Live Oak High School (Morgan Hill, California)
Encyclopedia
Live Oak High School is a public high school located in Morgan Hill, California
Morgan Hill, California
Morgan Hill is a city located in the southern part of Santa Clara County, California, United States. Founded on November 10, 1906, the city was named after Hiram Morgan Hill, a San Franciscan who built a country retreat home there in 1884...

, which consists of freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

, sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...

, junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...

. and senior
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...

 classes. Live Oak is part of the Morgan Hill Unified School District
Morgan Hill Unified School District
The Morgan Hill Unified School District operates ten elementary schools , three middle schools , and three high schools in the greater San Jose, California area. The district has 400 FTE teachers serving 8809 students...

. The school mascot of Live Oak is an Acorn, and its colors are green and gold. Its principal rival is Ann Sobrato High School, established in 2004 and also located in Morgan Hill.

History

Live Oak Union High School was established in 1904. Montgomery Hall was used to house the pupils for the first term. Construction of the first permanent facilities were completed in 1905. At the organization of Live Oak Union, Highland, Burnett, San Martin, Machado and Morgan Hill rural school districts were included, and, in August, 1921, Coyote, Llagas and Uvas districts were added. The name was later changed to Live Oak High School after the Morgan Hill Unified School District was established, which combined the aforementioned rural elementary school districts. The school was moved from 80 West Central Avenue to its present location at 1505 East Main Avenue in 1975. The former campus was renamed and established as Lewis H. Britton Middle School. Due to the establishment of Britton Middle School, from 1979 Live Oak High School consisted only of grades 10-12, but as of fall of 2004, it once again functions as a four-year high school.

Testing

  • All students must 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,...

     (CAHSEE) in order to earn a high school diploma. Students take the exam in the spring of 10th grade; if they do not pass, they have the opportunity to take the test again in 11th and 12th grades.
  • Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) is a California state requirement for all students at all schools.
  • The Prelimimary Scholastic Aptitude Test
    SAT
    The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

     (PSAT) is a standardized test that provides firsthand practice for the SAT. One may take the PSAT in 9th, 10th, and/or 11th grades. Completion of the PSAT may qualify one to enter the National Merit Scholarship Program
    National Merit Scholarship Program
    The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation , a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. The program began in 1955...

    .

Athletics

  • Athletics Assistant Principal: Frank Lines
  • Athletic Director: Mark Cummins
  • Assistant Athletic Director: Tony Goble
  • League: Blossom Valley Athletic League (BVAL)
  • Section: Central Coast Section (CCS)

Fall sports

  • Cross Country (Coed)
  • American football
    American football
    American 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...

     (Frosh/Soph, Varsity)
  • Field Hockey (JV, Varsity)
  • Golf (Girls)
  • Tennis
    Tennis
    Tennis 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...

     (Girls)
  • Volleyball
    Volleyball
    Volleyball 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...

     (Girls JV and Varsity)
  • Waterpolo (Boys & Girls JV and Varsity)

Winter sports

  • Basketball
    Basketball
    Basketball 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...

     (Boys & Girls JV and Varsity)
  • Soccer (Boys & Girls JV and Varsity)
  • Wrestling
    Wrestling
    Wrestling 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...

     (Coed)

Spring sports

  • Badminton
    Badminton
    Badminton 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...

     (Coed)
  • Baseball
    Baseball
    Baseball 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...

  • Diving
  • Golf (Boys)
  • Rugby
    Rugby union
    Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

  • Softball
    Softball
    Softball 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...

     (JV and Varsity)
  • Swimming (Boys and Girls)
  • Tennis
    Tennis
    Tennis 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...

     (Boys)
  • Track and Field (Coed)
  • Volleyball (Boys JV and Varsity)

Clubs

  • Anime
    Anime
    is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

     Club
  • Black Student Union (BSU)
  • Christian
    Christian
    A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

     Club
  • California Scholarship Federation (CSF)
  • Colorguard
  • Drama Guild
  • Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
  • Future Farmers of America
    National FFA Organization
    The National FFA Organization is an American youth organization known as a Career and Technical Student Organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education...

  • French Club
  • Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
  • Hip Hop Club
  • Honors
  • Interact Club
  • Lacrosse
    Lacrosse
    Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

     Club
  • Magic Club
  • Mock Trial
  • Native Tribes United
  • Patriot Club
  • Roller Hockey Club
  • Rugby Club
  • Teach for Tomorrow

The Oak Leaf

The Oak Leaf is Live Oak High School's newspaper that covers school-related events, voices student opinion, and spotlights exceptional students and faculty. The monthly paper is the product of student writers, photographers, editors, and page designers. In recent years, however, due to lack of funding, publication of the paper has been in decline.

The Emerald Regime

The Live Oak Emerald Regime 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...

 is a competing marching band in 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...

 "Class A" division. Its uniform colors are the same as the school's, green and gold.

It originated in the summer of 1970 with 36 members, led by Michael Rubino and Cricket Hathaway. At first, the band was primarily for local band reviews and the Live Oak High School football games at the old campus (the current Britton Middle School campus). In 1976, the band took the Grand National Championship award in Whitewater, Wisconsin
Whitewater, Wisconsin
Whitewater is a city in Jefferson and Walworth Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.-Geography:...

, winning "best winds", "best marching", and "best general effect". The Emerald Regime took the same award again in 1978.

Throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s, the Emerald Regime was very strong in its performances, winning numerous awards and embarking on many trips to numerous countries. The program calls a band trip a "Journey of a Lifetime".

Michael Rubino retired in 1998, and Jeff Wilson took his place. Despite this change in leadership, the band continued its tradition of excellence, continuing to travel to many different locations and winning many awards. In 2003, Greg Bergantz became the director of the bands at Live Oak High School. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the financial support for music programs in the Morgan Hill Unified School District diminished, and with the opening of Ann Sobrato High School, the numbers of the Emerald Regime slowly reduced the band's size from the "AAA" division to the "A" division in the WBA.

The band was best remembered for several memorable "Journeys of a Lifetime," two of which occurred in 1987. The Emerald Regime's first major trip was to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, where the ER was the first marching band to march on the Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...

. As a result of that trip, the band took a trip to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where the members marched in the Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...

 Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...

.
In 1990 the Emerald Regime also toured and played concerts in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 during the waning days of that communist regime, with performances in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...

 (now St. Petersburg), and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

.

Current Leadership
The current director, Jason Locsin, is an Emerald Regime alumni and a 2002 Live Oak graduate. He is currently working to increase the numbers of the Emerald Regime and has managed to do so for the past two years. He, along with his staff have helped lead the Emerald Regime to three straight Class A championship wins. For the 2010 season, the Emerald Regime swept first place and all caption awards in class "A" at the WBA Championships. They also went undefeated all season, winning first place and all caption awards in Class "A" at the competitions they attended.

The Current Staff Includes:
Band Director: Jason Locsin - Percussion Director and Arranger: Brian Sears -Color Guard Director: Chris Pohlman - Visual Caption Head: Chris Borwey - Horn Arranger: Nick Rodriguez - Drill Writer: Darren Stack - Battery Arranger and Technician: Steve Martinez - Bass Drum Technician: Frances Griffith - Color Guard Technician: Vince Velasquez - Color Guard Technician: Tiffany Peterson - Visual Technician: David Tatarakis - Visual Technician: Francisco Fernandez - Visual Technician: Adam Goetz.

Cinco de Mayo incident

On May 5, 2010, five of its students and its administration attracted national attention to the school. Daniel Galli, Austin Carvalho, Matt Dariano, Dominic Maciel and Clayton Howard arrived at school wearing T-shirts and bandannas bearing emblems of the American flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

. The school's administrators, led either by Principal Nicholas L. Boden or Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez (reports vary as to which), sent home four of them for refusing to remove the T-shirts on the Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....

n holiday of Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla...

. School officials deemed the garments "incendiary" and "disrespectful," fearing that displaying the flag would incite fights with the Mexican-American student body. The four students were also threatened with suspension.

Some of Live Oak's Mexican-American students said that they felt disrespected by the boys' action and they demanded an apology. One Mexican-American student stated, "I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day. We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."

The boys and their parents were livid over the school's actions, defending the students' right to wear the American flag. Ultimately, the five students were not suspended and returned to school the next day.

The Morgan Hill Unified School District
Morgan Hill Unified School District
The Morgan Hill Unified School District operates ten elementary schools , three middle schools , and three high schools in the greater San Jose, California area. The district has 400 FTE teachers serving 8809 students...

 immediately distanced itself from the actions of Live Oak school officials, characterizing the incident as "extremely unfortunate" and stating the matter was under investigation. The school district superintendent, Dr. Wesley Smith, said, "While campus safety is our primary concern and administrators made decisions yesterday in an attempt to ensure campus safety, students should not, and will not, be disciplined for wearing patriotic clothing."

On May 6, approximately 200 Hispanic teens, most of which were Live Oak High School students, walked out of their classes and marched through the downtown and to city hall in protest of what they regarded as disrespect from their American-flag-wearing peers. The crowd carried Mexican flags and sported the red, white and green of Mexico's national emblem.

On May 7, the school district held a press conference regarding the incident, in which Boden apologized for the school administration's handling of the incident and explained why it handled it in the way that it did.

On May 8, 100 members of the local Tea Party
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...

 chapter protested in Morgan Hill in support of the four students.

On May 10, the ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...

 of Northern California sent a letter to the Morgan Hill Schools Superintendent protesting that the students' First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

 rights had been violated and asking that the School District "take additional steps to inform students that their rights to free speech will be respected in the future".

On May 11, about 250 people attended the scheduled school board meeting. More than 30 people addressed the board about the incident, while many parents in attendance either cheered in unity or booed in opposition to the opinions expressed therein.

Notable alumni

  • Rhett Hall
    Rhett Hall
    Rhett Floyd Hall is an American football defensive lineman who played eight seasons in the National Football League for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of California at Berkeley and was selected in the sixth round...

    , Class of 1987, played in the NFL for 8 years from 1991 to 1998 and was a member of 1994 Super Bowl
    Super Bowl
    The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

     champion San Francisco 49ers
    San Francisco 49ers
    The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

  • Ryan Neufeld
    Ryan Neufeld
    Ryan Matthew Neufeld is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 1999...

    , NFL football player for the Dallas Cowboys
    Dallas Cowboys
    The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

     (1999), Jacksonville Jaguars
    Jacksonville Jaguars
    The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

    , Seattle Seahawks
    Seattle Seahawks
    The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

    , and Buffalo Bills
    Buffalo Bills
    The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

  • Jeff Ulbrich
    Jeff Ulbrich
    Jeff Ulbrich is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2000 to 2009. He was drafted by the 49ers in the 3rd round in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii...

    , NFL linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers
    San Francisco 49ers
    The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

  • Jimmy Vasser
    Jimmy Vasser
    Jimmy Vasser is a retired American racing driver and current co-owner of KV Racing Technology. Vasser won the 1996 IndyCar season championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series...

    , Class of 1983, race car driver
  • Rey Sanchez
    Rey Sánchez
    Rey Francisco Sánchez Guadalupe is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He attended high school in California and was drafted in the 13th round of the amateur baseball draft by the Texas Rangers. He played in their minor league system until , when he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for minor...

    , Class of 1986, (Exchange student from Puerto Rico), Major League Baseball Player
  • Ricky Berry
    Ricky Berry
    Ricky Alan Berry was an American professional basketball player in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings....

    , Class of 1983, professional basketball player, played in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings.
  • Jared Allen
    Jared Allen
    -Kansas City Chiefs:Allen was drafted by the Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft, and signed for a one-year, $100,000 contract. On May 21, 2007, Allen, as a restricted free agent, signed the Chiefs' one-year tender offer of $2.35 million for the 2007 season. Allen credited his early...

    , professional football player, attended Live Oak for two years, graduated from Los Gatos High School. Current defensive player for the Minnesota Vikings
    Minnesota Vikings
    The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

  • Wade Dominguez
    Wade Domínguez
    Wade Domínguez was an US actor, model, singer, and dancer best known for his role as Emilio Ramírez in Dangerous Minds.-Early life:...

    , Class of 1985, actor
  • James Hibbard
    James Hibbard
    James H. Hibbard is an American road racing cyclist who competed for the Shaklee and Health Net-Maxxis Cycling Teams...

    , Class of 2000, Professional Road Cyclist
  • Earl "Piggy-Back" Williams, Class of 1942, World War II veteran
  • Tom R. Ferguson
    Tom R. Ferguson
    Tom R. Ferguson is a world champion rodeo cowboy and inductee into the in 1974. He was the World All-Around Champion for six consecutive years from 1974 to 1979 breaking the previous mark of five consecutive titles held by Larry Mahan...

     (born December 20, 1950) World champion rodeo cowboy and inductee into the Rodeo Hall of Fame

External links

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