San Pedro High School

San Pedro High School is a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District and is located in the San Pedro portion of the city of Los Angeles, California. In 2003, the school celebrated its 100th Anniversary.

San Pedro High School is home to two protected landmarks, the Administration Building and Language Arts Building. Both were constructed in 1936 under mandate from the Works Progress Administration. San Pedro High School also has a Mathematics and Sciences Building, a Vocational Arts Building, a cafeteria, numerous bungalow-style classrooms, and three gymnasiums.

This school and the surrounding area is where much of the filming for Some Kind of Wonderful was done.

San Pedro High School is also home to the Golden Pirate Regiment (Band and Colorguard), 2015 Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) and LAUSD city division 1A Field Champions.

Demographics

As of the school year 2008-09, the racial breakdown included:^[1]

• 67.1% Hispanic
• 19.0% White
• 9.8% African American
• 0.7% Native American
• 3.5% Asian
• 0.5% Pacific Islander

Notable alumni

• Alan Ashby, 1969, former catcher in the Houston Astros, now a sportscaster.^[2]
• John Bettis, lyricist
• Mario Danelo, 2003, Record setting NCAA Place Kicker, University of Southern California Trojans.
• Eric Erlandson, 1981, co-founder of and lead guitarist for 1990s rock/grunge band Hole. He also attended Holy Trinity Catholic School, Dana Junior High School (now Middle School) and Los Angeles Harbor College.
• Anna Lee Fisher, 1967, first mother in space, 1984 crew member of Space Shuttle Discovery, one of the first women in the NASA space program.
• Brian Harper, 1977, former Major League Baseball Player.^[3]
• Art Pepper, A leading jazz alto saxophonist, began his professional career in Stan Kenton's band and is featured in numerous recordings, including Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section and Winter Moon.
• D. L. Hughley, Actor and comedian who appeared on "Comedy Central Presents".
• Garry Maddox, 1968, former Major League Baseball Player for the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies.^[4]
• Haven Moses, NFL wide receiver^[5]
• Willie Naulls William Dean "Willie" Naulls, 1952, former National Basketball Association Player; California High School "Mr. Basketball," 1952; UCLA NCAA Basketball All American, 1956.^[6]
• John Olguin, 1941, Museum director of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium from 1949 until 1987. Founding member of the American Cetacean Society and the "father of recreational whale watching."^[7]
• Miguel Jontel Pimentel, 2003, singer, won the Grammy for best R&B song in 2013.^[8]
• Mike Watt, D. Boon and George Hurley, 1976, members of influential punk band Minutemen.
• Brenton Wood, 1963, Songwriter, singer, "Gimme Little Sign", "The Oogum Boogum Song".
• Misty Copeland, Principal Ballet Dancer for the American Ballet Theatre
• Ed Jurak, MLB utility infielder for the Red Sox, Giants and Athletics 1982-1989
• Yuri Kochiyama, human rights activist

Football

The Pirates dominate the 1990s

In 1990 Head Coach Henry Pacheco resigned and Coach Mike Walsh stepped in as Head Coach in 1991. In 1991 the Pirates reached the semi finals ending the season 8-5. In 1992 the Pirates went and won the 3-A City Championship ending their season at 12-1-1, This was their first city title. In 1993 the Pirates went back to back 3-A City Champions ending their season 13-1. In 1994 the Pirates went to the Quarter-Finals ending their season 7-5. In 1995 the Pirates went once again to the City Championship Game for the 3rd time in school history, they lost the game ending their season 10-4. In 1996 The Pirates went back to the City Championship at the Coliseum winning their first 4-A City Championship and their 3rd overall city title in School History. This was also their third Undefeated Season in school history ending the season 14-0. In 1997 the Pirates went back to the L.A. Coliseum for the 5th time (92,93,95,96,& 97) in school history for the City Championship and 3rd Year in a row (95,96,& 97). They earned their second back to back overall city titles in 1997, and their second 4-A City Title, The Pirates ended the season 13-1. in 1998 the Pirates only went to the first round of the City Playoffs ending their season 6-5. In 1999 the Pirates made it to the Semi-Finals ending their season 10-3. In 1991-1999 Mike Walsh had 5 City Championship Appearances Winning Two 3-A and Two 4-A CIF Los Angeles City Section Football Championships. Since Mike Walsh became head coach in 1991 the Pirates have made 7 Championship Games appearances winning 5 overall City Titles. Coach Walsh has brought San Pedro two 3-A titles and three 4-A titles.

2006 Season

During their 2006 season, the team was undefeated for 8 straight weeks until losing a game by 3 points to their rival team from Narbonne High School. The team then secured 3-game winning streak and progressed to the CIF LA City Section 4-A Championship Game. The season ended with a 12–2 record. The 2006 season was a memorable season for most, because the Pirates lost the championship despite a strong performance all season long.

2007 Season

The team's 2007 season record was 7–4, losing many players to season-ending injuries, and one death La'Terian D. Tasby No.85, whose jersey since then has been retired. San Pedro lost to Dorsey High School, in the first round of the playoffs ending their season. Since La'Terian's death the 2008 home opener would be the first home game since his death and a banner with "85" printed on it was since placed in the stadium by former classmates Steve Parra '08, Sandra Mendoza '09, Isaac Del Hierro '10 and Ruben Roque '10.

2008 Season

The 2008 San Pedro Pirates ended 12–1–1 and Co-champions in the LA City Section. The Pirates were 9–1 in the regular season and 4–1 in the Marine League. The Pirates had one of the best defenses in the South Bay and QB Barry Heads led an efficient offense. They began the season 6–0 with victories over Santee, Palos Verdes, Garfield, Locke, Sylmar and Carson. In the 7th week they lost to Narbonne, 27-24. The final score was 27–24 in triple overtime. The Pirates bounced back to end the season with victories over Banning, Washington and Gardena. They were given the #2 seed in the playoffs. The first playoff game was a rematch against Sylmar and the Pirates emerged victorious, 34–3. Venice came next and the Pirates dominated to win 31–0. The semi-final pitted Pedro against City Section power Taft. Pedro once again dominated and won 27–7, thus setting up the rematch against Narbonne, who defeated Crenshaw 25–24. In the Final at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Pirates tied Narbonne 21-21, but it was not without controversy. Down 21-14 in the final seconds, the Pirates scored on the game's final play, a 15-yard touchdown pass from Heads to Benny Weischedel in the back of the endzone. Despite being down one point and a rule preventing overtime, the Pirates' head coach Mike Walsh opted to go for a one-point PAT kick, rather than a two-point conversion for the chance to win the LA City Title outright for third time under Walsh. The kick from Donald Jarrin was good and San Pedro settled for a 21-21 tie and the 'Co-champions' label with arch-rival Narbonne, who beat them in overtime just six weeks before.

Volleyball

San Pedro High fields competitive Varsity and Junior Varsity volleyball teams yearly; girls in Fall and boys in Spring. Other schools in the Marine League include Narbonne, Carson, King/Drew, Washington, Banning and Gardena. The Pirate Boys Varsity team won the Invitational Championships in 2006 in a closely matched game against the higher-seeded Carson Colts, as well as making the CIF LA City Section D-1 Semis in 2013, losing to Palisades in 5 games, who eventually lost to Granada Hills 3-0 in the Finals. The Semifinal included Springfield College star Sean Zuvich, Kosta Tzavaras, Austin Freitas, and Jacob Branch, coached by Kyle Ross. The current coaching staff includes Richard Wagoner (Frosh/Soph/JV) and Mike St. Louis (Varsity).

Softball

The San Pedro Girls softball team won the 2009 CIFL.A. City Championship. As of 2009, the Pirates have won 16 City Championships. (1976, 1977, 1979, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, & 2009) The Pirates have played in ten consecutive LA City Championship games (2000–2009), winning 9 out of those 10 championships. The Pirates' record in the decade of 2000 is 281 wins/28 losses/1 tie. In 2010, The Pirates were not in the City Championship and lost the first play off game in 11 seasons.

Gymnasiums

San Pedro High has three gymnasiums, one dating back to when the current location of the campus was constructed in 1936. The small gym, formerly known as the Girls Gymnasium, was constructed in the 1960s when the Math/Science building was constructed. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in June 2007 to celebrate the start of construction on the schools newest building, a gymnasium.

Small Gym

It was constructed when the school expanded in the early 1960s. Located in an area that once had houses, It has a gym floor, basketball hoops, a volleyball net system, a storage room, and two bathrooms. It had multiple purposes. It was used after school for many years for the Short Flag Team to practice. It was also used to administer the California High School Exit Exam. Nonetheless it has now been converted into a Workout Gym, with brand new state of the art work out equipment and is open after school M-Th 3–6. It is now the designated indoor weight room on campus. Numerous campus teams are left without a place to practice due to the conversion of the gym into a workout room.

Large Gym ("Old Gym")

The Large Gym was constructed in 1936 when the current school was built. The Large Gym is still in use for multiple uses, including basketball and volleyball practices, student art shows, flags drill and cheer, and youth services permits. This gym also has a boys and girls locker rooms, PE Offices, & restrooms for the physical education department. The old weight room has been converted into a large dance floor for the "Pirate Dancers". It was converted when the newest gym was being built in 2006-2008. This gym is also the area designated for all the PE classes when it is raining outside. It is also home to the indoor pep rallies.

Main Gym

The recently completed new main gym was opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, December 11, 2008. The first game played in the new gym was Monday, December 15, 2008, a boys basketball game against the Washington High School Generals. The Pirates won this game, making it the first game won in the new gym and the first game won against the Generals since 1992. The gym has a seating capacity of 2,013; has two locker rooms for male and female students, an elevator for the handicapped, restrooms, a fitness center, two storage rooms, electrical room, ticket booth and an upper and lower lobby, all which is state of the art. The actual gym floor is open for use by the basketball teams and volleyball teams for practices, conditioning classes and games. The new volleyball system, donated by the Boosters and Lady Boosters, allows for three practice nets to be set up at once, though only two can be used at once for tournament games due to close court spacing. Other uses of the gym are restricted in order to preserve the surface of the wood floor and prevent unnecessary wear and tear.

Senior Court

Senior Court is a courtyard behind the administration building dedicated to the Senior Class back in the 1940s. The idea for the court was suggested by 1944-45 student body president Pete F Manghera. The Senior Court area was built to have a designated area for the seniors to hang out at when not in class. Senior Court is about 100 ft by 70 ft long. The courtyard is home to the "Senior Benches" which are standard school benches painted black and gold. Leadership paints club names, the class motto, and the class year on these benches, etc. It is also home to the Richard Anderson Memorial Bench. Senior Court nonetheless is the second largest hang out area on campus to the flag pole. The flag pole area is east of Senior Court.

Richard Anderson Memorial Bench

Is a marble bench with Richard Anderson's name and class year and years attended engraved. Richard Anderson was the class of S'57 to be. His death came during football practice during his senior year and was an accident. He died from severe head trauma. The San Pedro football player was a very popular student. The bench was placed within several years of his death. The original bench was vandalized and a new one was placed shortly after. The bench was paid for and placed by his former classmates.

Pirate Stadium

The Pirate Stadium Sports Complex is located on the far east side of the San Pedro campus. It is south of the baseball field, and east of the softball field. Pirate Stadium is home to the football team, soccer team and the track team. The US$4 million sports complex has an oval eight-lane red clay track a quarter mile long used for the track team and physical education department as well as for public use when the field is not needed for the school. The stadium has a 6,000-fan capacity, 4,000 on the home grandstands and 2,000 for the visitor grandstands. The field has two uprights for the football season and two goals for the soccer season. In the far NW corner is a thirty-foot large pirate that was bought from a Long Beach restaurant. Just behind the north upright there is the Victory Arch, dating back to 1936. The field's all-purpose scoreboard is in the southwest corner of the stadium. Every year the stadium holds the annual "Relay For Life" campaign that benefits those with cancer. It is a 24-hour walk around the track. For every lap walked a sponsor will donate a certain amount of money to the event. During the event the stadium field is surfaced with tents and a large stage that has many different bands play to keep the participants entertained.

Victory Arch

The Victory Arch was established in 1936 to face north. The reason it is faced at the north end of the football field is because the football team wants their season to end at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Home to the CIF L.A. City Section Championship and the Coliseum is just a short drive north of the school.

Fore N' Aft

The newspaper is published every three to four weeks by the Advanced Journalism class from the associated body of San Pedro High School. Any person attending the school may submit articles, poems, drawings, or photos to the publication. The Fore N' Aft editors reserve the right to edit all submitted material for space and content. The paper has recently been published online on the school's website. The advisor of the newspaper is Mr. Steven Gebhart. The current editors in chief for the 2009-2010 school year are Eric Daniel and Alexandra Profeta.

Magnet departments

Marine Science Magnet

The Marine Science Magnet at San Pedro High School is a four-year program which allows students to focus on ocean-related sciences. Students enrolled in the program are required to complete four years of math and science classes and must complete community service hours focusing in marine science.^[9]

The primary focus is marine science, so students have the opportunity to enroll in specialized science classes including Marine biology, Physical oceanography, and Advanced Marine Science. By working with the Marine Mammal Care Center,^[10] students may also take classes and participate in a Marine Mammal Internship on site. This program offers students opportunities to work hands-on with marine animals. As of June 2009, the Marine Mammal Internship was no longer available to the students. Class Size and Budget Cuts were a factor of its removal.

References

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 33°43′46″N 118°17′57″W / 33.729436°N 118.299205°W / 33.729436; -118.299205