A photo dated back to the 1943-44 school year shows the original Grove High School administration building. Today — along with it serving as a classroom building — it houses Heritage Hall which is museum displaying trophies, programs, plaques, and memorabilia dating back to the 1920’s. (Photo courtesy of the Garden Grove Unified School District)
And the centennial birthday celebrations continue. Last week, we mentioned Tustin High’s 100th birthday and this week we turn our attention to Garden Grove.
Founded in 1921, Garden Grove High School is the oldest school in the Garden Grove Unified School District, it’s the sixth-oldest high school in Orange County, and this month it celebrates its 100th birthday.
According to the district, the school opened its doors in a temporary building in September 1921 before moving to its present location in 1923. Originally knows as the “Chili Peppers,” the schools athletics teams later took on the Argonaut — or Argo — banner which is what they are known as today.
The high school will commentate this momentous milestone with a centennial celebration on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Held on the school’s campus, the free event will feature carnival games, a kids zone, food, a classic care show and live music.
And here are some of the other stories we’re following this week:
- Santa Ana Unified is the first district in Orange County to mandate weekly COVID-19 testing for students.
- In related news, the Laguna Beach Unified school board agreed there would be no mandatory COVID-19 testing for students in the district’s four schools.
- The Huntington Beach City School District Board of Education offered no discussion on a resolution seeking the removal of mandatory mask requirements.
- And, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District responded in similar fashion, rejecting a resolution calling for an end to K-12 mask mandates.
- The Voice of OC reports that numerous school districts in Orange County will be presented with similar resolutions calling for the removal of mask mandates at schools at the request of residents.
- Parents in the Ocean View School District have recently expressed concerns related to cuts in bus services for some students. But district officials say there is a shortage of bus drivers across the country.
- Orange County’s latest Community Indicators Report was released this week, pulling together compelling data and trends related to kindergarten readiness, graduation rates, the local economy, income and health.
- The Orange County Department of Education recently partnered with Kaiser Permanente Thriving Schools on the Resilience in School Environments, or RISE, initiative developed to equip teachers and staff with skills and resources to strengthen their emotional health.
- The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has announced Dr. Wesley Smith as its next superintendent. Smith’s expected start date is Oct. 18.
- According to a statement from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a vaccine for children under the age of 12 could be available by the end of the year.
- And finally, an increasing number of districts in California are turning to “pool testing” as a way to keep students in school. With pool testing, nasal swabs from up to 25 asymptomatic students are submitted together for a single PCR test and if the test is negative, the entire class is assumed to be COVID-free.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.