Huntington Beach High School

Huntington Beach High School (HBHS) is a secondary school located in Huntington Beach, California which first began operating in its respective city in 1906. This school is part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District, which includes several other area high schools. According to the school's website, "the attendance boundaries for HBHS stretch east from Brookhurst Street, north four miles to Warner Ave., and up the coast to a portion of Seal Beach." Their athletic teams are known as the Oilers and the school colors are orange and black. The school is located on Main Street between Utica and Yorktown.

History

Beginnings: The School on Wheels

Huntington Beach High School's founding was one of uncertainty and political opposition. Originally known as Las Bolsa High School, the school opened in Los Alamitos in 1902 and served as a secondary school for Westminster, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos, Bolsa, New Hope, Fountain Valley, Chica, Ocean View and Springdale elementary districts. However, after only one student showed up for class, the site was scrapped four days after its opening. After attempts to find a permanent location failed due to political opposition and controversy, the remaining districts of Ocean View, Springdale and Fountain Valley were joined by those of Huntington Beach and Newport Elementary.

In 1906, the "school on wheels," as it was often called because of its inability to secure a permanent location, finally settled in Huntington Beach and began operation as Huntington Beach Union High School. Classes were initially held in the basement of an auditorium operated by the local Methodist church. Having received a land grant from the Huntington Beach Company, the high school completed construction of its first permanent buildings at its current location in 1908. By 1910, there were seven teachers and three clubs; Huntington Beach had a population of 815 people. By this time the four graduates had become an average of 14 graduates a year. The first graduating class consisted of six students, but expanded rapidly in the next decade into the hundreds.

In 1921, the Huntington Beach Company increased mining in abundant oil fields around the city bringing a wave of prosperity to the area. In 1926, the school's architects, Allison and Allison (a Santa Ana firm), described the school's structure as a Lombard Romanesque Revival. The iconic bell tower and auditorium were the first buildings constructed, and seven other buildings were built between 1926 and 1952.

1970s: Remodeling

In the 1970s, Huntington Beach High School began construction of new facilities. Many of the old buildings (except the bell tower and auditorium) were demolished and rebuilt because they were not built up to current earthquake and fire codes. The quad was redesigned and landscaped with new trees.

2004: Measure C

In March 2004, Measure C passed, granting a massive bond for school funding. As HBHS was nearing its centennial and was the oldest in the district, it received a lion's share of the money. Construction began and the summer and has continued since. Infrastructure projects has elevated the school with up-to-date piping and rewiring. Handicap ramps were built in and around difficult places for ADA compilance. The D Building, which contains math and science classrooms, is currently being retrofitted with an elevator, the last of the academic buildings which requires such construction. However, no plans have been proposed for making the M building (which contains music and recording arts classrooms) handicap accessible.

However, the remodeling has yet to be finished. Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, a massive number of portables will be brought on campus and classes will be rotated on a yearly basis out into the portables. They are planning to gut the Math and Science building (D building) and completely build it from the ground up again, among other massive changes. It will require that the classes in the affected buildings to be moved out of the portable on a yearly basis to begin and complete the remodeling.

Hail, Hail to Huntington: School Songs

"School Song"

In 1909, Ethel Crane composed a school song that is no longer recognized, but is preserved as historically significant to the school.

In a land of glowing sunsets,
Where chime the mission bells,
Lies a realm by shining sea-sands,
Where the golden sunbeam dwells,
Where white-capped waves are dashing
On a shore we all love well,
And in this land of sunshine
Is the school of which we tell.

H.B. High School, H.B. High School,
Of the land of brightest flowers,
H.B. High School, H.B. High School,
What a happy kingdom outs,
In our memories thou wilt linger
So long as we shall live,
And to our own dear High School,
Our loyal love we give.

Though future years divide us
And between us oceans lie,
Though different paths we're walking
And school days are gone by,
Yet in our thoughtful moments
Our minds will backward fly
To the tie that still will blind us --
All the thoughts of H.B. High.

The Alma Mater

Hail, hail to Huntington, thy pillars noble and strong,
Like spires that rise to vaulted skys,
We raise our loyal song.
Ne'er can thy spirit die, nor ever can thy walls decay,
So give a hail, hail to Huntington,
Thy glory shall not fade away!

Notable programs and people

Academy for the Performing Arts

Huntington Beach High School serves as the host campus for the District's magnet arts program, the Academy for the Performing Arts. This audition-only extra-curriculur school offers majors in six disciplines: Acting, Commercial Recording Arts, Dance, Instrumental Music, Musical Theatre, and Technical Theatre. All mainstage performances are shown in the historic Darrel Stillwagon Auditorium, an Orange County Historical Landmark.

Originally formed under the name School of the Performing Arts (SPA), the program opened in the 1994-1995 season with Little Shop of Horrors. In 1997, the name was changed from SPA to the Academy for the Performing Arts.

The Legacy: Model United Nations

When the program began in 1972 by history teacher Lynn Aase, the Model United Nations program initially consisted of 35 students who attended the Harvard conference. The program now consists of more than 300 students who attend conferences locally, nationally and internationally. HBHS MUN has sent winning delegations to New York, Rhode Island, Canada, Washington DC, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and they are considered one of the best and most competitive MUN programs in the country. At the UC Berkeley conference, a competition in which many top schools in the country attend, HBHS MUN delegates have won 24 out of the 25 delegation awards in years they've attended.

Sports

In 1989, the Huntington Beach Oilers football team went 8-2, losing only to Mater Dei and Ocean View, winning first place in the Sunset League. The Oilers, however, had to forfeit all of their games because of an ineligible player. The starting tackle had moved from Maryland, however his mother had not sold their home in Maryland before moving to Huntington Beach. Because of this, CIF ruled that this was a case of dual residency, and he was ineligible. A school-wide walk-out ensued the following day, with students marching down Main St., up Yorktown Ave., and then settling on Sheue Field, the football field. Later that night, a candlelight vigil was held in front of the school. The Oilers appealed the CIF ruling in the court. Judge Thomas N Thrasher ruled in favor of Huntington Beach High School. As the team began to practice for the playoffs the next night, news broke that the judge's ruling had been overturned. Local televisions stations covered all the events.

All-Pro Tight End Tony Gonzalez is an alumnus of HBHS. Also notable is Eric Anderson, the first openly gay track coach. Anderson coached during the 1990s and wrote Trailblazing: The True Story of America's First Openly Gay Track Coach (ISBN 1-55583-524-4), a memoir about his battle to gain acceptance and teach at HBHS. Sacha Kljestan of Major League Soccer's CD Chivas USA in Los Angeles is a 2003 graduate of HBHS. Also notable is Hank Conger, an Asian-American baseball player that, in 2006, was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the first round.

The school competes in the Sea View League. Prior to the 2006-07 academic year, it competed in the Sunset League.

Seasonal sports schedule

Music groups

• The Big 4
• Suburban Legends
• Hellogoodbye
• Avenged Sevenfold
• Great Glass Elevator

Notable Alumni

• Joe Penny, Actor
• Tito Ortiz, Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
• Stu Gillies (Drew Scott), Network TV News Correspondent
• Forrest Kline, Lead Vocals for Hellogoodbye
• Quenby Hersh, Professional Ballet Dancer
• Hank Conger, Professional Baseball Player (MLB)
• Tony Gonzalez, Professional Football Player (NFL)

Facilities

Sports

• Indoor gym
• Swimming pool
• Cap Sheue Football Stadium
• All-weather track
• Weight training facilities
• 4 baseball fields
• 3 soccer fields

Arts

• Darrell Stillwagon Historic Auditorium
• Audio recording facilities
  • Macintosh media laboratory
  • Guitar stations
  • ProTools recording
• Video production facilities
  • Green screen
  • Video editing stations
• Two dance classrooms
• Darkroom
• Ceramics and other fine arts facilities
• Digital media

Vocational Shops and other resources

• Auto shop
• Wood shop
• Family and consumer science facilities
• Library
• Career center
• Photography laboratory
• 4 computer laboratories

Wikipedia information about Huntington Beach High School This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Huntington Beach High School". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.