| Alverno High School Alverno Heights Academy |
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|---|---|
| Address | |
| 200 North Michillinda Avenue Sierra Madre, California, (Los Angeles County), 91024 United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private, All-Female |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1960 |
| Head of school | Ann Gillick |
| Asst. Head of School | Julia Fanara |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 225 (2010-2011) |
| Average class size | 16 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 12:1 |
| Campus size | 13 acres (53,000 m2) |
| Color(s) | royal blue and White |
| Athletics conference | Catholic Athletic Association |
| Sports | soccer, cross country, track, volleyball, basketball, softball |
| Mascot | Jaguar |
| Team name | Jaguars |
| Accreditation(s) | National Catholic Education Association, Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1] |
| Publication | Calliope (literary magazine) |
| Tuition | $11,600 (2010-2011) |
| Affiliation | Immaculate Heart Community |
| Dean of Students | Cam Gonzales |
| Admissions Director | Candace Siegle |
| Athletic Director | Ken Berry |
| Website | http://www.alverno-hs.org |
Alverno High School is an independent, Catholic, college-prep high school for girls located in the Sierra Madre/Pasadena area of Southern California.
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Alverno High School was originally the home of prominent Los Angeles physician Walter Jarvis Barlow. Barlow hired noted Pasadena architect Wallace Neff to design and construct his home, basing the design on a particular house in Tuscany, Italy, which is attributed to Michelangelo. The Sierra Madre house was completed in 1924 and was called the Villa del Sol d'Oro. After Barlow's death, his wife Marion Patterson Barlow sold the villa and the property to the Sisters of St. Francis in 1942. For the next 18 years, the building was used as a novitiate until 1960 when the school officially opened under the name Alverno Heights Academy. Since then, many buildings have been built on the grounds. In the 1970s, the name was changed to Alverno High School and administration was turned over to the Immaculate Heart Community.
Alverno is accredited by the National Catholic Education Association, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the California Association of Independent Schools
Alverno offers an exclusively college-prep curriculum, and in order to graduate all students must qualify to apply to four-year colleges and universities. Any grade below a C must be made up before receiving a diploma since colleges do not accept a D as a passing grade.
Graduation requirements include:
- 4 years of English - 4 years of Theology - 3 years of Mathematics - 2 years same Foreign Language - 3 years of Social Studies - 2 years of Laboratory Science - 1 year of a Fine Art
Alverno students gave more than 17,000 hours of service to others during the 2009-2010 academic year. Students are required to complete service hours every year, beginning with 20 hours in freshman year, 30 in sophomore year, 40 in junior year, and 50 in senior year. In the Class of 2010, 21 graduates performed more than 420 hours of service during their four years at Alverno.
Alverno students have been involved in many, many service projects including Sierra Service Project (working on Native American reservations); Sunrise Alzheimer’s Home; AIDS walk Los Angeles; Los Angeles Regional Food Bank; Christmas bell-ringing for the Salvation Army; Rose Parade float decorating; Villa Esperanza; Student Ambassadors for Tournament of Roses; March for Hunger; City of Hope pediatrics; Natural History Museum; Pueblo Ingles (teaching English in Spain); Huntington Hospital; Waterfest water conservation festival; local church tutors; confirmation teams; church carnival volunteers.
Throughout the years, many movies and television shows have been filmed on Alverno's 13-acre (53,000 m2) campus including Legally Blonde, The Princess Diaries, and A Walk in the Clouds. The school also served as "Visitor Security Headquarters" in the 1984 mini-series V: The Final Battle.
The Villa del Sol d'Oro, has been the primary location on campus for photo shoots, music videos, film production. The Villa can be prominently seen in the music video, 'November Rain' by Guns and Roses.