Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) is one of three public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s on the

Palos Verdes Peninsula The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the S ...

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

, USA (the others being

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is a public high school in Rolling Hills Estates, California, United States. History The school was formed in 1991 when Miraleste High School, Palos Verdes High School, and Rolling Hills High School were merge ...

(formerly Rolling Hills High School) and

Rancho Del Mar High School Rancho Del Mar High School is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula (the others being Palos Verdes Peninsula High School and Palos Verdes High School Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) is one of three public high schools o ...

). Located by the ocean in

Palos Verdes Estates Palos Verdes Estates (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The city was master-planned by the noted American landscape architect and p ...

, the school is part of the

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) is a school district headquartered in Palos Verdes Estates, California with facilities in all four cities of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. History The Palos Verdes School District (PVSD) fo ...

History

Originally opened in 1961, the school earned many awards for academic and athletic excellence before declining enrollments due to demographic changes led the District to close PVHS in 1991, combining three existing high schools into

(PVPHS). The campus remained in use as Palos Verdes Intermediate School, with the former intermediate schools having been closed as part of the reorganization. In 2002, climbing enrollments and overcrowding at Peninsula High School led the district to reopen Palos Verdes High School. By the first year, enrollment reached 470 students.

Athletics

The athletic teams (known as the Sea Kings) are represented by the colors red, black, and white. The nickname comes from the Greek god

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...

, the school's official mascot. Palos Verdes competes in the Southern Section, Northern Division 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 ...

. Fall Sports: * Cheer(JV, V) * Boys' Cross Country * Girls' Cross Country * Football(F, JV, V) * Girls' Golf(JV, V) * Song(JV, V) * Girls' Tennis(JV, V) * Girls' Volleyball(F/S, JV, V) * Boys' Water Polo(F/S, JV, V) Winter Sports: * Boys' Basketball(F/S, JV, V) * Girls' Basketball(F/S, V) * Boys' Soccer(F/S, JV, V) * Girls' Soccer(F/S, JV, V) * Boys' Surf(V) * Girls' Surf(V) * Girls' Water Polo(F/S, JV, V) Spring Sports: * Baseball(F/S, JV, V) * Boys' Golf(JV, V) * Boys' Lacrosse(JV, V) * Girls' Lacrosse(JV, V) * Softball(JV, V) * Boys' Swimming(F/S, V) * Girls' Swimming(F/S, V) * Boys' Tennis(JV, V) * Boys' Track * Girls' Track * Boys' Volleyball(F/S, JV, V)

Notable alumni

Dana Rohrabacher Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher (; born June 21, 1947) is a former American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 to 2019. A Republican, he represented for the last three terms of his House tenure. Rohrabacher ran for r ...

(Former Member U.S House of Representatives), Class of 1965 *Former Senator George Felix Allen (R-VA), Class of 1970 * Jan van Breda Kolff, former college and professional basketball player, SEC Player of the Year (1974), Class of 1970 *

Christopher Boyce Christopher John Boyce (born 16 February 1953) is a former American defense industry employee who was convicted of selling United States spy satellite secrets to the Soviet Union in the 1970s. Early life Boyce is the son of Noreen Boyce (née H ...

(convicted of espionage, subject of the movie ''

The Falcon and the Snowman ''The Falcon and the Snowman'' is a 1985 American spy drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian is based on the 1979 book ''The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage'' by Robert Lin ...

'', from Robert Lindsey's book of the same name), Class of 1971 * Andrew Daulton Lee (convicted of espionage, subject of the movie ''

'', from Robert Lindsey's book of the same name), Class of 1970 *

Craig Hogan Craig Hogan is a Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the University of Chicago and he is the director of the Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics. He is known for his theory of " holographic noise", which holds that holographic principle m ...

, Director of Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics, Class of 1972 *

Blair Bush Blair Walter Bush (born November 25, 1956) is a center who played 17 seasons in the National Football League for four teams. Early life and education Bush was born in Fort Hood, Texas. He played high school football at Palos Verdes in Palos Verd ...

(former center in the NFL), Class of 1974 *

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

, Tennis Pro & long time UCLA Tennis Head Coach, Class of 1974 *

Bill Laimbeer William J. Laimbeer Jr. (born May 19, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Known for his rough and violent style of play, he played a big part in the ...

(

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

star and former WNBA coach), Class of '75 and leader of the 1975 CIF championship basketball team. * Matt Wuerker, Political cartoonist, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, Class of 1975 *

Daniel Levitin Daniel Joseph Levitin, FRSC (born December 27, 1957) is an American-Canadian cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, writer, musician, and record producer. He is the author of four ''New York Times'' best-selling books, including '' This Is Y ...

(neuroscientist, musician and author), Class of 1975 * Mark Acres, (pro basketball; Boston Celtics 1987-1989, Orlando Magic 1989-1992, Houston Rockets 1992, Washington Bullets 1993), Class of 1981 *

Carin Jennings Carin Leslie Jennings-Gabarra (; born January 9, 1965) is an American retired soccer forward. She earned 117 caps with the United States women's national soccer team from 1987 to 1996 and was awarded the Golden Ball Award as the best player a ...

, Member of the USWNT, Class of 1983 *

Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...

(tennis great) (attended 1985-88) *

Heather Burge Heather Marie Quella (née Burge; November 11, 1971) is a former professional basketball player and is the twin sister of Heidi (Burge) Horton. Early life Prior to starting high school, the Burge family moved to Palos Verdes Estates, California ...

WNBA player, Class of 1989 *

Heidi Burge Heidi Ann Horton (née Burge; November 11, 1971) is a former American professional women's basketball player. She is the twin sister of Heather (Burge) Quella. Early life As a 5-month-old in 1972, Heidi Burge was found to have a second aorta wr ...

- WNBA player, Class of 1989 *

John Welbourn John Welbourn (born March 30, 1976) is a former American football offensive tackle and guard. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football for the California Golden Bears at t ...

, NFL offensive lineman, formerly with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

(attended 1990-1991) *

Sable Starr Sabel Hay Shields (August 15, 1957 – April 18, 2009), better known as Sable Starr, was a famous groupie, often described as the "queen of the groupie scene" in Los Angeles during the early 1970s. She stated during an interview published in the ...

was an American

groupie The term groupie is a slang word that refers to a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is us ...

, often described as the "queen of the groupie scene" in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

during the early 1970s * Joe Walker, NFL linebacker for the

* Matt Grace, MLB pitcher for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

* Bryan James Scott, Quarterback for the Generals of

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

* Toulouse Engelhardt, Guitar Virtuoso,Recording Artist and Composer, Class of 69

Notable faculty

Jovan Vavic Jovan Vavic (born ) is the former head coach of both the University of Southern California (USC) men's and women's water polo teams. In 2012, he was interim head coach of the United States men's national water polo team. While coaching USC he won ...

- former water polo coach

References

External links

* {{authority control 1961 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1961 High schools in Los Angeles County, California Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Public high schools in California