- Cerritos High School (CHS) is a public high school in Cerritos, California, serving grades 9-12. It is part of the ABC Unified School District, which also oversees Artesia, Gahr, Tracy High Continuation School and Whitney High Schools.
- History
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300px|thumb|right|Front of Cerritos High School officeCerritos High School began its history in September 1971 by sharing the campus of nearby Gahr High School. A rapidly increasing student population during the 1970s prompted the construction of its current campus, located across the street from the Civic Center in 1973. Since then, Cerritos High has become the flagship public high school for Cerritos and the ABC Unified School District with a student population of over 2,000 students. Though the original mascot was the donkey, the school mascot has since been changed to the don, or Spanish lord.
- Extracurricular activities
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Cerritos High School has many programs such as clubs, leadership, and sports. The Model United Nations program offered at Cerritos High is a program where students play the role of delegates representing a country in the United Nations, debating real-life topics of international importance. In addition to MUN, the school offers a broadcasting program called "C-High TV." Students are given the chance to videotape special events at school and then using these events, the student will make a creative video so that students, staff, and teachers may view in the first five minutes of their homerooms. Other activities offered are the great Varsity Yell and Song Pep Squad, the National Champion Dance Drill Team, the All-Male Hip-Hop Team, Drumline, Marching Band, Colorguard, Drama, Yearbook, Journalism, and the Associated Student Body.
- Sports
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300px|thumb|right|The rear of the school and view of the boy's locker room buildingCerritos High wins many Suburban League titles in sports such as girls' volleyball, girls' basketball, badminton, swimming, boys water polo, track and field, boys and girls tennis, golf, and boys volleyball. Their football team won its first and only league title in 2001, but it is striving to win its next league championship this year with a new head coach, although they have a record of 0-7 with 3 games left their chance will have to wait until next year. The tennis team won its first CIF championship title this 2008 season with only 3 veteran players and 3 freshman. The boys waterpolo team has won CIF three times consecutively from the years 2006-2008; the first two wins being in Division VI and the third in Division IV. The girls water polo team won two consecutive San Gabriel Valley League (SGVL) titles from the years of 2007-2009. The 2008-2009 girls water polo team was the first ever win a CIF title, doing so in Division VII. Both boys and girls swim teams were the 2008 CIF runner-ups.
- Fall Sports (Boys):Cross Country, Football, Water Polo
- Fall Sports (Girls):Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, Volleyball
- Winter Sports (Boys):Basketball, Soccer, Wrestling
- Winter Sports (Girls):Basketball, Soccer, Water Polo
- Spring Sports (Boys):Badminton, Baseball, Golf, Swimming & Diver, Tennis, Track, Volleyball
- Spring Sports (Girls):Badminton, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Track
- Annual activities
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Each year there are several annual events organized by the ASB and sometimes aided by school clubs. Some of the events more noted by the student body include:
- Project Diversity:Project Diversity is an anticipated annual week-long event, run by the commissioner of multi-cultural affairs , during which clubs and classes gain the opportunity to present their cultures and heritage to the student body. Clubs such as Rangoli Club, Chinese Club, and Chikara have their own segments during lunch, and their displays often come in the form of dance and music. On the more competitive edge, classes compete for spirit points with acts based on the theme for that year. First place is given to the class which gives its performance with the best mix of comedy, fluidity, and presentation of the theme in the promotion of diversity.
- Dance Off:A dance off between each classes which consists of maximum of five people. Usually done to raise money and is for spirit points. However, for some reason, the seniors always win...
- International Food Court Day:An enter-by-ticket event, also run by the commissioner of multicultural affairs, it is held in front of the North entrance of the school where a long row of food is set up. Each ticketholder is given a plate and then he or she goes in a line being served food from various cultured clubs, hence "International" Food Court Day. Although most of the participating clubs are culture-based clubs, a few are just some normal clubs that enter to receive recognition and notice by ASB.
- Club Day:Where every club is given an area, somewhere around the school, to set up their booth or table to try to reel in possible members as well as to make a good impression on Freshmen. Usually the most recently-created clubs and the most popular clubs are given a spot in the center of the quad. Some clubs that are offered include: Leo's Club, CSF, Space Settlement, Magkaisa, JSA, Math and Science, Visual Arts, NHS, Wings of Hope, Spanish Club, Red Cross, Antidote International, Chikara, L'image de France, Key Club, Rangoli, JNHS, Kids Helping Kids, Octagon, Habitat for Humanity, Project Lifeline, Ni Hao, Girls League Association, Pu'uwai, Saviors of America (SOA), and Shauri.
- CHS Idol:It is held usually in late May or early June. Students show their talent in singing, playing instruments, dancing, etc.
- Yearbook Signing Party:
- On the day the yearbooks are given out after classes, the school is open to let students pick up their yearbooks as well as go around to mingle with new people and hang out with their friends to exchange and sign yearbooks. The yearbook, named Sin Igual, has usually been color for Senior photos, which are slightly larger, and for extra pages focusing on advertisements and school sports and events. The rest is usually black and white, including the class pictures of Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen. However the 2006 yearbook, Volume 35, was completely in color for the first time.
- Staff vs Student Soccer GameA soccer match between willing teachers and the junior varsity soccer team, it is mostly for the enjoyment of the teachers and students who participate as well as to promote better interstaff relations. The game usually takes place in the large field behind the school.
- Electives Day:Starting in March 2008, CHS will be holding an "electives" day. Much like club day, different elective classes will showcase the point of the class and why students should join.
- C-High TV
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C-High TV was founded in late 2003 by Carla Gilmore. It became an official class in the 2004-2005 school year and aired an episode to the entire campus for the first time in March 2005. C-High TV seeks not only to provide hands-on experiences in the video production field for its members, but also to bring into focus the normally overlooked activities on campus and to raise awareness about recent events and world issues. A new episode is aired daily to the entire student body.
- From late August (starting with a one-week "Camp") to March, the crew covers and broadcasts school activities, such as dances, concerts, tests, student shout outs, and sports updates. Throughout the first semester, in addition to creating daily episodes, students learn the mechanics of prestigious computer programs such as Final Cut, a video editing program that has been utilized in the creation of many motion pictures.
- After March, C-High TV switches its focus and begins (un-aired) work on the Spring Supplement DVD, which since 2005, has taken the place of the paper supplement that accompanies the school yearbook. The DVD is free for any Cerritos High student who purchases a yearbook, and it consists of features such as spring sports, extracurricular activities, and the most memorable of all, senior focus. From March to June, C-High TV continues to cover various school activities but does not air them, saving these episodes for the DVD and instead broadcasting more non-news-based segments such as original storylines and student shout outs that were produced in previous years or by contemporary media students. In addition, students are invited to aid in producing an episode about a topic they feel should be introduced to the student body.
- Ranking
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Cerritos High School is one of the foremost schools in the United States. It is ranked as the top 1000 high schools in the United States by Newsweek for the past four years. The school was one of the 100 schools named to the California Business for Education Excellence Foundation’s 2007 Honor Roll. Also, in September 2008, LA magazine also named Cerritos High School to its Honor Roll with 47 other high schools (public and private). The students at CHS consistently continue to score over the 800 benchmark on the state’s Academic Performance Index (API). The AP test results for CHS demonstrate the overall pass rate that continues to be above 70%. They also receive a distinguished GreatSchools Rating of 9 out of 10.
- Statistics
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- Student enrollment by ethnic group
- Alma Mater
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The spirit of Cerritos High
Her legends yet untold
We'll always sing her praises
And wear the black and gold
Cerritos High
All hail to thee
Our guardian shield and guide
And from the heart of California
Sing of Cerritos High. - Notable alumni
- Ben Howland, class of 1975 - UCLA Head Basketball Coach.
- Lela Rochon, class of 1982 - Actor, most notably in the films Waiting to Exhale and The Chamber.
- Marcelo Balboa, class of 1984 - US Men's National Soccer Team.
- Dave Serrano, class of 1982 - Head Baseball Coach CSU Fullerton.
- Eddie Soto, Pro Soccer Player, Assistant Coach UCLA.
- Jorge Salcedo, Pro Soccer Player, Head UCLA Men's Soccer Coach.
- Roger Lodge, host of Blind Date.
- Toby Henderson, Pro BMX Rider, inventor of the Henderson Hop, and ABA (BMX) Hall of Fame.
- Eddie Lewis, class of 1992 - US Men's National Soccer Team, Derby County Football Club and current member of the LA Galaxy.
- Tim Walton, Former Oklahoma Sooner Baseball Pitcher who won the 1994 National Championship, Minor League Baseball Player with the Phillies and current Head Coach at the University of Florida Softball Team.
- Tony An - Korean Pop Singer, former H.O.T member
- Han Ye Seul - Korean Singer, Actress, Model
- DJ Rhettmatic - Hip Hop DJ and producer / Member of the Beat Junkies.
- David "DJ Melo-D" Mendoza - Hip Hop DJ and Member of the Beat Junkies.
- James Page - Actor and Blues musician
- Kirsten Vangsness- Actress
- Jessica van der Linden Boulware - Women's Softball Collegiate Player of the Year 2004, ACC Player of the Year, Member of the Puerto Rican National Softball Team
- Kristina Campese - Reality TV Star of Karaoke Superstar
- Brad Montgomery - Weatherman for KFOX-TV El Paso, TX
- Justin Christian - Current member of DustFlow and former Bassist for the Death Metal Band Morgion and Keen of the Crow
- Shannon Perry - Former Basketball Standout at Iowa and Current Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Duke University
- Ryan Feng, class of 2001 - Member of Quest Crew, winners of America's Best Dance Crew, Season 3.
- Notes and references
- External links
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- Official web site
- ABC Unified School District's home page
- Cerritos High page at Greatschools.net
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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