Irvington High School is an American public secondary school located in the Irvington district of Fremont, California, United States. It is one of the five public high schools in the Fremont Unified School District. Since 2011, Irvington has received full accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Video Irvington High School (Fremont, California)
Campus
The 47-acre (190,000 m2) campus is located in the Irvington district. Opened in 1961, it underwent major construction in 1968, resulting in the addition of a 150-seat theater, a second gymnasium, and ten and a half classrooms. Irvington underwent further campus beautification in 2009, with the installation of the prototypical solar panel on the southwest corner and re-sodding of the varsity and JV baseball fields. In the summer of 2010, further improvements were made to the main parking lot on the east side of campus. A two-story building was added in 2016 for math and science classes.
Maps Irvington High School (Fremont, California)
Academics
Irvington is a National Blue Ribbon School and California Distinguished School. In April 2017 U.S. News & World Report ranked Irvington as 78th in California, 468th in the United States, and 66th in the United States for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). 63% of Irvington students take at least one Advanced Placement (AP) exam, and 88% score a passing score of 3 or above. In 2013, Irvington's API score was 884. Its API score for 2012 was 874. Its API score for 2011 was 869.
Awards
- California Distinguished School
- National Blue Ribbon School
- New American High School
- America's Greenest School
- Ladies' Home Journal Ten Most Amazing Schools in the United States
- Civic Learning Award of Excellence
Benchmarks
Students must complete special benchmark projects at Irvington. Currently, IHS has three benchmarks, one at the 9th grade level called Change Project, one at the 10th grade level called World Issues Project, and one at the 12th grade level called QUEST. Benchmarks are long-term projects that allow students to demonstrate progress toward or mastery of the four School-Wide Outcomes: Communication, Critical Thinking, Personal Responsibility, and Social Responsibility. Benchmarks are intended to be consistently evaluated, "authentic," real life assessment projects which provide students, parents, and teachers information about student achievement across a range of important lifelong learning skills.
CHANGE Project
Freshmen complete a "Change" project in which they become introduced to the Irvington culture by working in teams of three to four to make a positive change regarding an environmental problem that they identify in the local community. They have approximately six months to complete the service project, volunteer at a local organization, write three drafts of a research report, and create a Powerpoint presentation to present near the end of the school year to their peers and teachers.
World Issues Project
Formerly known as "UN", World Issues adds a service component to Irvington education. Changes have been made to the process and objective of the project. Now, students are put into groups of four and are assigned a global issue. After covering a background of the issue in a group, students complete the rest of the project individually. The first half of the year is devoted to understanding and describing the issue, and the second half is spent proposing ways to fix the problem. Each student must research their assigned issue, write two papers on their topic, and participate in two discussions on their assigned topic. These topics include lack of access to clean water, refugee crisis, terrorism, child labor, climate change, human trafficking, and inequality for women.
QUEST Project
Notorious for its difficulty, QUEST is a five-component project designed and must be completed by all Irvington seniors in order to graduate. The student starts with a "Question," associated with "providing benefits to the community." Through "Understanding," an answer to the Question starts to develop through research, reading, writing, and hands-on activities. Students must then find a professional to act as their consultant and guide them through their experience and service hours. The student and his or her consultant then create an "Experience" plan related to the Question, which may include a variety of jobs that the student-chosen jobs that relate to the Question. Through "Service," the student designs and implements an activity which will allow the student to share his or her new knowledge with the greater community in a way that serves a real need in the community. They must write a paper consisting o all their findings throughout the year presenting their social contemporary issue with background information, research, and hands on experience on their QUEST topic. Finally, at the "Testimony," the student will present his or her entire QUEST experience to a panel consisting of staff, parents and experienced community members.
Demographics
According to US News and World Report, 83% of Irvington's student body is "of color," with 13% of the student body coming from economically disadvantaged households, determined by student eligibility for California's reduced-price meal program. 5.23% of Irvington's students are English Language Learners.
Attendance area
The attendance area includes the Fremont districts of Irvington, Warm Springs, and part of Mission San Jose. Along with Irvington High School, the attendance area also includes six elementary schools -- Grimmer, Harvey Green, Hirsch, James Leitch, Warm Springs, and Weibel, as well as Horner Jr. High School. Students choosing to enter the high school who live outside the district lines may apply for a lottery or a transfer into the Irvington Arts Magnet Program. Applying for the Center For The Creative Arts Program (CCA) is an art-oriented method of getting in the school if a student does not live within the boundaries. CCA has modified English, social studies, and science classes that are grouped together in a family that includes more artistic guidelines.
Extracurricular
Athletics
- Irvington's varsity baseball program has been strong over the last twenty-four years, placing first in league in 2008 and winning an MVAL title in 2009. In recent years, the JV baseball program has won two league titles and placed second twice.
- Irvington's badminton team has placed second and third in the MVAL between 2005-2010. It placed second at the 2006 NCS tournament. That same year, the badminton team won second place in the MVALs.
- Irvington's cross country team often places high at MVALs. During the 2005-2006 season, the boys' varsity team placed second at the MVAL championships, and during the 2006-2007 season, the girls' varsity team placed second at the MVAL championships. Varsity and JV girls were 07-08 and 08-09 MVAL Champions, and varsity girls placed fourth at NCS. However, in recent years (2009 and 2010), the varsity team has been lacking, with a fifth place (out of seven) finish at the 2010 MVAL finals.
- Irvington's varsity football team took first place in the MVALs in 2005, beating out top competitor Logan High School in Union City, and moving on to the NCS finals. They took second place in 2006 MVALs and moved on to the NCS semi-finals. Robert Turbin (RB), who played during this period, was selected in the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
- Irvington's volleyball team made it to NCS in the 2008-2009 season, eventually losing to Mission San Jose High School. The team also qualified for NCS in the 2009-2010 season, but lost to Liberty in the first round. In the 2010-2011 season, the team took first in the MVAL, and made it past the first round of NCS, beating San Leandro, but lost to California High School in the second round.
- Irvington's 2009 boys' water polo team made it to NCS for the first time in 11 years.
- Irvington's varsity tennis team placed second in MVALs for four years in a row. The tennis team has made it to NCS twice.
- Irvington's 2009 gymnastics team was undefeated during the regular season, becoming the season champions. At MVALs, Irvington placed first overall, with an Irvington gymnast taking first overall in each of the three levels: JV, varsity, and varsity elite.
- Irvington's 2016 gymnastics team was undefeated.
- Irvington's 2016/17 Varsity soccer team remained undefeated, winning every single game, resulting in a first-place finish in MVAL, for the first time in over 40 years. The 14 game winning streak finally came to an end when Irvington played De La Salle in the NCS playoffs where they lost 2-0.
IHS Saga (Yearbook)
Irvington High School's yearbook is named IHS Saga. Every year, the yearbook team produces a 240-page, full color, hard-cover book. It features special events throughout the year (dances, rallies, spirit week and more), sports teams and competitions, academic classes, clubs and extra circulars, and student and teacher portraits.
The yearbook class is led by History teacher, Todd Stilwell. The staff is composed of over 20 students. Three major teams on the SAGA staff are copy, layout and photography. Each team is led by one to two editors, who report to the Editor-In-Chief and Assistant Editor-In-Chief. Other positions on staff include the publicity chair, financial chair and social chair.
Journalism
Irvington's school newspaper, The Voice, reaches over 2,000 students a month. It contains seven sections (News, Student Life, Opinions, Arts and Entertainment, Sports, Humor, and Photos) and is the only school newspaper in the Fremont Unified School District to have a Humor section.
The journalism class is advised by English teacher Matthew Phillips. The staff is composed of over 25 students, with one or two editors for each section, a business manager, and two editors-in-chief.
Their website, redesigned in 2014, contains online editions of the paper as well as regular news and school updates. The Voice also has a broadcast news channel, VTV, and an Instagram account (@ihsvoice) that documents daily life on campus. The website is currently headed by a single web editor.
We the People
Irvington has a We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution team. Each of the six units on the team prepares essay responses to questions regarding the U.S. Constitution and government, such as slavery, the Bill of Rights, free speech, and the three branches of government. The second portion of the competition is Q&A with the judges to clarify and expand on the topic of discussion. Their best finish was taking fourth place at the 2005 Nationals. In 2012 and 2016, the team took third place at the state competition.
Choirs
Irvington has four choirs -- Concert Choir, Encore Choir, Treble Ensemble, and Chamber Chorale. It also has two ensemble groups including a jazz ensemble group called Viking Jazz. Students in the Choir Program participate in the winter and spring concerts, Ardenwood Historic Farm's choir concert in December, tree lighting, ACDA Northern California Women's Golden State Competition, and CMEA Choral Festival throughout the school year. The 2009-2010 Treble Ensemble placed 6th at ACDA. The 2010-2011 Treble Ensemble placed 4th at ACDA.
Band programs
Irvington has six concert band groups on campus -- a Freshman Symphonic Band, two Symphonic Bands, an Orchestra, and two Wind Ensembles. Irvington also has a Jazz Ensemble which meets before school during zero period, and several independent ensembles on campus. The Wind Ensemble earned the prestigious Unanimous Superior ranking at multiple CMEA competitions. The Wind Ensemble frequently sends its members to California's All-State Honor Band and Northern California's All-Northern Honor Band. The entire ensemble was invited to perform at the Chabot Invitational since 2007. The Wind Ensemble placed first in the Class A concert competition at the 2007 Lincoln Tournament of Champions. In 2013, Freshman Symphonic Band received Unanimous Superior during the CMEA Band Festival.
Irvington's Marching Band was composed of approximately 186 members during the 2013-2014 and has been steadily growing. During the 2014-2015 season, the band consisted of almost 250 members. In 2005, the marching band won first place in the Division B competition at the Tournament of Champions at Lincoln High School in Stockton. The color guard also took first place at Lincoln as well as at the 35th Annual Santa Cruz Band Review. In 2006, the marching band and color guard took second place for Division B at Lincoln. In 2007, the marching band and color guard took second place again for Division B at Lincoln, and the Drum Major placed third in the Mace category. Irvington finished the 2009 season capturing first place in Marching Band, first place in Concert Band (Wind Ensemble), and third place overall in Drumline at the Tournament of Champions at Lincoln High School in Stockton. In 2011, the marching band and color guard took sweepstakes in three of four categories competing in Division AA, including music, showmanship and overall parade. The color guard took first place in Div AA and the Drum Major placed second in the Mace category. The 2011 accomplishments at the Lincoln Tournament of Champions were the highest ever achieved by the Irvington Marching Band and Color Guard in the history of Irvington. In 2012, Irvington also took sweepstakes at the Feste Del Mar Band Review, with a score of 92.6. In 2012, the Color Guard also took sweepstakes at the Tournament of Champions at Lincoln High School in Stockton, and in 2014, the marching band took parade sweepstakes with a score of 92.55, beating Golden Valley, who are well known for their marching band and consistently place highly at band reviews. In 2017, Irvington again earned the sweepstakes award at the Del Mar Band Review.
Due to increasing numbers of students joining marching band, the program gained too many students to fit in one unit. At the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year the band was split in two. Similar to many of the sports programs, the bands are known as "Varsity" and "JV," with auditions being required to participate in varsity.
Irvington's Marching Band also has an active Drumline. In 2005, the Drumline placed fourth at the Lincoln Tournament of Champions. In 2007, the Drumline again placed fourth at the Lincoln Tournament of Champions and fifth at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk band review. In 2009, the Drumline placed sixth at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk band review and second at the Lodi Grape Bowl Classic Band Review. They finished the 2009 season placing third overall at the Lincoln Tournament of Champions. In 2011, the Drumline placed third overall at the Tournament of Champions. In 2012, Drumline placed first overall at the Santa Cruz Band Review.
Lamda
Irvington houses a Lamda program named the Irvington Conservatory Theater in the Valhalla theater. The school holds a partnership with the local community college, Ohlone College. Recent productions include:
- As You Like It - fall 2017
- Wizard of Oz - spring 2017
- It's a Wonderful Life - fall 2016
- Urinetown - spring 2016
- Almost, Maine - fall 2015
- Into the Woods - spring 2015
- Out of the Frying Pan - fall 2014
- Anything Goes - spring 2014
- A Midsummer Night's Dream - fall 2013
- Bye Bye Birdie - spring 2013
- The Diviners - fall 2012
- Beauty and the Beast - spring 2012
- Moon Over Buffalo - fall 2011
- Starmites - spring 2011
- A Christmas Carol - fall 2010
- Aida - spring 2010
- The Hobbit - fall 2009
- Grease - spring 2009
- Alice in Wonderland - fall 2008
- Footloose - spring 2008
- A Midsummer Night's Dream - fall 2007
- Seussical - spring 2007
- Wind in the Willows - fall 2006
- Little Shop of Horrors - spring 2006
- A Christmas Carol - fall 2005
- Kiss Me, Kate - spring 2005
- Cinderella - fall 2004
- Once on This Island - spring 2004
LAN Parties
In the 2005-2006 school year, Yahya Alhafid and Derek Ortiz, along with a few other students, started a club known as the "High Tech Militia", or HTM. the club began to host LAN gaming events in an effort to raise money for the school. The events have been wildly successful and have raised thousands of dollars for the school's computer technology department. The first event was the Winter Wonder LAN in 2006 which had a sold-out attendance of 65 people. The second event was the Spring Break LAN in 2006. The event was moved to Norse Hall to accommodate more attendees. With the increase in capacity, Spring Break LAN had an attendance of 150 people.
Since the club's inception, it has run various other LAN events such as the Turkey Shoot LAN and Summer LAN. Some of these events have had an excess of 180 attendees, given away thousands of dollars in prizes, and been attended by prominent gaming professionals such as Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel.
Mathematics
Evan Chen of Irvington's Math Club is contestant TWN2 at IMO 2014, 2014 USAMO National Winner, and Akamai Foundation Scholar.
Robotics
The Irvington High School Robotics Club, founded in February 2010, is an information technology club. The club's first-time participation in the 2010 Northern California Botball Tournament held in San Mateo earned first place in the Alliance Competition and won a plaque for Outstanding Documentation.
In the fall of 2010, the club expanded from a single competition team to three teams: Team Bluescreens, EndOfLines, and the Red HoloRAMs. In its first year of participation, the Red HoloRAMs dominated the FTC Regional Qualifiers, winning first place in the Fremont Qualifier. All teams advanced to the 2011 Northern California FTC Championships, winning eighth, 10th, and 19th place out of 26 teams.
The club returned to Botball in the spring of 2011, with Team Bluescreens winning the Judge's Choice Award for Most Creative Design for using an "Omni-wheel" for steering its robot. EndOfLines won second place in the Alliance Competition.
In fall 2011, the newly formed Team Terrorbotics received second place at Brentwood qualifications. They advanced to regionals, placing 19th.
As of 2012, Team Bluescreens won first place at the Brentwood qualifiers. Team EndOfLines was replaced by Team NuclearEndermen.
As of 2015, Team Bluescreens (split into subteams A and B) is the only competition team remaining in the club, and has withdrawn from FTC. For the current season, the team is participating in the VEX competition.
In th fall of 2016, the club decided to form two VEX competition teams, one regular team and one "varsity" team, which utilizes techniques taught in Project Lead the Way's engineering courses.
The club also makes annual trips to Maker Faire, which are highly anticipated within the club.
On occasion, the club has hosted the FLL (First Lego League) competitions on campus.
Interact Club
The Irvington Interact club is one of the largest, most active clubs on campus, sponsored by the Warm Springs Sunrise Rotary Club in Fremont. The Irvington Interact club is a part of Interact District 5170, the largest and most successful Interact district in the world. Interact District 5170's most recent International projects include End Polio Now; Shelterbox; Free the Youth; and Life, Love, Literacy. Over the past few years, Interact District 5170 has raised over half a million dollars for numerous non-profit organizations and causes. Interact continues to thrive both at Irvington and on a district level, with over 6,000 Interact members from the Pleasanton to Santa Cruz area.
Notable alumni
- Noah Delgado, Puerto Rican soccer player
- PJ Hirabayashi, musician and pioneer of the North American Taiko movement
- Kupono Low, professional soccer player
- Dick Ruthven, former Major League Baseball player
- Alberto Torrico, former Majority Leader of the California State Assembly
- Robert Turbin, NFL running back
References
External links
- Irvington High School home page
- Fremont Unified School District home page
- Irvington High School Robotics home page
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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