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Coordinates: 37°34′41″N 122°19′43″W / 37.57812°N 122.328633°W / 37.57812; -122.328633
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*[[Alicia Silverstone]], Actress, most notably in [[Clueless]]
*[[Alicia Silverstone]], Actress, most notably in [[Clueless]]
*[[Eric Dane]], 1991. Actor, notably in [[Grey's Anatomy]]
*[[Eric Dane]], 1991. Actor, notably in [[Grey's Anatomy]]

*[[Bill Neukom]], 1959. Managing General Partner of the San Francisco Giants.<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/18/SPBB10NUUE.DTL</ref>
*[[Bill Neukom]], 1959. Managing General Partner of the San Francisco Giants.<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/18/SPBB10NUUE.DTL</ref>


Revision as of 14:56, 20 December 2010

San Mateo High School
Address
Map
506 N. Delaware Street

San Mateo
,
California
94401

United States
Coordinates37°34′41″N 122°19′43″W / 37.57812°N 122.328633°W / 37.57812; -122.328633
Information
TypePublic Secondary
MottoPeace, Passion, Pride
Established1902
School districtSan Mateo Union High School District
PrincipalYvonne Shiu
Faculty71 [1] (2005–2006)
Number of students1,502 [2] (2005–2006)
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Orange, Black   
Athletics conferenceCIF Central Coast Section
MascotBearcat
AccreditationWASC
Information+1 (650) 558-2399
Websitewww.sanmateohigh.org

San Mateo High School (also called SMHS or San Mateo) is a National Blue Ribbon public high school in San Mateo, California serving grades 9–12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District.

The school's traditional arch-rival is Burlingame High School, and during the football season, the two rival schools hold an annual Little Big Game. In the 2009-2010 year, SMHS won the Paw, the prize for winning the Little Big Game.

History

Its first year, San Mateo High School was located in the Dixon Cottage on Ellsworth Avenue. The faculty was composed of A.G. Van Gorder, Principal, and two assistant teachers. School was opened on September 15, 1902, with an enrollment of 27.

The following year, the school outgrew the cottage and the school board purchased St. Margaret’s estate. Classes were conducted in this building from 1903 until 1911. Although the school building was considerably damaged in the earthquake of 1906, no class time was lost. The building was one of the first to be repaired after the earthquake and by 1907 there were 90 students enrolled. In 1906, all departments were accredited by the University of California at Berkeley and since then, San Mateo High School has been recognized as a leading institution of learning in this community. In 1991, the school was named a National Distinguished Blue Ribbon school by the United States Department of Education. In 2005, it was recognized with a Gold Standard Award[3] for Academic Excellence by California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE) in conjunction with the California State University system. The award recognizes ten high schools which have shown measurable gains and strong academic performance by getting students ready for college and the workforce while showing evidence of reducing achievement gaps between various subgroups of students over time.

The school moved to Baldwin Avenue in 1911, and remained there until 1927, when the present day San Mateo High School was built at Delaware and Poplar. The new facility followed the architectural model of Henry VIII’s Hampton Court in England. The school was structurally reinforced for earthquake safety in 1934-35 and entirely rebuilt for earthquake safety again in 2005.

The school earned a Guinness World Record in 2005 for collecting 372,000 pounds (168,736 kg) of food from the local community for its canned food drive. The collected food was provided to America's Second Harvest and Samaritan House.[4]

Campus

San Mateo High School

The school moved twice in 1903 and to Baldwin Avenue in 1911 before moving to its present location in 1927. The original brick-dominated complex was sometimes referred to as "the high school that looks like a university."[who?][citation needed]

Efforts to improve the school’s educational facilities, while preserving its unique heritage, are ongoing. The school’s excellent Visual and Performing Arts Department shares its beautiful Performing Arts Center with county-wide performing arts groups. The Performing Arts Center, which seats 1600, is the premier performing arts facility in the county. The smaller Flex Theatre was built with District and Drama booster funds in 1993.

In 2001, the school undertook to demolish and entirely replace the original building in an effort to meet modern earthquake safety requirements.[5] Dedicated in August 2005, the new building strongly echoes the design and materials of the original in part due to strong public outcry about the decision to demolish the structure. The building was designed by BCA Architects of San Jose, California. On February 10, 2006 the campus Quad was dedicated to alumnus Merv Griffin, who donated US$250,000 to the school (US$125,000 of which was intended for the performing arts department).[6]

The library has always been one of the most magnificent and unique in the area, with its ornate fireplace and high ceiling. During the 2005 rebuilding process, the original library was recreated; maintaining it’s signature fireplace and mantel and high ceilings. It affords a panoramic view of the center courtyard of the school.

The newly built Merv Griffin Quad sits squarely in the center of the campus and student life at San Mateo High. It includes an amphitheatre built in the Greek style and the Thomas Mohr clock tower, named after a longtime district superintendent and reminiscent of the tower and chimes that were removed from the building during the 1934-35 structural reinforcements. This beautiful and welcoming courtyard is a popular gathering place for students during lunchtime and rallies.

Other improvements to the school have occurred since the 2002 Centennial including transformation of the main athletic stadium with all-weather surfaces for football and soccer and an 8-lane all-weather track; remodeling of the swimming pool in 2003-05; an expanded weight room; and the building of a joint-use Community Gym housing the wrestling and dance rooms and a full-court basketball area.

Grades

The academic calendar is two semesters, of 18 weeks each. Classes (excluding 0th and 8th period) meet three times a week, twice for 100 minute periods and for 44 minutes periods on Fridays. Each course has a value of five credits per semester. Grading is on a 4.0 point scale. Grade point average and class rank (unweighted) are computed in January of the senior year. All courses taken in 9th, 10th, and 11th and first semester of the 12th grade, including PE are used. The School Loop system is actively used by a majority of the faculty for students and parents.

In 2009, 266 students took AP exams with 79% pass rate (3 or higher).

Demographics

2007-2008
  • 1,502 students:
White Hispanic Asian Pacific Islander African-American Filipino no response American Indian
32.2% 32.9% 29.6% 5.9% 4.3% 3.9% 1.3% 0.0%
  • 79 certified staff:
White Asian African-American Hispanic Filipino no response American Indian Pacific Islander
75.9% 8.9% 6.3% 6.3% 1.3% 1.3% 0% 0%

Extracurricular activities

Journalism Program

The San Mateo Hi is San Mateo High School's school print publication. It is one of the longest running student journalism programs on the west coast and prints 16 broadsheet pages once every three weeks. In its 2008–2009 run, the paper won numerous accolades at the Peninsula Press Club High School Newspaper Competition. The 2010 publication's editors-in-chief are Austin Chua and Morgan Babbs.

In addition to the HI, Mateo Journalism also maintains an award-winning website, called the Bearcat and can be found at www.thebearcat.net [1]

Biotechnology Program

San Mateo High School has a recognized biotechnology program. [2] The recently built $9.2 million biotechnology wing features 9,000 square feet of instructional space on the ground floor; an 18-station laboratory; a bio-manufacturing room and independent research laboratory; a plant tissue culture facility; a chemical stockroom and storage area; a bio-imaging room; computer research area and a student conference area. The second floor boasts a 4,000-square-foot conference room and distance learning facility to host guest speakers and facilitate video conferencing. Upstairs also has a spot for a greenhouse, long-term storage and staff offices.[3] Biotechnology teachers include Ellyn Daugherty, Jimmy Ikeda, Ashley Heckly, and Leslie Allen Conaghan.

Music

San Mateo High School has a marching band, jazz band, choir, concert band, and intermediate band. The website can be accessed at www.bearcatmusic.org[4] The music department usually hosts marching band parades, jazz in the PAC, Carnegie in the library, a Little Big Game Field show, annual spring and winter instrumental concerts, winter guard and drumline competitions, various choir concerts, and other events. In 2009, the Little Big Game field show featured a march to "Thriller."

During the 2007–2008 year, the Marching Band placed 1st at 4 of 5 competitions. Marches:

  • 1939: Gone with the Wind
  • 2006: El Capitan
  • 2007: Arromanches
  • 2008: Per Aspera Ad Astra
  • 2009: Farewell to a Slavic Woman.

San Mateo High has an award winning choir who, in the spring of 2010, at the Heritage Festival, won first gold. They competed against many schools from California and schools from out of state. They have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York in the spring of 2011.

Theater

San Mateo's theater program puts on three shows every year — two musicals and one play. These shows are performed in the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, or PAC. The school's performance of Rent has won itself recognition from NPR.

Recently, these shows have included:

The 2009–2010 season includes Leader of the Pack, 42nd Street, and Neil Simon play Brighton Beach Memoirs.

SMHS Dance Team

San Mateo high is also known for their hip-hop jerking dance team, focusing on choreography-based tactics. They enter annual competitions and perform in show cases, using original, self- made up choreography. The team performs in many occasions such as school assemblies, halftime shows, and lunch rallies. The SMHS dance team is composed of hip hop dancers, two dance captains and a dance adviser.

Quiz Kids

The San Mateo Quiz Kids team has qualified for the NAQT championships in Chicago for 3 years running, and in 2008 won the bay area Quizbowl contest, and won a trip to London as an award.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ^ http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/NumTchsch.asp?cSelect=SAN%5EMATEO%5EHIGH--SAN%5EMATEO%5EUNION--4169047-4136370&cChoice=SchTeach&Radio2=T&cYear=2005-06&cLevel=School&cTopic=Paif&myTimeFrame=S&submit1=Submit
  2. ^ http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/SchEnr.asp?TheName=san+mateo&cSelect=SAN%5EMATEO%5EHIGH--SAN%5EMATEO%5EUNION--4169047-4136370&cChoice=SchEnrEth&cYear=2005-06&cLevel=School&cTopic=Enrollment&myTimeFrame=S&submit1=Submit
  3. ^ Gold Standard Award
  4. ^ San Mateo County Times
  5. ^ San Mateo High School
  6. ^ CBS News
  7. ^ Walter Afanasieff
  8. ^ Walter Afanasieff at IMDb
  9. ^ Lee Mendelson at IMDb
  10. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/18/SPBB10NUUE.DTL
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