Minarets High School

Minarets High School
Location in the state of California Home of the Mustangs
Address
45077 Road 200, O'Neals, California, Madera County, 93645 United States
Information
Established	2008
School district	Chawanakee Unified School District
School number	559-868-8689
Principal	Mike Niehoff
Teaching staff	17
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	300
Average class size	23
Classes offered	Media Production, Ag Mechanics, Floral, Information Technology, Spanish, Extreme PE, and Schoolwide FFA.
Hours in school day	8
Classrooms	26, Multimedia ready, with projectors and audio
Campus size	340 acres
Color(s)	Yellow, Purple, Black
Song	"I'm on a Mac"
Mascot	Mustangs
Rivals	Yosemite High School Liberty High School
Newspaper	The Roundup
Feeder schools	North Fork, Spring Valley, Rivergold, Coarsegold, Bass Lake, Friant, Madera Ranchos, Chowchilla
Graduates	starting in 2012
Website	minarets.cyberschool.com/District/

Minarets High School is the first high school built in the Chawanakee Unified School District. The school's official first year of operation was in August 2008 with 27 9th graders in the Pilot Program. The school moved onto the new campus in September 2009 with 135 9th and 10th graders. In the fall of 2010, there were 290 9th, 10th and 11th graders. The school colors are purple and gold, and the mascot is a Mustang. Minarets is a 21st Century High School, a one-to-one laptop and project-based school. All students are issued MacBooks and may also bring a laptop of any type, if they wish. Minarets has two primary Career Pathways - Ag and Natural Resources, as well as Arts, Media and Entertainment.

Minarets achieved WASC accreditation in July 2010. Minarets students scored very well on the 2009/10 California state testing. Highlights included 75% of all 9th graders scoring Proficient or Advanced in English, while also getting an API of 772 (second highest in Madera County). On the CAHSEE in the spring of 2010, the 10th graders enjoyed a 90% pass rate on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE).

Minarets Media students have had winning videos in the following contests: 2010 International Student Media Festival (2), 2010 California Media Festival (2), 2008 and 2009 Fresno ROP Skills Challenge (5 total), and many nominees in the Slick Rock Student film festival (Minarets has had freshman and sophomores competing against the best Juniors and Seniors in the Valley at Slick Rock). Minarets Media Students also produce a weekly TV show, a weekly school wide digital signage service and documents Minarets sports. Minarets Media students also do community service films for groups like: The Power of One, SkiJamin, The Kingsburg Historical Society among others. Advanced Media students recently^[when?] produced the A/V segment for the Get Reel Film Festival, which featured a Wirecast based, two camera live video and presentation that was an aggregate 18 gigabyte, 2 hour production.

Minarets High School also has a tremendous Ag and FFA Program with 287 current FFA members. Students can participate in FFA through their science classes. Minarets students have almost swept awards at our two county fairs, while also competing well at the state level in Parli Pro.