Granada High School (California)

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Location
Granada High School
400 Wall Street Livermore, CA
Information
School district	Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District
Principal	Chris VanSchaack
Enrollment	2,214
Faculty	82
Type	Public
Grades	9-12
Mascot	Matadors
Color(s)	Black and gold
Established	1963
Information	(925) 606-4800
Homepage	granadahigh.com

Granada High School is a high school located in Livermore, California. Established in 1963, it is part of the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD). Granada was established as the town's second public high school in response to significant population growth in the 1960s. Livermore High School was the first high school in Livermore, and rivals Granada. The name Granada is a Spanish word meaning pomegranate. The school's official newspaper was "El Toro" and now is called "The Pomegranate." The school mascot is a matador.

1 Academics
2 Athletics
3 Student Life
4 Notable alumni
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Academics

Granada High School's academic objective is to transform every student into an active learner.^[1] The goal is achieved partially through the use of a block-style scheduling system in which students may construct and arrange their blocks as they choose. This differs from the traditional system in that students may select as many as six full-sized blocks at the beginning of the year, but can only have three of them at once with each class 'block' being twice the length of the tradition period. Halfway through the school year, students will swap blocks. An optional seventh block is available upon request, and if given to students, may or may not be held all year long. If it is an academic class it will most likely be one semester but if it is music class like band, orchestra, or choir it is more likely to be a year long. Note that Granada was subject of a unique program in the late Sixties entitled TUFOLD or Time Utilization for Optimum Learning Development.

The school has recently increased the length of all classes and restricted the number of courses each student can take per year to seven. An additional advisory period, frequently referred to as seminar, has also been added as a requirement for all students.

However, when the new school year starts in 2008, the schedule will change from the block system into the trimester system. The classes as a result will be shorter, and each trimester will be 12 weeks long rather than the 9 weeks of the block system. The down sides to this new schedule are: it is harder for students to double-up on subjects such as languages and certain math's and sciences, there will be more homework, the school day will be really long for those who choose to have a full schedule (students wanting to get enough credits to graduate), as well as more. Up side: more elective choices, more homework, shorter classes, no more seminar, and more.

[edit] Athletics

Granada High School has teams in 15 sports: Swimming, Diving, Track, Waterpolo, Basketball, Cross Country, Baseball, Football, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball, Lacrosse, and Wrestling. These teams compete in the North Coast Section CIF (NCS) and East Bay Athletic League (EBAL).

The Lacrosse team is relatively new to the school. It was created in 2005, as a club team. In the Spring of 2007 it made the transition to an EBAL team. During their first season the boys' team beat Livermore High School both times, with a shutout in the second game. The girls' lacrosse team is very successful with many wins including their wins against Livermore High Schools girls' team.

Recently, their football team has taken on the new era of the Tim Silva Era, a new coach to the team and U.S. History teacher, Silva has led the Varsity to a game of 61-0 recently versus Irvington High School and 19-6 for Junior Varsity, however they could not defeat Livermore who handed them another EBAL defeat in 2008 24-17.

[edit] Student Life

With Spirit Weeks occurring every season to unite the student body, Granada's massive student body has plenty activities to do. From common clubs such as CSF, the California Scholarship Federation, to not-so common clubs like STAR, Students Talking About Respect, there are opportunities for every student available. In the beginning of the year, students participate in Homecoming, which is not just a football game and a dance, but also Clash of the Classes (a spirit competition), the Homecoming Carnival, rallies, and skits, which occur throughout the week. Only Seniors are allowed to participate in the Off-Campus Lunch program, allowing them to go to nearby fast food restaurants and grocery stores. Stix Chinese Food is provided on-campus along with basic lunch food. During lunch in the Quad, there is almost always an activity (or fight) going on and music is played almost every Friday.

[edit] Notable alumni

Tony Sanchez, Head Coach for the Fighting Grizzlies, was an All American Wide receiver for Granada in the late 80's to the early 90's. He now coaches the Cal High Grizzlies.^{[citation needed]}