Chula Vista High School

Chula Vista High School
Location
Chula Vista High School 820 Fourth Avenue Chula Vista, California
Information
Type	Public
Established	1947
Principal	Steven Lizarraga
Enrollment	2,000+
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Blue & White

Chula Vista High School (CVHS) in Chula Vista, California, was founded in 1947. It is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District. The school colors are "spartan" blue and white, and the mascot is Sammy Spartan. CVHS underwent a renovation to several classrooms and received a new ASB building in 2006-2007 as part of Proposition BB. And as of recently (under Proposition O) the school received a new state-of-the-art multi purpose performing arts center (now named Jack Tygett Performing Arts Center) and library. Turner Construction started work on these buildings started in the summer of 2009, and was completed and occupied by students and staff in January 2011. In addition, the schools locker rooms, weight room, and gymnasium were gutted and renovated.

The Sweetwater Union High School District's School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) is part of Chula Vista High School. The SCPA offers high school "majors" in Ballet Folklorico, Band, Dance, Guitar, Mariachi, Orchestra, Piano, Stage Tech, Vocal Music, and Visual Arts.

The Vocal Music Association

The VMA "Vocal Music Association" is directed by Tony Atienza and Barbara Schroeder. The Main Attraction and New Renaissance is the Advanced Mixed Choir and Silhouettes is the Advanced All Girls Choir. The Spartan Concert Choir and Spartan Gospel Choir is directed by Lucas Dominguez. The VMA was united in 2010. In 2011, the VMA traveled to Seattle where Vocal Synergy took home first place and Best Overall Choral Group. The VMA will be going to New York City in 2012.

Under the direction of Tony Atienza, his show choir was crowned GRAND CHAMPIONS at The 2008 FAME National Show Choir Competition in Hawaii. In their history, they took FIRST PLACES at the 1997 Toronto, Canada, 1998 New York and 2002 Hawaii Show-Choir Festival Competitions. At the Fullerton College Jazz Festival, they placed FIRST three times of 200 show-choirs from all over California and Nevada! In 2002, they were ranked 5th in the nation at the Showstoppers national competition in New York and ranked 1st in the state of California by taking home 4 FIRST PLACES in a row! In 2006, they again placed 5th in the nation at the FAME New York national show choir competition. In 2009, they won Best Choreography and First Runner Up at the FAME National Show Choir competition in Los Angeles.

Tours have included traveling to:San Francisco, Hawaii, Seattle, Toronto and Niagara Falls, Canada, New York, Orlando, Florida, Bahamas, London, England, Paris, France and all over Southern California. They have performed in 3 out of the 5 Disney properties in the world!

They host The Southern California Show Choir Invitational every April in San Diego. This competition has become one of the premiere Show-Choir competitions in the nation! It was recognized as one of the top three competitions in the United States by FAME for their 2011 Aspire Awards. Past special celebrity guest judges include Lance Bass (*N SYNC) and Dot Marie Jones (GLEE)

Mariachi Chula Vista

Mariachi Chula Vista was formed at Chula Vista High School in September 2001. Since then, the group of young musicians has performed at more than 900 events and has earned a reputation as one of the best student mariachis in the country. The group has appeared at festivals in Albuquerque, Tucson, Las Cruces, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Phoenix, San Jose, and Guadalajara sharing the stage with the world’s most famous mariachis: Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Mariachi Sol de México de José Hernández, Mariachi de América de Jesús Rodríguez de Hijar, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, Mariachi Divas, and Mariachi Internacional Guadalajara. Mariachi Chula Vista has won numerous awards and competitions, including Overall First Place at the Albuquerque Mariachi Spectacular (2006 and 2009) after defeating groups in all divisions. Mariachi Chula Vista was the subject of an extended front-page article in the New York Times, was the first student mariachi invited to perform at a national music teachers’ conference (MENC 2006, Salt Lake City), and at Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC (July 2009). Mariachi Chula Vista is directed by Mark Fogelquist, whose career as a mariachi scholar, performer, director, and educator spans four decades.

Construction Upgrades

Chula Vista High School was in dire need for a major upgrade for many years, and within the last decade under Propositions BB and Prop O, the school has steadily been improving. Classrooms were renovated in 2006, and construction on the new buildings on campus began in 2009. The Jack Tygett Performing Arts Center is one of the largest environmentally friendly performing arts venues in the South Bay, and is seeking LEED Platinum certification. This center seats over 700 guests, and has movable seating, enabling this venue to be used in a variety of events. 4 classrooms are also attached to the Tygett Center - Band, Orchestra/Mariachi, Dance, and Choir rooms - all sound dampened along with their own private offices for teachers, and ample storage for students. There are also dressing rooms, and 3 lobbies in the front of the building with a vast amount of glass to minimize artificial lighting and let natural light come through. A Spartan statue donated by a previous graduating class, was also relocated from another part on campus to stand in front of this new center to be more visible, and serve as a focal point in front of the building. Phase 1 also included work on renovating the school's gymnasium and locker rooms by installing new flooring, upgrading electrical and heating systems, new windows, cabinets, new movable bleachers in the gym, and a fresh coat of paint.

Turner Construction Company, one of the leading green builders in the U.S., served the General Contractor for Phase 1 from 2009-2011, and successfully completed the project with zero safety incidents. BCA Architects designed both the performing arts center, along with the new Library located by K Street. BCA utilized Eco-conscious materials in these buildings, which include low voltage lighting, low v.o.c. adhesives and finishes, energy efficient windows and conditioning systems, white rooftops, and soon to be added solar panels. The exterior landscape surrounding these buildings also has the environment in mind with pervious concrete strips to let rainfall migrate back into the ground naturally, and reduce runoff; as well as low water use plantings.

Subcontractors for this project included Structures West for concrete work; McMahon Steel; Pecoraro Painting; Brady Company for stucco, drywall, and doors; Resource Floors; New Era Tile; New Dimension Masonry; La Mesa Glass; California Comfort Systems; and Benchmark Landscape.

Construction on Phase 2 at Chula Vista High School was slated to begin sometime around 2012, although recent budget constraints among other issues have this in question.

Notable alumni

• Charisma Carpenter, actress, Chula Vista High School of the Creative and Performing Arts, 1988
• Billy Casper, professional golfer, 1950
• Tim Danielson, 2nd USA High School athlete to run a sub-4 minute mile
• Donnie Edwards, former San Diego Chargers linebacker currently with the Kansas City Chiefs, 1991
• Mario Lopez, actor, gameshow host, 1991
• J. Michael Straczynski, writer/producer, 1972.
• Ty Wigginton, professional baseball player, 1995
• James Daughton, actor, 1968

External links

• Official website
• Chula Vista Master School Index