Castro Valley High School
| Castro Valley High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
|
Castro Valley, California U.S. | |
| Coordinates | 37°42′13.22″N 122°4′41.79″W / 37.7036722°N 122.0782750°WCoordinates: 37°42′13.22″N 122°4′41.79″W / 37.7036722°N 122.0782750°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1956 |
| School district | Castro Valley Unified School District |
| Principal | Blaine Torpey [1] |
| Number of students | 2,975 (2012–2013)[1] |
| School color(s) | Green and Gold |
| Mascot | Trojans |
| Newspaper | The Olympian |
| Yearbook | Palladium |
| Website |
cv |
Castro Valley High School is a comprehensive public high school for grades 9 to 12 and is located in the unincorporated suburban community of Castro Valley, California, U.S. Named a National Exemplary School in 1984–85 and 1988–89, it was a California Distinguished School in 1987–88 and 2000-01. It is part of the Castro Valley Unified School District.[2] Castro Valley High School has been named a 2009 California Distinguished School.[3]
Academics
As a comprehensive high school, Castro Valley High School provides a wide variety of course offerings, including Advanced, Honors, and Advanced Placement courses. These courses are: Advanced Algebra 2, Advanced Sophomore English, AP Calculus AB and BC, Honors American Literature, AP Statistics, AP English Literature, AP Computer Science, AP United States History, AP Economics, AP Biology, AP European History, Honors Chemistry, AP Studio Art, AP Chemistry, AP Art History, Honors Physics, Honors Chamber Orchestra, AP Environmental Science, Honors American Sign Language, AP Spanish, AP French, AP German, AP Japanese.
Castro Valley High is the only high school in the United States to offer Honors American Sign Language.
In 2008, CVHS opened a new, state-of-the-art library that includes computer labs, teaching spaces, study areas, periodicals and an updated book collection.
Students receive a variety of awards for their achievements including: Academic Blocks, Renaissance Program, California Scholarship Federation and Departmental Awards from individual faculty members. At graduation students are ranked for Honors (3.5 – 3.74), High Honors (3.75 – 3.99) and Highest Honors (4.0 and above).
During the 2013–14 school year 313 students took the SAT with a mean Critical Reading score of 533, a mean Math score of 568 and a mean Writing score of 529. In addition, during the 2013–14 school year, the ACT was taken by 166 students with a mean score of 25.3 on the composite.[4]
Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Castro Valley High School offers an extensive array of visual art courses that allow students to explore interests, improve skills and learn about career options in arts-related fields. Current course offerings feature a variety of hands-on art experiences and include traditional and digital art options.
During the 2005–2006 school year, the Center for the Arts, a state-of-the-art facility that includes a theater, classrooms and an art gallery, was built on the eastern edge of the campus. The theater hosts productions from CVHS drama classes that showcase professional and amateur performances of music and theater.
CVHS also has a music department, offering vocal classes, orchestra, band and jazz band courses. The CVHS choirs are directed by Laryssa Sadoway. The A Cappella choirs and the Madrigals have placed in the Golden State Choral Festival (Northern California). In 2013, the A Cappella choir won 4th place. In 2014, the Madrigals won 4th place. In 2015, both A Cappella and Madrigals placed, with 5th and 3rd respectively.
The bands and orchestras are under the direction of Steven Hendee.
The Olympian
| Castro Valley High School | |
|---|---|
| We are born to seek the truth | |
 | |
| Type | Monthly Newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters |
19400 Santa Maria Avenue Castro Valley, CA 94546 |
| Website |
cvhsolympian |
| Free online archives |
cvhsolympian |
The Olympian is the student-run newspaper of Castro Valley High School in Castro Valley, California, established in 1958.
The newspaper is distributed through mail to subscribers or through newsstands located around various halls on campus.
The Olympian publishes a total of 12 issues each school year including two special colored issues. Each year also features a "Homecoming Issue," an "April Fools Issue," and the "Senior Issue." All issues feature news pages, opinion pages, feature pages, a sports page, and an A&E pager. The journalism class writes, edits, and proofs each issue along with its online articles by themselves with assistance from adviser, Matt Johanson.
History
This school was first established in 1956 as the Spartans. Therefore, the very first issue of the paper created in 1958 was named The Spartan Scroll. Suggestions for a permanent name were requested from the student body, and The Achean was chosen as the official name for the paper. Achean is latin for Greece, and it refers to the people of Greece, similar to how the paper represents the students at Castro Valley High School.
After the mascot of CVHS changed, the title of the newspaper changed along with it. Around the late 1970s, the paper adapted the name of The Olympian.
In the 1950s, the paper was produced as an extracurricular called the Press club. Eventually, the duty was shifted to students enrolled in the journalism class, and in recent years, the class became offered as a zero period that starts at 7:05 am.
Awards
| School Year | Awarded to | Association |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2016 | "A shadow will no longer be the place I hide" | Journalism Education Association of Northern California |
| "Let's do the bro shake with everyone" | Journalism Education Association of Northern California | |
| "Anatomy test stolen, students suspended" | Journalism Education Association of Northern California | |
| "Attack reported on social media" | Journalism Education Association of Northern California | |
| "Trojan's turf raises health concerns for athletes" | Journalism Education Association of Northern California | |
| "Sports suffers, cuts coming" | Journalism Education Association of Northern California, California Newspaper Publishers Association | |
| Photo: Soccer Game | Journalism Education Association of Northern California | |
| Photo: School Blackout | Journalism Education Association of Northern California | |
| "What's cool in our school?" | California Teachers Association Journalism Contest | |
| Editorial Cartoon: UC tuition hikes | Quill and Scroll Writing and Photo Contest | |
| "Dying with dignity is your choice" | California Newspaper Publishers Association | |
| General Newspaper Excellence | California Newspaper Publishers Association |
Demographics
Student enrollment in the 2014–2015 school year was approximately 2,980 students. Ethnic Makeup:
- 52% Caucasian
- 23% Asian
- 14% Hispanic/Latino
- 2% African American
- 0.6% Unknown/Undeclared
- 7% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
- 1.4% American Indian or Alaska Native[4]
Notable alumni
- Christopher Andersen, journalist, former editor of Time and People magazines, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author. Class of 1967.
- Jeff Beal, Emmy award winning composer
- Nero Bellum, vocalist and composer for Psyclon Nine
- Amy Berg (writer), American TV writer and producer
- Mike Bordin, drummer for Faith No More
- Brodie Brazil, Emmy award winning reporter for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Comcast SportsNet California and San Jose Sharks sideline reporter
- Cliff Burton, former bassist for Metallica
- Tracy W. Bush, composer and sound designer for World of Warcraft, StarCraft, WarCraft III, and Tabula Rasa
- Jason Castro, Selected 10th overall in the 2008 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros
- Randall William Cook, 3-time Best Visual Effects Oscar winner: Lord of the Rings Trilogy, 2001-2003. Class of 1969.
- Val Diamond, stage performer. Starred in Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco, 1979-2009. Class of 1969.
- Randy Dutra, Senior Animator Jurassic Park, Dinosaur Motion Supervisor The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Animation Supervisor War of the Worlds (2005 film)
- Ryan Fleck, movie director and screenwriter. Films include Half Nelson, Sugar, It's Kind of a Funny Story and Mississippi Grind. Class of 1994.
- Michael Freney, graduated 2006, a new author to the book Chain of Memories
- Karin Kascher, Miss California, 1970. Class of 1970.
- Holly Kernan, Journalist, KQED Executive Editor of News
- Luenell, actress in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
- Bob LaPoint, professional water skier, 5 world slalom titles. Class of 1973.
- Kris LaPoint, professional water skier, 9-time National Slalom Champion. Class of 1971.
- Rachel Maddow, American political commentator and host of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show
- Jim Martin, former guitarist for Faith No More
- Richard Pontzious, co-founder with Yehudi Menuhin of the Asian Youth Orchestra, of which he continues to serve as artistic director and conductor.
- Jonas Rivera, producer of Pixar's 2009 movie, Up (2009 film)
- Rick Rodriguez, Former professional baseball player (Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants)
- Brad Wellman, MLB player 1982–1989, Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants
- Bob Thackston, Military videographer attached to President George W. Bush 2002–2003
- Mark Mastrov (class of c. 1980), founder of 24 Hour Fitness, partial owner of the Sacramento Kings
Sister Schools
専修大学北上高等学校 Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, Japan 
, Castro Valley High's Japanese Language program has partnered with 専修大学北上高等学校 to be sister schools and also send students from Castro Valley High to Japan for cultrual exchange programs allowing students to be with a host family and explore Japan.
References
- 1 2 http://www.cv.k12.ca.us/schools/castro-valley-high-school
- ↑ Moskal, Mary Kay; Keneman, Ayn F. (2011-10-14). Literacy Leadership to Support Reading Improvement. Guilford Press. pp. 92–. ISBN 978-1-60918-490-2. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ↑ Noceda, Kristofer (2009-04-02). "Castro Valley High in distinguished company". The Daily Review. Bay Area News Group. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
- 1 2 http://www.castrovalleyhigh.org/pdf/CVHS_School_Profile.pdf