Northgate High School (Walnut Creek, California)
Encyclopedia
Northgate High School (NHS) is located in the affluent North Gate
North Gate, California
North Gate is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California. North Gate sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported North Gate's population was 679.-Geography:...

 community of Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...

, and is part of the Mount Diablo Unified School District
Mount Diablo Unified School District
The Mount Diablo Unified School District is a public school district in Contra Costa County, California. It currently operates 32 elementary schools, 10 middle schools and six high schools, with 13 alternative school programs and an adult education program. Mt...

. Opened in 1974, its name derives from its location at the north entrance of Mount Diablo State Park
Mount Diablo State Park
Mount Diablo is a mountain in Contra Costa County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area, located south of Clayton and northeast of Danville. It is an isolated upthrust peak of , visible from most of the San Francisco Bay Area and much of northern California...

.

History

The movie The Principal
The Principal
The Principal is a 1987 action film, starring James Belushi and Louis Gossett, Jr. It was written by Frank Deese and directed by Christopher Cain, and filmed in Oakland, California.-Plot:...

was partially filmed at Northgate High School. Northgate was chosen for the interior design of the school Jim Belushi's character teaches at before he gets busted for bashing the red Porsche with a baseball bat. The school was supposed to represent his easy, nice-school teaching life before getting transferred to the worst school in the district (filmed in Oakland, CA), having five-foot-tall walls around the classes creating an open environment. Northgate's former drama teacher, Ed Meehan, attended Northgate as a student at the time the movie was shot, and can be seen in the film during the classroom scene in the beginning of the movie. Another former drama teacher, Jack DeRieux, was also in the movie during a staff meeting scene at the beginning. Another teacher, Ms. Spring, can also be seen in the 5th scene of the film. Students Mark Nelson (Class of 1987) and Anna Weddel (Class of 1988) share the classroom scene with Ed Meehan, during which Jim Belushi is checking out Anna with binoculars during a class test. Hundreds of current students at the time were used as extras during the large library and student body scenes.

In December 2007, a petition was made to move Northgate to the Walnut Creek School District. Education officials for the county denied the petition.

Architecture

Northgate High School is referred to as a "jail" or "prison" by its students. Very few classrooms have windows, one of them is a makeshift classroom in the schools cafeteria. There is a myth told to most freshman that the school used to be a prison. The building is kept well ventilated 24 hours a day. Some classrooms have been notorious for being freezing cold, This is due to the lack of direct control over the temperature in the classrooms. In the center of the school, there is a small atrium with plants and a small pond. The pond currently has a few turtles.

The library sits in the main forum of the school. The library only has 5 foot tall walls, making the library very loud during brunch and lunch. In the early years, none of the classrooms had permanent walls; they all had half-high walls that could be moved to make more room in classrooms if needed. This concept did not last because it was considered a fire hazard, and the movable walls were replace by full-height walls. The school had to close for a period of many months in the 70's or 80's due to the discovery of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...

. During the 1990–91 school year, portable classrooms were used on the school grounds while asbestos was removed from the main Northgate building.

Northgate Athletics

The Northgate High School Athletic Department oversees 24 competitive varsity athletic teams that compete in the Diablo Valley Athletic League.
Northgate's sports include football, basketball, baseball, Soccer, cross county, golf, lacrosse country, hardball, swimming, tennis, track and field, softball, water polo, and wrestling. Jon Campopiano, vice principal, former teacher and coach at the school, has been the Athletic Director since the 2006–2007 school year. More information about the athletic program can be found at the official Northgate Athletics Website.

Performing Arts

The instrumental music program at Northgate consists of a Concert Band
Concert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...

, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Orchestra, and Marching Band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

. Symphonic Band is the largest instrumental music group, consisting of 10th, 11th and 12th grade members. Orchestra consists of students from all grades; the prerequisite is previous experience with private teachers or Orchestra in middle school. The audition process for Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band, the 2 highest bands is competitive in nature, with a number of talented students vying for a small number of slots.

The Choir program consists of three groups: The entry-level Concert Choir, the All-Women's Bella Voce, and the Co-Ed Madrigals. In order to be a part of the Madrigals (or "Mads" as they are known around campus), any prospective female member must first have spent one year in Bella Voce, as well as complete a rigorous audition process. Male members must only spend one year in Concert Choir before auditioning for Mads. However, exceptions have been made to this rule. An audition process is also required for Bella Voce.
Madrigals have a heavy winter schedule, as they do holiday gigs for restaurants and families that hire them. This fundraising activity has been in place since the early 1980's and occupies most of December for the members. Former Choral Director Chris Piazza was instrumental in developing and supporting this activity, which showcased the school's vocal students to the community at large. Bella Voce, Madrigals, and the Instrumental Music program go to Disneyland in the spring to participate in the musical performances that are held there for high schools and other performing arts groups. This event is called "Magic Music Days".
The current vocal director, Mrs. Maddern, is adding a new Men's Ensemble to the array of various choirs at Northgate, and will be active next year. However, because of the masses of men flocking to Men's Ensemble, Concert Choir only has one guy. During the 2010–2011 school year, Concert Choir has/had 17 men. Mrs. Maddern is trying to recruit more men, but she may have to resort to making Concert Choir an "All-Women's" choir. Thus, making it an entry-level Bella Voce.

The Drama program consists of four levels, the last being Production Workshop which produces at least one play per semester. Students have the opportunity to try working with all aspects of theater, including stage lighting
Stage lighting
Modern stage lighting is a flexible tool in the production of theatre, dance, opera and other performance arts. Several different types of stage lighting instruments are used in the pursuit of the various principles or goals of lighting. Stage lighting has grown considerably in recent years...

, sound design
Sound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...

, promotions, scenic design
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...

, props (theatrical property
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...

), and Stage management
Stage management
Stage management is the practice of organizing and coordinating a theatrical production. It encompasses a variety of activities, including organizing the production and coordinating communications between various personnel...

. The program operates out of the recently dedicated Jack De Rieux Little Theatre. Northgate also participates in the Devil Mountain Improv League, a completely student-created and student-run coalition of competitive high school improvisational theater students that has been around since 1996.

Notable alumni and staff

  • Keith Clearwater
    Keith Clearwater
    Keith Allen Clearwater is an American professional golfer who has won two tournaments on the PGA Tour.Clearwater was born in Long Beach, California. He went to Northgate High School and was one of many Californians to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and play on the school's golf team...

    , (1977): professional golfer.
  • Doug Davis, (1993): starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
  • Mariet Ford, (1979): a key participant in The Play
    The Play
    The Play refers to a last-second kickoff return during a college football game between the and the Stanford University Cardinal on Saturday, November 20, 1982...

     during the 1982 Cal
    University of California, Berkeley
    The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

    /Stanford Big Game
    Big Game (football)
    The Big Game is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. It is typically played in late November or early December...

    . Ford is currently imprisoned for murdering his wife and children.
  • Matt Irvin, (1986): former football coach for the USC Trojans and San Diego State who coached at Northgate from 1994 to 1995.
  • Yul Kwon
    Yul Kwon
    Yul Kwon is a television host and former government official, lawyer, and management consultant based in Virginia. He first gained national recognition as the winner of the reality TV show Survivor: Cook Islands...

    , (1993): winner of the reality television show Survivor: Cook Islands
    Survivor: Cook Islands
    Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...

    .
  • Philip Wang: Part of the famous "Wong Fu Productions." Youtube director.


External links


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