Pacifica High School is a high school in

Garden Grove, California Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, located just southwest of Disneyland (located in Anaheim, CA). The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, ...

, United States, within the

Garden Grove Unified School District The Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) is the 14th-largest school district in California. It includes boundaries in Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Stanton, and Westminster. The district includes for ...

. It opened in 1965 and has enrolled more than two thousand students yearly. The communities serving Pacifica are western Garden Grove and sections of Stanton and

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the l ...

Campus

A campus landmark is a Navy

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek � ...

in the

quad Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...

. At first painted blue but repainted black in 2011, the anchor was donated by the U.S Navy. On May 1, a new gym opened. The new gymnasium is a state-of-the-art building that is an 18,250-square foot multi-function facility that houses three full-size basketball courts and can convert to nine volleyball courts. The gym allows for seating for up to 1,584 people and includes a lobby, locker rooms, coach's offices, equipment storage, and more. The first shot was made by Freshman coach Mike Buneafe, whose grandfather, Al Buneafe founded Pacifica High school.

Athletics

Pacifica's sports teams, the Mariners, compete in the Empire League of the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

's Southern Section. Before 2006, they competed in the Garden Grove League with the other schools in the district. Sports offerings are: *Football (boys) *Cross Country (coed) *Tennis (coed) *Volleyball (coed) *Waterpolo (coed) *Basketball (coed) *Soccer (coed) *Wrestling (boys) *Baseball (boys) *Softball (girls) *Swim (coed) *Track (coed) *Golf (coed)

Marching band and drumline

In 2003 and from 2005 through 2009, the Pacifica

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, o ...

drumline Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

took the Southern California Percussion Alliance gold medal, and from 2006 through 2009, it garnered the Winter Guard International World Championship gold medal in the Percussion Scholastic Open division, along with numerous first-place finishes throughout Southern California. Pacifica also finished with a Percussion Alliance bronze medal in 2004 and a Winter Guard International silver medal in 2005. The Pacifica drumline is the second ensemble to have captured four consecutive WGI World Championship golds.

Notable alumni

* Danny Barber, pro soccer * Pam Bileck, Olympics gymnast * Jeff Carlson, professional football *

Jon Dorenbos Jonathan Paul Dorenbos (; born July 21, 1980) is a former American football long snapper and magician. He played college football at the University of Texas at El Paso and was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2003. Doren ...

, professional football and magician *

Michelle Dusserre Michelle Hollis Dusserre (born December 26, 1968) is a former gymnast. She competed for the United States national team at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los An ...

, Olympics gymnast1985 Pacifica High School yearbook. * Larry Fortensky, construction worker, husband of actress Elizabeth Taylor * Monique Powell, Lead singer for the band Save Ferris https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0694243/ *

Amanda Freed Amanda Louise Freed (born December 26, 1979) is an American, former professional softball utility player and pitcher. She played college softball for UCLA, winning the national title for the Bruins in the 1999 Women's College World Series. In ...

, Olympics softball *

Dexter Holland Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland (born December 29, 1965) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, primary songwriter and last remaining original member of the American rock band the Offspring. He is also the creator of t ...

, Offspring lead singer and guitarist * Norm Johnson, professional football *

Greg Kriesel Gregory David Kriesel (born January 20, 1965) is an American musician known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the rock band the Offspring from 1984 to 2018. Biography Greg K. was one of the founding members of the Offspring alongs ...

, Offspring musician * Terry Kubicka, Olympics figure skating *

Jeffree Star Jeffree Star (born Jeffrey Lynn Steininger Jr., November 15, 1985) is an American YouTuber, makeup artist, and former singer-songwriter. He is the founder and owner of Jeffree Star Cosmetics. In 2009, Star released a studio album, '' Beauty Ki ...

, YouTuber *

Kevin Wasserman Kevin John Wasserman (born February 4, 1963), better known by his stage name Noodles, is an American musician and singer who serves as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for The Offspring. Biography Kevin John Wasserman was born in Los Ang ...

, guitarist

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1965 High schools in Orange County, California Education in Garden Grove, California Public high schools in California 1965 establishments in California