Del Mar High School

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Del Mar High School
Fides
Location
1224 Del Mar Avenue
San Jose CA 95128
USA
Information
School district Campbell Union High School District
Principal Jim Russell
Dean Hodges, Gonzales
Enrollment

1,200
Faculty 55
Type Public 4-year
Athletics conference Blossom Valley Athletic League
Mascot Dons
Color(s) Black, Gold, and White
Established 1959
Homepage http://www.delmar.cuhsd.org

Del Mar High School (DMHS) is a four-year, public secondary school located in San Jose, California, which was established in 1959. It is part of the Campbell Union High School District, (CUHSD), the other schools in which are Branham, Leigh, Prospect, and Westmont. Most of Del Mar’s students come from the Campbell Union School District’s middle schools: Monroe, Campbell, and Rolling Hills. The school serves both San Jose and Campbell, in addition to some unincorporated pockets of Santa Clara County.

The school mascot of Del Mar is "The Don," and the colors are black, gold, and, officially, white. As of 2007 the school principal is Mr. Jim Russell, and vice principal is Nancy Pinkel. In recent years, Mr. Russell has made a difference in the school's academic success, [1],[2] which has improved most notably by reaching an API (Academic Performance Index) score of 700 in 2006, a jump of 102 points from 2004. [3] In 2007, it was officially deemed a “California Distinguished School.” [4]

The school's official website is http://www.delmar.cuhsd.org.

Contents

[edit] History

The CUHSD began construction on the Del Mar campus in 1957, it was established in 1959, and the first school year began in 1960. Del Mar was the first complete four year high school in California to be constructed by the state's aid building fund, at a cost of $3 million dollars. The school was also the first of any high school in the state to boast a sunken football stadium; the stadium came about as part of an agreement between the school district and Count Allesandro Dandini, the owner of a brick-making plant which was adjacent to the football field. The stadium area was cleared out in exchange for the clay which was excavated. In 2007, the grass field and dirt track were replaced with an artificial turf field and tartan track in time for football season.

The superintendent of the CUHSD at the time of the school's construction in 1957, Larry Hill, made a deal to get the 'clinker' bricks from the yard at a discount, to use in the schools the district was building at the time. [5] As a result, all of Del Mar's original buildings have a great deal of brick in them.

[edit] Athletics and Extracurricular Activities

Del Mar’s main rivals are usually Westmont or Leigh, being in the same district and thus having something to prove to the other, however, it depends on the activity.

[edit] Sports

Del Mar sports teams compete in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, divisions of which are ‘A league’: Mount Hamilton Division, ‘B league’: Santa Teresa Division, and ‘C league’: West Valley Division. BVAL falls in California’s Central Coast Section, known as CCS. The school's sport program includes football, soccer, basketball, cross country, volleyball, field hockey, tennis, golf, wrestling, baseball, softball, badminton, swimming & diving, and track & field. Individual sport websites can be linked to through the school’s official site.

Del Mar sports teams have won many League and CCS championships over the course of the school's history - the banners commemorating those titles hang in the school's big gym. In the 2005-2006 school year, several teams won the title of League Champions, including football, JV boys' soccer, badminton, and girls' swimming. The 2006-2007 season was no different, as boys' basketball won the league, as did the field hockey team and the ladies soccer team, who went on to CCS. In the spring of 2007, the track & field team sent the first relay team to CCS in 10 years, but fell short of winning league to Andrew Hill. In fall 2007, the DM Football team made history by going 10-0, a feat that has never accomplished in the school's history, and also was able to host the first round of CCS Playoffs at home for the first time in 11 years.

Awards lined up at the 2007 Feste Del Mar.
Awards lined up at the 2007 Feste Del Mar.

[edit] Performing Arts

Del Mar’s marching band is officially named the Del Mar High School Marching Ensembles. In the spring, they host the annual Feste Del Mar Band Review, which holds competitions for Concert, Jazz, and Marching bands, and is well known in the NCBA (Northern California Band Association) circuit for its hospitality. Del Mar routinely sends musicians to the Northern California Honor Band, and the All-State Honor Band. Fall season Marching Band is a class, and meets seventh period, as well as Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5:30 to 8:30.

In the winter season, Del Mar fields a WinterGuard and Winter Percussion, which both practice Tuesday and Thursday nights. They have competed as part of CCGC, and NCBA. Musical Theater was a new class added in 2006, which effectively replaced Choir due to lack of enrollment in that class. Orchestra has also become an outside-school activity due to low enrollment.

Drama 1 and Drama 2, and sometimes Drama 3, classes are offered at Del Mar – there is a spring Drama 2 production every year, and, as of 2006, this is a joint production with the Musical Theater class.

There are also school-wide productions: the fall play and the spring musical. Past shows include 'Twilight of the Golds,' ‘The Actor’s Nightmare,’ ‘Once Upon a Mattress,’ ‘Aida,’ ‘42nd Street,’ ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum,’ 'Don't Drink the Water,' 'Cinderella,' 'Girl Crazy,' ‘Grease,’ and others. The musical for 2008 was ‘Little Shop of Horrors.’ The Performing Arts website is www.delmarpa.org.

Stacks of the Del Mar High School Perspective, Vol. 48, Issue VII, before distribution.
Stacks of the Del Mar High School Perspective, Vol. 48, Issue VII, before distribution.

[edit] Publications

The DMHS newspaper is called the Perspective, and is produced by the Journalism class. The Perspective’s website is dmhsnews.wetpaint.com, and they can be emailed at dmperspective@yahoo.com. The first newspaper at Del Mar, published in 1962, three years after the school opened, was called the Excelsior. The Galleon became the name in 1966, and The Dawning replaced that in 1983. The newspaper assumed its current name in a "Name the Newspaper" contest in 1993, although the full original name was From the Don's Perspective. The full history can be found here.

The yearbook class puts together the yearbook, called the Laurel.

[edit] ASB

Del Mar’s ASB meets at 7:15 in the library every Tuesday, and is in charge of organizing activities, rallies, and dances. This includes Spirit Week, before Homecoming, Bumpfest, Air Jam, Powder Puff, BMOC/BWOC (Big Man/Woman on Campus, started in ‘99), and assorted dances throughout the year, including Kickoff, Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins, Winter Ball, and Prom. There is a President, VP, Secretary, and Treasurer, and then a President and VP for each grade level except freshmen. Elections are held near the end of each year for the next year’s officers. An ASB card will get students into various events either for free (sports games), or for a reduced price (dances and performances). They can be purchased with a yearbook at the beginning of the year for around $70.

[edit] Clubs

Several of the above-mentioned associations are considered ‘clubs,’ but the list of the more traditional meet-during-lunch clubs on campus includes C.S.F. (California Scholarship Federation) Honor Society, Debate/Mock Trial, F.C.A. (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), Photo Club, International Club, Key Club, Latinas Unidas, S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions), B.S.U. (Black Student Union), and Pro-Tolerance. Del Mar also has a Spirit squad. The complete list of clubs is available here.

[edit] School Information

[edit] Courses

In the past two years, Del Mar has increased its selection of available honors courses to include Physics Honors, Biology Honors, World History Honors, and honors classes for English 1 through 3. (An AP English 4 course is available instead for seniors.)

The AP courses offered at Del Mar are: AP U.S. History, AP U.S. Government and Politics (a one semester class - second semester is regular Economics), AP English Literature, AP Studio Art 2-D, AP French Language, AP French Literature, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature, AP Physics B, and AP Calculus AB. Sometimes AP Statistics is offered as an online course taken from Del Mar, but it was discontinued in 2004, although one student was allowed to take it in the 2005-2006 school year.

[edit] Grading

Del Mar operates on a normal A through F system, with minor variation among teachers on which percentages correspond to which letter grades. Progress reports are sent home every six weeks, and final grades at the end of each semester, of which there are two. Finals for the first semester generally fall on or around January 29, and second semester finals are around June 14, with seniors’ generally the week earlier.

[edit] Schedule

Del Mar, along with the rest of the CUHSD, is on a block schedule, with periods 1-3 on Gold days, 4-6 on Black days, zero period every day, and seventh period every day except Monday. This gives teachers longer uninterrupted class periods to work with.

Del Mar High School billboard.
Del Mar High School billboard.

The following bell schedule is updated for the 2007-2008 school year, the difference from previous years being that classes have been moved forward 30 minutes, and tutorial has been changed to after school.

Gold/Black Day
Period 0 – 7:00 to 7:50
Period 1/Period 4 – 8:00 to 9:35
Period 2/Period 5 – 9:45 to 11:25
Period 3/Period 6 – 12:00 to 1:35
Period 7 – 2:20 to 3:30

Del Mar does have a "tutorial" period, between 1:45 and 2:15, where teachers are expected to be in their classrooms, available to help students. Del Mar also has "collaboration days" when seventh period doesn’t meet, and school ends at 12:50. There are also minimum days at the end of each grading period, (every six weeks), when regular classes get out at 11:25, seventh period at 1:00. The full schedules for those days can be found here. The extra five minutes in the second period of the day (2 or 5) is so the announcements can be read; it's at that time because, theoretically, everyone has that period every day.

Six classes is considered a normal course load, except towards senior year, or when students have taken zero or seventh period classes, and thus only have five classes. Five classes is considered the minimum to be fully enrolled. Technically students are not allowed to have a free period in the middle of the day (periods 2 or 5), or to take eight classes (a zero and a seventh), but it does happen. Generally, only overflow classes or non-mainstream classes are zero or seventh periods, such as AP Calculus, Marching Band, or the fifth Physics Honors class.

[edit] Tools

Del Mar, along with the rest of the Campbell Union High School District, is set up for teachers to electronically enter their students’ grades on AERIES, a program that then allows students and parents to check their grades online. Also, Del Mar is on SchoolLoop, a program that allows teachers to post homework assignments, test dates, and notes online, in addition to providing the opportunity to communicate with their students by email. Links to those sites can be found here.

[edit] Community

Parent associations/Booster clubs at Del Mar include the Dons Club, PTA, Spanish-speaking PTA, and the Performing Arts Association. Membership in the Dons Club includes discounts to get into most athletic events that charge admission, and their official website is www.donsclub.org. Sale of some Game Face photos supports Del Mar athletics, that website is www.gfphoto.com.

Office buildings at Del Mar High School.
Office buildings at Del Mar High School.

[edit] Faculty

The administration/staff of Del Mar High School includes principal Jim Russell, vice principal Nancy Pinkel, deans Hodges and Gonzales, counselors Brink, Moua, and Mendoza, and activities director Eric “Doc” Iverson. [6] A great number of the teachers at Del Mar have been hired in the last three years. Del Mar has young teachers in charge of the newspaper, the yearbook, and several sports teams.

[edit] Students

West Valley is a popular community college among Del Mar students, and many Del Mar students have gone on to colleges and universities in the UC and CSU systems, as well as private schools such as Santa Clara University, Pacific University, North Western, and Stanford.

Several school awards are presented at graduation, including the Principal's Cup, the Laurance J. Hill Award, and the titles of valedictorian and salutatorian. Laurance Hill was a principal of the old Campbell High School, and played an important role in the expansion of the CUHSD district. An award in his name is given out at every school in the district, and the students it is given to are generally those with good grades and high involvement in school, especially, at least at Del Mar, in community service. In the last five years, four of the recipients have been Key Club presidents, and the name of the recipient goes on a plaque in the office. The Principal's Cup tends to be oriented toward involvement in ASB, among other things. Although the district as a whole does not have a tradition of naming valedictorians, that was changed at Del Mar in 2001 when the principal at the time, Lisa Udell, started a valedictorian/salutatorian plaque in the office. That practice has been continued by the current principal, Jim Russell. The list is as follows, along with the college attended (or to be attended) by that student directly after their graduation.

One of Del Mar's valedictorian medals.
One of Del Mar's valedictorian medals.

Valedictorian & Salutatorian

Class of ’01:
V - Will Spencer – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
S - Lincoln Tran – UC Santa Barbara
Class of ’02:
V - Mark Basso – UC Berkeley
S - Anh Thu – Santa Clara University
Class of ’03:
V - Derryk Davis – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
S - Helena Oh – North Western University
Class of ’04:
V - Kevin Acks – UC Davis
S - Melissa Giles – UC Davis
Class of ‘05:
V - Katrina Harrison – UC Berkeley
S - Monica Mormon – University of Loyola in Chicago
Class of ‘06:
V - Quynh Anh Nguyen – Stanford
S - Dustin Damonte – University of Puget Sound in Washington
Class of ’07:
V - Matthew Bigham – UC Berkeley, Ellen Phan – UC Berkeley, Clarissa Harrison – UC Berkeley
S - Tung Dao - UCLA
Class of ’08:
V - Hien Khanh Huynh (AKA "Khanh") – Stanford
S - Robert Schooler (AKA "Bob") - Out of California

[edit] Campus

Del Mar’s original wings on the north side of the quad, in addition to the band and drama rooms, the cafeteria/stage end of the building, the main office, teacher’s lounge, library, and student services center are all original buildings in Del Mar’s traditional brick. Many of these wings have been refurbished in the past several years, or are in the process of being redone. Campus Map.

The pool deck at Del Mar, racing pool in front, the diving well in the back corner.
The pool deck at Del Mar, racing pool in front, the diving well in the back corner.

In what used to be the senior parking lot stands the new science wing, complete with solar panels on the roof that feed back into the power grid, after serving the science wing itself. It contains six classrooms, providing physics, chemistry, biology, and integrated science classes with high ceilings, projectors, and, in room 74, a balcony. [7]

The large and small gyms, locker rooms, and swimming pool, on the south side of the quad, are also original. The big gym, home to basketball, volleyball, badminton, and several families of small birds which build nests in the old lights in the ceiling, received a new paint job in 2006 courtesy of the Don's Club. The pool deck has two pools, the 12-foot diving well and the 6-lane pool, which is 3.5 feet at the ends and 4 in the middle. Water polo cannot be played at Del Mar because of the pool's depth, or lack thereof. There are seven tennis courts, four outdoor basketball courts, two sand volleyball courts that are rarely used, the weight room, a football practice field, a baseball diamond, three softball/baseball fields, and a large field that houses soccer or field hockey, depending on the season. There is also the Bowl, housing the brand new artificial-turf football field and appropriately new rubber track. [8]

The Del Mar campus is also home to a Metropolitan Adult Education Program center.

[edit] Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Del Mar High School include:

[edit] Contact information

Del Mar High School
1224 Del Mar Avenue
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 298-0260
http://www.delmar.cuhsd.org

[edit] External links

Sports

District

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Miskulin, George F. A History of The Campbell Union High School District (1900-1988). pp. 25-26.
  • Del Mar’s official website
  • Del Mar's newspaper, Perspective, The Dawning, The Galleon, and Excelsior, various volumes and issues