Granite Bay High School

Granite Bay High School
Location
Granite Bay , California USA
Information
Type	Public secondary
Established	1996
School district	Roseville Joint Union High School District
Principal	Michael McGuire
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	2,100
Color(s)	Green,Silver and Black
Mascot	Grizzly Bear
Newspaper	The Granite Bay Gazette
Website	granitebayhigh.org

Established in 1996, Granite Bay High School is located in Granite Bay, California, a suburb northeast of Sacramento. Granite Bay High School was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Secretary of Education in 2002 and a California Distinguished School in 2007. In 2003, GBHS ranked #655 on Newsweek Magazine's Best American High Schools list. In 2005, GBHS fell to #772 and jumped to #673 in 2006. In 2007 GBHS was ranked #761. The school's enrollment has increased significantly since its opening; GBHS currently serves about 2,100 students.

Notable Alumni

• Natalie Gulbis - LPGA golfer
• Adam Jennings - wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons
• Dallas Sartz (2002) - former linebacker for the Washington Redskins and the Seattle Seahawks
• Sammie Stroughter (2004) - Oregon State University football player. Named by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 15 College Wide Receivers
• Alicia Parlette - copy editor and former columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle
• Greg Checchi (2002) - Independent filmmaker and cameraman for Smosh, the most subscribed channel on Youtube.

Intelligent Design Debate

Granite Bay High School garnered significant media attention before and when the Roseville Joint Union High School District (to which GBHS belongs) was sued by the non-profit foundation Quality Science Education for All. Larry Caldwell, president of QSEA, had children who attended GBHS. Many of his criticisms surrounding his lawsuit, Caldwell v. Roseville Joint Union High School District, were aimed at GBHS teachers. The lawsuit, filed in 2005, came about after about 2 years of debate by the RJUHSD school board and a 3-2 vote denying QSEA's proposed intelligent design curriculum. Caldwell's organization proposes "a science education that exposes students to scientific evidence that supports Darwin's theory of evolution, as well as scientific evidence such as the Cambrian Explosion that poses challenges to Darwin's theory, as recommended by the California State Board of Education."[1] Many community members and parents accused Caldwell of trying to push religious creationist doctrine into public school science classrooms.

Newspaper

Granite Bay High School is host to the nationally acclaimed newspaper, the Granite Bay Gazette. The Gazette has won, in the last decade, the Pacemaker Award from the National Scholastic Press Association, the Gold and Silver Crown awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the George H. Gallup Award from the Quill and Scroll Society. In California, the Gazette has twice been named the first-place winner for general excellence by the California Newspaper Publishers Association, making it the top newspaper in the state. In October 2007, the Gazette won the Best of the West title at the state journalism convention.

Extracurricular activities

Emerald Brigade

Granite Bay High School's Emerald Brigade, the marching and concert band, is well-known in the area for its excellence. It started in 1996 under the direction of Paul Everts. Since 2005, the Emerald Brigade has been headed by a new director. In 2007 the Emerald Brigade completed its first-ever undefeated season.

As of 2008, the band has approximately 130 members and performs at home football games and parade/field show competitions throughout Northern California.

The concert program performed at the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York in the spring of 2007. The band was also invited to play at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC in 2005, although they were unable to attend. Future tours are currently being planned, but may include trips to Hawaii in 2009 and Australia in 2011 and hopes for an invitation to the Tournament of Roses Parade. The concert band plays at the annual Delta College and Golden Empire Festivals.

Choir

Granite Bay has six choirs directed under the award-winning Mrs. Jennifer Leighton. This year three of the schools choirs competed in a New York Music Festival. Chamber choir received third place, Treble Chamber placed first, and Madrigal placed first in addition to winning the honor of best choir overall. They also performed at the Golden Empire Music Festival, all receiving ratings of "Superior." There are approximately 100 dedicated members.

Competitive Forensics

One of Granite Bay's programs is the competitive forensics team, which offers students the opportunity to compete in a variety of speaking events, ranging from dramatic interpretation to policy debate. Under the guidance of teacher and advisor Mrs. Rita Prichard—herself a member of the California High School Speech Association Hall of Fame—the Granite Bay Forensics team is a member of the Sacramento Valley Forensics League. Last year, GBHS sent 18 competitors to the state tournament, as well as seven to the National Competition.

Academic Decathlon

Granite Bay High School hosts an Academic Decathlon team. Currently it is coached by English teacher Tony Davis; previous coaches included Sharry Colnar and Marty Newborn. The team has had a long and successful past, winning the Placer County championship 8 of the last 9 years and often making it to California state competition. The only exception was in 2005, when loss of members due to various reasons crippled the team, which still nearly won the county. Arguably its most notable member ever was Erika Vause, who achieved the highest score in the state of California in 2000. In 1999, the team won third place in Division II in the state of California. The 2005-2006 captain of the team was senior Kevin Shiiba, and in 2006-2007 is led by second-year members David Pinter and Alex Schmidley. The team placed eighth in Division II at the California state finals in 2006, and fourth in Division II in 2007 (24th in the state of California). Varsity Decathlete Timothy Schmidt has won the "Key to the Team" award two years in a row.

Technology Programs

Granite Bay High is home to many specialized computer technology courses which provide useful skills to students for future endeavors in the workplace. A program unique to Granite Bay High School is Granite Bay Information Technology, or GBiT, led by Mike Fischer. This program, scheduled as a class during the school year, provides students with the opportunity to engage in real-world technology support, web development, and management. This student-led and student-run group maintains all technology on campus and performs updates and upgrades to this technology, builds the school's award-winning web site and websites for outside customers, and provides faculty with technical training. Conceived and sponsored by Intel, this asset has benefited the school and the local community since 1999.