season is over. In addition to robotics competitions, Team 2554 performs community outreach events that encourage young kids to pursue a career in STEM, by teaching the basics of robotics and programming in the form of live demonstrations. During the Summer of 2021, they had over 2,100+ signups from children from all across the globe. During the
FIRST Robotics Competition during 2020-2021, The Warhawks were finalists for the Global Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Star Wars: Force For Change. Team 2554 was also rewarded the 2021 Altice Innovator Awards Winners and appeared on
Cheddar News to discuss their submission for the Global Innovation Challenge.
Athletics The J.P. Stevens High School Hawks compete in the Red Division of the
Greater Middlesex Conference, which operates under the supervision of the
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,849 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range. The football team competes in Division 5D of the
Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in
Hunterdon, Middlesex,
Somerset,
Union and
Warren counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,317 to 5,409 students. The school competes against nearby rivals such as
East Brunswick High School,
Edison High School and
Woodbridge High School. The school participates together with
Metuchen High School in a joint ice hockey team in which
Edison High School is the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. Interscholastic sports offered include: The 1977 team finished the season with a 10-0-1 record and won its first playoff-era title with a 35–0 victory against
Middletown High School North in the Central Jersey Group IV championship game. The 1978 team won the Central Jersey Group IV title with a 14–7 win against
Watchung Hills Regional High School. In 2001, the team finished the season with a 12–0 record after winning the Central Jersey Group IV title with a 14–7 win against
Old Bridge High School in the championship game on a touchdown scored with just over a minute left in the game; the 2001 team earned consideration from the
Courier News as one of "the best in GMC history". Janet Smith won the girls' 5,000 meter race at the 1983
Kinney National High School Cross-Country Championships held in
Balboa Park, San Diego, California, with a time of 16 minutes 43.7 seconds. With victories as Group IV individual cross country champion from 1980 to 1983, Smith became the first girl to win an individual state championship in four consecutive years. The softball team finished the 2000 season with a 24–6 record after winning the Group IV state championship, defeating runner-up
Clifton High School by a score of 4–0 in the tournament finals. The boys' wrestling team won the North II Group IV state sectional championship in 2004.
Model United Nations The Model United Nations club, JPSMUN, has performed well for years, and has consistently ranked among the top 10 high schools in America. It has earned the special distinction as being the only public high school on the list. The team has received Outstanding Large Delegation and Best Small Delegation awards, as well as a few prestigious Best Large Delegation awards. These include that of HMUN 2012 and RUMUN 2016. Recently, the team has also won Outstanding Large Delegations awards at WAMUNC & VAMUN 2017, and also ILMUNC 2018. In January 2022, the team won the Best Large Delegation award at ILMUNC for the first time in its history. In February 2022, the team won the Outstanding Large Delegation award at NAIMUN. The team hosts three in-house conferences for the purposes of competition and training each year. The team is well recognized and decorated across the circuit. Several members of the team earned national records for consecutive Best Delegate awards.
Quiz Bowl The Quiz Bowl team, STARS (now JPS Quiz Bowl) has been successful. The team has made Top 16 of 68 in the Bridgewater-Raritan Invitational Tournament of Excellence (BRITE) three times in a row and once was a quarter-finalist. In 2009, for the first time, the
STARS were named Champions in BRITE and placed 30th out of 119 at
Questions Unlimited's National Academic Championship. It has qualified for nationals thrice. It competes in Tri-State area events and has branched out to other competitions, namely History Bowl, in which it placed 51st in 2018, and 24th in 2019. In 2021, JPS Quiz Bowl tied for 31st place at
HSNCT nationals, with the B team having tied for 49th place and the History Bowl team having placed 21st. The Quizbowl team has additionally placed highly at regional tournaments, including first place at Princeton University's PHSAT XXVIII. In the 2022–23 season, the JP Stevens Quiz Bowl team was ranked 8th in the country.
Music Choir The J.P. Stevens Choir has won numerous awards, including Best Overall Choir at National and State competitions. In 2017, JPS Chamber Choir and A cappella Ensemble both participated in the Interkultur Sing 'N'Joy Princeton International Choir Competition. A cappella Ensemble was named Category Winner for the Sacred Music Category and Chamber Choir was named Category Winner in the Mixed Choir level 1 Category. A capella Ensemble also performed at Carnegie Hall in the Stern Auditorium. Chamber Choir was also the Grand Prize Winner, with an endowed prize of US$2000. Moreover, the Chamber Choir received the Special Prize of an autographed copy of the first four measures of
Morten Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium," presented by the composer. Many students from the choir are accepted into the Regions II Choir, the NJ All-State Choir, All-Eastern High School Honor Choir, and Governor's School of the Arts: • Concert Choir • A Cappella Ensemble • Tenor-Bass Choir • Treble Choir • Chamber Ensemble
Band The J.P. Stevens High School
band program has approximately 200 students participating in several ensembles, including a marching band, jazz ensemble, and wind ensemble. The program enjoys the majority of its success with its wind bands and jazz ensembles. Its wind ensemble is a perennial participant at the New Jersey Concert Band Gala and Mid-Atlantic Honors Wind Band Festival, and has performed as a featured band at Music for All's National Concert Band Festival twice, in 2015 and 2023. In addition, its jazz ensemble has won eleven state championships, including a three-peat from 2009 to 2011 and a four-peat from 2016 to 2019. In 2024, former band director Andrew DeNicola was inducted posthumously into the New Jersey Hall of Fame as the first ever Educator of the Year.
Orchestra The John P. Stevens orchestra program has over one hundred members. Each year, a number of students audition and are selected to participate in both CJMEA Regions II and All-State Orchestra. The orchestras compete each year in various orchestra festivals. The J.P. Stevens High School Orchestra Program consists of three orchestras, including a number of string quartets. Chamber Orchestra includes up to 35 students who are selected by audition and perform standard orchestral literature. Concert Orchestra has more than 60 students and Symphonic Orchestra over 80 students. Students who play in the string quartet are selected by audition and perform for weddings and other fundraisers around the community.
Greenhouse The John P. Stevens Greenhouse was founded in September 2014 by the school's environmental science teacher. The greenhouse is used to a variety of organic foods each season and is entirely run by students, and their two advisors. All produce grown is sold at the farm stand in front of the school during select hours of the day or is donated to local food banks. The greenhouse is primarily funded by student fundraisers and grants, such as the $100,000 grant they received from The Dream Big Challenge in 2017, sponsored by Farmer's Insurance. ==Administration==