La Cañada High School

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La Cañada High School
LCHS: Home of the Spartans
Location
La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States
Information
Principal Dr. Damon Dragos
Students approx. 1,800
Type Public
Mascot The Spartan
Established 1963
Colors Maroon and Gold
Homepage www.lcusd.net/lchs

La Cañada High School is a four year comprehensive high school located in La Cañada Flintridge, California. It sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, below the Angeles National Forest, in the City of La Cañada Flintridge. The school is adjacent to the 210 Freeway north of Pasadena's Rose Bowl and south NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Its address and email address are: 4463 Oak Grove Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, and lchs@lcusd.net. They are ranked as 95th best high school in the United States[citation needed].

Contents

[edit] Mission statement

"It is the mission of La Cañada High School, through the coordinated efforts of its faculty, staff, and community, to provide programs so that, upon graduation, all personnel will be inspired and able to use their developed skills to become leaders in service to society."

[edit] Alma Mater

Front view of LCHS
Front view of LCHS

La Cañada, proud and grand
Alma mater shall forever stand!
Our crowning glory, strong and bold
We will honor thee, Red and Gold.
Through the years we'll sing thy name
With faith and loyalty!
Praise to our Alma Mater;
Hail, All Hail!

[edit] Academics

LCHS offers a full range of academic courses including many AP and Honors courses. These include:

In addition, La Canada High School has had the second highest Academic Performance Index score among all comprehensive public high schools in Southern California, a reflection of the academic excellence that it embodies.

[edit] Athletics

La Canada High School competes interscholastically as a member of the Rio Hondo League in Boy's and Girl's Soccer, Volleyball, Water Polo, Tennis, Basketball, Track and Field, Cross Country, Golf, and Swimming, as well as Baseball, Softball, and Boy's Football and Wrestling. In addition, LCHS also has a club Hockey and equestrian team.

The Spartans have continued, over the last few years, to be the dominant force in Rio Hondo League, capturing the 2005-2006 league championships in Boys' Water Polo, Swimming, Boys' Basketball, Cross Country, Baseball. In addition, the Swimming and Boys' Waterpolo teams both won the CIF Southern Section championships, however the swimming championship was revoked due to minor violations of CIF policies. The Spartans' equestrian team won the Interscholastic Equestrian League Championship. The Girl's Varsity Soccer team captured the 2006/2007 Rio Hondo league title. Boys' Wrestling, coached by Gavin Williams, has captured its second Academic CIF Championship while remaining competitive in wrestling dual matches. In 2007, La Canada High earned a two-seed in the CIF Boy's Basketball Division III State Tournament, advancing to the regional finals before losing to Artesia High School, whose team was ranked number one in the nation. The 2007 Spartan football team was led by Lavelle Peterson, who posted impressive numbers throughout the regular season and the tournament. The basketball team made history for the Spartans, by posting a record of 30-4, which is the most games the team has ever come out victorious in a single season.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

La Canada High School features numerous clubs and organizations which are run by the very involved and enthusiastic student body.

The various clubs include:

All of the clubs on campus are governed by the Associated Student Body, or "ASB" as it is known. This student government group is comprised of elected officers and representatives from grades 9 through 12. In addition to governing clubs, ASB plans school dances, pep rallies, games and music in the quad, manages the student store, and plans other events such as blood drives, senior activities, etc. The advisor for ASB is Mr. Carl Herman, a government and economics teacher. The former ASB advisor was Ms. Tamar Hill.

[edit] Library: the IRC

LCHS's Information Resource Center (IRC)
LCHS's Information Resource Center (IRC)

LCHS's Information Resource Center (IRC) opened in February 2002 and is a multi-use facility with up-to-date technology and information available to all the school's students. The IRC's mission is "to prepare students for life-long learning, informed decision-making, a love of reading and the use of information technologies." The library is available for public use Monday through Friday from 3:30-8:00 PM, except during school holidays. Shown to the right is a photo of the interior of the IRC. The desks in the foreground are equipped with internet-connected computers, the monitors of which can be seen through the desks' clear tops.

[edit] Goals of LCHS

  1. LCHS graduates will have the ability to communicate effectively through:
    • Speaking and writing to and for diverse audiences.
    • Using correct grammar (conventions)
    • Other forms of communicating, depending upon purpose, including cultural and social appropriateness in varying ways
  2. LCHS graduates will become life-long learners who can explore and develop knowledge and skills that lead to a fulfilling life.
    • Developing a sense of one's gifts, talents, and potential
    • Developing self-confidence and self-esteem
    • Knowing the value of life-long learning
    • Learning to function independently and responsibly
    • Balancing home, career, and leisure time
    • Setting personal and professional goals
    • Establishing habits of mental, physical, and social well-being through physical fitness, nutrition, and hygiene
  3. LCHS graduates will be able to use technology as a tool to facilitate and enhance learning, to solve problems, to perform life skills, and to adapt to a constantly changing world through:
    • Accessing and utilizing technology
    • Accessing and retrieving information
    • Analyzing, evaluating, and applying information
    • Applying technology to "real world" problems
    • Creating, maintaining, and/or presenting data
    • Be able to evaluate the uses of technology
  4. LCHS graduates will become productive, responsible citizens as shown by interacting with their school, community, nation, and world through:
    • Awareness and comprehension of current events
    • Acceptable ethical and behavioral standards
    • Accountability for personal actions
    • Awareness and comprehension of their role as citizens in school, community, nation and world
    • Civic and personal responsibility
    • Respect for the tolerance of cultural, sexual, physical, and religious diversity
    • Adaptability, Compassion, Courage
    • Deliberateness, Honesty, Initiative
    • Loyalty, Optimism, Perseverance, Trustworthiness
  5. LCHS graduates will have the ability to think critically through:
    • Formulating ideas
    • Creativity
    • Logic and reasoning skills
    • Strategizing
    • Problem solving
    • Decision making
    • Conflict-resolution...

[edit] Statistics & Trivia

  • Student body is primarily made up of Caucasian and Asian students.
  • 99% of each graduating class goes on to college.
  • LCHS' cross-town rival schools are Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, South Pasadena High School in South Pasadena and San Marino High School in San Marino.
  • Junior high yearbook is called Alpha; high school yearbook is called Omega.
  • Junior high newspaper is called The Spartan Star[1]; high school newspaper is called The Spartan but was formerly known as The Iliad.
  • There are three public elementary schools that feed into LCHS: LCE (La Cañada Elementary), PCR (Palm Crest Elementary), and PCY (Paradise Canyon Elementary).
  • La Canada High School is the first Rio Hondo League school with FieldTurf
  • La Canada High School is composed of two schools on campus. One is the high school(9-12) and the other the junior high school(7-8). Although the two schools are officially separate, they share many of the same teachers, facilities and organizations.
  • The school's basketball team was shown in an episode of The White Shadow. The team is seen in the first season episode "Bonus Baby."

[edit] Notable alumni

  • Lavelle Peterson (2007), current college football player attends the University of Utah
  • Matt Whisenant (1989), former Major League Baseball pitcher.
  • Peter Wells (1992), competed in sailing (mistral class) at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
  • Jason Inouye (1992), cinematographer.
  • Brian Hull (1992), golfer.
  • Johny Appleman (1998) - Relative of Johny Appleseed
  • Sam Paneno (1997), co-winner of the inaugural NCAA Inspiration Award.
  • Josh Henderson (1996), led the Spartans to 2 national championships in soccer and played for the U-21 national team, in which he was the leading scorer in the world.
  • Doug Davidson (1973) Actor (The Young and the Restless)
  • Chad States (1972) Actor
  • Chris Holms (1974) Lead guitarist W.A.S.P.
  • Phil Joanou (born November 20, 1961 in La Cañada Flintridge, California) is an American film director. He is also well known for his work with Irish rock band U2, having directed their rockumentary/live tape Rattle and Hum, one of three videos filmed for One, and the video for All Because of You. Married to Ford Model Breann Nelson.
  • Michael Cunningham (1970) Born November 6, 1952, an award-winning American writer, best known for his 1998 novel The Hours, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999.

[edit] External links