Miramonte High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miramonte High School | |
Address | |
---|---|
750 Moraga Way Orinda, California, USA |
|
Information | |
Principal | Raúl Zamora |
Enrollment |
1,452 |
Type | Public high school |
Established | 1955 |
Information | (925) 280-3930 |
Colors Mascot |
Green and White Matador |
Homepage | http://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/miramonte/ |
Miramonte High School is a high school which is part of Acalanes Union High School District. It has a strong college preparatory program, with 14 Advanced Placement courses currently offered. Miramonte High School has performed well in national high school academic tests and over 98 percent of its graduates go on to college. 320 students graduated in 2005, with 75% attending a four year college. 35% are attending out-of-state colleges. Miramonte High School ranks 273rd of all high schools in the nation, according to Newsweek's Challenge Index[1].
Miramonte High School once participated in the Virtual High School Consortium, a response to the problems of distance education which allowed courses to be taught over the Internet. The high school students could participate in these virtual classes from on-site Internet access, or from a home connection. No classes are currently being provided as virtual classes. More recently, Miramonte has incorporated the Blackboard Learning System into its curricula; many teachers now post assignments and course documents on this system.
Miramonte High School offers its seniors the choice of a WISE project their senior year. WISE replaces the senior's second semester of English with a project of the student's choice. The choices of subject matter are varied; although film and fiction writing are consistently popular, project subjects have included astrophysics, choral conducting, and democracy in Iran.
In 2005, a private group raised $17,000 to present a program at Miramonte addressing drunk driving, entitled "Every Fifteen Minutes". The program consisted of a reenactment of a drunk driving accident and was presented in a two-day-long assembly concluding with an imitation funeral. The program resulted in much controversy among the student body. In addition, many others felt that the program was an overly elaborate show that played off its audience's emotions without enough rational substance. Indeed the second part of the program included a two hour mock funeral complete with caskets, wreaths, and eulogies. However, many students responded positively saying that the experience was "educational, and extremely moving."
Miramonte continues a "high school rivalry" with nearby Lamorinda high schools Campolindo High School and Acalanes High School; the rivalry with Campolindo is more visible, although most of the students have no strong feelings for a rivalry. Many students of Miramonte wear a white T-shirt with a green "Beat Campo" logo.
Miramonte's mock trial team has won 6 of the last 7 Contra Costa County championships, including 2008, under attorney coach Luke Ellis.
[edit] History
Miramonte High School and the shocking 1984 murder of cheerleader Kirsten Costas by less popular classmate Bernadette Protti were the basis for an article in Rolling Stone magazine entitled Death of a Cheerleader and the subsequent TV movie A Friend to Die For starring Tori Spelling.
In 1984 the Miramonte Matadors, aka Mats, were voted State Champions in N.C.S. 2A American football after defeating Cardinal Newman H.S. on December 3, 1983 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in the F.A.L. Championship game. The Mats were also North Coast Champions, South Area Champions and F.A.L. Champions.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Mike MacDonald, member of four National Championship winning teams in rugby union at UC Berkeley, member of the United States national rugby union team, and currently a player for Leeds Carnegie of the Guinness Premiership[2]
- Luke Sassano, midfielder for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.
- Dana Sparks, actress/spokesperson for Falcon Crest, Passions, L.A. Law, L'Oreal, Mercedes Benz, etc.
- Bryan Barker, NFL player
- Drew Bennett, NFL player
- Ken Dorsey, NFL player
- Janelle Kitayama, Oakland Raiders cheerleader
- Sanjay Lal, UC Berkeley Coach, NFL Oakland Raiders Coach
- Heather Petri, 2000, 2004 US water polo Olympian
- Jennifer Howitt, Rhodes Scholar, gold-medal-winning Paralympic wheelchair basketball player [3][4]
- Rawson Marshall Thurber, Writer and Director of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, "Terry Tate": Office Linebacker
- Chris Bauer, film, TV and stage actor. Graduated 1984.
- David Callaham, screenwriter of Doom.
- Kirk Everist, U.S. water polo player in the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1996 Summer Olympics, three-time All-American, member of back-to-back NCAA championships (1987-88) at University of California, Berkeley, named 1988 Collegiate Player of the Year and NCAA Tournament MVP, currently men's water polo coach at Cal.
- Doug Robbins, played catcher on two-time champion Stanford Cardinal baseball team (1987-88), won gold medal as member of U.S. Baseball Team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.