- Northgate High School (Walnut Creek, California)
-
Northgate High School 
The Bronco mural on the Gymnasium Address 425 Castle Rock Road
Walnut Creek, California, 94598
United StatesInformation Type Public Established 1974 School district Mt. Diablo Unified School District Superintendent Steven Lawrence Administrator Deborah Frank, Student Services Coordinator, Jessica Farhadi, Student Services Principal John McMorris Vice principal Jon Campopiano Vice principal Linda Hayes Staff 64[1] Grades 9–12 Enrollment 1,536[1] (2007-8) Color(s) Crimson and gold Athletics Diablo Valley Athletic League (DVAL) Mascot Broncos Newspaper Northgate Sentinel Feeder schools Foothill Middle School Information (925) 938-0900 Website Northgate Website Northgate High School (NHS) is located in the affluent North Gate community of Walnut Creek, California, and is part of the Mount Diablo Unified School District. Opened in 1974, its name derives from its location at the north entrance of Mount Diablo State Park.
Contents
History
The movie The Principal was partially filmed at Northgate High School. Northgate was chosen for the interior design of the school Jim Belushi's character teaches at before he gets busted for bashing the red Porsche with a baseball bat. The school was supposed to represent his easy, nice-school teaching life before getting transferred to the worst school in the district (filmed in Oakland, CA), having five-foot-tall walls around the classes creating an open environment. Northgate's former drama teacher, Ed Meehan, attended Northgate as a student at the time the movie was shot, and can be seen in the film during the classroom scene in the beginning of the movie. Another former drama teacher, Jack DeRieux, was also in the movie during a staff meeting scene at the beginning.[citation needed] Another teacher, Ms. Spring, can also be seen in the 5th scene of the film. Students Mark Nelson (Class of 1987) and Anna Weddel (Class of 1988) share the classroom scene with Ed Meehan, during which Jim Belushi is checking out Anna with binoculars during a class test. Hundreds of current students at the time were used as extras during the large library and student body scenes.
In December 2007, a petition was made to move Northgate to the Walnut Creek School District.[2] Education officials for the county denied the petition.[3]
Architecture
Northgate High School is referred to as a "jail" or "prison" by its students. Very few classrooms have windows, one of them is a makeshift classroom in the schools cafeteria. There is a myth told to most freshman that the school used to be a prison. The building is kept well ventilated 24 hours a day. Some classrooms have been notorious for being freezing cold, This is due to the lack of direct control over the temperature in the classrooms. In the center of the school, there is a small atrium with plants and a small pond. The pond currently has a few turtles.
The library sits in the main forum of the school. The library only has 5 foot tall walls, making the library very loud during brunch and lunch. In the early years, none of the classrooms had permanent walls; they all had half-high walls that could be moved to make more room in classrooms if needed. This concept did not last because it was considered a fire hazard, and the movable walls were replace by full-height walls. The school had to close for a period of many months in the 70's or 80's due to the discovery of asbestos. During the 1990–91 school year, portable classrooms were used on the school grounds while asbestos was removed from the main Northgate building.
Extracurricular activities
Northgate Athletics
The Northgate High School Athletic Department oversees 24 competitive varsity athletic teams that compete in the Diablo Valley Athletic League. Northgate's sports include football, basketball, baseball, Soccer, cross county, golf, lacrosse country, hardball, swimming, tennis, track and field, softball, water polo, and wrestling. Jon Campopiano, vice principal, former teacher and coach at the school, has been the Athletic Director since the 2006–2007 school year. More information about the athletic program can be found at the official Northgate Athletics Website.
Performing Arts
The instrumental music program at Northgate consists of a Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Orchestra, and Marching Band. Symphonic Band is the largest instrumental music group, consisting of 10th, 11th and 12th grade members. Orchestra consists of students from all grades; the prerequisite is previous experience with private teachers or Orchestra in middle school. The audition process for Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band, the 2 highest bands is competitive in nature, with a number of talented students vying for a small number of slots.
The Choir program consists of three groups: The entry-level Concert Choir, the All-Women's Bella Voce, and the Co-Ed Madrigals. In order to be a part of the Madrigals (or "Mads" as they are known around campus), any prospective female member must first have spent one year in Bella Voce, as well as complete a rigorous audition process. Male members must only spend one year in Concert Choir before auditioning for Mads. However, exceptions have been made to this rule. An audition process is also required for Bella Voce. Madrigals have a heavy winter schedule, as they do holiday gigs for restaurants and families that hire them. This fundraising activity has been in place since the early 1980's and occupies most of December for the members. Former Choral Director Chris Piazza was instrumental in developing and supporting this activity, which showcased the school's vocal students to the community at large. Bella Voce, Madrigals, and the Instrumental Music program go to Disneyland in the spring to participate in the musical performances that are held there for high schools and other performing arts groups. This event is called "Magic Music Days". The current vocal director, Mrs. Maddern, is adding a new Men's Ensemble to the array of various choirs at Northgate, and will be active next year. However, because of the masses of men flocking to Men's Ensemble, Concert Choir only has one guy. During the 2010–2011 school year, Concert Choir has/had 17 men. Mrs. Maddern is trying to recruit more men, but she may have to resort to making Concert Choir an "All-Women's" choir. Thus, making it an entry-level Bella Voce.
The Drama program consists of four levels, the last being Production Workshop which produces at least one play per semester. Students have the opportunity to try working with all aspects of theater, including stage lighting, sound design, promotions, scenic design, props (theatrical property), and Stage management. The program operates out of the recently dedicated Jack De Rieux Little Theatre. Northgate also participates in the Devil Mountain Improv League, a completely student-created and student-run coalition of competitive high school improvisational theater students that has been around since 1996.
Notable alumni and staff
- Keith Clearwater, (1977): professional golfer.
- Doug Davis, (1993): starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
- Mariet Ford, (1979): a key participant in The Play during the 1982 Cal/Stanford Big Game. Ford is currently imprisoned for murdering his wife and children.[4]
- Matt Irvin, (1986): former football coach for the USC Trojans and San Diego State who coached at Northgate from 1994 to 1995.[5][6]
- Yul Kwon, (1993): winner of the reality television show Survivor: Cook Islands.
- Philip Wang: Part of the famous "Wong Fu Productions." Youtube director.
Coordinates: 37°54′28″N 122°00′30″W / 37.90778°N 122.00833°W[7]
References
- ^ a b "Northgate High – Reports". California Department of Education. http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/DQReports.asp?CDSType=S&CDSCode=07617540730044&lPage=P. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
- ^ http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_7917993
- ^ "ContraCostaTimes.com : Contra Costa & Alameda News, Sports, Jobs, Cars and Real Estate". http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CC&p_theme=cc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=allfields(Northgate%20High%20School)%20AND%20date(12/1/2007%20to%205/4/2008)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=12/1/2007%20to%205/4/2008)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22Northgate%20High%20School%22)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no.
- ^ Kroichik, Ron (October 9, 2002). "From The Play to hard time". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/09/MN175840.DTL. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
- ^ "Bio:Matt Irvin". http://usctrojans.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/irvin_matt00.html.
- ^ Shanahan, Tom (August 25, 2002). "Aztecs spotlight". SignOnSanDiego.com. http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/aztecs/20020825-9999_mz1s25aztec.html. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
- ^ United States Geological Survey (March 5, 1997). "GNIS Detail - Northgate High School". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1723580. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
External links
Categories:- Mount Diablo Unified School District
- High schools in Contra Costa County, California
- Walnut Creek, California
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
