El Modena High School, colloquially called El Mo or ElMo, is a traditional four-year public high school located in the
El Modena neighborhood of the
City of Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
in
Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
.
The school celebrated its 50th anniversary during the 2016-17 school year. It is part of the
Orange Unified School District and competes in the
North Hills League.
Activities
Athletics
A
vanguard
The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
History
The vanguard derives fr ...
, used as the school's mascot, is a soldier in the foremost division or the front part of an army. Vanguards are the troops assembled in the front line when going into battle, which is why the school newspaper is titled ''The Frontline''. The school contains a variety of sports that they excel in, including but not limited to : Tennis, Basketball, Football, Volleyball, Sprints, Hurdles, Distance Running, Cross Country, Pole Vault, High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put, Discus, Water Polo, Swim, Soccer, Lacrosse, Baseball, Wrestling, Dance, Cheer, Pom, and Softball.
* Wrestling: CIF champions in 2000, 2003, and 2014.
* Softball: CIF champions in 2008
* Football: CIF champions in 1978, 1983,1984 and 2017
* Volleyball: CIF and State champions in 2019
Instrumental Music
Marching band and colorguard
The El Modena Vanguard Marching Band and Colorguard compete in the AA Gold competition of the California State Band Championships circuit and play their field show every home game during halftime. Previously they competed in the Western Band Association. Their 2022 band has currently (April 15, 2022) made it to the preliminary division and semi-finals.
Orchestra
The El Modena Orchestra plays a variety of pieces ranging from classical to modern and soundtrack, learning fundamental skills throughout the years. They'll perform in various concerts throughout the year and in the Spring will join the Concert band to form the El Modena Full Orchestra.
Winter marching season
Once finishing marching season, near the end of football season, the band splits into three groups. The Vanguard Marching Band percussion section forms the Vanguard Percussion Ensemble, also known as VPE. The Colorguard forms the El Modena Winter guard. These two groups, since 1975, traditionally perform on a tarp inside of the basketball court or high school gym. The Vanguard Percussion Ensemble has competed in circuits such as ADLA and WGI. The third group is the Concert Band, formed by the band and the percussion section. They play varied pieces such as soundtracks and scored originals and regularly perform through the winter and spring.
Notable alumni
*
Ronnie Creager
Ronnie Aaron Creager (born January 14, 1974) is a "goofy-footed" American professional skateboarder from Orange, California.
Early life
As Creager has explained in a 2011 interview, he commenced skateboarding at the age of three:
My neighbor M ...
– skateboarder
*
Mikey Day
Michael William Day (born March 20, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host of the Netflix show '' Is It Cake?'' He joined ''Saturday Night Live'' as a writer in its 39th season, became a featured player in i ...
(1998) – actor, comedian, ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
''
*
Freddie Freeman (2007) –
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
for
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
*
Robby Gordon
Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, N ...
– race car driver
*
Brittany Ishibashi
Brittany Mariko Ishibashi (born November 2, 1980) is a Japanese-American actress. She has had starring television roles on '' Political Animals'', '' Supernatural'' and '' Runaways''. Ishibashi has had roles in films such as '' Teenage Mutant N ...
- actress
*
Michael Pitre - American football coach for the
Atlanta Falcons
*
Jeff Spek –
NFL and
USFL
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...
*
Michael Terry (athlete) (1991) – Olympic and NCAA athlete, track and field
*
Milo Ventimiglia (1995) – film and television actor, Gilmore Girls
*
Haylie Wagner
Haylie Marie Wagner (born April 7, 1993) is an American softball pitcher for the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch. From 2012 to 2015, she was a left-handed pitcher for the Michigan Wolverines softball team. She was unanimously selected ...
- softball player
Gender-Sexuality Alliance (Colin ex rel. Colin v. Orange United School District)
The case
In 1999, the
Orange Unified School District board refused permission for students to form a
Gender-sexuality alliance. Students in the club sued the school board, claiming that their rights under the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
and the 1984
Equal Access Act
The Equal Access Act is a United States federal law passed as Title VIII of the Education for Economic Security Act in 1984 to compel federally funded public secondary schools to provide equal access to extracurricular student clubs. Lobbied for ...
had been violated.
In the first ruling of its kind, Judge
David O. Carter of the
issued a preliminary injunction ordering the school to allow the GSA to meet.
The club's origin
Anthony Colin ("Colin") decided to form a "Gay-Straight Alliance" (now Gender-Sexuality Alliance) after Matthew Shepherd, a young man from Wyoming, died after being brutally assaulted due to his homosexuality. Colin wanted to form the club to promote acceptance among and for gay and straight students at the school. Colin asked Mrs. Maryina Herde, a drama and English teacher at the school, to serve as the faculty advisor and she accepted.
References
External links
Official school websiteEl Modena High School Alumni Association
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1966
1966 establishments in California
Education in Orange, California
High schools in Orange County, California
Public high schools in California
El Modena, Orange, California