Canyon Hills High School is a public high school situated in the community of

Tierrasanta Tierrasanta, Spanish for "holy land," or "holy ground", is a community within the city of San Diego, California. The symbol of Tierrasanta is an encircled Conquistador cross, similar to one atop Montserrat (mountain) near Barcelona, Spain, though ...

within the city of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Previously known as Junipero Serra High School, it was named for

Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size ...

, a Spanish missionary who founded

Mission San Diego Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity * Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

and other settlements in what is now California. It is a traditional school in the

San Diego Unified School District San Diego Unified School District (formerly known as San Diego City Schools) is the school district based in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1854. As of 2005 it represents over 200 institutions and has over 15,800 employee ...

and is the high school for students from Tierrasanta and the adjacent Murphy Canyon military housing community. On March 9, 2021, the San Diego Unified School Board voted to change the name of the school to Canyon Hills High School.

History

In December 2000, a 15 year old student brought a gun to school and threatened to shoot a classmate. He ended up accidentally shooting himself before carrying out that threat.

Mascot

The school mascot was Conrad the Conquistador. Following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

in 2020, students started a petition to change the mascot from a

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

, a symbol they said represented

Spanish colonialism The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

and its impact on the indigenous population. Principal Erica Renfree encouraged the change, and suggested also changing the school's name to Tierrasanta High School. Virtual town halls were scheduled to discuss the changes. On March 9, 2021, the San Diego Unified School Board voted to change the name of the school to Canyon Hills High School, as well as the mascot to the Rattlers.

Athletics programs

In the 1999-2000 season the Boys Varsity Basketball won their first Section 2 Championship in school history and their third straight Eastern League Title. In the 2011-2012 season, the girls Basketball team won San Diego CIF by defeating West Hills High School. Varsity Girls Soccer also won a CIF Div. 2 Championship in 2013. The Serra Football program also has won 5 total league championships, in . 1999, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2013. As of 2014, they are in the City League.

Rivalry

Canyon Hills High School's rival is Patrick Henry High School. The Field Hockey team, however, is most known for having a rivalry with

Scripps Ranch High School Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) is a public school located in northeast San Diego, California, United States, that serves the Scripps Ranch community as well as students participating in the Voluntary Enrollment Exchange Program (VEEP) busing pro ...

which is located in the Scripps Ranch community of San Diego.

School activities and clubs

References

External links

Official Homepage
{{authority control High schools in San Diego Public high schools in California Educational institutions established in 1976 1976 establishments in California