Foothill High School (Pleasanton, California)

Coordinates: 37°40′17.67″N 121°55′5.68″W / 37.6715750°N 121.9182444°W / 37.6715750; -121.9182444

Foothill High School
Location
4375 Foothill Rd.
Pleasanton, CA 94588
United States
Information
Type Public
Established 1973
School district Pleasanton Unified School District
Principal Jason Krolikowski
Enrollment 2,347[1]
Mascot The Falcon!
Newspaper InFlight
Yearbook Halcyon
Information (925) 461-6600
Website Foothill HS Home Page

Foothill High School (FHS) is a four-year secondary school in Pleasanton, California. It was built in 1973. It is one of two comprehensive high schools and two alternative high schools in the Pleasanton Unified School District. The current enrollment is 2,343 students.[1] The school mascot is the falcon and the official crosstown rival high school is Amador Valley High School, also in Pleasanton. The school colors are gold and royal blue. FHS was recognized in 2001 as a California Distinguished School and a 2002 National Blue Ribbon California Nominee. In addition, FHS was a 2006 winner of the National Blue Ribbon Award.

Football program

Matt Sweeney, the long time head varsity coach, has led the Falcons football program to a record of 251–84–5 since 1987 when he took over. He has also led them to four CIF North Coast Section Football Championships, as well as fifteen East Bay Athletic League titles. Foothill had an incredible 2015 season, as they claimed the EBAL title for the second straight year. The Falcons were a perfect 10-0 in the regular season, and did not trail in a single game until the NCS semi-finals. They finished as NCS finalists with a record of 12-1, they were also ranked in the top 10 programs in the state, and the top 150 in the nation. Coach Sweeney's football alumni include:

Clubs

Interact Club

As a high school division of Rotary International, Interact works hard to support the community, United States, and countries all over the world. Every year the club chooses a charity to direct their efforts towards. In the 2009-2010 school year, Interact raised money and volunteered for End Polio Now. In the 2010-2011 school year, the club is working hard to raise money for Shelter Box. Shelter Box is a non-profit organization that provides emergency survival kits after natural disasters. In addition to helping the global community, Interact members are required to do ten hours of philanthropy within the community.

Latin Club

The Foothill Latin Club fosters the learning of the Latin language and of Roman culture by providing language help, preparing students for the National Latin Exam, and participating in competitive quiz-bowl tournaments called Certamen. The club is a recognized chapter in the California and National Junior Classical League. From the fall of 2008 to the summer of 2012, Jack Reed was the President of the Latin Club. At the 2011 California Junior Classical League State Convention, the club won "First Place Chapter Statewide" in the Small School division, and the Latin 3 Certamen team placed in the top three in the state. At the 2012 Convention, the club was awarded the "Best New Chapter" in the state and again won "First Place Chapter Statewide" in the Small School division. The Latin 2 Certamen team won second place in state, and the Latin 1 Certamen team ranked third in state.

Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner Club

The Foothill Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner Club teaches the history and legend of the BDB extraordinaire Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner. He has led the legions of the Amador Valley Marching Dons and Colorguard to several notable victories in the WBA branch. Along with being an Open Class DCI World Championship, Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner has performed nationwide with BDB. The drum major prodigy also knows how to play almost every instrument with his best being the saxophone and air guitar. His air guitar skills have inspired the club to teach air guitar to their members. In addition, thanks to the mentoring of Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner they have become the best chapter in the BAAGA (Bay Area Air Guitar Association). The Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner Club has had notable victories in the GWA (Gus Wagner Association) Branch. The club has won first in the GWA branch in these listed years: 2006, 2007, 2015 and 2016. Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner himself created the club along with the GWMFA (Gus Wagner Music For America) which is a non-profit organization which has helped several schools around the Bay Area. The BDB extraordinaire has worked together with several other organizations such as Yamaha and System Blue to raise money for other schools. The club has also won "First Place Chapter Nationwide" which led to the growth of the previously small club. The mentoring of Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner has led to the success of this club.

Marching band

Classes are offered in Marching Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Auxiliary Units, and Percussion. The Foothill Band provides many Performance opportunities for its students, including: home football games, band reviews, special performance opportunities, tours, jazz festivals, concert festivals, and hosting the Foothill Band Review and Field Show Competition.

The Foothill marching band competes in the Northern California Band Association (NCBA) circuit.

Past Foothill Band performances include a tour of England on New Year's Day in 1995, where the band set a Guinness World Book record for the longest distance a marching band has played. Among the Band's other achievements are a tour of Nice, France, five performances at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, performances in Hawaii, Canada, the Fiesta and Sun Bowls, Southern California, and the Portland Rose Festival Parade.

Previous Foothill Band Director, Gus "Swinging Hands" Wagner, is currently head commander of the Amador Valley High School Marching Dons and Colorguard. He also has had formidable victories with the Marching Dons along with a great history as BDB extraordinaire.

In 2007, Foothill took Grand Champion at the Fiesta Bowl Parade with 1st in Music, Marching, Drum Major, General Effect, and Auxiliary.[2]


Notable alumni

Notable awards

Ranked number 408 on Newsweek's 2008 list of the 1,300 Top U.S. Schools.[8] Out of over 26,000 public high schools ranked by U.S. news in 2014, Foothill High School was ranked 327th in terms of academics and college readiness.

References

  1. 1 2 School Level Enrollment Reports
  2. ↑ Staff. "2003/2004 Fiesta Bowl National Band Championship and Fiesta Bowl Parade". fiestabands.com. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
  3. ↑ Crasnick, Jerry (August 10, 2016). "T.J. Friedl's journey to signing as an undrafted free agent". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Keith Millard". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Brad Bergesen Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Brandon Crawford Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Sean Mannion". CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  8. ↑ America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com

External links

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