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 in Orange County, California. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary during the 2016-17 school year. It is part of the

Orange Unified School District Orange Unified School District (OUSD) is a public school district headquartered in Orange, California. Orange USD serves the cities of Orange and Villa Park, the unincorporated land of Silverado, and parts of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Santa ...

and competes in the

North Hills League The North Hills League is a high school athletic league. It is part of the CIF Southern Section. Members are located in Orange County and are part of the Century Conference which is composed of team that were previously part of the Century League ...

Activities

Athletics

A vanguard, 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 – skateboarder * Mikey Day (1998) – actor, comedian, '' Saturday Night Live'' *

Freddie Freeman Frederick Charles Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is an American-Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves for 12 seasons. He mad ...

(2007) – MLB first baseman for Los Angeles Dodgers * Robby Gordon – race car driver * Brittany Ishibashi - actress * Michael Pitre - American football coach for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

* Jeff Spek –

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

and USFL tight end * Michael Terry (athlete) (1991) – Olympic and NCAA athlete, track and field *

Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (, ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...

(1995) – film and television actor, Gilmore Girls * Haylie Wagner - softball player

Gender-Sexuality Alliance (Colin ex rel. Colin v. Orange United School District)

The case

In 1999, the

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 and the 1984 Equal Access Act had been violated. In the first ruling of its kind, Judge David O. Carter of the United States District Court for the Central District of California 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 website

El 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