Redwood High School (Larkspur, California)

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Redwood High School
Image:redwoodhs.jpg
Established 1958
Type Public school
Principal Nancy Neu
Faculty 140
Students 1508
Grades 9 - 12
Location 395 Doherty Drive
Larkspur, California USA
Colors Red & Grey
Mascot Giant
Newspaper Redwood Bark
Website www.redwood.org
For other "Redwood High Schools" , see Redwood High School (disambiguation).

Redwood High School is a public secondary school located in the city of Larkspur, Marin County, California, approximately 11 miles north of San Francisco. Redwood High is part of the Tamalpais Union High School District. The school serves the cities of Belvedere, Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Ross, and Tiburon.


Contents

[edit] History

Redwood High School was established in 1958; a modernization project was completed in 2005. Redwood has been designated as a California Distinguished School three times between 1986 and 2006 (years for which records are available online). These years, included 1990 to 1994, 1996 to 2000 and 2003 to 2007.

[edit] Campus

Enlarge

Redwood High School occupies 64 acres, with views of Mount Tamalpais in the distance. The main school building contains approximately 80 known classrooms, four computer labs, the Bessie Chin Library, and a theater. Other buildings on the campus contain industrial technology areas, art and photography rooms, the band rooms, and the cafeteria (known as the CEA--Covered Eating Area). The campus also contains a large gymnasium with two weight rooms, a swimming pool, a diving pool, tennis courts, a track, athletic fields, and an outdoor amphitheatre. Marin Community Fields, which are located adjacent to the high school, are available for student recreation.

The original Redwood High School campus was opened in 1958; additions to the main building were made over the next few years. Between 2002 and 2006, Redwood embarked on a major modernization process financed through a bond measure passed by district voters. Approximately forty million dollars were spent to remodel classrooms, refurbish the gymnasium and theater, and add new athletic fields. The modernization process included upgrades to the technology networking system in most classrooms. In the spring of 2006, Redwood art students created a 40-foot mural of the Marin County countryside. The mural was created on an exterior wall of the school district offices.

[edit] Daily Bell Schedule

There are seven class periods during the school day bell schedule, although students may take as few as six periods and as many as nine. (However, they may take as few as four or five if employed, or concurrently enrolled in a college class, usually at College of Marin.) All seven periods meet for 50 minutes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. On Wednesdays only the odd periods meet (for 90 minutes), and on Thursdays only the even periods meet (also for 90 minutes), followed by 40-minute office hours. Classes start each day at 8:00 a.m. (however, due to state required teaching time the official starting time is 7:59 a.m.), and school lets out at 3:11 p.m. (3:20 p.m. on Mondays and 1:36 p.m. on most Thursdays). 'Zero' Period starts at 7:04 on most days (assembly days start a minute later and friday minimum days do not have a zero period) and lasts until 7:54. There are a few classes, such as Leadership and Individual Excellence that meet during 0 period. Any night classes held after school hours are generally listed on transcripts as 8th period, but are not apart of the bell schedule.

[edit] Students

The following breakdown of students based on ethnicity is from 2004 enrollment data.

Student Ethnicity Number Percent
African American 29 2
Asian American 92 6.3
Hispanic 59.5 4
Native American 9 .6
Pacific Islander American 3 .2
White American, non-Hispanic 1,211 82.8
Multiple or no response 60 4.1

[edit] Faculty & Staff


[edit] Extracurricular Activities

Fall Sports

Football (2001 MCAL Champs), Cheer and Dance, Water Polo, Cross Country, Boys Soccer, Girls Tennis, Girls Golf, Girls Volleyball

Winter Sports

Wrestling, Basketball

Spring Sports

Baseball (2002, 2003 MCAL Champs), Softball (2006 MCAL Champs), Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Boys Golf, Girls Soccer, Boys Lacrosse, Boys Volleyball, Boys Tennis (2005 2006 MCAL Champions. 2005 2006 NCS Champions), Girls Lacrosse

Notable Club Sports

Rugby (Spring), Crew (Year-round), Mountain Biking (Spring)

Other Extracurriculars

Redwood High has a notable drama program. The student-run theatre company, EPiC, which stands for Ensemble Theatre Company (the i is in your imagination), holds year round productions. Entries from EPiC in theatre festivals like the Motherload Drama Festival contiuously get top marks.

The student-run newspaper, the Bark, has a long history of excellence, with student writers, photographers, and graphic designers earning honors at the national level each year. Active since the school's inception in 1958, the newspaper acts as a limited public forum for its student, teacher, parent, and community audience. Circulation of the free publication reaches 1,700 each month. The newspaper's website, containing current issues as well as historical archives, can be found at http://redwood.org/bark

[edit] Noteworthy Events

In the spring of 2002, unidentified members of the senior class dumped more than 300 pounds of golf balls into the diving pool. Since golf balls have a tendency to sink, the school was required to hire professional scuba divers to retrieve them. In a related report, the McInnis Park Golf Center reported more than 300 pounds of golf balls missing from the driving range.

In the spring of 2006, Redwood gained notoriety for a "dead chicken" prank. On May 24, 2006, seven chickens some seniors had purchased at a live market in Chinatown were found dead. The pranksters had intended to release a total of 32 chickens in the halls between class periods. However, the 32 chickens came with bound feet and were left in a cardboard box in a hot car before the prank. Officials were called and the humane society responded. A student tip-off led the administration to the pranksters and caused their capture. Those involved faced possible criminal charges. The four students most directly involved were not allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies. The incident made it into the local newspaper, as well as several major newspapers around the country.[1]

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] External links

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