Abraham Lincoln High School (San Jose, California)

Abraham Lincoln High School is a high school in the San Jose Unified School District. It is a magnet school for "Academic, Visual, and Performing Arts" (AVPA).^[1] The current principal is Matthew Hewitson .^[2]

Activities

Abraham Lincoln High School offers various extracurricular activities. Eight Lincoln Performing Arts teachers along with numerous volunteers are responsible for the drama, dance, and music department. Lincoln is also noted for its Mock Trial team, which is the one of only two California Mock Trial teams to have won the California State Championships twice in a row (the other is La Reina High School). Lincoln Lion Tales, a student-run newspaper, highlights recent events at the school.

Performing Arts

The school has five performing arts programs; Orchestra, Band, Choir, Dance, and Drama. Each department has 3-12 classes and a variety of levels tailored to students at all levels.

Orchestra

Lincoln's orchestral program consists of three ensembles: Intermezzo, string orchestra and the Lincoln High Chamber Orchestra. The orchestral program also has two spinoff groups: Lincoln's mariachi band and the Lincoln Philharmonic Orchestra.

Band

Lincoln has a variety of bands ranging from a classical wind symphony to the Jazz Band. Also, each of the school's musicals features a live "pit band".

Choir

The school's choir program consists of about a half dozen choir classes with levels ranging from beginning to advanced. There are two sub-departments in Lincoln choir - the Jazz groups and the Classical groups. Chamber Chorale (Classical), Vocal Ease (Jazz), and Estetica (Jazz) are the top three groups.

Dance

With a dozen classes and hundreds of performers, the dance department is Lincoln's largest performing arts program. The top group is the 20 member "Convertibles", a dance ensemble that performs lyrical, classical, and jazz pieces. There are the Xochitl Cultural and Folklorico Dance programs.^[3] The dance team was also the USA Grand National Champs for 3 years in a row (2005–2007). They are 2009 USA National Champs in Intermediate Dance.

Drama

The drama department puts on four productions per year in addition to a three day "One Act Festival" at the end of each year. The four show season features two musicals, a Shakespearean show, and a play aimed toward children. There is a fifth production each summer. It is almost always a musical.

The department itself consists of five theatre class and two technical theatre groups that cover a wide range of material each year.

Athletics

The school mascot is a Lion. The school colors are blue and gold. Lincoln High offers cross country, water polo, tennis, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, football, baseball, softball, soccer, golf, badminton, track and field, and swimming.

The football teams of San Jose High School and Lincoln face off at San Jose City College each Thanksgiving in the Big Bone Game. This rivalry game has been held since 1942 and is held annually at neutral-site San Jose City College. It gets its name from a San Jose High School student who, in 1942, found a large steer leg in his father's butcher shop and declared it the trophy for the winning school. The junior varsity football teams from both schools hold the Little Bone Game annually on the Thursday prior to the Big Bone Game.

The track and field is named after Don Bowden, a Lincoln High School student who went on to the Olympics and to become the first American to beat the 4 minute mile.^[4]

Demographics

0.3% American Indian, 4.4% Asian, 2.4% Filipino, 3.0% African American, 16.9% White, 69.2% Latino, 0.5% Pacific Islander, two more races 2.2%

Notable alumni

• Don Bowden, an Olympic runner and the first American to break the 4 minute mile.^[5]
• Courtney Bryan, professional American football player^[6]
• Lorna Dee Cervantes, poet^[7]
• Megan Dirkmaat, 2004 Summer Olympics silver medalist; Rowing^[8][9]
• Shamako Noble, hip-hop artist and political activist
• Bud Ogden, professional basketball player^[10]
• Ralph Ogden, professional basketball player^[11]

References

External links

• Official website
• San Jose Unified School District