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Palo Alto High School

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Coordinates: 37°26′13″N 122°09′25″W / 37.437°N 122.157°W / 37.437; -122.157
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Palo Alto High School
Address
Map
50 Embarcadero Road

Palo Alto
,
California
94301

United States
Coordinates37°26′13″N 122°09′25″W / 37.437°N 122.157°W / 37.437; -122.157
Information
School typePublic, comprehensive high school
MottoesThe former Palo Alto High School sign.
Founded1898
School districtPalo Alto Unified School District
OversightWestern Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Schools
SuperintendentKevin Skelly
PrincipalJacqueline McEvoy
Faculty169 [1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1763
LanguageEnglish
CampusSuburban
AreaNorthern Santa Clara County
Color(s)    Green & White
MascotVikings
Team nameVikings
Feeder schoolsJordan Middle School
JLS Middle School
Terman Middle School
Websitehttp://www.paly.net


Palo Alto Senior High School was founded in 1898 and is one the oldest high schools in the region. Located in Palo Alto, California, United States, "Paly," as the school is known locally, draws high-achieving and scholastically-minded students due to the demographics of its location in the heart of Silicon Valley and its proximity to Stanford University. In 2002 Newsweek magazine ranked it among the top 200 public high schools based on Advanced Placement test scores.[2] In 2007 US News & World Report magazine ranked it #85 out of over 18,000 public high schools.[3] Palo Alto High also carries on a distinguished athletic tradition, marked by a rivalry with crosstown foe Gunn. Titles won by teams from Paly range from California State Championships in Boys Varsity Basketball in 1993 (during which the team went undefeated) and 2006, to CCS Championships in Football in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Paly is situated on the older, northern side of Palo Alto, a location it has occupied since 1919. The western boundary of campus is El Camino Real, opposite which stands Stanford Stadium and the campus of Stanford University. The northern end of Paly runs along Embarcadero Road (from which the main parking lot is accessible).

The school can be reached by the VTA bus line 22 along El Camino Real, the Dumbarton Express bus, the SamTrans bus line KX, Stanford's free Marguerite shuttle, Caltrain's Palo Alto station, as well as by the Palo Alto city shuttle, which runs along Embarcadero Road.

The school mascot is the Viking.

Student organizations

Student Government

Paly ASB leadership includes the ASB President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Spirit Commissioners, Class Presidents and VP's, and Web Design/Communications Officer. The purpose of the ASB, as defined by its constitution, is the representation on behalf of the student body, the conduct of activities on behalf of the students of Palo Alto High School as approved by the principal and the governing board of the Palo Alto Unified School District. Activities include school dances, Spirit Week, and other ceremonies.

Publications

  • The Campanile is Paly's school print publication. It claims one of the largest circulations of any high school newspaper in the Bay Area and is one of the longest running student journalism programs on the west coast. It prints 26 broadsheet pages once every three weeks. It has won four Pacemaker awards and also a West regional award for editorial excellence from Time. The current teacher and advisor of the Campanile is Esther Wojcicki.
  • Verde is Paly's school magazine publication, published five times each year. Verde is the widest distributed student-run magazine in the nation, and has won numerous Pacemaker and Gold Crown awards for scholastic journalism, including the 2005 Gold Crown award in the Newspaper category. In 2006 Verde won the Best in Show at National Journalism Convention held in San Francisco. In 2008 Verde was one of four newsmagazines awarded the Pacemaker award from the National Scholastic Press Association, considered to be the "Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism."[4]
  • The Paly Voice, launched in the 2002-3 school year, is Paly's online news source. It features searchable archives of all other Paly publications as well as exclusive online content. In the spring of 2005 the site won both the People's Voice and Overall Webby Award in the "Student" category, a rare accomplishment for a high school level Internet site. The Voice was also one of the national Online Pacemaker award recipients in 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004, and was a finalist for the same award in 2003. The Voice can be accessed at voice.paly.net.
  • InFocus is Paly's television news channel. It is broadcast five days a week during fourth period, and available only on Paly campus and online at voice.paly.net. It came under fire from Campanile for its unreliability, an issue highlighted by the occasional missed broadcasts due to technical difficulties. The conflict manifested in a cartoon in the Campanile in October, 2007 and a subsequent InFocus segment.
  • Calliope is Paly's literary magazine, published once or twice a year. Its first publication was in 1981-82. It is also available online at calliope.paly.net.
  • The Viking is Paly's campus sports magazine. It was first published first semester of the 2007-2008 year. The received "Best in Show" at the National Scholastic Press Association in Anaheim in 2008. The Viking is the first sports magazine in the nation at the high school level.[citation needed]

Mock Trial

Palo Alto's mock trial team is a perennial force in the Santa Clara County division of the Constitutional Rights Foundation's mock trial competition. Palo Alto competed in the 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2004,[5] 2005,[5] 2006, 2007 and 2008 county finals, beating Lincoln High School in 1995 and 1996 and Lynbrook High School in 2005 and 2007[6] to represent Santa Clara County in the California Mock Trial Competition. In 2008, Palo Alto placed 9th in the state.[7].

Debate

Palo Alto's Debate Team boasts over 40 students fairly evenly divided between two squads: Lincoln-Douglas and Policy (Team) Debate. Founded in the early 1990s by Victor Jih, the team has gone through various iterations over the years since winning the [Tournament of Champions] in LD debate in 1994. It is currently directed by Jennie Savage, a former competitive policy debater from the Montgomery Academy, AL, as well as a published author, Congressional staffer, community organizer, and executive speech coach.

Paly’s Policy Debate squad is headed by coach Ben Picozzi, captain of the Stanford University debate team and former high school debate champion at Mercer Island High School, WA. Assistant coaches include former Bellarmine College Prep debater Anton Blewett, a real estate agent, and former College Preparatory School debate star Sandy Yuan, a Stanford sophomore. The second-year Policy squad has competed in the varsity divisions of numerous national tournaments, including Greenhill, the Big Bronx, the Glenbrooks, Alta, Long Beach, Berkeley, and Stanford. One Palo Alto team of first-year debaters was featured in the finals of the National Qualifying tournament in 2008. In 2008-2009, the CX team has made it to elimination rounds at the Logan Invitational, Alta Silver and Black, and CSU Long Beach Invitational.

Palo Alto also has a very competitive Lincoln-Douglas Debate team headed by former Paly debate champion Daniel Sheehan, a Stanford senior, with Katherine Brainard, a former Niskayuna High School debate champ assisting. The LD team attended the Tournament of Champions in 2005, 2007, and 2008. In the 2007-2008 year, the Palo Alto team won the Dempsey-Cronin Invitational at Santa Clara University, the Stanford Invitational, the College Preparatory School invitational, and the Harker Invitational in Novice/JV. Varsity debaters were in late elimination rounds at the College Preparatory School, Stanford University, Harker, and Berkeley. In 2008-2009, the team has won the varsity division of the Santa Clara University tournament, been in elimination rounds at SCU, CPS, Berkeley, and Harker, and won the California State LD Championships. First-year debaters have won a CFL tournament, and been in quarterfinals at Stanford University. Paly debaters are regular attendees at the Vassar Round Robin in Poughkeepsie, NY, as well as the Victory Briefs and Archer Round Robins in Los Angeles.

In August, the Paly debate team hosts a popular debate and speech institute at Palo Alto High School for Bay Area middle schoolers. This program fills up quickly and is taught in small classes by the debate team members, with adult coaches supervising. State Senator Joe Simitian was the 2008 keynote speaker for the institute.

Theater

Past productions include: Big Love, The Fantasticks, A Chorus Line, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, Metamorphoses, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Learned Ladies, Romeo and Juliet, Anything Goes, The Laramie Project and 43 Plays For 43 Presidents. Every other year, Paly holds a Spring showcase of student-written and directed one-act plays called "Speed Limit 25".

The Thespian Society is the oldest club on campus, and facilitates field trips to see plays throughout the Bay Area, as well as to attend acting and improv workshops. Since 2004, the annual Play in a Day festival has been held the first weekend of Winter Break, when theater alumni join current students in the Haymarket to write, rehearse and perform one-act plays within a period of just over 24 hours.

In 2008, Kristen Lo left the theatre department and was replaced by Kathleen Woods.

Robotics

The Palo Alto High School (Paly) Robotics Team, established in 1996 by Doug Bertain and his engineering technology students, is one of the many active academic programs at Paly. They are funded mainly by corporate sponsors. The team competes annually in competitions such as the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Competition, the Electric Vehicle Rally, Botball, and The Tech Challenge. In 2006, the team won first place at the FIRST Las Vegas Regional Competition. In 2007, the team was selected to participate in, and given a $10,000 grant from, MIT's InvenTeams program.

Music Program

Palo Alto High offers a variety of music programs encompassing both vocal and instrumental groups:

  • Symphonic Band is offered for Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors, and includes various concerts throughout the year. It is taught by Jeff Willner. The Symphonic Band has received numerous awards and high ratings, including "Unanimous Superior" at the California Music Educators Association tests.
  • Concert Band is offered for Freshman, and does combined performances with the Symphonic Band during the Winter football season, and the May Fete Parade during the Spring. This class is taught by David Brigham and Jeff Willner.
  • Orchestra is taught by Jeff Willner.
  • Jazz Band is taught by Jeff Willner and David Brigham.
  • Jazz Ensemble is taught by Jeff Willner and David Brigham.
  • Concert Choir is taught by Michael Najar. It has received much local recognition including: Unanimous Superior ratings at CMEA adjudications, fourth place Golden State Choral Festival (2009), top ranked Concert Choir AND top ranked Choral Group at Anaheim Music Festival (2007 and 2009)and toured internationally to Europe, Brazil, and Mexico.
  • Beginning Choir is a group for freshmen and beginning singers, taught by Michael Najar. It is a fun preparatory experience for Concert Choir and is also highly ranked regionally.
  • Madrigal Singers is a highly advanced chamber choir handpicked from the ranks of Concert Choir, with a longstanding Palo Alto tradition of authentic Tudor dress and 16th century music. The Madrigal Singers' year culminates with the Madrigal Dinner, an English celebration in midwinter.
  • Spectrum Singers is a female chamber choir, also holding high recognition from both Anaheim Music Festival and CMEA adjudication events.
  • Heartbeats is a student run female quartet.
  • Heartbreakers is a student run male quartet, in imitation of the Heartbeats.

Standardized testing statistics

SAT

SAT I: Reasoning Test
Section Mean Score
Critical Reading 669
Math 656
Writing 629
Scores are of students from the class of 2009

Source: [9]

Palo Alto High School is also one of the approved testing centers in the area and numerous students from Palo Alto as well as other local schools can select the campus as the location for their standardized tests through the College Board website.

Campus traditions

Since Palo Alto High school was built at its current location in 1919, it has acquired a host of campus traditions.

Spirit Week

Each class is assigned a color for Spirit Week, which they wear on Wednesday. Each day has its own costume theme, which is broken down into sub-themes by class. Rallies and competitions are held on the quad at lunch and points are awarded to each class based on their performance. Points can also be taken away for poor sportsmanship or the wearing of unauthorized class apparel.

The senior class has almost always won Spirit Week. One exception was of the class of 2006. The class theme was voted to be "Herbology: We're higher than you," but the school decided it would not be appropriate and students found wearing the shirts were asked to remove the shirt, turn it inside out, or add language making the statement political. During Spirit Week, the class was penalized for wearing the shirts and was the first senior class to not only not win, but to achieve a negative score. Additionally, the class of 1987 won Spirit Week three years in a row, junior through senior years and the class of 2002 won three our of four years,(1998,1999,2001) With the Class of 2001 winning its only Spirit Week as Seniors(2000)[citation needed]

Senior pranks

  • Six-foot F painted on Stanford's main quad (c. 1992)[8]
  • 1998- a dozen hamsters let loose during an AP Biology finals exam
  • Cow in Tower Building (possibly apocryphal)[9]
  • Library broken into; library carrels moved to quad (1923)[9]
  • Greased pigs numbered 6, 2, and 3 released in library (very possibly apocryphal)
  • Giant inflatable water polo ball taken from Stanford was re-inflated on top of the library building (2003)[9]
File:Senior Prank 2007.jpg
2007
  • A car which was decorated by seniors for a prank was turned over on the senior deck and a painted ass was cemented into a seating area.[10][11](2007)

Notable alumni

Notable visitors

  • Philip Zimbardo, Professor of Psychology at Stanford, 2008.
  • James Franco, actor, alumni, spoke at the baccalaureate of the class of 2007. Franco visited again in 2008 to gather information for his novel.
  • Walter Mondale, former U.S. Vice President, 2006
  • David M. Kennedy, historian and author of The American Pageant, 2006, 2007
  • Mary Tillman, mother of the late American football player and soldier Pat Tillman, 2006
  • Alan Bersin, California Secretary of Education, 2006
  • Annette Bening, American Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress, 2006
  • Steve Young, football player for the San Francisco 49ers, 2004.
  • LeVar Burton, actor, producer, director, spoke at the baccalaureate of the class of 2000 and 2005
  • The Grateful Dead, when they still went by "The Warlocks" (They played a show in the theater)
  • Kavita Ramdas, spoke at the Baccalaureate of the class of 2009

Sources: The Paly Voice at http://voice.paly.net

Trivia

  • The school colors were green and red until school year 1947-48 when they were changed to green and white by student vote. Template:Ref. p. 11 of 1948 Madrono, school yearbook.
  • Alum Nathan Ford, class of 2005, was mentioned on a nationally aired episode of "The Office", ep. 6 season 5, when talking about Cornell University's football season

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Staff list
  2. ^ Jeffries, Kimberly and Laila Ouhamou, researchers
  3. ^ Gold Medal Schools - US News and World Report
  4. ^ http://www.studentpress.org/nspa/winners/npm08.html
  5. ^ a b Chana Karlin-Neumann. Mock Trial Team Dominates County, Campanile, 7 March, 2005.
  6. ^ Erik Krasner-Karpen. Mock Trial qualifies for States, Campanile, 9 March, 2007.
  7. ^ Mock trial places at championships despite lack of guidance, Voice, 23 April, 2008.
  8. ^ Marek, Grant. "There's More to the Big Game than 'the Play': Rivalry has Storied Tradition of Pranks, Acts of School Pride", Daily Californian, 76 November, 2001. [1]
  9. ^ a b c Cook, Gavin. "Pranks brighten, blemish Paly environment", Campanile, 2 June, 2009. [2]
  10. ^ Coté, John. "Senior prank: Volvo belly-up on campus", San Francisco Chronicle, 7 June, 2007. [3]
  11. ^ Kazak, Don. "Paly 'senior prank' has felony consequences", Palo Alto Weekly, 8 June, 2004[4]
  12. ^ Biographical Info/Chronology page, Joan Baez's official web site
  13. ^ Disney Legends web site, "Legend Bio: Ollie Johnston, Animation," accessed March 14, 2009
  14. ^ Nolan, William F. "Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970)," 'Early Life' sub-section, pages 1-2, accessed March 14, 2009
  15. ^ Faraudo, Jeff. "Kirksey strikes gold in two sports". Oakland Tribune. FindArticles.com. 15 Mar, 2009. [5]
  16. ^ "The Last Roundup." Oakland Tribune. FindArticles.com. March 15, 2009 [6]
  17. ^ Tennis, Mark. "Mr. Basketball 2003: Trevor's Time." Scout.com, April 3, 2003 [7]
  18. ^ Palo Alto History Project, "The Grateful Dead: Making the Scene in Palo Alto"
  19. ^ [8]
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