Northwood High School (Irvine, California)
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Northwood High School is a public high school located in the northernmost part of Irvine,
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 ...
, United States, in the Orchard Hills neighborhood. It opened in 1999, and its first graduating class graduated in 2002. In 2016, Northwood was ranked 25 nationally in ''
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''s list of top public high schools.


Academics

The school operates on an alternating block schedule, in which students attend odd-period classes (1, 3, 5, and 7) on one day, and even-period classes (2, 4, 6, and 8) the following day. Classes are 90 minutes long, and meet for either 18 weeks (semester) or 36 weeks (year-long). On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students attend a tutorial session, which lasts for 35 minutes between the first and second classes of the day, and can be used at the students' discretion. Every Wednesday is designated a "late-start," in which classes start an hour later than the regular schedule. All students, with the exception of seniors, are required to take a minimum of six classes per semester. Seniors are required to enroll in a minimum of five classes for the fall semester and four for the spring. In 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2021, the school was recognized as a California Distinguished School and in 2006 was also named a
Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...
.


Location and layout

Northwood High School sits in a narrow valley in the foothills of the
Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside co ...
, and was surrounded by working
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groves at its founding. Currently, the surrounding land is now Orchard Hills, a residential community extending north from the existing community of Northwood Pointe. Northwood High School's site had been designated for a high school from the very beginning as part of the
Irvine Company The Irvine Company LLC is an American private company focused on real estate development. It is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a large portion of its operations centered in and around Irvine, California, a planned city of more ...
's master plan, which was drafted in 1960.


Student activities

The music program has received the Grammy Signature School award multiple times, the latest in 2015. In 2006, the Northwood Marching Band won 1st in 5A division at The Huntington Beach High School Surf City Open. In 2008, the band placed 1st in 5A division at the Newport Beach Open. Northwood's Speech and Debate team has won the title of #1 Speech and Debate Team in Orange County. In 2018, Northwood students won the title of State Runner-Up Champions at the California High School Speech Association Championships. In 2018, Northwood's Boys Swim Team won the title of
CIF Cif is a French brand of household cleaning products owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, known as Jif in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Middle East and the Nordic countries. Cif was launched in France in 1965 and was marketed in competit ...
and State Champions. In 2021, Northwood's Football team won the Pacific Valley League Championship before capturing the CIF Southern Section D11 Championship. This was Northwood football's first Southern Section Championship. In 2022, Northwood Football again won a CIF Southern Section Championship, this time D8, after winning the Pacific Hills League Championship. The most accomplished football team in school history went on to win the 2022 CIF 4-AA Regional Bowl game and play in the CIF 4-AA finals. The team was led by Adam Harper a first-team all Orange County selection, who played RB, Safety, and returned kicks.


Notable alumni

*
Steve Birnbaum Steven Mitchell Birnbaum (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who is captain of and plays as a center-back for D.C. United. Birnbaum started every game for D.C. United in the 2018 season. In 2018 he played every minu ...
, Major League Soccer player *
Benny Feilhaber Benny Feilhaber (; born January 19, 1985) is an American soccer coach and former professional player who is currently head coach of MLS Next Pro side Sporting Kansas City II, an affiliate of Sporting Kansas City. A midfielder, Feilhaber played fo ...
, U.S. Men's National Soccer Team midfielder *
Bethan Knights Bethan Knights is a British-American long-distance runner. University of Cal Berkeley highlights In 2014, Bethan Knights ran in the Pac-12 Conference. Her 5th place at Pre-NCAA on October 18, 2014 was the highest of any Pac-12 runner. Knights ac ...
, British-American long-distance runner *
CJ Stretch Charles G. Stretch (born August 3, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey player who currently plays for Starbulls Rosenheim of the DEL2 in Germany. Playing career Undrafted, Stretch played major junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers in ...
, professional hockey player *
Zack Weiss Zachary Daniel Weiss ( he, זאק וייס; born June 16, 1992) is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds. He has four ...
(born 1992), American-Israeli Major League Baseball player *
Tabitha Yim Tabitha Yim (born November 2, 1985) is an American former elite artistic gymnast. She is a 2001 World bronze medalist in the team competition, the 2002 U.S. national balance beam champion, the 2001 U.S. national floor exercise champion, and a tw ...
, U.S. Women's National Gymnastics team member *
Young the Giant Young the Giant is an American rock band that formed in Irvine, California, in 2004. The band's line-up consists of Sameer Gadhia (lead vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Payam Doostzadeh (bass guitar), and Francois Comtois ...
, rock band


References


Links

* *https://nhswaterpolo.com/
Northwood athletic websitesThe Northwood Television ShowThe Howler Online student newspaper
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1999 High schools in Orange County, California Education in Irvine, California Public high schools in California 1999 establishments in California