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*Red Cross Club
*Red Cross Club
*Rock the Vote
*Rock the Vote
*Running with Speakers
*Samohi Solar Alliance (SSA)
*Samohi Solar Alliance (SSA)
*Samohi Tri-M
*Samohi Tri-M
Line 134: Line 133:


*Running with Speakers, which provides [[audiovisual|AV]] support for faculty and students. It is linked with the digital video and news video classes and conducts an annual film festival of student films from across [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]].
*Running with Speakers, which provides [[audiovisual|AV]] support for faculty and students. It is linked with the digital video and news video classes and conducts an annual film festival of student films from across [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]].
*(Running With Speakers has been removed from the list above because it is now an organization)

*The Junior Statesmen of America has an active branch on the campus. They generate their funds by a twice annual "Waffle Bucket".
*The Junior Statesmen of America has an active branch on the campus. They generate their funds by a twice annual "Waffle Bucket".

* The Key Club seeks to open the doors to community service.
* The Key Club seeks to open the doors to community service.
* [[Sorrento Sand & Sea Club]]
* [[Sorrento Sand & Sea Club]]




==Samohi Music Department==
==Samohi Music Department==

Revision as of 20:40, 3 February 2007

File:SAMOHI.jpg
Santa Monica High School Vikings
School name Santa Monica High School
School Type Public
Established 1884
Website http://www.samohi.smmusd.org
Principal Dr. Hugo Pedroza
School District Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
Enrollment 3,700
Location Santa Monica, California
Mascot Victor and Vicky Viking
Colors Blue and Gold

Santa Monica High School (SMHS), informally known as Samohi or just Samo, is a public school located in Santa Monica, California which was founded in 1884. It changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus on Pico Boulevard.

Santa Monica High School is a part of Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. It is located at 601 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, California 90405. The current school principal is Dr. Hugo Pedroza.

School mascot and traditions

The school mascots are Victor and Vicky Viking and the team is the Vikings. The school newspaper is known as The Samohi and the school yearbook is called the Nautilus. The Santa Monica High School pep rallies are held in the Greek Theater with the entire student body. The rallies are opened by the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by the Chamber Singers, and they are closed with the singing of the Hymn of Praise led by the Madrigal Ensemble.

School Clubs

Student ran clubs include:

  • A Better Us
  • Advocates for a Clean Campus
  • Anime Club
  • Art Club
  • Asian Club
  • Athletic Promotion and Awareness Club
  • AVID Club
  • AVID 08
  • Badminton Club
  • Baha'i Club
  • Ballroom Dance Club
  • Bike Club
  • Blue Crew
  • Bread Club
  • Breakfast Club
  • Bridge Club
  • Chinese Club
  • Circle of Friends
  • Civil Rights Club
  • Class of '08
  • Class of '09
  • Club Amani
  • Club Of Nations
  • Community Service Club
  • Computer Programming Club
  • Digital Vido Productions/ Studies
  • Drama Club
  • Earth's Advocates
  • Family Guy Club
  • Fashion Club
  • Film Club
  • Freely Raising Awareness in N. Korea
  • French Club
  • Funk Appreciation Club
  • Get Buck Club
  • Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA)
  • Helping Others Prosper Everywhere
  • Homeless Helpers Ent.
  • Immersion Club
  • Improv Club
  • Intramural Sports Club
  • Invisible Children Club
  • Irish Dance Club
  • Jewish Student Union
  • Junior Investor League
  • Junior State of America
  • Key Club
  • La Sociedad
  • Latin Club
  • Leaders in Training
  • Legalize It Club
  • Light a Million Candles
  • Literature Club
  • Malaria Club
  • Math Circle
  • Meals on Wheels Club
  • Movimiento Estudianti Chicanalo
  • Ms. Lipitz Chemistry Club
  • Muslim Student Association
  • Musician Collaboration Club
  • New Orleans Relief Club
  • Ninjas VS Pirates
  • No Dub! Club
  • Nocturnal Aquatics Kineic
  • Environmental Discovery
  • Outreach for Kinds for Learning Academics
  • Photography Appreciation
  • Photography Club
  • Project Echo
  • Project Nightlight
  • Red Cross Club
  • Rock the Vote
  • Samohi Solar Alliance (SSA)
  • Samohi Tri-M
  • Santa Monica Deca
  • Seekers of Success
  • Senior Steering
  • Socialism Club
  • Sojourn to the Past
  • South Park Club
  • Stop-Motion Animation Club
  • Study Abroad Club
  • Students Opposed to Suffering (SOS) in Sudan
  • Surf Club
  • Sumo Club
  • Take a Break
  • Tea Club
  • Teleton Salvadoreno
  • Theme Park Enthusiasts
  • Tikkun Olam
  • Ultimate Frisbee Club
  • UNICEF
  • World Awareness Committee
  • Youth and Government
  • Virtual Enterprises
  • Running with Speakers, which provides AV support for faculty and students. It is linked with the digital video and news video classes and conducts an annual film festival of student films from across Los Angeles County.
  • (Running With Speakers has been removed from the list above because it is now an organization)
  • The Junior Statesmen of America has an active branch on the campus. They generate their funds by a twice annual "Waffle Bucket".

Samohi Music Department

Choral & Vocal Ensembles

The Santa Monica High School choral department is one of the most accomplished in the region, winning awards and competing regularly in state and national tournaments. With over 300 students now enrolled in the program, more funds are needed to maintain its rigorous standards. The program is made up of 10 different choirs that students can be apart of. The choral program ranges from large mixed choirs to chamber/madrigal ensembles, women choirs, men ensemble and jazz. The Jazz Ensemble meets after school on selected days of the week. In the past the choral department has travelled to New York City, Boston and most recently Honolulu, Hawaii to compete in a national choral competition where Samohi Chorale, Chamber Singers, Samohi Jazz Singers and Madrigals Ensemble recived 1st place with a gold rating. Santa Monica High School was then named the Grand Camps. Samohi has also competed in the Golden State Choral Competitions (South). This year Madrigal Ensemble & Chamber Singers will travel to Italy to perform in cathedrals around the country in April 2007. Samohi Chorale will also be taking a cruise to Mexico to perform there as well. In addition to the regular Winter and Spring concerts, the choral department has a Masterworks Concert, Cathedral Classics Concert, and performs in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District's Stairway to the Stars, every year. At the end of each school year, awards are given out to outstanding students, Directors awards are given out to the section leaders. The Christopher Rhodes award is given to an outstanding student in the Samohi Chorale, and the Linda Allen Anderson Award, is given out to 2 students who have shown outstanding ability and devotion to the choral program, in the Madrigal Ensemble and/or Chamber Singers.

Choral Ensembles

Choir Type of Ensemble
Concert Choir An entry-level mixed choir with students from 9th to 12th grade. Concert Choir ranges from 25 to 35 singers
Viking Ensemble An intermediate-level boys choir with students from 9th to 11th grade. Viking Ensemble ranges from 12 to 25 singers.
Valkyries Chorus An intermediate-level girls choir with students from 9th to 11th grade. Valkyries Chorus ranges from 45 to 60 singers.
Santa Monica High School Chorale A large mixed advanced choir with students in 10th to 12th grade (9th graders are not enrolled into Chorale). Chorale is a 8 or more part chorus ranging from 65 to 120 singers
Chamber Singers An advanced women's chamber choir with students from 11th and 12th grade. Chamber usually only has 25 singers.
Madrigal Ensemble An advanced mixed chamber choir with students from 11th and 12th grade. The size of this choir usually ranges from between 15 and 30 singers
Santa Monica High School Mens Ensemble An intermediate to advanced men's choir with male singers from all choirs. Samohi Men's size depends on the number of male singers enrolled in the choral program.
Santa Monica High School Jazz Singers An intermediate to advanced jazz choir with students from 9th to 12th grade, ranging from 15 to 20 singers.
Santa Monica High School Jazz Ensemble An intermediate to advanced jazz choir with students from 9th to 12th grade, ranging from 25to 35 singers.
Barbershop Gentlemen A student-run men's group with students usually in 10th to 12th grade.
Tetostertones A student-run Men's Ensemble with students ranging from 9th to 12th grade.
Vahalla A student-run Women's Ensemble with students ranging from 9th to 12th grade.
  • Santa Monica High School Chorale is also known as: Samohi Chorale & Santa Monica High School Viking Chorale.
  • For Preformances Dates please vist the Santa Monica High School Homepage.

Orchestras

The orchestra program is nationally known, led by director Joni Swenson. In 2005, Symphony Orchestra was labeled as the best High School level orchestra in the nation by the American String Teachers Association at the National Orchestra Festival in Reno, Nevada. The orchestra program is made up of many different ensembles, ranging from Beginning Strings to the large Symphony Orchestra. Some of the orchestras from Santa Monica High School have had the chance to travel around the nation. In February 2006, Symphony Orchestra became the first public high school orchestra to perform in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles. In April 2006, the orchestra traveled to the country of China and in 2004 performed in Prague, Czech Republic. Recently, the orchestra program was selected for the elite Partnership Program with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra.

Band & Marching Band

The Santa Monica High School Viking Marching Band is one of the oldest high school marching bands in the state of California. Today the marching band competes in many different competitions in Southern California. In their 2006-2007 season, the marching band received several sweepstakes awards and participated for the first time in the 5A division championship, winning 9th place. The Marching Band also performs in a Disneyland Resort parade every year and is featured at all home varsity football games for the Samohi Vikings. Wind Ensmeble is also one of the most recognized high school bands in California. They will be performing at Carnegie Hall in May 2007. The Santa Monica High School band program is very well known, much like the choral and orchestra programs.

Memorable events

On May 9, 2005, Newsweek magazine, during its ranking of the 100 top high schools in America (a list of 1061 high schools), ranked SMHS as the 199th top high school. [1]

Samohi won a Power 106 FM contest in which Hip-Hop mogul Kanye West performed at the school. The concert took place on December 5, 2005 in the Greek Theater.

Racial tensions

On April 15, 2005, Samohi was put on lockdown after several fights broke out between some African-American and Latino students during the lunch period.[2] The police were called in and the school was put on a lockdown. As a result of the fighting, at least two police officers are permanently stationed on campus and students must show their school identification cards to enter or leave campus for lunch; when students leave for home ID's are not checked, and anyone after school is able to get on campus. This causes some concern, as it is just as easy for non-students to get on campus and still cause fights, which is why ID's were required in the first place.

Tension brewed once more on February 3, 2006 when students arrived at school to find racial epithets targeting African-Americans spray-painted on 4 different walls around the campus, along with the symbols of the Santa Monica Gangs, SM13 and SM17.[3] Retaliation graffiti was written through-out the day slandering both Latinos and African-Americans. Tensions reached a climax at lunch when Latino students stood on lunch tables demanding to know who wrote the original graffiti. A mediation session was set up in Barnum Hall to try to relieve these tensions--only those willing to talk it out participated.[4]

Principal called to resign

After a meeting on Friday, February 10, 2006, members of Samohi’s African American Parent/ Student/Staff Support Group (AAPSSSG) unanimously passed a resolution stating, “We request the termination of employment of Dr. Ilene Straus CEO/Principal of Samohi and that she not remain in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District because she is a clear and present danger to our children.”[5] This is a response by the group of their perception that Dr. Illene Straus inadequately handled the incidents involving groups of African-American and Latino students

Student death

On February 28, 2006, at around 9 p.m., sophomore Eduardo Lopez was shot and killed on the corner of Pico Boulevard and 26th Street in Santa Monica. Eyewitness reports said that a man in a hooded sweatshirt with a bandana over his face approached Lopez and two friends who were standing outside a convenience store on the corner. The gunman fired at the group of teenagers, hitting Lopez in the torso. He later died at a local hospital. Police did not suspect gang involvement in the shooting, seeing that the student had no known gang affiliation. [6] Lopez's death was reported to the students at the beginning of the school day on March 1st, and the flag was flown at half-mast for the next few days. The death of Lopez, who was an honors student and member of the baseball team, had a large effect on the student body, and additional counselors were brought onto campus to help students cope with the death. The school held a memorial service for Lopez, which was held on March 2nd, at 3 pm. All students and members of the community were invited to join the service and mourn for the death of Eddie Lopez.

On Friday, March 10, a peace march was held, organized by the students, that went from the school to the site where Eddie died. This 20 block march through the city was meant to send a message to the citizens and act as a cry for peace in the area.

Samohi Used for Filming Locations

The films "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Surf Ninjas" used the school as a location.

Standard Bell Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

  • Period A 7:12 - 8:08AM
  • Period 1 8:15 - 9:11AM
  • Homeroom 9:18 - 9:28AM
  • Period 2 9:28 - 10:24AM
  • Break 10:24 - 10:29AM
  • Period 3 10:36 - 11:32AM
  • Period 4 11:39 - 12:35PM
  • Lunch 12:35 - 1:10PM
  • Period 5 1:17 - 2:13PM
  • Period 6 2:20 - 3:16PM

Late Start Bell Schedule

Wednesday

  • Period A 8:45 - 9:30AM
  • Period 1 9:36 - 10:21AM
  • Period 2 10:28 - 11:13AM
  • Period 3 11:20 - 12:05PM
  • Lunch 12:05 - 12:40PM
  • Period 4 12:47 - 1:32PM
  • Period 5 1:39 - 2:24PM
  • Period 6 2:31 - 3:16PM

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Santa Monica High School include:

Hymn of Praise (School Anthem)

Oh Samohi, dear old Samohi,
Queen of the setting sun.
For you we toil, for you our banners fly,
We win for you when victory's won!
All hail to thee, mighty Samohi,
Our faith in thee ne'er will fail,
For the love that we give is thy power to live,
To thee, ALL HAIL!
-Ken Darby (Class of 1927)

Vikings Bold (Fight Song)

Forward, They Go Together
Onward they surge ahead
Inward, they bond together to they very end
Waves Crash around the ship mast yet still they hold
Fast To the FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
For Samohi Vikings Bold!
-Carl Hammer (2003)

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