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Revision as of 21:20, 13 February 2009

File:Fountain Valley Royal Crest.jpg
Fountain Valley High School's crest

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 also has also had a teacher, Christine Baron, on the staff for nearly thirty years now. 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.

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 its first principal, Dr. Paul Berger.[1] During these years the school days were split in half with grades 9 and 10 coming during one half of the day, while 11 and 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 interrupting a basketball game by throwing shoes onto the gym floor. This scene was filmed at FVHS during Fall 1996 and utilized the 1997 graduating class as extras. If the clip is paused 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.

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. The teacher with the highest AP pass rate is Mrs. Susan Graff, the AP Calculus teacher, with a 100% pass rate.

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 7th in its class by the Western Band Association and its ranked 8th 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 and has been very successful within its league over the years. Junior Varsity, in particular, recently won first place three years in a row ('06, '07, and '08) winning undefeated in 2008 – all together a rare accomplishment.

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.

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.

Seasonal sports

Fall Sports Winter Sports Spring Sports
  • Marching Band
  • Girls' Volleyball
  • Field Hockey
  • Football
  • Girls' Cross Country
  • Boys' Cross Country
  • Girls' Tennis
  • Boys' Waterpolo
  • Wrestling
  • Girls' Basketball
  • Boys' Basketball
  • Girls' Soccer
  • Boys' Soccer
  • Girls' Water Polo
  • Girls' Track and Field
  • Boys' Track and Field
  • Softball
  • Boys' Golf
  • Boys' Tennis
  • Boys' Volleyball
  • Swimming
  • Diving
  • Baseball

Mu Alpha Theta

Mu Alpha Theta meets on Tuesdays in Ms. Graff's room (228) and is led by Zongwei "El Presidente" Li. Members take part in different mathematics contests. [2]

Rubix Clube

Rubix Clube is a club in which members explore the secrets of the Rubix Cube. It meets in Mr. Olsberg's room (216). Salman Aziz is their leader person

Yulin Chinese School

Yulin Chinese School, established in 1983, is a Saturday morning chinese school located in Fountain Valley High.[3]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "FVHS Band films with Gwen Stefani". Fountain Valley High School. March 4, 2005. Retrieved from No Doubt Unofficial International Fanclub January 9, 2007.
  2. ^ http://sites.google.com/site/fvhsmualphatheta/
  3. ^ "An Introduction of Yulin Chinese School", Yulin Chinese School