Rancho Alamitos High School
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Rancho Alamitos High School is located in Garden Grove, California. It is a member of the Garden Grove Unified School District.
This high school first opened in the spring of 1957 with no senior class. The first graduating class was in 1958.
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[edit] History of the school
Rancho Alamitos High School opened its doors in 1957. Its name means ranch of the little cottonwoods and is an acknowledgement of the Hispanic heritage of this area. The forty acres of the Rancho Alamitos High School campus was part of the original Rancho Los Nietos (grandchildren), circa 1784. Later, the land was divided among many family members into smaller Ranchos. In the 1950s, the Garden Grove Union High School District purchased the land from the Evans family. Construction of Rancho Alamitos High School began in 1956 and was nearly complete by 1957. There were two homes on the property facing Dale Street that were used as classrooms until construction was completed in 1959.
Rancho Alamitos first opened for grades nine through eleven on the Garden Grove High School campus during the fall of 1956. In the spring of 1957, the Rancho Alamitos campus officially opened under the direction of the first principal, Mr. Don Kennedy. The first senior class graduated in the spring of 1958 under the principalship of Mr. Richard Bivin. In 1960, Mr. Sam Chicas was principal and was succeeded by Mr. Vic McClain (1961). Rancho’s next principal was Mr. William Zogg (1964), followed by Mr. Tracy Strong (1966), Mr. Ron Forsyth (1976), Mr. Jim DeLong (1982), Mr. Bob Mesa (1985), Mr. Tom Robins (1991), Mr. Gene Campbell (2000), Mr. Frank Mackay (2006), and Ms Mary Jane Hibbard in 2009.
[edit] Academics
- U.S News "The Best Schools in United States": Silver Medal.[1]
[edit] Sports
The school colors are green and gold. The school's athletic teams are known as the Vaqueros, a Spanish type of cowboy figure, though Rancho students tend to shorten its name to "Vaqs". Until the mid-1970s the school mascot had been "Poco" (pronounced pō'kō / poh-koh), a cartoon character of a short male dressed in a large poncho with a serape, a Mexican–Indian throw blanket or rug over one shoulder and a large sombrero on his head, covering the eyes.
The athletic teams are part of California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section, participating in the six-team Garden Grove League, mostly against other schools in the Garden Grove Unified School District.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Richard Andrew Anderson, from the class of 1978, NBA Basketball player.
- Patrick Burris, from the class of 1968 was a Judo Olympian in 1972 and 1976.
- Gary Hall, Sr., from class of 1969 – 3-time Olympian (swimming), 1968, 1972 and 1976.
- Alexa Hamilton, from class of 1976, actress.[citation needed]
- Gary Hill, from class of 1961 – played for the Minnesota Vikings in 1965.
- Gerald Laird, MLB catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, attended his freshman year, graduated from La Quinta High School.[2]
- Steve Martin, comedian, writer, actor, musician and composer, attended Rancho Alamitos his freshman and sophomore years, graduated from Garden Grove High School in 1963.
- Ray Martinez, from class of 1973 "DJ RayMar" American Disc Jockey Hall of Fame Inductee, and Author.
- Craig Paquette, from the class of 1987, Third Baseman in MLB from 1993–2003.
- Curt Pringle, from the class of 1977 was Speaker of the California State Assembly and currently the mayor in Anaheim, California.
- Jim Silva, from class of 1962 - current State Assemblyman, former Member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, former Mayor of Huntington Beach
- Nicole Brown Simpson, wife of football star O. J. Simpson, graduated from Dana Hills High School in 1976.
- Paul Soliai NFL Defensive Tackle For the Miami Dolphins and Pro Bowler attended Rancho Alamitos from his freshman to his junior year before moving to American Samoa
- Randy Vataha, from class of 1967 – Wide Receiver, NFL.
[edit] References
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "The Class of '98 : Catcher Gerald Laird Has the Tools for Success - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 1997-09-23. http://articles.latimes.com/1997/sep/23/news/ss-35314. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
[edit] External links
