Fountain Valley High School
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Fountain Valley High School (or FVHS) is a California Distinguished public high school located in Fountain Valley, California. It was established in 1966 and is a part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District. It is notable for its rivalry with Edison High School, particularly during football season, in which both schools compete in the "Battle of the Bell." The athletic teams are known as the Barons and the school colors are Red, Gold and Blue. The name Baron comes from the high school's mascot, a medieval title of nobility. The school has had renovations starting in 2002 to some of its buildings which were sinking. These renovations yielded new portable buildings in an area which was previously a parking lot. As of 2006, these semi-permanent portable buildings have been removed and replaced with permanent facilities.
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[edit] History
For the first few years after opening, Fountain Valley High School had a larger student population than any other high school west of the Mississippi.[citation needed] This was due to the great exploits of the legendary Paul Stroud. During these years the school days were split in half with grades 9 & 10 coming during one half of the day, while 11 & 12th graders would come during the other half.
Midway through the 1997 film Wag the Dog, there is a short clip showing students in a High School Gym interrupt a basketball game by throwing shoes on to the gym floor. This scene was filmed at FVHS during Fall 1996 and utilized the 1997 graduating class as extras. If you pause the clip at the correct point, one can see the school's song hanging on the gym's wall.
In March 2005, the Fountain Valley High School drumline and band was filmed in Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" music video.[1]
In April 2007, Fountain Valley High School was recognized as a California Distinguished School for the second consecutive time.
[edit] Notable programs
[edit] Advanced Placement
Fountain Valley High School is known for a rigorous advanced placement (or AP) program which allows high school student to study college level course work. Nearly every AP course available is offered at FVHS and the students tend to score fairly well.[citation needed] Newsweek magazine has annually ranked United States public high schools according to AP scores. Since the mid-90's, FVHS has ranked in the top 100 schools multiple times.
[edit] Sports
The school currently competes in the Sunset League and is a part of the California Interscholastic Federation(CIF). Among the numerous athletic programs at FVHS: baseball, football, girls' cross country have excelled in the past. The football team won the CIF title in 1978 and 1988 along with numerous Sunset League titles. The baseball team closed out the 1994 and 1995 seasons ranked second in the nation, while the girls’ cross-country team has won the Sunset League title for each of the past three years, not to mention a 2005 CIF championship. In addition, in 2007 the FVHS Swim Team won the title of Sunset League Champions. One of the most decorated extracurricular activities of Fountain Valley is the marching band. The Fountain Valley Royal Regiment is currently ranked 1st in its class by the Western Band Association and its ranked 4th in the state overall. The band is made up of 160 members. Fountain Valley High School also holds FIVE COUNTIES, which is one of the toughest tournaments in the nation. The FV wrestling team is also significantly improving in events. During the 70s they were one of the best schools in California. Tennis is also offered at the school.
[edit] Rivalry with Edison
Fountain Valley's rivalry with Edison is one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in Orange County, and reaches a peak during Bell Week, when the two teams face each other in football. The rivalry was born in 1969, the first year of Edison's existence. Many Edison students had been at Fountain Valley before the new school opened, and thus knew many FV students. The Charger football team upset Fountain Valley that year, preventing the heavily-favored Barons from reaching the playoffs. The two have hated each other ever since.
Fountain Valley High School and its chief rival, Edison High School, were actually constructed with the same blue prints. Prior to the demolition of the 300 building at FVHS, an FVHS student on Edison's campus would find that the only differences between the two schools' building layouts were the trim: FVHS has a blue and gold trim while Edison has a Green and Gold trim.
Because neither school has an on-campus stadium, the annual rivalry game is traditionally played at Orange Coast College. The 7,600-seat stadium at OCC is almost always sold out for the Bell game. Sometimes the game is played at Anaheim Stadium instead.
During Bell Week, students from both schools routinely play pranks on each other, often involving vandalism of the rival's swimming pool. In the past, items thrown into the pool have included recently annihilated students (fresh from Ms. Tadokoro's classroom), Volkswagen Beetles, and mattresses.
For Baron fans, the 1995 game stands out as one of the greatest. Trailing in the final minute, the Barons faced 4th-and-24, but somehow converted and would score a touchdown with 19 seconds left to seal up a 19-14 win.
[edit] Seasonal sports
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[edit] Science Olympiad
Science olympiad is a school club where club members compete in competitions such as robot building, rocks and minerals and more.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Michelle Pfeiffer, actress.
- Bob Hurley class of '73', founder "Billabong USA" & "Hurley" sportswear brands
- Andre Sommersell, football player.
- Ken Margerum, football player.
- Summer Altice, actress/model.
- Lisa Marie Scott, actress.
- Matt Stevens Former NFL Quarterback & College Football Analyst.
- Russell Holmes, Two time Volleyball All-American
- Nick Arciniaga, Elite Marathoner
- Shirley Babashoff, two time('72'&'76') Olympic swimmer, 6 Silver & 2 Gold Medalist
- Stephanie Dao, Professional dancer, featured in several hip hop videos and movies such as "Honey", "You've Got Served" and worked with videos artists with Chris Brown and Rhianna. Currently teaching a dance class called "Hip Hop Honors" in Los Angeles.
- Kelly Boeke, Basketball player
- Omar Metwally, actor.
- David Denman, actor.
- Staella Gianakakos, TK Erwin, Rachael Rosales and Nathan Hagstrom, Contestants on CBS's The Amazing Race 12.
[edit] References
- ^ "FVHS Band films with Gwen Stefani". Fountain Valley High School. March 4, 2005. Retrieved from No Doubt Unofficial International Fanclub January 9, 2007.
