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Homestead High School (Cupertino, California)
Encyclopedia
Homestead High School is a four-year high school
serving north western Cupertino
, western Sunnyvale
, and portions of southern Los Altos
, in Santa Clara County
, California
. Established in 1962, the school serves 2,270 students in grades 9 to 12 as part of the Fremont Union High School District
(FUHSD). In 2003 and 2009, the California Department of Education recognized Homestead as a California Distinguished School
, and in 2004, the Federal Department of Education recognized Homestead as a Blue Ribbon School.
Source:
As of the 2007 school year, the racial composition was as follows:
Approximately 5.5% of the student population were economically disadvantaged.
Source:
. During the late 1960s and 1970s, the school was a haven for students interested in electronics and the emerging computer age. The school’s electronics class is considered as seminal as Frederick Terman
's program at Stanford University
. During this period, the electronics teacher, John McCollum, created a hands-on classroom in which students like Stephen Wozniak learned while designing, building, repairing, and understanding a range of equipment. Today, would-be engineers, mathematicians, and entrepreneurs find support through the school's programs in robotics, mathematics, science, business courses, and its Future Business Leaders of America chapter.
Homestead High School is bordered by Homestead Road to the north and Interstate 280
to the south. Beginning in the summer of 2009, solar panels and shade structures were added over both parking lots and the fields were reorganized so that a stadium could be constructed. The other half of campus, facing Homestead Road, consists of several school buildings. The majority of the buildings have an inner corridor with outdoor corridors connecting the buildings. Green-colored hoofmarks decorate Homestead High School's sidewalks and walkways, which are from the school's official mascot and color. The front walls of the school are decorated with murals of similar theme, including a large mural of a mustang
.
and inclusion classes to support the needs of English Language Learners
and Special education
students. The school also offers a Peer Tutorial program and a program called EXCEL to serve the needs of students unable to pass the California High School Exit Exam
and finish graduation requirements. The school introduced a block schedule in the 2003 school year that includes a 25-minute tutorial period four days a week.
Academically, Homestead ranks in the top 20 high schools in Santa Clara County
. Based on the average standardized test scores of its diverse student body, Homestead is ranked fourth of five in the Fremont Union High School District
, below top-ranked Monta Vista High School
,second-ranked Lynbrook High School
, and third ranked Cupertino High School
and above Fremont High School
. In science, math, and business, Homestead students have matched or outperformed students at Lynbrook and Monta Vista, and Homestead students have regularly placed among the top schools in the United States.
(CCGC) champion in three different classification, the program is at it's peak of excellence. The unit has won numerous Winter Guard International
(WGI
) regional and, in 2009, was a Scholastic A Class finalist at the WGI World Championships. The program currently competes in the Scholastic Open classification in the CCGC and WGI circuits. Staff currently includes Caption Heads Luis Valcazar and Catherine Green and they are assisted by Laura Koester, Frank De La Rosa, Alan Gairoen, Jay Murphy, Lorevic Rivera, among others.
) has enjoyed a meteoric rise since 2006 through four different divisions, competing in the California Color Guard Circuit
(CCGC), Winter Guard International (WGI
), and San Joaquin Valley Color Guard and Percussion Review (SJVCGPR) circuits. Homestead's percussion ensemble is the CCGC 2010 Scholastic World Division Champion. The world class instructional staff are Dave Sankus, Lane Armey, David Medina, Alec Swink, Daemon Williams and Jason Freitas.
The paper also received one of its highest honors, The Press Freedom Award from the Student Press Law Center, in 1988 for its successful defense of a story about a junior boy who was HIV positive, one of the first such stories in any high school newspaper. The story had been initially censored by the principal but was allowed to run when the newspaper invoked California Education Code section [48907] California Education Code 48907
, a California law that protected students' rights to free expression. The story was reported nationally in the wake of a Supreme Court's decision in Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al., 484 U.S. 260 (1988) This case gave school officials greater latitude in determining the content of a school's official student publications. The California law made the ruling moot in the state.
During that same period, the paper also won numerous local and state awards. The San Jose Mercury News named the paper the best in its annual contest for Silicon Valley student newspapers ten of the twelve years the paper ran the contest. It was also awarded the top prize from the San Francisco Press Club several times during that period, as well as the top prize from the now-defunct Palo Alto Times.
The paper's unusual name was selected by the school's first students in 1962. In keeping with the school's western theme and Mustang mascot, they named the paper after the first newspaper west of the Rockies, The Tombstone, Arizona Epitaph, which had been popularized in a television series of the time about Wyatt Earp, "Tombstone Territory."
Some of the newspaper's former staffers have gone on to work in journalism professionally. Among them, Alex Williams ('83) and Michael D. Shear ('86) write for The New York Times. Erica Werner ('89) is a White House correspondent for The Associated Press.
The paper's adviser from 1976 to 1994, Nick Ferentinos, was the 1994 Dow Jones News Fund's National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year.
The newspaper's official website can be found at www.thehhsepitaph.com
. The team was created by students in 2001. The team number is 670, including Emily and Tiffany. Alumnus Steve Wozniak
has served as a key supporter of the team over the years. Homestead offers a robotics class that serves as a recruiting ground for students interested in joining the team. The team has a website detailing its history, mission, news, and ongoing activities.
(AIME). Over the past five years, the team has placed among the top 10 schools in the Mu Alpha Theta National Log 1 Contest Mathematics Contest, taking fifth place nationally in 2009-10, third place in 2008-09, ninth place in 2007-08, and fourth place in 2006 and 2007. From 2003 through 2006, Homestead's math team placed among the top 10 teams nationally in the Ciphering Time Trials, a contest sponsored by National Assessment & Testing
. During this period, Homestead's team also placed among the top 20 teams in several other contests sponsored by National Assessment & Testing, including the Team Scramble, the Four-by-Four, and the Collaborative Problem Solving Contests. In 2002, the Mathematical Association of America
's American Mathematics Competition (AMC) awarded the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Excellence in Teaching to Homestead teacher and team faculty advisor Steve Headley.
and Winter Indoor percussion ensemble
. In April 2010, Homestead's Marching Band was one of only 10 high schools nationwide selected to participate in the 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City
The marching band has enjoyed a continuous run of championships and sweepstakes starting in 1993 with their field show rendition of The Phantom of the Opera
. Since then, the Mighty Mustang Marching Band has performed such shows as The Who's Tommy
, and Miss Saigon
. In their first foray into statewide competition in 2005, the band tied for 6th place in the 5A division at the Western Band Association
(WBA) State Championships.
The following competition results illustrate the marching band's growing success: Grand Sweepstakes Award and Sweepstakes Awards in Music, Marching, Showmanship and Field Show at the Cupertino Tournament of Bands in both 2006 and 2007; The band's colorguard placed 2nd at the 2006 WBA State Championships; Competing against bands from across the Western United States, the band placed 5th in finals at the 2007 Bands of America
regional.; Breaking the 90 mark in WBA competition for the first time in 2008, the marching band placed 5th in the WBA finals with a score of 91.22; The band's percussion section placed 1st in the 5A division at 2009 WBA State Championships.
The jazz, vocal, string and wind ensembles consistently rank superior in competitions. Many of the musical groups have traveled internationally, performing at world-class venues. The Wind Ensemble and Orchestra performed in Carnegie Hall at the 2007 New York Band and Orchestra Festival, winning Silver Awards for each group. Participating in the 2009 Australian International Music Festival held in the Sydney Opera House on a trip to New Zealand and Australia, the Wind Symphony received a Gold Award and the Jazz Ensemble took home a Silver Award.
In accordance with Homestead's long-standing reputation as a leader in internet technology at the high school level, the HHS Marching Band maintained the first website in the Fremont Union High School District
, hand-coded by alumna Shanna Roberts in 1995. The site continued, albeit from a different domain, after her graduation by alumnus Trenton Hill, and is now maintained by the Homestead High School Music Boosters.
in 2002 and 2005. The Pacemaker is awarded to the 20 best yearbooks in the country, often out of more than a thousand contenders. The yearbook was also an NSPA Pacemaker Finalist in 2000 and 2001. In 2006, the CSPA awarded the Pegasus a Silver Crown. The yearbook has also won myriad other awards, ranging from CSPA Gold Circles (awarded for individual stories, concepts, designs, and photography) to various Best in Show awards.
, a competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Over the years, Homestead students have won awards at the National Chemistry Olympiad and the National Science Bowl. Teacher Gareth Wong initially organized and advised the team, and in 2002 the American Chemical Society
recognized his work with a High School Teacher Award for the Western Region. The team is currently advised by chemistry teacher Chris Nafrada and physics teacher Mary Anne Plano. On February 10, 2007, Homestead's team won the regional competition at the Stanford Linear Accelerator, eventually repeating their regional victory on February 2, 2008. At the 2007 National Science Bowl Competition in Washington D.C., Homestead's team placed twelfth out of more than sixty high-school teams, winning a $1,000 prize for the school's science department. In 2009, Homestead made it to the National competition for the third time in a row. At the National Science Bowl Competition, they placed in the top eight out of sixty-seven other high schools.
, where more than 2,000 students competed.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
serving north western Cupertino
Cupertino, California
Cupertino is an affluent suburban city in Santa Clara County, California in the U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 at the time of the 2010 census. Forbes...
, western Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, and portions of southern Los Altos
Los Altos, California
Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
, in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Established in 1962, the school serves 2,270 students in grades 9 to 12 as part of the Fremont Union High School District
Fremont Union High School District
The Fremont Union High School District is a school district in Northern California, serving Cupertino, most of Sunnyvale and parts of San Jose, Los Altos, Saratoga, and Santa Clara. As of 2004, it serves over 9,500 students...
(FUHSD). In 2003 and 2009, the California Department of Education recognized Homestead as a California Distinguished School
California Distinguished School
A California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor each year following a selection...
, and in 2004, the Federal Department of Education recognized Homestead as a Blue Ribbon School.
Demographics
The table below represents the gradual increase in enrolling students between the years 2003 and 2007.| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,844 | 1,823 | 2,001 | 2,089 | 2,270 |
Source:
As of the 2007 school year, the racial composition was as follows:
- WhiteWhite AmericanWhite Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
: 48.2% - BlackAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
: 2.4% - HispanicHispanic and Latino AmericansHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
: 11.1% - AsianAsian AmericanAsian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
: 37.6% - American IndianIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
: 0.5%
Approximately 5.5% of the student population were economically disadvantaged.
Source:
History
Homestead High School had played a role in the development of Silicon ValleySilicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. During the late 1960s and 1970s, the school was a haven for students interested in electronics and the emerging computer age. The school’s electronics class is considered as seminal as Frederick Terman
Frederick Terman
Frederick Emmons Terman was an American academic. He is widely credited with being the father of Silicon Valley.-Education:...
's program at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. During this period, the electronics teacher, John McCollum, created a hands-on classroom in which students like Stephen Wozniak learned while designing, building, repairing, and understanding a range of equipment. Today, would-be engineers, mathematicians, and entrepreneurs find support through the school's programs in robotics, mathematics, science, business courses, and its Future Business Leaders of America chapter.
Campus
Interstate 280 (California)
Interstate 280 is a 57-mile long north–south Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It connects San Jose and San Francisco, running along just to the west of the cities of San Francisco Peninsula for most of its route.I-280 from its northern end at King...
to the south. Beginning in the summer of 2009, solar panels and shade structures were added over both parking lots and the fields were reorganized so that a stadium could be constructed. The other half of campus, facing Homestead Road, consists of several school buildings. The majority of the buildings have an inner corridor with outdoor corridors connecting the buildings. Green-colored hoofmarks decorate Homestead High School's sidewalks and walkways, which are from the school's official mascot and color. The front walls of the school are decorated with murals of similar theme, including a large mural of a mustang
Mustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...
.
Academics
Homestead High School's curriculum includes preparatory courses, vocational training, and general education. The school has a variety of special programs to meet the needs of exceptional students. Open-access Advanced Placement (AP) classes are offered in the subjects US History, English, Physics, Calculus, Art, Government/Economics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Statistics, Spanish, French, Japanese, Music Theory, and Chinese. Several programs promote positive learning for all students, including AVIDAdvancement Via Individual Determination
Advancement Via Individual Determination is an American college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges, focusing on students in the academic middle. The formula is to raise expectations of students...
and inclusion classes to support the needs of English Language Learners
ESL
ESL is a common abbreviation for English as a Second Language, see English language learning and teaching.ESL may also refer to:-Companies:...
and Special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
students. The school also offers a Peer Tutorial program and a program called EXCEL to serve the needs of students unable to pass the California High School Exit Exam
California High School Exit Exam
The California High School Exit Exam is a requirement for high school graduation in the state of California, created by the California Department of Education to improve the academic performance of California high school students, and especially of high school graduates, in the areas of reading,...
and finish graduation requirements. The school introduced a block schedule in the 2003 school year that includes a 25-minute tutorial period four days a week.
Academically, Homestead ranks in the top 20 high schools in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
. Based on the average standardized test scores of its diverse student body, Homestead is ranked fourth of five in the Fremont Union High School District
Fremont Union High School District
The Fremont Union High School District is a school district in Northern California, serving Cupertino, most of Sunnyvale and parts of San Jose, Los Altos, Saratoga, and Santa Clara. As of 2004, it serves over 9,500 students...
, below top-ranked Monta Vista High School
Monta Vista High School
Monta Vista High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino, California, USA. Part of the Fremont Union High School District, the school serves most of the suburban residential and industrial technology enriched area of western Cupertino...
,second-ranked Lynbrook High School
Lynbrook High School
Lynbrook High School is a co-educational, public, four-year secondary school located in the West San Jose neighborhood of San Jose, California, USA...
, and third ranked Cupertino High School
Cupertino High School
Cupertino High School, colloquially referred to as "Tino", is a four-year comprehensive public high school located near the Rancho Rinconada and Fairgrove neighborhoods of Cupertino, California, USA. It is part of the Fremont Union High School District. The school serves mostly suburban...
and above Fremont High School
Fremont High School (Sunnyvale, California)
Fremont High School is a comprehensive, co-educational, public secondary school in Sunnyvale, California, United States. Fremont is currently the only open public high school located in the city of Sunnyvale and is part of the Fremont Union High School District .-History:Fremont was originally...
. In science, math, and business, Homestead students have matched or outperformed students at Lynbrook and Monta Vista, and Homestead students have regularly placed among the top schools in the United States.
Extracurricular activities
Homestead High School provides a broad co-curricular program. Students actively lead and participate in a wide variety of organizations, clubs and teams.Winter Guard
The Winter Guard program is one of the most accomplished in the state. Five time undefeated California Color Guard CircuitCalifornia Color Guard Circuit
California Color Guard Circuit is one of the many circuits part of Winter Guard International . It consists of many schools and independent guard and percussion groups throughout mostly Northern California. Each year CCGC holds its own championships and sends many groups to the world championships...
(CCGC) champion in three different classification, the program is at it's peak of excellence. The unit has won numerous Winter Guard International
Winter Guard International
Spawning from the organization Drum Corps International , Winter Guard International was founded in 1977. WGI is a visual performing arts organization that hosts regional and national competitions for color guard and indoor percussion ensembles. Contests are held in the U.S...
(WGI
Winter Guard International
Spawning from the organization Drum Corps International , Winter Guard International was founded in 1977. WGI is a visual performing arts organization that hosts regional and national competitions for color guard and indoor percussion ensembles. Contests are held in the U.S...
) regional and, in 2009, was a Scholastic A Class finalist at the WGI World Championships. The program currently competes in the Scholastic Open classification in the CCGC and WGI circuits. Staff currently includes Caption Heads Luis Valcazar and Catherine Green and they are assisted by Laura Koester, Frank De La Rosa, Alan Gairoen, Jay Murphy, Lorevic Rivera, among others.
Winter Percussion
Homestead's Winter Percussion (also known as Indoor percussion ensembleIndoor percussion ensemble
An indoor percussion ensemble or indoor drumline consists of the marching percussion and front ensemble sections of a marching band or drum corps. The only exceptions are in concert divisions where the marching line is absent and the ensemble consists entirely of a pit...
) has enjoyed a meteoric rise since 2006 through four different divisions, competing in the California Color Guard Circuit
California Color Guard Circuit
California Color Guard Circuit is one of the many circuits part of Winter Guard International . It consists of many schools and independent guard and percussion groups throughout mostly Northern California. Each year CCGC holds its own championships and sends many groups to the world championships...
(CCGC), Winter Guard International (WGI
WGI
WGI may refer to:* Winter Guard International, an organization for pageantry and performing arts* Worldwide Governance Indicators, an index built by the World Bank to evaluate country governance...
), and San Joaquin Valley Color Guard and Percussion Review (SJVCGPR) circuits. Homestead's percussion ensemble is the CCGC 2010 Scholastic World Division Champion. The world class instructional staff are Dave Sankus, Lane Armey, David Medina, Alec Swink, Daemon Williams and Jason Freitas.
The Epitaph
Homestead's award-winning student newspaper, The Epitaph, won eight Gold Crowns from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). During that same period, it received eight Pacemaker Awards from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). As late as 1994, those were the most national awards ever given to a high school paper.The paper also received one of its highest honors, The Press Freedom Award from the Student Press Law Center, in 1988 for its successful defense of a story about a junior boy who was HIV positive, one of the first such stories in any high school newspaper. The story had been initially censored by the principal but was allowed to run when the newspaper invoked California Education Code section [48907] California Education Code 48907
California Education Code 48907
California Education Code 48907 acts as a counter to the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court ruling, which limited the freedom of speech granted to public high school newspapers. The Hazelwood v...
, a California law that protected students' rights to free expression. The story was reported nationally in the wake of a Supreme Court's decision in Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al., 484 U.S. 260 (1988) This case gave school officials greater latitude in determining the content of a school's official student publications. The California law made the ruling moot in the state.
During that same period, the paper also won numerous local and state awards. The San Jose Mercury News named the paper the best in its annual contest for Silicon Valley student newspapers ten of the twelve years the paper ran the contest. It was also awarded the top prize from the San Francisco Press Club several times during that period, as well as the top prize from the now-defunct Palo Alto Times.
The paper's unusual name was selected by the school's first students in 1962. In keeping with the school's western theme and Mustang mascot, they named the paper after the first newspaper west of the Rockies, The Tombstone, Arizona Epitaph, which had been popularized in a television series of the time about Wyatt Earp, "Tombstone Territory."
Some of the newspaper's former staffers have gone on to work in journalism professionally. Among them, Alex Williams ('83) and Michael D. Shear ('86) write for The New York Times. Erica Werner ('89) is a White House correspondent for The Associated Press.
The paper's adviser from 1976 to 1994, Nick Ferentinos, was the 1994 Dow Jones News Fund's National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year.
The newspaper's official website can be found at www.thehhsepitaph.com
Forte! Music Community Service Club
Forte! [sic] is a club on campus that provides opportunities for musicians to perform music as means of community service. Forte! allows students at Homestead High School to express themselves through the art of music. Forte! is composed of chamber ensembles that perform to serve the community. In the past, the club has performed at the Cupertino Square Shopping Center, JW House of Kaiser Permanente, the HC Manor in Sunnyvale, and the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center.FIRST Robotics Team
Homestead has a robotics team that competes in the FIRST Robotics CompetitionFIRST Robotics Competition
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...
. The team was created by students in 2001. The team number is 670, including Emily and Tiffany. Alumnus Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...
has served as a key supporter of the team over the years. Homestead offers a robotics class that serves as a recruiting ground for students interested in joining the team. The team has a website detailing its history, mission, news, and ongoing activities.
Future Business Leaders of America
Homestead High School is home to a chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), an organization dedicated to preparing students for success in business and careers. The chapter has enjoyed success, having won an unofficial sweepstakes tally for the past 13 years at California FBLA's Bay Section Level, and the official Sweepstakes Award at the California FBLA State Leadership Conference for the past 13 years. Homestead has also been the top chapter competitively in the entire nation for 12 of the past 13 years and for the last six years consecutively. The chapter has a paid membership of over 270 students for the 2010-2011 school year, making it the largest chapter in the Western Region. In 2011, Homestead’s Partnership with Business, Community Service, and American Enterprise projects all placed in the top five at the National Leadership Conference for the first time in its history. In addition to business competitions, members attend guest speaker presentations, participate in public speaking projects, organize community service events, work with business professionals, and network with students and adults from across the nation, allowing members to develop the skills necessary to enter the business world.Interact Club
A club dedicated on developing leadership and character skills, is the world's largest community service club.consists of more than 100 members. Its mission is to provide its members with opportunities to perform service, build character, and develop leadership.KFC: Komedy and Film Club
The KFC: Komedy & Film Club represents the school at the annual district-wide Student Film Festival. At the First Annual Homestead High School Student Film Festival in May 2006, members of the KFC took third place overall. At the Second Annual FUHSD Student Film Festival in May 2007, members of the KFC represented their school while placing 1st in the Comedy category.Mathematics Competitions Team
The mathematics team has regularly qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics ExaminationAmerican Invitational Mathematics Examination
The American Invitational Mathematics Examination is a 15-question 3-hour test given since 1983 to those who rank in the top 5% on the AMC 12 high school mathematics contest , and starting in 2010, those who rank in the top 2.5% on the AMC 10.The AIME is the second of two tests used to determine...
(AIME). Over the past five years, the team has placed among the top 10 schools in the Mu Alpha Theta National Log 1 Contest Mathematics Contest, taking fifth place nationally in 2009-10, third place in 2008-09, ninth place in 2007-08, and fourth place in 2006 and 2007. From 2003 through 2006, Homestead's math team placed among the top 10 teams nationally in the Ciphering Time Trials, a contest sponsored by National Assessment & Testing
National Assessment & Testing
National Assessment & Testing is a company that markets five different mathematics contests: The Fall Startup Event, the Ciphering Time Trials, the Team Scamble, the Four-by-Four Competition, and the Collaborative Problem Solving Contest...
. During this period, Homestead's team also placed among the top 20 teams in several other contests sponsored by National Assessment & Testing, including the Team Scramble, the Four-by-Four, and the Collaborative Problem Solving Contests. In 2002, the Mathematical Association of America
Mathematical Association of America
The Mathematical Association of America is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists;...
's American Mathematics Competition (AMC) awarded the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Excellence in Teaching to Homestead teacher and team faculty advisor Steve Headley.
Music Department and Marching Band
Homestead has an accomplished music program comprising at least a dozen performing groups ranging from jazz ensemble, marching band, choral groups, and string and symphonic ensembles, to extracurricular activities such as Winter guardWinter guard
Winter guard is an indoor color guard activity, derived from marching band or drum & bugle corps. Unlike traditional color guard, winter guard is performed indoors, usually in a gymnasium or an indoor arena...
and Winter Indoor percussion ensemble
Indoor percussion ensemble
An indoor percussion ensemble or indoor drumline consists of the marching percussion and front ensemble sections of a marching band or drum corps. The only exceptions are in concert divisions where the marching line is absent and the ensemble consists entirely of a pit...
. In April 2010, Homestead's Marching Band was one of only 10 high schools nationwide selected to participate in the 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City
The marching band has enjoyed a continuous run of championships and sweepstakes starting in 1993 with their field show rendition of The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
. Since then, the Mighty Mustang Marching Band has performed such shows as The Who's Tommy
The Who's Tommy
The Who's Tommy is a rock musical by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff based on The Who's 1969 double album rock opera Tommy, also by Pete Townshend, with additional material by John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Sonny Boy Williamson.-Productions:...
, and Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
. In their first foray into statewide competition in 2005, the band tied for 6th place in the 5A division at the Western Band Association
Western Band Association
The Western Band Association is a nonprofit organization that promotes high school music education in California, Arizona and Nevada. Specifically, the WBA organizes many marching band competitions for high school students...
(WBA) State Championships.
The following competition results illustrate the marching band's growing success: Grand Sweepstakes Award and Sweepstakes Awards in Music, Marching, Showmanship and Field Show at the Cupertino Tournament of Bands in both 2006 and 2007; The band's colorguard placed 2nd at the 2006 WBA State Championships; Competing against bands from across the Western United States, the band placed 5th in finals at the 2007 Bands of America
Bands of America
Bands of America , a division of Music for All, Inc., is an organization that promotes and organizes marching band competitions for high school students. Competitions include both Regional and Super Regional Championships as well as the Grand National Championships...
regional.; Breaking the 90 mark in WBA competition for the first time in 2008, the marching band placed 5th in the WBA finals with a score of 91.22; The band's percussion section placed 1st in the 5A division at 2009 WBA State Championships.
The jazz, vocal, string and wind ensembles consistently rank superior in competitions. Many of the musical groups have traveled internationally, performing at world-class venues. The Wind Ensemble and Orchestra performed in Carnegie Hall at the 2007 New York Band and Orchestra Festival, winning Silver Awards for each group. Participating in the 2009 Australian International Music Festival held in the Sydney Opera House on a trip to New Zealand and Australia, the Wind Symphony received a Gold Award and the Jazz Ensemble took home a Silver Award.
In accordance with Homestead's long-standing reputation as a leader in internet technology at the high school level, the HHS Marching Band maintained the first website in the Fremont Union High School District
Fremont Union High School District
The Fremont Union High School District is a school district in Northern California, serving Cupertino, most of Sunnyvale and parts of San Jose, Los Altos, Saratoga, and Santa Clara. As of 2004, it serves over 9,500 students...
, hand-coded by alumna Shanna Roberts in 1995. The site continued, albeit from a different domain, after her graduation by alumnus Trenton Hill, and is now maintained by the Homestead High School Music Boosters.
The Pegasus
Homestead's yearbook, Pegasus, has been its most award-winning publication of recent years, capturing two Pacemakers from the National Scholastic Press AssociationNational Scholastic Press Association
The National Scholastic Press Association is a nonprofit organization founded in 1921 for high school and secondary school publications in the United States. The association is membership-based and annually hosts high school journalism conventions across the country...
in 2002 and 2005. The Pacemaker is awarded to the 20 best yearbooks in the country, often out of more than a thousand contenders. The yearbook was also an NSPA Pacemaker Finalist in 2000 and 2001. In 2006, the CSPA awarded the Pegasus a Silver Crown. The yearbook has also won myriad other awards, ranging from CSPA Gold Circles (awarded for individual stories, concepts, designs, and photography) to various Best in Show awards.
Science Bowl Team
Homestead has a team competing in the Science BowlScience Bowl
Science Bowl is a high school and middle school academic competition, similar to Quiz Bowl, held in the United States. Two teams of four students each compete to answer various science-related questions. In order to determine which student has the right to answer the question, a buzzer system is...
, a competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Over the years, Homestead students have won awards at the National Chemistry Olympiad and the National Science Bowl. Teacher Gareth Wong initially organized and advised the team, and in 2002 the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
recognized his work with a High School Teacher Award for the Western Region. The team is currently advised by chemistry teacher Chris Nafrada and physics teacher Mary Anne Plano. On February 10, 2007, Homestead's team won the regional competition at the Stanford Linear Accelerator, eventually repeating their regional victory on February 2, 2008. At the 2007 National Science Bowl Competition in Washington D.C., Homestead's team placed twelfth out of more than sixty high-school teams, winning a $1,000 prize for the school's science department. In 2009, Homestead made it to the National competition for the third time in a row. At the National Science Bowl Competition, they placed in the top eight out of sixty-seven other high schools.
Theater Department
Homestead has a theater department that presents multiple plays per year - a two to three act fall play, a collection of one-acts directed by students, and a musical produced with Fremont and Monta Vista high schools. Homestead also sends a contingent to the annual California Thespian Festival. In the spring of 2006, Homestead students Ittai Geiger and Jeff Glass took first and second place, as well as "Best At Fest" at the International Thespian Society FestivalInternational Thespian Society
The International Thespian Society is an honorary organization for high-school and middle-school theatre students located at more than 3,600 affiliated secondary schools across the United States, Canada, and abroad. The International Thespian Society was founded in Fairmont, West Virginia...
, where more than 2,000 students competed.
Trichinosis
Trichinosis is a math, science, and philosophy club. The club provides peer support for students interested in participating in the county science fair or other science and technology competitions. Over the years, club members have won awards at the Synopsis Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship, the California State Science Fair and the Siemens Competition.Athletics
Homestead has teams in the following sports:- BadmintonBadmintonBadminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
- BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- CheerleadingCheerleadingCheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
- Colorguard
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- DanceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
- Field HockeyField hockeyField Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
- FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Soccer
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
- Water PoloWater poloWater polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
- WrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
- Winterguard
Notable alumni
Notable alumni at Homestead High School include:- Steve WozniakSteve WozniakStephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...
, co-founder of Apple Inc. - Steve JobsSteve JobsSteven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
, co-founder of Apple Inc., founder of PixarPixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide... - Dan Gordon, co-founder of Gordon Biersch BreweryGordon Biersch Brewing CompanyGordon Biersch Brewery is an American brewery founded by Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch. Gordon, a graduate from the five-year brewing engineering program at Weihenstephan, Germany, and Biersch opened their first brewery restaurant in Palo Alto, California in July 1988...
- Randy WiggintonRandy WiggintonRandy Wigginton was one of Apple Computer's first employees , creator of MacWrite, Full Impact, and numerous other Mac applications. He used to work in development at eBay, Quigo, Inc and Move.com. In Nov 2010 he left his position as a "Site Reliability Engineer" at Google Inc., purportedly after...
, creator of MacWriteMacWriteMacWrite was a word processor application released along with the first Apple Macintosh systems in 1984. It was the first such program that was widely available to the public to offer WYSIWYG operation, with multiple fonts and styles... - Linda JezekLinda JezekLinda Jezek is an American backstroke swimmer. She was on the silver medal-winning Women's 4 x 100 metre medley relay team at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She once held a record in the 200 meter backstroke and in 2002 was inducted into the "George F. Haines International Swim Center Hall of Fame".-...
, 1976 Summer Olympics1976 Summer OlympicsThe 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
400 m relay silver medalist - Scott EricksonScott EricksonScott Gavin Erickson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.-Career:Erickson was born in Long Beach, California, and began his professional career, after being drafted by the NY Mets in 1986, Houston Astros in 1987, and Toronto Blue Jays in 1988, in when he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins...
, Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher - Sean DawkinsSean DawkinsSean Russell Dawkins is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars from 1993 to 2001....
, NFL wide receiver - Jahine ArnoldJahine ArnoldJahine Amid Arnold is a former National Football League wide receiver.-Professional career:He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1996. As a member of the Steelers, Arnold was primarily used for kick returns...
, NFL wide receiver - Jeff SevyJeff SevyJeffrey Evan Sevy was a lineman for 6 years in the NFL. In his amateur years, he played at Homestead High School then went to De Anza College before transferring to Cal. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 12th round of the 1974 NFL draft...
, NFL lineman - Phil Yu, blogger at Angry Asian ManAngry Asian ManAngryAsianMan.com is an internet blog founded in 2001 by Korean American Phil Yu to discuss racism and representation of Asian Americans in mainstream media in America....
- Smith ChoSmith ChoSmith Cho is an American actress of Korean descent. She has appeared in movies, on television and in commercials.-Career:Cho has appeared in such movies as Bad Boys II, Norbit, Pie in the Sky, Fired Up, and Blades of Glory, and had a lead role in Ping Pong Playa...
, actress - Adragon De MelloAdragon De MelloAdragon De Mello graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in computational mathematics in 1988, at age 11, at the time the youngest college graduate in U.S. history .-Biography:...
, child prodigy - Michael Sidney TimpsonMichael Sidney TimpsonMichael Sidney Timpson is an American composer of contemporary classical music.Although clearly a composer of the concert art-music genre, his definitive style combines elements of European, American, and Asian musical sources...
, composer - Steven VincentSteven VincentSteven Charles Vincent was an American author and journalist. In 2005 he was working as a freelance journalist in Basra, Iraq, reporting for The Christian Science Monitor, National Review, Mother Jones, Reason, Front Page and American Enterprise, among other publications, when he was abducted and...
, author and journalist - Reed Weichler, creator of RealCS
- Daniel SeddiquiDaniel SeddiquiDaniel Seddiqui says he has worked 50 different jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks. He wrote a book, titled "50 Jobs in 50 States- One Man's Journey of Discovery across America." It was published by Berrett-Koehler Publishing and has been released March 2011....
, author and adventurer
External links
- Information
- Extracurricular