San Mateo High School
San Mateo High School is a public high school in
San Mateo,
California and one of seven schools in the
San Mateo Union High School District.
Legend has it that the mascot was the result of a disagreement about whether architectural adornments at the front entrance of the original building were bears or cats. During a 50-year celebration in 1977, the architect was asked to offer the definitive answer. His response: "They're owls."
The school opened in 1902, but changed locations three times, finding its present location in 1927. The current buildings were opened for the 2005-2006 academic year after the original was demolished for earthquake safety reasons. The new building strongly echoes the design and materials of the original, in part due to strong public outcry about the decision to demolish the structure. The original brick-dominated complex was sometimes referred to as "the high school that looks like a university." On February 10th, 2006, the Quad of the complex was dedicated to Alumnus Merv Griffin, who donated $250,000 to the school ($150,000 of which went to the performing arts department).
The school's traditional arch-rival is
Burlingame High School.
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Walter Afanasieff.
Grammy winning music composer and producer. [
1][
2]
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Barry Bostwick. Actor and singer, notably in
Spin City. [
3]
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Merv Griffin, Class of 1942. Entertainment producer and former talk show host. [
4]
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Dennis Haysbert, Class of 1972. Actor of film and television best known for
24. [
5]
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Kris Kristofferson.
Country and Western singer, actor. [
6]
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Lee Mendelson. Five-time
Emmy winning producer of
Peanuts. [
7]
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Arron Oberholser. Professional
Golfer.
*
Alicia Silverstone. Actress in films such as
Clueless. [
8]
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Peter Thiel, Class of 1985. co-founder
PayPal.
*
Debi Thomas.
Bronze medalist in
figure skating at the
1988 Winter Olympics.
*
Cal Tjader, Class of 1943.
Latin Jazz musician.
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San Mateo High School official website*
San Mateo High School's Famous Alumni List*
NNDB.com's profile of San Mateo High School
