Westmoor High School

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Not to be confused with Westmoore High School.
Westmoor High School
Westmoor High School, seal
Location
131 Westmoor Avenue, Daly City, California
United States
Information
Type Public Secondary
Established 1956
Principal Allan Reyes
Faculty 88[1]
Number of students 1,817[1]
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Green, White        
Mascot Ram
Website http://whs.juhsd.net/
File:Aerial view of Westmoor High School and football stadium in San Francisco.jpg
Aerial view of Westmoor High School and football stadium.

Westmoor High School is an American public high school in Daly City, California that serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD). It generally serves the residents of Daly City, Pacifica, and Colma. Westmoor High School was recently selected as a California Distinguished School.

History

Westmoor High School was established in 1956 as the primary high school to serve the new Westlake 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 and numerous California politicians have visited Westmoor. In 2004, Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry made a campaign stop at Westmoor, speaking publicly in the main gymnasium.[2]

Campus

File:Whs-dc quad1.png
Quad

The original campus building as designed by architect Mario J. Ciampi attracted national acclaim due to its modern design elements.[3] 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 in 1959 for his work on Westmoor.[4] The campus is built on what was previously a pig farm and ranch.[5][6]

Westmoor's main building was renovated and extended during the 2000-2001 school year, most of its original architectural and glass features were destroyed.

Demographics

2008-2009

  • 1,794 students; M/F (50.9/49.1):[1]
Filipino Asian Hispanic 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%

Curriculum

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, Calculus AB, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Studio Art, Spanish, American Government, Macroeconomics, Psychology, and European History. 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 (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.[7]

Extracurricular activities

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Clubs and organizations

Westmoor is home to these following student clubs and organizations:

  • Anime Club: Engages in activities involving the Japanese art form anime. 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.
  • 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 in April.
  • California Scholarship Federation (CSF): Westmoor's branch of the statewide 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.
  • Class of 2014, Class of 2015, Class of 2016, and Class of 2017 : Mainly responsible for organizing class-specific events, such as film showings, rallies, and the senior-year prom. 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.
  • 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.
  • Guitar Club strives to create a safe place for young people to practice music as well as learn new ways to express themselves.
  • Interact Club: an international organization of service and social clubs for young people of secondary school age that fosters leadership and responsible citizenship and promotes international understanding and peace.
  • 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
  • Piano Club: To promote the learning and expansion of the knowledge of piano as well as to meet new people.
  • 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.
File:Blue Angels High School.jpg
The Blue Angels visit Westmoor in 2005
  • Service Commission
  • Social Activist Youth (SAY)
  • 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.

Westmoor's Theater Program

Westmoor High School's Drama Program puts on four productions every year; a fall medley production, a spring musical, a student written and directed health production, and a spring play. The program director is Mr. Peter Panagopoulos. All productions are performed for the community in the Betty Schultz Theatre at Westmoor High School. Westmoor High School's Drama Program recently won itself recognition from the Ohlone College High School Theatre Festival for their productions of Les Misérables and The King & I by placing in the top 3 musicals. The Westmoor High School Drama Program focuses on teaching the basic elements to stage performance in acting, vocal technique, and choreography. More information can be found at www.facebook.com/westmoordrama

Some of the latest productions at Westmoor High School include:
The Outsiders (2008)
Thoroughly Modern Millie (2009)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (2009)
Seussical (2010)
Noises Off (2010)
The Tempest (2010)
The King and I (2011)
Almost, Maine (2011)
Les Miserables (2012)
West Side Story (2013)
In the Heights' (2014)
 All for One (2014)
Miss Saigon (2015)
Seventeen (2015)
Footloose (2016)

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, 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 a low-quality publication with lack luster and poorly written articles. Articles often include numerous grammatical errors and awkward language. It is published on the school website. 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.

The Westmoor girls varsity basketball team had an amazing run from 2005-2009. The Rams won (four) consecutive League championships and an amazing 49 straight league wins. Daniela Nopuente guided the team to a game away from the state championship. Nopuente scored 2,400 points in her four-year career, Rose Thompson signed with San Jose State and Dezzirae Cafferata led the state in scoring. The coach was Corey Cafferata. I covered the Rams as they beat Crenshaw, St.Ignatius and many other top programs. 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

See also

References

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External links

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