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Hillsdale High School (San Mateo, California)
Encyclopedia
Hillsdale High School is a public high school
in San Mateo
, California
serving grades 9–12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District
. Hillsdale generally serves the residents of San Mateo and Foster City
.
Feeder Schools include: Abbott, Borel, Bowditch, and Bayside Middle School.
, a community theater organization originally known as the San Mateo Community Theatre. Beginning in the summer of 1963, high school and college students from throughout the Bay Area gathered at the school to perform in a series of musical productions, presented in the school's little theater. The first three productions were Gilbert and Sullivan
operettas. In 1966, rehearsals were held at the school for the theater group's first musical comedy, Rodgers and Hammerstein
's Oklahoma!
, which was performed at the College of San Mateo
. Beginning in 1967, performances were moved to San Mateo High School
's auditorium, where they have been ever since. But if you go to the school today there is a theatre department run by the school's drama teacher and director Allison Gamlen who has been keeping traditions alive. Each school year there is a fall musical following a spring play. Recent plays include Gypsy
Fall 2008, Romeo and Juliet
Spring 2009, Urinetown
Fall 2009, Laramie Project Spring 2010, Fiddler on the Roof
Fall 2010, and Princess Bride Spring 2011. Those performances have been directed by Gamlen but students have an opportunity to direct a One-Act in the late winter where emerging actors have opportunities to act and direct. The school also has an improv team known as H.I.T. (Hillsdale Improvisational Theatre ) led by Lisa Rowland.
The original 1955 campus is noted for the model it set for other area schools. In particular the use of natural lighting, landscaping, and a combination of exterior and interior passages. In 2000, SMUHSD residents approved Measure D http://www.smartvoter.org/2000/11/07/ca/sm/meas/D/ which directly funded the repair and modernization of schools including Hillsdale. In 2003, the city of San Mateo approved funding for Hillsdale to put in Smaller Learning Communities[SLC's]. This program establishes smaller class sizes, so individual students can be given more attention. In 2008, Hillsdale put in new batting cages for the boys baseball and girls softball teams and received a new turf field. Also, the track field was re-done as a turf field in 2008 so that football games could be played at "Home" and other sports could have access to the field as well. There are two gyms [Big (Homer P. Zugelder) and Small], and two theaters [Little Theater and Auditorium]. There are three levels of the high school, which all have accessibility ramps, and there is an elevator right beside the main office. There are two main hallways which are inspired by famous locations the hallways are divided into three freshman and sophomore "houses", Florence
,Kyoto
, and Marrakech
, and two junior and senior "houses," which are Cusco
and Jakarta
. Between these houses there are competitions and a bloody rivalry amongst staff and students, which has led to many unfortunate casualties among the student body, especially during the annual "House Cup Battle Royale."
Along with Clubs is an array of sports. Hillsdale participates in the Peninsula Athletics League (PAL) in the following sports:
Hillsdale also has a competitive Spirit Squad (tryouts in May of the previous year.)
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....
in San Mateo
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, 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...
serving grades 9–12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District
San Mateo Union High School District
The San Mateo Union High School District is a high school district headquartered in San Mateo, California.-Schools:The district consists of seven public high schools, one alternative high school , and one adult School in San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, and San Mateo. The oldest school in the...
. Hillsdale generally serves the residents of San Mateo and Foster City
Foster City, California
Foster City is an affluent planned city located in San Mateo County, California, 94404. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 30,567. Forbes ranked Foster City #10 on their 2009 list of America's Top 25 Towns to Live Well. Money has also recognized Foster City multiple times as...
.
Feeder Schools include: Abbott, Borel, Bowditch, and Bayside Middle School.
History
Hillsdale High School has received a number of notable awards and honors:- 1956 American Institute of ArchitectsAmerican Institute of ArchitectsThe American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
design award for its Neo-Brutalist style - 1990 "Best of San Mateo County" by the San Mateo County Times
- 1993 United States Department of EducationUnited States Department of EducationThe United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence - 1999 Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe 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...
School of Education, first Professional Development School - 2008 No. 431 in Newsweek'sNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
Top 1000 High Schools in the Nation - 2009-2010 The Mock Trial team won first place in the state competition (and ultimately placed 19th at the national competition in Philadelphia).
Theatre
Hillsdale was the birthplace of Broadway by the BayBroadway by the Bay
Broadway by the Bay, also known as the San Mateo Civic Light Opera, is a theatre company in San Francisco, California, United States. It began as the San Mateo Community Theatre, a community group established by the San Mateo Recreation Department, with Dr...
, a community theater organization originally known as the San Mateo Community Theatre. Beginning in the summer of 1963, high school and college students from throughout the Bay Area gathered at the school to perform in a series of musical productions, presented in the school's little theater. The first three productions were Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operettas. In 1966, rehearsals were held at the school for the theater group's first musical comedy, Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
's Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
, which was performed at the College of San Mateo
College of San Mateo
College of San Mateo is a community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District....
. Beginning in 1967, performances were moved to San Mateo High School
San Mateo High School
San Mateo High School is an American National Blue Ribbon comprehensive four-year public high school in San Mateo, California serving grades 9–12 as part of the San Mateo Union High School District....
's auditorium, where they have been ever since. But if you go to the school today there is a theatre department run by the school's drama teacher and director Allison Gamlen who has been keeping traditions alive. Each school year there is a fall musical following a spring play. Recent plays include Gypsy
Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...
Fall 2008, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
Spring 2009, Urinetown
Urinetown
Urinetown: The Musical is a satirical comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics...
Fall 2009, Laramie Project Spring 2010, Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
Fall 2010, and Princess Bride Spring 2011. Those performances have been directed by Gamlen but students have an opportunity to direct a One-Act in the late winter where emerging actors have opportunities to act and direct. The school also has an improv team known as H.I.T. (Hillsdale Improvisational Theatre ) led by Lisa Rowland.
Campus
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
,Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, and Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
, and two junior and senior "houses," which are Cusco
Cusco
Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...
and Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
. Between these houses there are competitions and a bloody rivalry amongst staff and students, which has led to many unfortunate casualties among the student body, especially during the annual "House Cup Battle Royale."
Student Life
Among the students there are many extra curricular activities to vastly participate in for instance the school has a variety of clubs which are all student run and are all very active in the school's community. Clubs include:- Art Club
- Black Student Union
- Boost Confidence Club
- Cake and Discussion Club
- Christian Crew
- CSF Club
- Drama Club
- Environment Club
- Equality Club
- Filipino Club
- The Hillsdale Effect
- Improv Club
- Jam Club
- Knoisy Knights
- Latinos Unidos Club
- Leo Club
- Middle Eastern Club
- Manga Club
- Quiz Kids
- Red Cross Club
- Science Club
- SCORE Club
Along with Clubs is an array of sports. Hillsdale participates in the Peninsula Athletics League (PAL) in the following sports:
- 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...
- 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....
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- Soccer
- WrestlingGreco-Roman wrestlingGreco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
Hillsdale also has a competitive Spirit Squad (tryouts in May of the previous year.)
Notable Alumni
- Nick Vanos (d. 1987) -- Former NBA player with the Phoenix Suns.
- Billy Hardwick -- Bowling Hall of Fame.
- Jenny Freeman -- College of San Mateo Hall of Fame.
- Lauren Brandon -- Professional Triathlete; All-American swimmer at Nebraska.
See also
- San Mateo County high schools