High school

A high school (also secondary school, senior school, secondary college) is a school that provides adolescents with part or all of their secondary education. It may come after primary school or middle school and be followed by higher education or vocational training.

Terminology

The term "high school" originated in Scotland, with the world's oldest high school being Edinburgh's Royal High School from 1505. The Royal High School was used as a model for the first public high school in the United States, Boston Latin School founded in Boston, Massachusetts.

The precise stage of schooling provided by a high school differs from country to country, and may vary within the same jurisdiction. In all of New Zealand and Malaysia, along with most of Britain and parts of Australia, Bangladesh and Canada, high school means the same thing as secondary school, but instead of starting in 9th grade, these "secondary schools" begin at ages 11 or 12.

Country by country

Australia

In Australia, high school is a secondary school, from Year 7 or Year 8 through to Year 12, varying from state to state. High school immediately follows primary (elementary) school; therefore, a Year-7 Australian high-school student is sometimes as young as 12. In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, the term "high school" generally refers to Years 7–10, whereas the term "College" is used for Years 11–12. In Victoria the term "secondary college" has largely replaced the term "high school" following the reforms of the Labor Government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some schools have retained the name "high school" (such as Melbourne High School) and many have now dropped the "secondary" and are simply known as "college".

West Covina High School

West Covina High School (WCHS) is a four year comprehensive secondary school located in West Covina, California, USA.

History

West Covina High School opened in 1956 on the old Covina High School campus on Citrus Ave. and Puente Ave. as the Spartans. In 1957, the school moved to its new campus, which was built on an old cabbage patch, on Cameron Ave. and Fernwood St. Blue and white were the school colors. The Spartans were led by Principal Maurice Wooden, brother of the legendary UCLA Bruins men's basketball coach John Wooden. The first class graduated in 1958.

In 1988, West Covina Unified School District merged Edgewood High School and West Covina High School, bringing all students to its current campus. The new mascot became the Bulldog and maroon and gold were chosen as the new school colors.

In 2005, WCHS became fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and a California Distinguished School.

Demographics

There has been a decrease in the percentage of white students and African American over the years with an increase in the number and percentage of Hispanic students. There is a large number of Asian American students, who are of mainly Chinese, Filipino, Taiwanese and Vietnamese descent.

Winter guard

Winter guard is an indoor color guard sport derived from military ceremonies or veterans organizations ceremonies. Unlike traditional color guard, winter guard is performed indoors, usually in a gymnasium or an indoor arena. Performances make use of recorded music rather than a live band or orchestra. Winter guard was invented in the United States, where to date is still by far the most predominant scene for the sport.

Winter guard ensembles commonly perform at judged competitions officiated by local and regional associations using criteria developed by Winter Guard International.

Team roles

A winter guard generally consists of performing members under the direction of an instructional staff. The staff of a winter guard team ("the guard") are drawn from many different specialties, which sometimes overlap: there are equipment instructors (sometimes one for the unit, sometimes broken out into the individual sections), dance instructors, and drill instructors. The equipment instructors create the choreography performed with equipment and teach it to the guard. The dance instructors create and teach the movement choreography in the show. The drill instructors focus on the position of the guard members relative to one another and to the boundaries of the performance area, in addition to where each member goes at which specific time during the performance. In some cases, all of these roles are fulfilled by one sole director.