San Benito High School (California)

San Benito High School is a school in Hollister, California, United States. It serves as the primary high school for Hollister city residents and most county residents. The school's current enrollment is approximately 3,000 students, served by 250 faculty and staff.^[1]

History

San Benito High School was founded in 1875 in a grammar school building on First and San Benito Streets. Growth and attendance were slow and, after six years, only fifty-seven students graduated. In those times higher education was neither free nor compulsory. As Hollister grew, so did attendance. In 1908, William Weeks was appointed to design a new school building. The building was completed on August 23, 1909, and burned down in 1955. A second high school was built in 1929 next to the 1909 building. It is now the administration building.

Growth continued and the O'Donnell Gym and the Davis Library were added. In 1955, fire consumed all of the 1909 building, leaving behind only the second high school building. San Benito High School is still expanding; since 1980, it has added an extension to the library and now has over 120 classrooms to accommodate nearly 3,000 students and over 100 faculty and staff members.^[2]

Academics

San Benito High School runs on an alternating block schedule split into "red days," periods 1 through 3, and "white days," periods 4 through 6. The days are named after the school's main colors. Each block is 100 minutes long, except for the 1st block of the day (1st and 4th period) which is 105 minutes to allow the reading of the school bulletin. There is also an optional, 65-minute 0 (zero) period, Tuesday through Friday.

The school offers standard general education courses, 15 Advanced Placement courses, and many electives. Electives include arts such as ceramics, drama, choir, and band; language electives such as Modern American Literature and Shakespeare; and technical and vocational courses like auto shop. The school also prides itself on its large student government and leadership class. SBHS has been a member school of the California Association of Student Councils since 1994. Some of the more active electives are agricultural classes, computer/business classes, and Hispanic Studies classes, such as Hispanic Literature and Chicano History.

Dancing for Diana

In early 2010, San Benito High School's Associated Student Body came together to help raise money for Diana Magaña, who at the time was a freshman student who was battling cancer. The ASB set a goal of $15,000, and ended up surpassing this with an end amount of over $22,000. ^[3] The students put together a viral dancing video which reached all over the globe. ^[4] This, along with their Benefit Ball dance, helped the surrounding community come together and raise money for Diana. In February 2012, Diana died at the age of 17.

Athletics

The schools athletics teams are known by the school's mascot, the Haybaler, or more commonly the 'Balers. The school's colors are red, white, and black. It is common for teams to be referred to as either the San Benito 'Balers or Hollister 'Balers, and both are considered acceptable. The team competes in 13 sports in the Monterey Bay League as part of the Central Coast Section.

The arch rival for the Balers is the Gilroy Mustangs. The team's annual football game is called the Prune Bowl, named for the trees that used to line Highway 25, which connects the two cities. San Benito has dominated the game in recent years, winning eight of the past ten games and holding a 30-23-1 advantage since the VFW Memorial Trophy came into existence in 1956. The trophy goes annually to the game's winner.

References

Coordinates: 36°50′27″N 121°24′17″W / 36.8408°N 121.40466°W / 36.8408; -121.40466