Westmoor High School
Encyclopedia
Westmoor High School is an American public high school
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 Daly City, California
Daly City, California
Daly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...

 that serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Jefferson Union High School District
Jefferson Union High School District
The Jefferson Union High School District is a high school district in northern California, and serves the cities of Daly City, Brisbane, Pacifica, and the town of Colma. Its district office is located at 699 Serramonte Blvd., #100Daly City, California 94015...

 (JUHSD). It generally serves the residents of Daly City, Pacifica
Pacifica, California
Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.-Overview:The City of Pacifica is spread along a six mile stretch of the north central California coastal beach and hills, nestled in several small valleys spanning between...

, and Colma
Colma, California
Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....

. Westmoor High School was recently selected as a California Distinguished School
California Distinguished School
A California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor each year following a selection...

.

History

Westmoor, the High school with high spirit. Westmoor High School was established in 1956 as the primary high school to serve the new Westlake
Westlake
-New Zealand:*Westlake, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland**Westlake Girls High School**Westlake Boys High School-United States:*Westlake, Daly City, California*Westlake, Los Angeles, California*Westlake, Louisiana*Westlake, Ohio*Westlake, Oregon...

 neighborhood on the west side of Daly City.

In the academic school year of 2004, 2005, and 2006 Westmoor became eligible for California Distinguished School status, but was not awarded the designation until 2009. However, in recent years, its California Standardized Test scores have risen year after year, to an 8/10.

Throughout the years, numerous individuals, such as participants in the American Civil Rights Movement
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...

 and numerous California politicians have visited Westmoor. In 2004, Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 made a campaign stop at Westmoor, speaking publicly in the main gymnasium.

Campus

The original campus building as designed by architect Mario J. Ciampi
Mario J. Ciampi
Mario Joseph Ciampi was an American architect and urban planner best known for his modern design influence on public spaces and buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area.-Biography:...

 attracted national acclaim due to its modern design elements. The building was sometimes called the "Glass Palace" due to the extensive use of architectural glass in its design. Ciampi received an honor award from the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The 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...

 in 1959 for his work on Westmoor. The campus is built on what was previously a pig farm and ranch.

Westmoor's main building was renovated during the 2000-2001 school year which added space but led to the removal of most of its original glass features.

2008-2009

  • 1,794 students; M/F (50.9/49.1):
    Filipino Asian Hispani White African-American Pacific Islander American Indian
    45.2% 26.6% 17.7% 5.7% 3.1% 0.9% 0.3%
  • 84 certificated staff; M/F (46.4/53.6):
    White Filipino Asian Hispanic African-American American Indian Pacific Islander
    75.0% 11.9% 4.8% 7.1% 0% 1.2% 0%

Courses offered

In addition to offering the standard English, science, social science and mathematics courses, Westmoor offers several Advanced Placement courses: English Language, English Literature, U.S. History, Statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....

, Calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...

 AB, Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

, Studio Art
Studio art
Studio art is made of art and studio, and the term has several implications depending on the context used. The term encompasses all art forms, be they performing or visual.-Definition:...

, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, American Government, and Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the whole economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy...

. Westmoor's curriculum includes a variety of art and music programs such as fabric arts, ceramics, drawing and painting, general art, graphic design, as well as band, chorus, and theater arts. Westmoor's foreign language department offers Spanish and French. In addition, Westmoor offers several elective courses in business, computer, and industrial art fields. The AVID program serves to assist students, where they prepare for college and learn fundamental skills that will guide them to academic success.

Semester grading system

In the 2004-2005 school year, Westmoor and other schools in the Jefferson Union High School District changed the grading periods from four quarters in two semesters per year to simply two semesters. Student progress reports are issued each third of a semester.

Sustained Silent Reading

Westmoor began the Sustained Silent Reading
Sustained silent reading
Sustained silent reading is a form of school-based recreational reading, or free voluntary reading, where students read silently in a designated time period every day in school. An underlying assumption of SSR is that students learn to read by reading constantly...

 (SSR) program in 2001. On a normal schedule, a twenty minute period is designated for SSR on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Starting in the 2005 - 2006 school year, this SSR period recurs on a rotating basis at the beginning of the 1st - 6th periods. During SSR, all students and teachers are excluded from classwork, reading textbooks, or writing.

Clubs and organizations

Westmoor is home to these following student clubs and organizations:
  • Anime Club: Engages in activities involving the Japanese art form 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....

    . They stage festivals such as the Sakura Festival.

  • Associated Student Body (ASB): Helps to organize many student activities, including rallies and International Foods Days. Its officers are chosen at the end of each year by election. Any student, however, may join the "Zero Period" ASB Meetings, which start at 7am, an hour before regular classes, although due to the high number of students that join, many are cut as the year progresses.

  • Auto Safety

  • B-boy Club

  • Band (Leadership Council)
    The purpose of this class/council is to organize concerts throughout the school year, prepare the marching band (complete with auxiliary guard) for the Fog Fest parade in September, and raise funds for the annual Heritage Festival trip and other band equipment/instruments

  • Block W

  • Burmese Club: Promotes the Burmese Culture and participates in several festivals, such as the Burmese New Year Water Festival.

  • California Scholarship Federation (CSF): Westmoor's branch of the state-wide California Scholarship Federation. Membership to the club is exclusive to those students who have achieved academic distinction, specifically, those students who maintain a 3.5 GPA and certain grade levels in specific courses, although by no means is CSF inclusive to all students who meet those requirements. CSF members receive a special distinction upon graduation. Westmoor's branch conducts after-school tutoring sessions, as well as fundraisers for its regular field trips to colleges and universities.

  • Ceramics Guild: Ceramics students and non-Ceramic students can work in the studio during lunch and after school. Students will work on individual projects and "coach" each other and try to sell their projects.

  • Chess Club: Gathers during lunch to play chess and other board/card games.


Mainly responsible for organizing class-specific events, such as film showings, rallies, and the senior-year prom
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...

. The different class clubs also engage in various "spirit competitions" throughout the year, creating posters and organizing students to dress up for specific "spirit day" motifs. Promote school spirit, fundraise, get involved with school events.

  • Class of 2011:
  • Class of 2012:
  • Class of 2013:
  • Class of 2014:


  • Close-Up (trip): An annual trip to Washington, D.C.
    Washington, D.C.
    Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

    , to observe the political process. Part of the national Close Up Foundation that organizes the trip.

  • Co-Ed Soccer Club

  • Drama Club: Always working on a new production, Westmoor's Drama Club brings together the talents and the personalities of the great students at Westmoor. The Drama Club focuses on entertaining the community while keeping the students of the school at the edge of their seats ready for the next show. This club is responsible for helping make the school an exciting environment for everybody.

  • Fil-Am: Club that fosters awareness of Filipino-American heritage and culture.

  • French Club: The purpose is to promote the French language and culture through food, movies and other forms of entertainment. They want students to acknowledge the French language and experience a new style of life never seen before.

  • Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
    Part of a national organization. Every year, students from Westmoor compete against other FBLA members at section, state and national levels. FBLA is designed to bring students a glimpse of the business world while having fun at the same time. There are many opportunities for students to network with their peers and interact with business professionals. This club is advised by Nancy Sansot.

  • Future Homemakers of America (FHA-Hero) Focuses on developing career and leadership skills for members to be successful in home, community and work life.

  • Key Club

  • Korean Club: Focuses on Korean pop culture and fashion.

  • Leo's Club: Participates in many community service projects, notably with a [Habitat for Humanity] housing construction project.

  • Math Club

  • Mock Trial: Competes in the regional North San Mateo mock trial competition, along with area high schools Burlingame, El Camino, Mills, South San Francisco, and Terra Nova, in which teams of students are presented with a fictional criminal case, and take on roles as attorneys and witnesses on prosecution and defense teams, to try to argue the case.

  • Muslim Student Association [MSA]

  • National Honor Society

  • Peer Counseling

  • Polynesian Club: To educate those who would like to learn Polynesian culture such as traditions, lei making, dancing etc. They will also learn about Micronesia and Melanesia.

  • Project Heart: Promotes healthy eating and exercise.

  • Recycling Club: Primary function is to gather the recycling bins from classrooms all over the campus on Wednesdays, afterschool. Also participates in many recycling and cleanup projects around the local area. Near the end of the school year, they go to elementary schools to spread awareness of being environmentally friendly and teach how to recycle at home.

  • Red Cross Club: Working closely with the local Red Cross unit (American Red Cross Bay Area, San Mateo YES Team), club members participate in Red Cross service projects that impact their community and the world.

  • Roman Club: Expand knowledge about Roman culture, a better knowledge of history, show roots of western culture and civilization.


  • Service Commission

  • Social Activist Youth (SAY)

  • Sojourn: An annual trip to the Old South
    Southern United States
    The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

    , to retrace the steps of the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights Movement
    African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
    The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...

    . Part of the national Sojourn to the Past project.

  • Student Union

  • Spanish Club

  • Spirit Squad

  • Swim Team/Club

  • Westmoor High Artistic Talents Club (WHAT)

  • Youth Alive Christian Fellowship (YACF)

  • Youth Elderly Service (YES): Students volunteer weekly by visiting the elderly at St. Francis Convalescent Pavilion.

International Foods Day

About three times a year, ASB organizes an "International Foods Day", both as an opportunity for students to eat different food outside of the standard cafeteria offerings, and (primarily) as a fundraising event for clubs to sell food. The International Foods Days, or "IFDs", are held during special Friday extended lunch periods, and club members who are selling food are released early from their 4th period classes to help prepare. The funds are temporarily held by the school's cashier; however, if not used by a certain time period, the funds are to be assimilated by the school. It was reported on October 6, 2011 that the Foods Director of the Jefferson Union High School officially said that students are not allowed to cook any of the food for IFD. If the club wants to participate, then they must purchase it from a person or people licensed to cook and resell the food they purchased.

Rally and Spirit Week

Several rallies are held throughout the year, usually on Fridays after school in the main gym. The rallies usually consist of numerous acts by both students and teachers, the majority of which involve vocal performances, instrumental performances, dance performances (mostly break-dancing), or a combination of all three. Most rallies also include some sort of contest between the different classes, involving either a dancing act, or a type of game. The rallies are often followed by a scheduled school dance, although these are almost always cancelled due to the lack of ticket sales and interest.

Although many students participate in organizing the rallies, individual rallies usually have an official "sponsor", usually one of the class clubs, or the ASB.

The week preceding the rally on Friday is usually known as "Spirit Week". During this week, and preceding weeks (especially after school on the Friday before Spirit Week), the class clubs design various posters, often asserting the superiority of the designers' class, the inferiority of the other classes, or both simultaneously. These posters are taken and placed throughout the schools, often on walls, over windows, and hanging from hallway entrances. Students are also encouraged to participate in motif days, of which there is a different one each day of Spirit Week. Monday through Thursday usually consists of a theme decided by the ASB and the class clubs, such as a "super hero day" (in which students must dress as super heroes) or "OC day" (in which students had to wear clothes related to the television show, The OC). Each Friday is a "class color day", designed to coincide with the day of the rally. Students are encouraged to wear their specific class color (Grey for Freshmen, Yellow for Sophomores, Green for Juniors, and White for Seniors). Both the poster art and individual spirit days are in fact part of a "Spirit Contest" between the classes, who are graded on the quality of the posters and the number of students who participate in each spirit day.

Tsunami fundraising

In the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

, many clubs, led by the AVID class, Muslim Student Association and Social Activist Youth, organized fundraisers to raise money for the victims of the disaster. They were successful in raising over $1000.

Student journalism

'The Rampage': The Rampage is the official school-sponsored newspaper at Westmoor. It is written and published by the students of the Publications class, which also works on the school yearbook. It is generally regarded as poor in quality, with often generic, incomplete, and bit pieces serving as articles. The Rampage produced its first and only issue of the 2004-2005 school year in October 2004, although it had several more issues planned that were never published before the end of the school year.

Athletics

Westmoor is a member of the Central Coast Section (CCS) and competes in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL). The school was a member of the North Coast Section from 1957–1965, when the Central Coast Section was created. They competed in the Peninsula League from 1957-1961 along with more established schools in San Mateo County such as Aragon, Burlingame, Capuchino, Hillsdale, Mills, Jefferson, San Mateo, and South San Francisco. From 1961-1995 Westmoor competed in the North Peninsula League (NPL) along with El Camino, Half Moon Bay, Jefferson, Oceana, Serramonte, South San Francisco, and Terra Nova. In 1996, the NPL and PAL merged , making the PAL a super-league. However, PAL is split into two divisions: Bay and Ocean.

Fall Sports
Cross Country
Girls Volleyball
Girls Tennis

Winter Sports
Basketball
Soccer

Spring Sports
Badminton
Baseball
Boys Tennis
Swimming
Track and Field
PAL Boys Varsity Champs: 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008.
PAL Boys Frosh-Soph Champs: 2003
PAL Girls Frosh-Soph Champs: 2009

The school had also once fielded boys football, girls softball, boys wrestling, girls gymnastics, and boys golf.

The Football Program

The football program at Westmoor was dropped in April 1996 by then Principal Gary Johnson due to financial hardships and low participation. At the end of the 1995 season, the team did not have a winning season in 10 years and had not beaten their rival, Jefferson High, in 13 years. The team had made two CCS playoff appearances in 1972 and 1982 and won the league title in 1972.

The team played its last season in the 1995 and finished 2-7 overall, 1-5 in league play. Throughout the season, the team struggled, losing players due to injuries and grades, resulting in an average of 20 players suiting up each game.

Westmoor's football team had only four coaches in its history. Pete Matisi coached the team from its beginning from 1957–1981, when he retired. Ken Cook took over the program from 1982–1988, coming over from the closure of Serramonte High School. Dan Ramirez coached the team in 1989 and Mike Williams coached the team in 1990 and 1991. Darryl Kennedy coached the last three years of the program from 1992-1995.

Westmoor's main rival was Jefferson High School. The game was dubbed by newspapers as the Daly City Bowl or The Greater Daly City-Colma Chamber of Commerce Trophy Game. Jefferson won the first meeting between the two teams in 1957, 32-12. Westmoor took the trophy from 1958–1967 and from 1969-1977. Jefferson won the annual game from 1978–1981, 1983–1986, and 1988-1995. There were two ties in the 39 year history: in 1968 and 1987. Westmoor still holds the overall lead in the rivalry with a record of 20-17-2.

Notable alumni

  • Greg Adams, 1970. Trumpeter and musician best known as an original member of the soul band Tower of Power
    Tower of Power
    Tower of Power is an American R&B-based horn section and band, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing for over 43 years. They are best known for their funky soul sound highlighted by a powerful horn section...

    .

  • Jacki R. Chan
    Jacki R. Chan
    Jaclyn Roxane Chan , also known simply as Jacki R. Chan or Jacki Chan, is an American actress, musician, and Model....

    , 1998. Actress, Model, Musician.

  • Bobby Kim Do-kyun, 1991. Korean singer, songwriter, and producer

  • Michael Guingona
    Mike Guingona
    Michael P. Guingona , also known as Mike Guingona, is a Filipino American who currently serves as a Council Member for the city of Daly City, California . Previously, he had served as Mayor of Daly City, but was succeeded by Carol L. Klatt. He is an attorney in private practice...

    , 1980. Four term Mayor of Daly City.

  • H.P. Mendoza
    H.P. Mendoza
    H. P. Mendoza is a Filipino American writer-director, and singer-songwriter based in San Francisco best known as the screenwriter and composer for the film Colma: The Musical, directed by Richard Wong. In 2006, he was listed as one of the Top 15 Creative Talents of 2006 by UCLA Asia Pacific Arts...

    . Writer/director/composer, best known for Colma: The Musical, a musical featuring characters who are recent Westmoor graduates.

  • Ed Montague
    Ed Montague (umpire)
    Edward Michael "Ed" Montague is a former umpire in Major League Baseball. He worked in the National League in 1974 and from 1976 to 1999, and officiated throughout both leagues between 2000 and 2009. The most senior active umpire in the major leagues at the time of his retirement, he wore uniform...

    , 1966. MLB umpire.

  • Dave Pelzer
    Dave Pelzer
    David James Pelzer is an American author, best known for his 1995 memoir of childhood abuse, A Child Called "It"....

    , 1978. Author, best known for A Child Called "It".

  • José "Sway" Penala, 1996. Singer, American Idol
    American Idol
    American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

     finalist.

  • Michael Schwartz
    Michael Schwartz
    Michael or Mike Schwartz may refer to:*Mix Master Mike , real name Michael Schwartz, American turntablist*Michael Schwartz , American sociologist*Mike Schwartz, American actor and writer...

    , dropped out in 1986. Turntablist best known as Mix Master Mike, DJ for the Beastie Boys
    Beastie Boys
    Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....

    .

  • Your Duke Dave Sholin, 1964. KFRC
    KFRC
    KFRC may refer to:* KFRC-FM, a radio station carrying a simulcast of KCBS and licensed to San Francisco, California, United States* KZDG, a radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, which used the call sign KFRC from January 2009 to August 2011* KFRC , a radio station ...

     Disc Jockey, Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame (Class of 2008).

  • Joe Coca, Author, Microsoft Exchange 2003 Unleashed, Microsoft Exchange 2003 Unleashed R2, Writer: Windows 2000 Design and Migration, Windows Maximum Securty

  • José Solano
    José Solano
    José Solano is an actor.Solano is best known for his role as Manny Gutierrez on Baywatch, and being the first minority series regular on that show. He was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by YM magazine after winning their "Man of the Year" contest...

    , 1989. Actor. Best known for his role as Manny Gutierrez on Baywatch.

  • Tom Torlakson
    Tom Torlakson
    Thomas A. "Tom" Torlakson is an American politician from California. In 2010, he was elected to the position of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the highest education post in California...

    , 1967. California State Senator
    California State Senate
    The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

     (2000–2008), California State Assembly
    California State Assembly
    The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

    man (1996–2000, 2008-current)

External links

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