Poway High School

Poway High School (PHS) is a public, comprehensive high school located in the city of Poway, California. Established in 1961, it serves ninth through twelfth grade students from the communities of Poway and Rancho Bernardo. The school mascot is the Titan. Poway is the oldest high school in the Poway Unified School District.

Poway High School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. First granted in 1965, the current accreditation is valid through 2008. Poway High School is both a California Distinguished School Award winner (1999) and a National Blue Ribbon School (1990/91).

Campus

The campus is in northern San Diego County, approximately 35 miles northeast of downtown San Diego. The campus covers 59 acres (238,765 m²).

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Poway's athletic teams, the Titans, compete in the Palomar League and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) San Diego Section.

The school fields teams in 20 sports: gymnastics, baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, roller hockey, soccer, softball, swimming, diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, wrestling, and rugby.

The wrestling program has won four state championships, 57 different CIF division awards, and numerous Palomar League awards.

The 2007 football team finished the season 12-0 and were the CIF Division I champions. They again won the CIF Division I championship in 2011 with a record of 12-0-1.

The 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 baseball teams won back to back Palomar League and CIF Division I Championships. Over the last four years the Titan's baseball team has been consistently ranked among the top twenty teams in the nation.

The 2007-2008 Boys Soccer team finished with a record of 23-2-5 and were the Palomar League and CIF Division I Champions. They were also finalists in the first annual Southern California Regional Soccer Championships.

Boys Tennis won CIF in both 2007 and 2008

The Girls Golf team won the 2006 CIF State Championship and the 2006 CIF San Diego Section Championship.

Also, the Marching Band has won many competitions throughout the years. Most recently they were crowned MBOS (Marching Band Open Series) champions, over 26 other competing groups, in Corona California, in November 2009.

The 2000 Boys Cross Country team placed third at the CIF State Championship.

Instrumental Music

The music program consists of several bands all directed by Sylvester Sybilski and Mike Cook: Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and the top band Wind Symphony, as well as the marching band, The Emerald Brigade. String Ensembles include Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra. Also, Poway has a Jazz Band and a Concert Percussion Ensemble. The Percussion Ensemble replaced the percussion Winterline shows in 2007. All groups consistently receive Superior ratings at the El Camino and district Festival competitions.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, the Poway High School music program was designated a Grammy Signature School by the Grammy Foundation.

Choral Music

Poway High School also boasts one of the most successful choral programs in Southern California, and the entire United States, under the direction of Nancy Gray. The school has 4 choral groups, of which 2 are audition-only. The choirs, from more novice to more advanced are:

• Beginning Choir
• Concert Choir
• Women's Ensemble
• Die Lieder Singers

The Concert and Die Lieder Singers Choirs are co-Ed, while the Beginning Choir and Women's Ensemble are Women-Only choirs.

In 2006, Poway's chamber group, the Die Lieder Singers won the annual Festival of Gold in San Francisco, CA, scoring a 94.67 on a 6-song festival set adjudicated by 3 judges. The Die Lieder Singers and Women's Ensemble often score superior ratings and place first in many prestigious competitions and festivals, and send many students to Southern California and California All-State Honor Choirs.

In March 2010, both the Women's Ensemble and the Die Lieders singers were selected by audition to participate in the National Youth Choir on stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Four Poway High singers were selected to sing solos for songs composed by the conductor, Dr Jeffrey Ames. Also the Die Lieder Singers were selected to be the featured choir and to sing their own set of songs on stage. They dedicated this performance to Chelsea King.

Spring Musicals

Poway's choral music department is also known for its extremely successful musical productions every spring, usually performed in February or March of the school year. For each one Nancy Gray is the music director, and they bring in a director and choreographer from the community. The last few shows have been:

• (2013) Hello, Dolly! - Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart
• (2012) Bye Bye Birdie - Michael Stewart, Lee Adams, and Charles Strouse
• (2011) Fiddler on the Roof - Bock and Harnick
• (2010) Once Upon a Mattress - Rodgers and Hammerstein
• (2009) Guys and Dolls - Frank Loesser
• (2008) The Music Man - Meredith Willson
• (2007) The Secret Garden - Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon
• (2006) Les Misérables - Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schöenberg
• (2005) Beauty and the Beast - Alan Menken and Tim Rice
• (2004) The Pirates of Penzance - Gilbert and Sullivan
• (2003) Oklahoma! - Rodgers and Hammerstein
• (2002) Cinderella - Rodgers and Hammerstein

The Poway High musicals often win National Youth Theatre Awards. Hello Dolly! was awarded four, and previously Bye Bye Birdie wom three.

Theatre Guild

Poway's stage productions, under the direction of Rollin Swan, are well known for being the most successful in the district; the Theatre Guild stages a Shakespearean play every fall ("Taming of the Shrew" in 2009,A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2008, Twelfth Night in 2007, King Lear in 2006, etc.) and puts up one or two smaller-scale productions every winter, with the spring play often a large-scale play written and directed by a senior for a senior project (2008 brought senior Marcus Kevorkyan's highly acclaimed Internal Bliss). In 2010, Theatre Guild performed "Triangle Factory Fire Project" to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Triangle Factory Fire disaster.

Day of Silence incident

On April^[2] 22, 2004, Poway junior Tyler Chase Harper came to school wearing a t-shirt with masking tape on the front and back, upon which was written "Homosexuality is shameful - Romans 1:27" and "Be ashamed, our school has embraced what God condemned." The incident occurred one day after the Day of Silence, a national protest staged by high-school students against homophobia and sponsored by several state and national gay rights organizations. Harper was sent to the principal's office by a teacher, where he was asked to remove the tape; he refused.. He then was forced to stay in the school's office until the end of the school day.

The incident garnered a minor amount of attention in local and national media as an example of tensions in schools arising from homophobia and religious freedom. California, at the time, was in the process of reforming domestic partnership laws (see Domestic partnership in California).

Backed by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal group, Harper eventually sued the district, claiming a violation of his right to free speech. Ultimately, lower federal court rulings holding against Harper were vacated by the US Supreme Court as both moot and of no legal precedent.^[3]

A film called "Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech" from HBO Films uses this case as an example of a violation of the 1st Amendment rights.

Notable alumni

• Jud Buechler – Former NBA Player most notably for the Chicago Bulls. Has 3 NBA Championship rings with the Bulls.^[4]

• Kellye Cash – Miss America 1987.
• Greg Dalby – Soccer player who was a two-time All-American at Notre Dame and captain in 2005 of the U.S. Men's under-20 National Team.
• Nathan Darmody – Former lead guitarist and vocals for the band Allstar Weekend, signed by Hollywood Records in 2009; graduated from Poway High in 2009.
• Tom DeLonge (1993) – Guitarist/vocalist for Blink-182, Angels & Airwaves, and Box Car Racer. Expelled during his junior year for drinking alcohol at a basketball game, reinstated his senior year and graduated from Poway High in 1993.
• Kristin Dos Santos (1993) – E! Entertainment Personality.^{[citation needed]}
• Lauren Elaine - Fashion Designer, Actress, and Model, known for her appearances on America's Next Top Model, The Ringer, and Maxim Hot 100.
• Tony Gwynn Jr. – MLB Player Los Angeles Dodgers, son of Padre Hall of Famer.^[5]
• Charley Hoffman – PGA Tour Member. Won the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship.^[6]
• Tom Norris – Former keyboardist of the band Allstar Weekend, signed by Hollywood Records in 2009; graduated from Poway High in 2009.
• Bradley Klahn – NCAA Division I singles champion for tennis in 2010.
• Bobby Lee – Comedian on MADtv.^[7]
• Bill Lunde – PGA Tour Member, won the 2010 Turning Stone Resort Championship. Also a member of the 1998 UNLV Golf Team that won the NCAA Championship.
• James Meetze – Poet, author of the books "Dayglo" (winner of 2010 Sawtooth Poetry Prize),I Have Designed This For You, Serenades, and Instrument.^{[citation needed]}

• Catherine Opie (1979) – Photographer and Professor of Art at University of California, Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}
• Phil Plantier – Former Major League Baseball player.^[8]
• Zach Porter – Lead Vocals for ←the band Allstar Weekend, signed by Hollywood Records in 2009; graduated from Poway High in 2008.
• Cameron Quiseng – Bassist for the band Allstar Weekend, signed by Hollywood Records in 2009; attended Poway High, but graduated from Rancho Bernardo High School in 2008.
• Brian Rast – Professional poker player who won two WSOP bracelets at the 2011 World Series of Poker. Rast graduated as valedictorian from Poway High in 2000.^[9][10]
• Gabe Serbian – Drummer, recording artist. (attended 1994-1996)
• Stephanie Seymour – Victoria's Secret model.^{[citation needed]}
• Dave Smith – 13-year major league relief pitcher with the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs.
• Drew Wahlroos – Linebacker for the St. Louis Rams.^[11]
• Marvell Wynne II – Soccer defender, who currently plays for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, the team having won the 2010 MLS Cup. Wynne played two years of college soccer at UCLA, where he was named First Team All-American in 2005, and was part of the Under-20 team at the 2005 World Youth Championship. He also started all three games for the USA Men's Olympic Team during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

References

External links

• Poway High School site
• Poway High ASB Site
• Poway Unified School District site
• Poway High School Library
• School Accountability Report Card Summary (2003-2004) (pdf file)
• Poway High School Iliad (newspaper)

Coordinates: 32°59′53″N 117°01′30″W / 32.99806°N 117.02500°W / 32.99806; -117.02500