Rain!

The great deluge of 2010 hits Santa Paula High School! The third storm rolled in this morning around 9:15 AM with loud thunder (setting off car alarms), lightning and a brief hail storm. After the initial hammering rain of the storm front, things settled down to steady, sometimes heavy, rain throughout the day.

The school came through the storm without any significant problems, but some areas in the county experienced flooding, mudslides and even tornadoes. The coast was also hit hard, with waves up to 20 feet high. Although there were many puddles and umbrellas on campus, the school didn't experience any major flooding (one of the benefits of being on a hill).

Students did their best to stay dry, staying in corridors and under umbrellas between periods, as well as eating in the cafeteria and various classrooms for lunch.

Storm #4 arrives tomorrow morning!

1936 El Solano Yearbook

The 1936 Santa Paula High School El Solano Yearbook is now online! This edition of the El Solano was unusual in that it was spiral bound. This made the scanning of the pages easier, as the binding wasn't a concern, but many of the pages extended past the metal spiral and this made it difficult to scan the entire page. For the most part though, nothing significant was lost.

The pages were textured and this tended to cause some problems with the sharpness of the image scans. The images were "re-sharpened" digitally, but show some moiré patterns here and there due to the scanning and editing process. Oddly, many of the actual photographs were more blurry than in earlier yearbooks.

Containing very little prose (although there is an interesting bit of poetry on page 62 that appears to describe every member of the senior class), the yearbook contains mainly photographs. It is also interesting in that it shows some of the last pictures of the "second" Santa Paula High School building, a two story classical structure that was damaged during an earthquake in the early 1930's and torn down later that decade. Page 2 shows a couple of good photos of the building.

Although the yearbook was published a few years before World War II, there are signs of the developing conflict. One of the photos shows a student reading a textbook page on "The Spread of Dictatorship 1936" and the same page has a paragraph on "The Need for Patriotism" The yearbook also contains a number of blue "Art" pages which are in the Art Deco style of the period. The graphic on page 21 by Manual Victoria is particularly interesting in that it contains a dirigible flying above a stylized cityscape. The Hindenburg disaster occurred the next year and signaled the end of the huge lighter than air ships.

Winter Sports Rally

A rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner launched the Santa Paula High School Winter Sports Rally. Immediately afterwards, a small invasion of Fillmore Flashes occurred - this rude intrusion was dealt with promptly by Joe Cardinal, and the Rally was allowed to continue.

The SPHS Basketball teams were introduced and everyone was encouraged to go to tonight's game against Fillmore. This was followed by a contest of Cardinal basketball skills that ended in a tie after a tough battle.

The SPHS Soccer teams were then introduced. It was Coach Blevins' birthday, so the soccer challenged him to a game of soccer keepaway. The game moved back and forth across the gym floor, but eventually the students won.

Last but not least of the Winter Sports, the SPHS Wrestling team was introduced.

Rounding out the activities, an energetic dance was performed by Ms. Gomez and her dance partner. This was met by rousing applause from the audience.

The assembly ended with a moment of silence for Jennifer Urrutia, a SPHS student who recently passed away.

Winter Break!

Last day of the Semester - Winter Break! The final Final exam is over, and sixteen days of vacation await. The photos below are just a small sample of the festive decorations found around the school. Have a great Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever winter fest you like!

El Solano Yearbook: 1932

The Santa Paula High School 1932 El Solano Yearbook is online! The yearbook was published during the depression years, and is a small volume containing just over 40 pages of content. As Freeman M. Eakin (the same Eakin for which the Eakin auditorium is named) states in the Principal's message, "The 1932 EL SOLANO in particular is of necessity brief and to the point in its portrayal. The vainglorious boasting which characterizes most annuals has been eliminated and in its places there is a sane and sensible record". Another sign of the times was the formation of a Thrift Club, which makes an appearance in the yearbook.

The 1932 Senior class had just 68 members. The majority had individual photos in the yearbook, although a few just have their names listed. Juniors, Sophomores and Freshmen didn't have individual photos, but were represented by group photos on the steps of the old school building. The class pages took up about a third of the yearbook, with the remainder mainly composed of short articles about school clubs and athletics (softball replaced baseball this year!).

The layout of the online 1932 yearbook is close to the actual layout of the yearbook. The images are slightly touched up for clarity and much of the text was re-typed, instead of scanned, to make it easier to read. To avoid damaging the yearbook, the scanning was done on a very thin scanner perched on the edge of a table so the yearbook would not need to be opened beyond 90 degrees.

In addition to the 1932 El Solano, the 1903 El Solano has been reformatted. The original online version was completed a number of years ago, and although all the content of the yearbook is present, the layout isn't exactly the same as in the actual yearbook.

Be a Giraffe!

Looking out my window I noticed a small group of students busily at work near one of the stairway walls. Investigating, I discovered that they were drawing rather cheerful giraffes on the wall.

When asked why they were drawing the giraffes, they stated that they were from ASB and were encouraging students to be giraffes. This was as good an answer as any I suppose, and the drawings did seem to be having the desired effect. Two of my students, Jeremy W. and Jessica T. both stated that they did indeed want to be giraffes after seeing the murals.


Have a great weekend!

Day of the Dead

Santa Paula High School held its fourth annual Day of the Dead celebration on November 2nd. In past years, MEChA and Folklorico have collaborated to put on the celebration, although this year MEChA took the lead in organizing the event. The event is an opportunity to showcase student art and Folklorico dancers as well as to raise money for campus clubs through food sales.

El Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countries between October 31st and November 2nd. Although the Day of the Dead falls near Halloween, it is a very different holiday. The focus of Halloween is evil and scary spirits that people try their best to avoid. The celebration of the Day of the Dead welcomes the spirits of departed friends and relatives.

Although the Day of the Dead honors loved ones and friends who have died, it is a festive occasion, not a scary or gloomy one like Halloween. Sometimes all night feasts are held in graveyards with decorated tomb stones and people celebrating through the night.

In traditions thousands of years old, dating back to the ancient cultures of Mexico such as the Olmec, Toltec, Mayan and Aztec, masks were made to honor the dead. These masks are often stylized skulls or Calaveras representing life and rebirth. During the Day of the Dead, masks and face painting add to the festive atmosphere of the celebration. The masks used to decorate the central courtyards during the Santa Paula High School celebration were made by Ms. Renteria's AVAD and EL classes. In addition to the masks, the courtyard was decorated with papel picado made by Ms. Madrigal's students.

During the Day of the Dead, families put out alters with favorite foods and objects that were special to their departed loved ones. Special bread called pan de muertos (bread of the dead) and candy skulls are also common. The Spirits consume the "essence" of the food while the actual food is eaten by the family and friends of the departed. During this year's celebration, pan de muertos was provided by MEChA.

The dances (Danza Azteca) at the noontime celebration were performed by Huitzilin iuan Xochitl (Hummingbird & Flower), Naui Olin (4 Movement) along with independent dancers, including our own Mr. Pinedo and Mr. Vega. In pre-Columbian times the dead were honored twice a year with dances and celebrations. When Spain conquered California and Mexico, these ancient customs merged with Spanish customs and became part of the Day of the Dead festivities.

Thanks to Mr. Torres, Ms. Renteria and Mr. Vega for organizing the celebration and providing information for this article!