| Santa Monica High School | |
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Sincerity, Maturity, Honor and Service
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| Location | |
| 601 Pico Blvd Santa Monica, California, 90405 United States |
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| Information | |
| Principal | Laurel Fretz |
| Enrollment | 3500 |
| Color(s) | Blue & Gold |
| Mascot | Victor and Vicky Viking |
| Rivals | Beverly Hills High School: Beverly High Normans |
| Website | http://www.samohi.smmusd.org |
Santa Monica High School, informally known as SAMOHI, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1884, it is one of the oldest high schools in the state.
It changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
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The "new" campus opened in 1906 with one building, the current History building, with an enrollment of 50 students. The school sits on the hilltop of what is now 6th Street and Pico Boulevard, from which one can see the Pacific Ocean. Ten years later the campus was expanded with construction of the English building. In 1921, the Open Air Memorial Theatre (now called the Greek Amphitheatre) was built to honor the Santa Monicans who served in World War I. One of the best examples of the classical Greek style in Southern California, the amphitheatre was built after Santa Monica passed a $30,000 bond measure to fund its construction.[1] Barnum Hall Theater, originally called "the Auditorium," was built in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to be the Civic Auditorium of Santa Monica and host school events as well. The campus also added six buildings during this period: the Language, English, Business, History, Administration and Music buildings.
In 1952, Santa Monica High School was finally expanded to what it is now, 33 acres (130,000 m2), and two new buildings were built, the Science and Technology D.M. buildings. As the school aged, renovations took place in Barnum Hall and the Music building was completely rebuilt.
The school has been a location in a number of films. Most famously, it is the high school setting in Rebel Without A Cause where James Dean walks up the History Building stairs. 17 Again was shot during the 2007-2008 school year.
Santa Monica High School's campus is located in the heart of Downtown Santa Monica, walking distance from: the Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica City Hall, Santa Monica State Park, and the Santa Monica Public Safety Facility (home to the city's Police & Fire Departments).
In 2003, Samohi adopted a house system, similar to college house systems; each student is part of a house.[2] There are five houses, S, M, O, H and I, with each house assigned a building or a floor of a building.S House is stationed in the Language Building, 'M' house is on the first floor of the History building, O house is on the second floor of the History building, H house is stationed in the English building, and I house is stationed in the Technology building. The "A" house was cut due to the California budget cuts to public schools. A principal oversees each of the houses, along with two counselors. Teachers with classrooms in a house building/floor are automatically deemed one of the house teachers. Upon enrollment in Santa Monica High School, students are randomly assigned to a house.
Santa Monica High School provides many Advanced Placement classes that are offered to all students. They range from Math and Science to Social Studies and Art to Physical Education.
Currently, Santa Monica High offers four foreign languages: Spanish, Latin, Japanese, and French. Japanese and Latin are offered up to the 4th level, preparing students for the A-BMP TRECE-P test. Spanish is offered up to the 6th level preparing students for AP Spanish tests in both language and literature.
The Santa Monica High School Music Department is home to five wind bands, six orchestras, five choirs, two student run choirs, piano classes, and guitar classes. The music department offers many concerts in the community throughout the year, with performances by the bands, orchestras, and choirs. The school hosts concerts on the campus in Barnum Hall, a 1,200 seat theater with a full stage renovated in 2004. The Band and Orchestra annually hosts the SCSBOA Band and Orchestra Festivals, usually during late March or early April.
Under the conduction of Jeffe Huls, the Santa Monica High School Choral Department has recently competed in and won many competitions, both regional and national. Over 300 students are enrolled in the choral music program. The program is made up of seven different student choirs. The choral program ranges from large mixed choirs to chamber/madrigal ensembles, women's choirs, men's ensemble and jazz. The Jazz Ensemble met after school on selected days of the week. In the past the choral department has traveled to New York City, Boston and most recently Honolulu, Hawaii to compete in a national choral competition where Samohi Chorale, Chamber Singers, Jazz Singers and Madrigals Ensemble received 1st place with a gold rating. The Santa Monica choirs as a whole were then named the Grand Champions. The school has also competed in the Golden State Choral Competitions (South) both Large and Small Divisions. In April 2007, Madrigal Ensemble & Chamber Singers traveled to Italy and performed in cathedrals around the country. Chorale also competed in a competition which took place on a cruise to Mexico. Chorale won first place over all other choirs competing on any cruise ship the entire year.
In addition to the regular Winter and Spring concerts, the choral department has a Masterworks Concert, Cathedral Classics Concert, and performs in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District's Stairway of the Stars every year.
The orchestra program has been led for the past five years by director Joni Swenson, following longtime director Christopher Schawbe. In 2005, Symphony Orchestra was labeled the best High School level orchestra in the nation by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) at the National Orchestra Festival in Reno, Nevada. The orchestra program is made up of many different ensembles, ranging from the smaller Beginning Strings / String Orchestra to the large Symphony Orchestra. Many of the orchestras from Santa Monica High School have had the chance to travel around the nation and the world. In February 2006, Symphony Orchestra became the first public high school orchestra to perform in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles.[3] In April 2006, the orchestra traveled to China and toured and performed in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. In 2004 the Symphony Orchestra performed various cathedrals and churches in Vienna, Austria and in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2002 the Symphony Orchestra performed in Carnegie Hall. Recently, the orchestra program was selected for the elite Partnership Program with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. In April 2007, the Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras traveled to San Francisco, where they participated in the California Music Educator's Association (CMEA) festival. Symphony Orchestra returned to Europe for a trip in March 2008, performing in such esteemed halls as the Rudolfinum and Orangerie of Schönbrunn Palace.
Samohi's band program is under the direction of Mike Corrigan, a CSULB graduate and Terry Sakow, a UCLA graduate. The Santa Monica High School Viking Marching Band is one of the oldest high school marching bands in the state of California. The marching band performs for home football games, and competes in many different field shows and parades in Southern California. In their 2006-2007 season, the marching band received several sweepstakes awards and participated for the first time in the SCSBOA (Southern California Student Band and Orchestra Association) 5A division championship.[4] In 2007 they attended a new marching band circuit, the Western Band Association, where they competed in the 4A division. The band won several awards, including Best Music in 4A category at their first WBA competition. The Marching Band traditionally performs in a Disneyland Resort parade every year. They were invited to be part of the London New Year's Day Parade opening in 2009, and performed extremely well in cold weather.
There are currently four concert bands at Samohi, with the Wind Ensemble recognized as one of the most exceptionally talented high school bands in California. They performed at Carnegie Hall in May 2007, and regularly perform in festivals, conferences, and invitational concerts. Mr. Sakow is currently celebrating 20 years of teaching and directing the band program at Santa Monica High School. One of his most significant achievements has been the development of a comprehensive concert band program. The program has grown to 270 students from 80 his first year. During his tenure he eliminated the requirement for concert band students to concurrently enroll in marching band. He wanted to make sure students who had athletics, religious commitments, or other activities would still have the opportunity to play in a school band. The concert band enrollment swelled shortly after this change. He served as Music Department Chair from 1995 to 2006 overseeing the entire department curriculum. At the end of his time as department chair, the music department enrollment reached an excess of 800 students. He was intimately involved in the renovation of the music facilities and performance hall - which are now state of the art facilities. He worked closely with parent volunteers to increase fund-raising, purchase new uniforms for the marching band, purchase quality instruments for students to use, and to provide for all the many expenses of an outstanding music education program.[5]
The bands, orchestras, choral groups and theatre are supported in their efforts by parent and community volunteers. Extensive fundraising is required to supply such things as music, instruments, music/dance/guard coaches, transportation, concert dress, uniforms, entry fees for festivals and competitions, and other items not budgeted or minimally budgeted by the school. An independent 501(c)3 organization, the Santa Monica Arts Parents Association (SMAPA) governs these efforts.
Santa Monica High School has 3,201 students. Of the student population, 50.9% are white (non Hispanic), 31.1% are Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% are African American, 7.9% are Asian and 0.2% are Native American.
Santa Monica High School has multiple clubs that operate within the school. The clubs are dedicated to various causes and hobbies and embrace philosophies of acceptance as they are free for all to join.
Samohi offers a variety of common sports including basketball, cross country running, volleyball, swimming, tennis,
Coached by Matthew Flanders, former goalkeeper for UC Santa Barbara. Two different levels: Frosh-Soph and Varsity. Known as the "Greenies." Every year the Greenies paint their bodies at the Homecoming Football game and run around the field.
The boys volleyball team, led by olympic medalist Liane Sato, won the southern section CIF championship in their division in 2006. They returned to the championship in 2007, but lost to Valley Christian. Ari Feldman, a member of that team, recently signed with Cal State Northridge to play volleyball. The girls volleyball team made it to the finals in the 2009 season but lost.
Girls Varsity team won the 2010 CIF Southern Division 1 championship, defeating Summit High 69-63. It is the first girls basketball title for SAMOHI, they went on to the Fourth Round of State and lost by two. They are coached by coach Marty Verdugo.
Boys Varsity made it to the finals of the 2010 CIF Southern Division Championship, they were defeated at the Honda Center against Luezinger, they went on to lose in second round of state. The Boys Varsity Team is coached by James Hecht who is in his 16th year as head coach.
The Samohi varsity baseball team, for the first time since 1973, made the Division IV Southern Section Championship in 2007. However, they lost 7-1 to Charter Oak in the championship game at Dodger Stadium.
The Cross Country team informally known as the "XC team" is coached by Tania Fischer and co-coached by Patrick Cady. The 2010-2011 team started out strong with solid female freshman runners taking varsity spots. The boys team was also solid, with great performances across the board with sophomores, juniors and seniors alike. After the Woodbridge Invitational, the boys' and girls' varsity teams were decided. The team and varsity announcement dinner even made the Santa Monica Mirror Click Here To View Of the 6 boys in the photo, only 3 were actually on varsity.
The team stayed strong through their League Meets 1 and 2 against local Ocean League schools including Beverly Hills and Culver City. Around the latter half of the season the boys and girls were taken to Cal Poly invitational. The boys junior varsity placed first for the division 1 teams, while the boys varsity placed second of two teams. Later in the season the Varsity, and Junior Varsity kept up their 8th consecutive year winning streak at League Finals in West Los Angeles, against Culver City, and Beverly Hills. However the freshman team was shut-out of the title by Beverly Hills. (To be shut out is the term used to describe when 4-5 runners manage to beat the first runner of the opposing team). The girls team did well also, with key performances from a few freshman, and a handful of upperclassmen.
CIF prelims didn't quite go how the team envisioned it, with key runners on both varsitys' missing. All in all SAMO XC 2010-2011 had phenomenal performances with new up and coming runners in both girls and boys, also with substantial improvements in all the runners.
The Wrestling Team is led by Mark Black, Head Coach and Varsity Coach Brent Wright. Also on the coaching staff are Assistant Varsity Coach Dave Waters, Rehabilitation and Freshman Coach Bob Forster. Most of their time and resources are volunteered.
In 1986 Lawrence Jackson won the CIF State Championship. He was undefeated. In 2007 Yusaf Syed won the CIF State Championship in 152 weight class. He was undefeated in 152 lb (69 kg). that year. For the past 7 years, the team has qualified individuals for the Southern Section CIF Masters, (one of the toughest high school tournaments in the nation) and CIF State Championships. [6]
Coached by Frank Gatell (Class of 1989) and Jimmy Chapman, Samohi went undefeated (29-0-1) during the 2007-08 boys soccer season. Winning the Southbay/Westside Torunament, South Torrance Holiday Tournament (first time for a Varsity squad to win), undefeated Ocean League title (Back-to-Back), CIF Division IV Championship (first time in Samohi Soccer history), and the first ever CIF Southern Regional Championship Division I (a Southern State, Fresno through San Diego, where eight top teams of their region competed). Along with the championships, the Samohi men set many new records. 29 wins, 0 losses, 17 shutouts, only conceded 17 goals, scored 110 goals, and were the men's team to win CIF in the 36 year history of the program. Players to receive CIF honors: Artur Jozkowicz, Offensive Player of the Year for D. IV, Nick Ferro, Defensive Player of the Year for D. IV, Charlie Paris, First Team D. IV, Alessandro Canale First Team D. IV, Alex Kovacs, First Team D.IV, Luis Zavala, Second Team D IV, All CIF Selection. All players were in their senior year.
Coached by Debbie Skaggs, the lady Vikings have been undefeated in league games since 2004. In 2010 the lady Vikings won CIF division IV southern section (first time in samohi history).
Travis Clark coaches the Varsity Football team. There are three different levels: freshman, junior varsity, varsity. Freshman is coached by Doug Kim, Kenneth Bank, and Jason Detemore. Travis Clark was a former All-Bay league and All Westside WR/FS in 1986 at Samohi and attended Utah State University on football scholarship were he became an All-Big West 1st Team FS. The Varsity Football team last won the CIF Championship in 2001 under Head Coach Norm Lacy.
The varsity team won CIF in 2008-2009 and again in 2009-2010. They also won USA Nationals 2007-2008. In 2010, they were finalists at UCA Nationals and came in 14th. The JV co-ed team won CIF for the first time in 2009. Led by coach Amy Meadors.
On April 15, 2005, after several fights broke out between students,[9] Santa Monica police were called in, as well as backup from Beverly Hills and Culver City police. Police ordered all students into their next classes and the school was put on a lockdown for 4–5 hours. After the campus was secured, police escorted students off campus building by building.
At least two police officers are permanently stationed on campus, and students must show their school identification cards to security guards or administrators in order to enter campus or exit during lunch. When students leave for home, identification cards are not checked. After school, anyone is able to enter the campus.
Tension brewed once more on February 3, 2006 when students arrived at school to find racial epithets targeting blacks spray-painted on four different walls around the campus, along with the symbols of the Santa Monica Gangs, SM13 and SM17.[10] Retaliation graffiti was written throughout the day slandering both Latinos and African-Americans. A mediation session was set up in Barnum Hall to try to relieve these tensions,[11] but it suffered from limited participation.
In May 2011, A 17-year-old African American student was allegedly victimized by fellow students on his high school wrestling team. A couple white students assembled a black wresting dummy hanging from the ceiling by a noose. In a separate incident, an African-American student was allegedly tied to a locker, with students yelling "slave for sale!" Students took pictures on their cell phones, but "most if not all were deleted at the request of staff, according to multiple sources," because the staff did not want the incident sent out on the internet. However, a couple students spread the story to the local police. The incident is under investigation. An email from the school principal described it as "an incident with racial overtones." Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent, Tim Cuneo, confirmed that neither the wrestling team nor its coach were in jeopardy."[12][13]
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The Samohi Songs [14])
Hymn of Praise(The Santa Monica High School Alma Mater) Oh Samohi, dear old Samohi, |
Vikings Bold(The Santa Monica High School Fight Song) Forward they go together, Rah! Rah! RahRahRah! Repeat (after 2nd time) |