St. Helena High School
Encyclopedia
Saint Helena High School or more commonly, St. Helena High, is an American public high school
located in St. Helena, CA in the Napa Valley of California
. St. Helena High serves grades 9-12 and is the only source of secondary education in the St. Helena Unified School District.
In 1910, Frances Grayson Crane donated land to open a new high school. Construction finished in 1912 and the resulting school, St. Helena High School, was opened. The new building boasted two stories, a laboratory, a wood shop and a basketball court. An auditorium was built adjacent around the 1960's. The stone building was used from 1912 until the 1960s when it was declared earthquake unsafe for students. In 1967, a new building, now known as the 100 Wing was built. Two more wings were built soon after and a new office was constructed in 1975. By then, the 1912 stone building was re-named Vintage Hall, but was no longer used by students.
The old stone building underwent a historic restoration and earthquake retrofit, which was completed in 2003. The facility now houses high school space, including a cafeteria on the ground floor. The second floor is used by the St. Helena Unified School District offices, including a state of the art meeting room used by the school board and the St. Helena city council for their sessions. Students use the TV studio located in the meeting room.
When all construction was completed, the school had 3 wings, an office, a gym
, a baseball
field, a football
field, track and a pool. In the years following the construction of the new high school, a JV
baseball field was built, as well as two Agriculture Education buildings.
Currently, St. Helena wishes to implement the International Baccalaureate program and phase out the AP system already in place starting in the 2009-10 school year. A side effect of their actions has been the dropping of advanced classes and the bulking up of their remedial classes. The Alumni of SHHS widely agree that the administration is trying to artificially boost the schools marks.
----
Advance Placement
As of the 2006-2007 school year, there are currently 7 AP classes
on the southern end of town.
s, as St. Helena is colloquially known, compete in the North Central League 1 in the Coastal Mountain Conference
. From the early 1920’s until the mid 1960’s, St. Helena competed in the North Bay League, regularly facing schools from the greater Sonoma area. This changed when St. Helena moved to the North Central League, showing prowess in basketball and in football in the 1970’s. St. Helena’s success in these two sports was capped by a CIF title in 1977 for football and 2 CIF titles for the basketball teams. However, after the success of their 1977 campaign, the football team began to falter, eventually falling into mediocrity while the basketball team never reached the same kind of success. Volleyball began to become wildly successful at this time, and after numerous league titles, it was decided that after winning the 1982 state volleyball championship, that St. Helena would move to the Superior California Athletic League, colloquially known as the SCAL.
While the volleyball continued success, winning another state championship in 1984, the shortsighted move was detrimental to all other sports. St. Helena could simply not compete with many Solano County schools at the time. While most larger sports found little to no success, the less glamorous sports of tennis and track and field basked in success in the late 1980’s. The tennis team enjoyed immense success at this time, winning 3 Sac Joaquin Section titles in coed tennis whilst making 11 trips to the finals, 10 straight and many against then rival Justin-Siena High School
. By contrast, the football and softball teams performed abysmally, with the football program changing head coaches every other year.
By the late 1990’s, basketball had slowly rose to prominence once again, reaching the Sac Joaquin playoffs numerous times. It was announced, however, that 1999 would be St. Helena’s final year in the SCAL which had fallen on hard times. Only 5 schools remained and the league would soon fold. In the twilight of the SCAL’s salad days, St. Helena surprised many, finishing the 1999 football season with a 9-1 record, falling short of going undefeated. With the SCAL defunct by mid 2000, St. Helena was assigned into the North Coast League along with Justin-Siena by the CIF. Justin-Siena later moved to the Marin County League, to face other competition.
In this new environment, progress was slow, and league titles were scarce. The tennis team, which had been such a powerhouse in the Sac Joaquin Section, was shocked to learn that the North Coast Section did not offer Coed Tennis, thus hindering any chance of winning a section title. Volleyball continued it’s success, regularly putting up winning records. Baseball, which has never truly been a powerhouse sport at St. Helena, underwent a revival at about this time, first with a non-losing season, finishing at .500 for the first time since the mid ‘80s. The following season, they finished with a winning season, a sign that baseball, though not at a top tier level, is starting to rise at St. Helena.
The soccer team, which had started as a school club in the 1970s had begun to show success in the late 1990s. Eventually, when St. Helena moved to the NCS, the Saints became a regular contender in the NCL as well as the section playoffs. Recent years have shown the team going deep in the section playoffs, reaching the championship in 2004 before falling to University High School
of San Francisco. University has proven to be a hindrance to St. Helena’s success as the two face each other regularly in the post season, most recently being the quarter finals where University narrowly won.
The football team continued in mediocrity until 2004 when head coach Ian MacMillan arrived, taking the team 9-1 in his first season. Though initially wary of MacMillan for being a Justin grad, the community eventually warmed up as he built the program up, culminating in a league title in 2006, the first league title for football since 1978. MacMillan left afterwards, to help coach at Napa High School
. His successor, Dave Collinsworth, was hyped to continue this trend, and to possibly lead the team to a section title. Those plans never came to fruition as the team returned to it’s losing ways, going 2-8. Collinsworth departed at the end of the season, leaving the football program four steps forward, but five steps back.
Traditionally, St. Helena's rival is Justin-Siena High School
of nearby Napa. The two school's football teams would meet each year in what was known as the Vine Bowl until 2000 when Justin-Siena joined the highly competitive and better MCAL making matches against St. Helena and Justin-Siena scarce and relegated to just the NCS Playoffs. St. Helena's geographic rival, Calistoga has moved to another league within the Coastal Mountain Conference making their matchups scarce as well, though they are slated to face each other in football beginning in 2008. Lately, however, sporting events against Middletown High School of nearby Middletown have become more heated and a small rivalry has started to form.
, Australia
.
Stanthorpe State High School- Australia, QLD, Stanthorpe
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....
located in St. Helena, CA in the Napa Valley of 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...
. St. Helena High serves grades 9-12 and is the only source of secondary education in the St. Helena Unified School District.
History
The first "high school" in St. Helena were actually classes held at the local Presbyterian Church for one year in 1895. The next year, the high school had its first official building when it moved into the now defunct Turner Hall in Lyman Park in the center of the town. Classes were held there until 1912.In 1910, Frances Grayson Crane donated land to open a new high school. Construction finished in 1912 and the resulting school, St. Helena High School, was opened. The new building boasted two stories, a laboratory, a wood shop and a basketball court. An auditorium was built adjacent around the 1960's. The stone building was used from 1912 until the 1960s when it was declared earthquake unsafe for students. In 1967, a new building, now known as the 100 Wing was built. Two more wings were built soon after and a new office was constructed in 1975. By then, the 1912 stone building was re-named Vintage Hall, but was no longer used by students.
The old stone building underwent a historic restoration and earthquake retrofit, which was completed in 2003. The facility now houses high school space, including a cafeteria on the ground floor. The second floor is used by the St. Helena Unified School District offices, including a state of the art meeting room used by the school board and the St. Helena city council for their sessions. Students use the TV studio located in the meeting room.
When all construction was completed, the school had 3 wings, an office, a gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
, a 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...
field, a 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...
field, track and a pool. In the years following the construction of the new high school, a JV
Junior varsity
Primarily in North America, junior varsity or JV players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition , usually at the high school and college levels in the United States and Canada. The main players comprise the varsity team...
baseball field was built, as well as two Agriculture Education buildings.
Currently, St. Helena wishes to implement the International Baccalaureate program and phase out the AP system already in place starting in the 2009-10 school year. A side effect of their actions has been the dropping of advanced classes and the bulking up of their remedial classes. The Alumni of SHHS widely agree that the administration is trying to artificially boost the schools marks.
----
Advance Placement
As of the 2006-2007 school year, there are currently 7 AP classes
- AP BiologyAP BiologyIn the United States, Advanced Placement Biology , is a course and examination offered by the College Board to high school students as an opportunity to earn placement credit for a college-level biology course....
- AP CalculusAP CalculusAdvanced Placement Calculus is used to indicate one of two distinct Advanced Placement courses and examinations offered by the College Board, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC....
- AP English LiteratureAP English Literature and CompositionAdvanced Placement English Literature and Composition is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.-The Course:This course is designated for motivated students with a command of standard English, an...
- AP FrenchAP French LanguageAdvanced Placement French Language and Culture is a course offered by the College Board to high school students in the United States as an opportunity to earn placement credit for a college-level French course...
- AP SpanishAP Spanish LanguageAdvanced Placement Spanish Language is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.-The course:...
- AP Spanish LiteratureAP Spanish LiteratureAdvanced Placement Spanish Literature is a high school course and examination offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program.-The course:...
- AP US History
Campus
St. Helena High is located near several wineries and vineyards near downtown St. Helena. The school itself is parallel to State Route 29California State Route 29
State Route 29 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels in a north–south direction from State Route 20 in Upper Lake to Interstate 80 in Vallejo.-Route description:...
on the southern end of town.
Athletics
The SaintSaint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s, as St. Helena is colloquially known, compete in the North Central League 1 in the Coastal Mountain Conference
Coastal Mountain Conference
The Coastal Mountain Conference or colloquially the CMC , is a high school athletic conference based in the North Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation...
. From the early 1920’s until the mid 1960’s, St. Helena competed in the North Bay League, regularly facing schools from the greater Sonoma area. This changed when St. Helena moved to the North Central League, showing prowess in basketball and in football in the 1970’s. St. Helena’s success in these two sports was capped by a CIF title in 1977 for football and 2 CIF titles for the basketball teams. However, after the success of their 1977 campaign, the football team began to falter, eventually falling into mediocrity while the basketball team never reached the same kind of success. Volleyball began to become wildly successful at this time, and after numerous league titles, it was decided that after winning the 1982 state volleyball championship, that St. Helena would move to the Superior California Athletic League, colloquially known as the SCAL.
While the volleyball continued success, winning another state championship in 1984, the shortsighted move was detrimental to all other sports. St. Helena could simply not compete with many Solano County schools at the time. While most larger sports found little to no success, the less glamorous sports of tennis and track and field basked in success in the late 1980’s. The tennis team enjoyed immense success at this time, winning 3 Sac Joaquin Section titles in coed tennis whilst making 11 trips to the finals, 10 straight and many against then rival Justin-Siena High School
Justin-Siena High School
Justin-Siena High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school, located in Napa, California within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in California. The school was created when Justin High School for males, sponsored by the Christian Brothers of the San Francisco District, merged...
. By contrast, the football and softball teams performed abysmally, with the football program changing head coaches every other year.
By the late 1990’s, basketball had slowly rose to prominence once again, reaching the Sac Joaquin playoffs numerous times. It was announced, however, that 1999 would be St. Helena’s final year in the SCAL which had fallen on hard times. Only 5 schools remained and the league would soon fold. In the twilight of the SCAL’s salad days, St. Helena surprised many, finishing the 1999 football season with a 9-1 record, falling short of going undefeated. With the SCAL defunct by mid 2000, St. Helena was assigned into the North Coast League along with Justin-Siena by the CIF. Justin-Siena later moved to the Marin County League, to face other competition.
In this new environment, progress was slow, and league titles were scarce. The tennis team, which had been such a powerhouse in the Sac Joaquin Section, was shocked to learn that the North Coast Section did not offer Coed Tennis, thus hindering any chance of winning a section title. Volleyball continued it’s success, regularly putting up winning records. Baseball, which has never truly been a powerhouse sport at St. Helena, underwent a revival at about this time, first with a non-losing season, finishing at .500 for the first time since the mid ‘80s. The following season, they finished with a winning season, a sign that baseball, though not at a top tier level, is starting to rise at St. Helena.
The soccer team, which had started as a school club in the 1970s had begun to show success in the late 1990s. Eventually, when St. Helena moved to the NCS, the Saints became a regular contender in the NCL as well as the section playoffs. Recent years have shown the team going deep in the section playoffs, reaching the championship in 2004 before falling to University High School
San Francisco University High School
San Francisco University High School is an academically focused, college preparatory, private high school located in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California...
of San Francisco. University has proven to be a hindrance to St. Helena’s success as the two face each other regularly in the post season, most recently being the quarter finals where University narrowly won.
The football team continued in mediocrity until 2004 when head coach Ian MacMillan arrived, taking the team 9-1 in his first season. Though initially wary of MacMillan for being a Justin grad, the community eventually warmed up as he built the program up, culminating in a league title in 2006, the first league title for football since 1978. MacMillan left afterwards, to help coach at Napa High School
Napa High School
Napa High School, established in 1897, is a four-year comprehensive high school located in Napa, California. The high school is a comprehensive high school of 2500...
. His successor, Dave Collinsworth, was hyped to continue this trend, and to possibly lead the team to a section title. Those plans never came to fruition as the team returned to it’s losing ways, going 2-8. Collinsworth departed at the end of the season, leaving the football program four steps forward, but five steps back.
Traditionally, St. Helena's rival is Justin-Siena High School
Justin-Siena High School
Justin-Siena High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school, located in Napa, California within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in California. The school was created when Justin High School for males, sponsored by the Christian Brothers of the San Francisco District, merged...
of nearby Napa. The two school's football teams would meet each year in what was known as the Vine Bowl until 2000 when Justin-Siena joined the highly competitive and better MCAL making matches against St. Helena and Justin-Siena scarce and relegated to just the NCS Playoffs. St. Helena's geographic rival, Calistoga has moved to another league within the Coastal Mountain Conference making their matchups scarce as well, though they are slated to face each other in football beginning in 2008. Lately, however, sporting events against Middletown High School of nearby Middletown have become more heated and a small rivalry has started to form.
Sister school
Nuriootpa High School is a sister school located in Nuriootpa, South AustraliaNuriootpa, South Australia
Nuriootpa is the major commercial centre in the Barossa Valley in South Australia, about an hour's drive north of the capital, Adelaide, and 77 kilometres by rail...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Stanthorpe State High School- Australia, QLD, Stanthorpe