Torrey Pines High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Torrey Pines High School

established = 1974
address = 3710 Del Mar Heights Rd
city = San Diego
state = California
country = USA
campus = Suburban
type = Public secondary
principal = Brett Killeen
teaching_staff = 135
students = 2,706
grades = 9-12
district = SDUHSD
mascot = Freddy The Falcon
colors = Cardinal and Gold
newspaper = "The Falconer"
yearbook = "Freeflight"
website = [http://tp.sduhsd.net/ http://tp.sduhsd.net/]

Torrey Pines High School is a high school in the North County Coastal area of San Diego, California. The school is named after the rare Torrey Pine tree that grows in the area. Torrey Pines High School is a member of the San Dieguito Union High School District and serves the communities of Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, Solana Beach, and Carmel Valley (City of San Diego). [ [http://www.sduhsd.net/html/attendance_boundaries.html SDUHSD Attendance Boundaries] ]

Before the school opened, students in the district attended San Dieguito High School (now known as San Dieguito Academy). Students from middle schools such as Carmel Valley Middle School, Earl Warren, or Rancho Santa Fe often come to Torrey Pines to continue their education.

Academics

Torrey Pines has a reputation for being an "academic powerhouse". [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20041016-9999-2m16tests.html Union-Tribune Article] ] The school is a three-time National Blue Ribbon School and California Distinguished School. In 2005 Torrey Pines was ranked as one of the 100 Best High Schools in the nation by Newsweek magazine. [ [http://www.newsweek.com/id/52060/page/2 Newsweek: The 100 Best High Schools in America ] ] Torrey Pines offers thirty Advanced Placement courses and had a 2006-2007 API score with a comparable grade range". [ [http://api.cde.ca.gov/AcntRpt2007/2007GrowthSch.aspx?allcds=37683463730033 Torrey Pines High School 2007 Growth Academic Performance Index (API) Report] ] [ [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/achievement/ca/6091 Torrey Pines High School Test Scores] ]

In December 2006 Torrey Pines received the Claes Nobel School of Distinction Award from The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS)

In 2007 Torrey Pines had numerous students who were designated AP scholars by the College Board. [ [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/07/news/community/10_32_1511_6_07.txt North San Diego County School News Briefs: TPHS students earn AP Scholar Awards] , "North County Times", November 6, 2007.]

Construction History

There were two expansions made to Torrey Pines High School. The first was Torrey Pines' media center which was completed in 1974 and won many awards for it's design. [ [http://www.dlm.com/torrey-hs.html Torrey Pines High School Expansion ] ] Torrey Pines' football stadium cost 2 million dollars and was completed in 1987. [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/58616057.html?dids=58616057:58616057&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jun+08%2C+1986&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext) "Los Angeles Times"] , June 8, 1986.] Since the original construction, an English building (Building E) was built in 2003, and stairs were added leading up to the main building. Over the 2008 summer, stairs were built leading from the parking lot nearest Del Mar Heights Road to the English building. It was built in response to students running down the hill instead of using the stairs, and was designed to help alleviate the flow of students before and after school.

Demographics

Torrey Pines High School has a mostly Asian and Caucasian student body. [ [http://school-ratings.com/ratingsDetails.php?cds=37683463730033 California School Ratings] ] The student body is largely reflective of the surrounding areas, which is categorized mainly by affluent families: most adults in the area are married and close to 50% of household incomes are over $100,000. Most adults are educated, with a strong majority having either a Bachelor's or a Professional/Graduate degree. [ [http://zipskinny.com/index.php?zip=92130 Zip Skinny 92130] ]

The student body is estimated to be about one third Jewish, based on absences on Yom Kippur. Starting in 2006 the district decided to officially recognize Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days in Judaism. In previous years absences from the holiday meant losses of more than $55,000. [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051124/news_1mi24holiday.html Chalk up Yom Kippur as San Dieguito school holiday] ]

Extracurricular activities

From the 2007 School Profile: [ [http://tp.sduhsd.net/documents/TPHS%20School%20Profile%202007.pdf Profile 2007] , Torrey Pines High School.]

Music

Torrey Pines has a large and growing music program, including two orchestras, a wind ensemble, symphonic band, a chorus, and a jazz band. These groups win numerous awards each year at competitions throughout California. AP Music Theory is also offered. Amy Willcox is the current music director at Torrey Pines. Erin Zoumaras teaches chorus and AP Music Theory.

Athletics

Torrey Pines is a long-standing athletic powerhouse of the Palomar league. Notable programs include Football, Wrestling, Basketball, Men's and Women's Volleyball, Softball, Cross Country, Cheerleading, Tennis, Track & Field, Soccer, Golf, Gymnastics, Baseball, Lacrosse, Swimming and Water Polo. On October 11, 2007, Torrey Pines football was featured in a nationally televised game on ESPNU. [ [http://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/ameigs/ Falcons Athletics] ] The boys basketball and girls golf coach, as of Fall 2007, is John Olive.
Fall sports are: Cross country, Girls golf, Boys water polo, Field hockey, Football, Girls Tennis, and Girls Volleyball.Season results according to The Falconer, as of 2007:Boys Cross Country: CIF title, 17th at stateGirls Cross Country: 3rd at CIF, 6th at stateGirls Golf: Undefeated season, CIF title, 6th at stateBoys Water Polo: 2nd at CIF, league record 3-6, overall record 8-16Girls Field Hockey: Shared league title with La Costa Canyon, defeated a Semi-finals.Gymnastics: League Champions, Back to Back CIF Champions. Football: 2-7 seasonGirls Tennis: 18th CIF titleGirls Volleyball: league record 6-2-0, overall 12-5-0
Winter sports are: Basketball, Soccer, Girls Waterpolo, and Wrestling.
Spring sports are: Baseball, Softball, Boys Golf, Gymnastics, Lacrosse, Swimming, Boys Tennis, Track and Field, and Boys Volleyball.

Clubs

As of February 28, 2006, Torrey Pines High School has 116 Associated Student Body sponsored clubs. [http://sduhsd.k12.ca.us/tp/pdf_files/ASB_CLUBS_2006.pdf ASB Sponsored Clubs (2005-2006)] ]

A few of these clubs have websites, available at http://tpclubs.com

Publications

"The Falconer"

"The Falconer" is the school newspaper. It placed first in the 2004 [http://jea.org JEA] /NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in San Diego. [ [http://studentpress.journ.umn.edu/nspa/winners/s04bs.html NSPA Best of Show Winners] , 2004 JEA/NSPA Spring NationalHigh School Journalism Convention] A new issue is put out at the end of each month. All articles and graphics are made by the staff of the Falconer. Mia Boardman Smith is the current adviser to the staff. The Falconer receives no school funding, instead relies on money from advertisers the staff members find.

The newspaper features a News, Opinion, Entertainment, Feature, Sports, and Focus section, which specializes in a different topic each issue.

"First Flight"

"First Flight" is the school literary magazine. Its 2005-2006 edition placed first in the 2006 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in in Chicago, Illinois and the 2006-2007 edition won first place Best in Show at the 2007 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. [ [http://studentpress.journ.umn.edu/nspa/winners/f06bs.html NSPA Best of Show Winners] , 2006 JEA/NSPA Fall NationalHigh School Journalism Convention] [ [http://www.studentpress.org/nspa/winners/s07bs.html NSPA Best of Show Winners] ,2007 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention] Mia Boardman Smith is the faculty adviser.

"FreeFlight"

"FreeFlight" is the school yearbook. Mia Boardman Smith is the adviser. Freeflight 2006-2007 yearbook with the theme of IMPACT placed 4th at the JEA/NSPA National Convention in the Spring of 2008 in Anaheim, CA.

Academic teams

Torrey Pines High School's academic teams include Speech and Debate, Academic Team, and Science OlympiadApproximately 40 students participate in Speech and Debate, 90 in Science Olympiad, and 35 in Academic Team.Speech and Debate and Academic Team require interested applicants to try out for the team.As of November 28th, 2007, the TPHS Academic Team is complete with 10 freshmen on the Freshmen Team, 15 on the JV Team, and 9 on the Varsity Team. The teacher currently involved with the academic team is Mrs. Swovelin, who has been teaching over 27 years.

Theater

The Torrey Pines black box theater program ("TP Players") is widely acknowledged for achievements in the theatrical field, though is very original in not choosing to produce many well-known shows. It received awards for best play in the region from the California Educational Theater Association for "Metamorphosis" in 2003 and "Inherit the Wind" in 2005. [ [http://www.tpplayers.com/fringe/tpawrd.htm Torrey Pines Players Online - Fringe 2006 ] ] "TP Players" performed at the International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in the summer of 2006. [ [http://www.tpplayers.com/fringe/abtfrng.htm Torrey Pines Players Online - Fringe 2006 ] ] The current director, Marinee Payne, works hard with the student actors alone to produce college-level shows. The TP Players receive no outside funding and rely solely on ticket sales.

ASB

Torrey Pines Associated Student Body uses a $6 million budget every year for school activities.Fact|date=April 2008

Notable alumni

*John Allred, NFL player for the Chicago Bears (1993) [ [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ALLREJOH01 John Allred Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards - databaseFootball.com ] ]
*Rod Benson, NBDL player for the Dakota Wizards (2002) [ [http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/index.jsp?player=rod_benson NBA Development League: Rod Benson Playerfile ] ]
*Jaime Chambers, news reporter [ [http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/newsstaff/ktla-news-bios-j.chambers,0,7372732.story?coll=ktla-newsstaff-1 Jaime Chambers | News Staff | KTLA The CW | Where Los Angeles Lives ] ]
*Chris Dudley, retired NBA player for the New York Knicks (1983) [ [http://basketball-reference.com/players/d/dudlech02.html Chris Dudley Statistics - Basketball-Reference.com ] ]
*Hayden Epstein, ex-NFL kicker for the Denver Broncos [ [http://www.nfl.com/draft/2002/profiles/epstein_hayden.htm Epstein at NFL.com] ]
*Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot (1994) [ [http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Foreman,_Jon/Biography/ Jon Foreman Biography ] ]
*Tony Hawk, professional skateboarder(1986) [ [http://www.tonyhawk.com/bio.html Tony Hawk bio] ]
*Chad Hutchinson, ex-St. Louis Cardinals pitcher and Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Stanford University (1995) [ [http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/stanfordtoday/ed/9611/9611sf.html Stanford info] ]
*Sirikitiya Jensen, member of the Thai Royal Family (2003)
*Alex Kent, bassist for Say Anything (2004)
*Tom Luginbill, ESPNU college football analyst (1992)
*John Lynch, all-pro safety for the New England Patriots (1990) [ [http://www.johnlynchfoundation.org/newsdetails.asp?NewsID=15 John Lynch Foundation] ]
*Scot Pollard, NBA player (1993) [ [http://www.hoopshype.com/players/scot_pollard.htm Scot Pollard at HoopsHype] ]
*Tristan Prettyman, singer/songwriter (2000) [ [http://www.themusicedge.com/moxie/news/featartist/flying-home-with-tristan-.shtml TheMusicEdge] ]
*Shaun White, professional snowboarder: "The Flying Tomato" (2005) [http://www.nshss.org/news/06/december/highschool.html Monthly Update December 2006 - A publication of The National Society of High School Scholars - retrieved September 27, 2008] ]
*Greg Williams, professional beach volleyball player, two-time AVP MVP (1986) [ [http://www.avp.com AVP] ]
*Rachel Buehler, member of the 2008 gold medal Olympic Women's Soccer Team (2002) [ [http://ussoccer.com/bio/index.jsp_78695.html Rachel Buehler biography] , Official site of U.S. Soccer]
*Brian S. Freeman, Army Captain, West Point graduate killed in Karbala, Iraq on January 20, 2007 [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070124/news_7m24freeman.html Signon Sandiego] ]
*Brody Heffner-Liddiard, ex-NFL longsnapper and tight end for the Minnesota Vikings [ [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=LIDDIBRO01 Players page at databasefootball.com] ]
*Devin Hennessy, (former) Radio Personality, Television/Radio Producer (2000) [ [http://www.icommag.com/video-news.html Video News - iCOM Magazine ] ]
*Poomi Jensen, grandson of the King of Thailand (2001) [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041230/news_1m30prince.html Prince dies in tsunami, was grad of Torrey Pines | The San Diego Union-Tribune ] ]
*Adam Johnson (baseball player), MLB player, ex-Minnesota Twins [ [http://www.sdhoc.com/main/awards/2005stars/August2005 SDHOC] ]
*Dan Layus, lead singer of Augustana (2002) [ [http://www.themusicedge.com/moxie/news/featartist/augustana-forget-the-silv.shtml TheMusicEdge.com] ]
*Taylor Steele, surfing videographer: "King of surf cinema" [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=-DWQSYRx4MUC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=%22Taylor+Steele%22+videographer&source=web&ots=UafO2BVwH_&sig=HwcQIxrdne-5DP_Ooy0uylBiJTg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=11&ct=result "The Encyclopedia of Surfing"] ]
*Megan Tevrizian, correspondent for Hollywood 411 (2001) [ [http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/carlos-mencia/195064 TV Guide] ]
*Tim Wadlow, two-time Olympian for sailing ["Ranch & Coast", August 2008, pg. 102.] [ [http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:of4SPa90fDsJ:usocpressbox.org/usoc/pressbox.nsf/d527d77b769a817a872565410013dfd4/9ae40334b25f1dab85256eef0020dbe3/%24FILE/04%2520Team%2520web%2520biostoriespix.doc+%22Tim+Wadlow%22+sailing+%22two+time+Olympian%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us&client=safari USOC Press Box] ]

References

Garrett Scarvaci- all-american lacrosse player

External links

* [http://tp.sduhsd.net/ Torrey Pines High School official website]
* [http://tpcc.2ya.com/ Torrey Pines High School Cricket Club website]
* [http://sduhsd.k12.ca.us/ San Dieguito Union High School District official website]
* [http://teachers.sduhsd.net/awillcox/ Torrey Pines Music Department]
* [http://www.tpplayers.com TP Players Theatre]
* [http://www.tphsfootball.com/varsity/index.htm TPHS Football]
* [http://eventsonline.com/tpwaterpolo TPHS Waterpolo]
* [http://www.tpfieldhockey.com Torrey Pines Field Hockey]
* [http://www.tphslax.com Torrey Pines Girls' Lacrosse]
* [http://www.torreypinescc.org Torrey Pines Cross Country]
* [http://tphsgirlsgolf.homelinux.org Torrey Pines Girls' Golf]