Arnold O. Beckman High School

Arnold O. Beckman High School is a mid-sized public school in Irvine, California, serving grades 9 through 12. The $94 million dollar facility was opened on August 30, 2004. It was named after Arnold O. Beckman, a scientist and philanthropist. The school is in the Tustin Unified School District. In 2007, the California State Board of Education awarded Beckman High School the status of a California Distinguished School. The school serves the communities of Tustin Ranch, Northpark, Northwood, and West Irvine. The mascot of Beckman is the Patriot.

Arnold O. Beckman High School (Beckman) opened in 2004 with both ninth and tenth grade levels. Beckman became the third comprehensive high school in the Tustin Unified School District. Beckman, located in the city of Irvine, rests in the heart of Orange County. Beckman services the residential communities of Tustin and Irvine. Beckman’s student population has grown to over 1,950 and graduated its first senior class in June 2007. Beckman proudly educates a diverse ethnic and socioeconomic community. This community is an active and supportive one with tremendous involvement in the school’s many support organizations. Beckman is accredited by the Western Association of schools and Colleges (WASC) and is also a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and complies with the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice. The mission of Beckman High School is to produce students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post secondary education by pursuing the most rigorous course of study resulting in achievement inside and outside the classroom. Their most recent addition is the class of Ancient Civilzations, for 9th graders in the honors progam. It is about many old civilzations, learning their ways and religions.

Administration

School administrators include:

• Adele Heuer, Principal (2004-present)
• Mai Huynh (Assistant Principal)
• Sean Diaz (Assistant Principal)
• Michael MacCormick (Assistant Principal)

Academics

Foreign language classes

The foreign language department offers classes in Chinese, French, and Spanish. Each language has multiple classes, typically ranging from level one to level five; the fifth being an AP class. This department also offers the English Language Development(ELD) class for native speakers learning English as their second language.

Technology

Beckman has six student-use computer labs, not including the library and media arts/photography labs. The facilities can easily support a large-sized class and feature censored Internet access. The school offers many technology and media arts classes, including:

• Research and Technology
• Computer Graphics
• Advanced Computers (AP)
• Yearbook Design
• Photograhpy
• Video Production
• Robot engineering
• DNA Analysis
• Computer Science (AP)
• Visual Arts

The Arts

Orchestra (Entails Concert Orchestra and Festival Orchestra)

The Orchestra is made up of the Concert and Festival Orchestra, the latter of which is the higher-level orchestra. The Festival Orchestra has earned local and regional accolades and have participated in annual Southern California Music Festivals, earning unanimous ratings of "Superior". In April 2007, the Festival Orchestra went to Carnegie Hall to perform, bringing life to the Big Apple.

The Beckman High School Orchestra was founded in August 2004 when the high school first opened its doors. However, the seeds of success of the orchestra were planted long before the orchestra first met. String education was re-introduced in the Tustin Unified School District in 1994 by Jim Kollias. The program was started with 3 instruments and 30 students in an after school program. Fourteen years later that same program now serves over 1000 students district wide on over 300 instruments. Because of this program, students are able to study on string instruments at the elementary middle, and high school level. When Beckman HS opened, 45 students formed their first orchestra (the largest in the district) with Jim Kollias being named the Orchestra Director.

The Beckman High School Orchestra has experienced much success in its short history and is the largest high school orchestra program in the Tustin Unified School District (120 students) with three levels of orchestra. Through its performances of standard orchestral literature and the performances of new music by student and local composers, as well as the number and quality of performances in the community, the orchestra is making its presence felt in the artistic communities of Tustin and Irvine. The orchestra has already earned Superior and Unanimous Superior Ratings at district and regional SCSBOA music festivals and has been invited to play at Disneyland’s Community Arts Showcase, the Biltmore Hotel, and Olvera Street in Los Angeles. In November, 2006, the orchestra was invited to perform with the Irvine Valley College Symphony Orchestra at the Barclay Theatre in Irvine. On April 7, 2007 the Beckman High School Orchestra performed in Carnegie Hall as part of the National Invitational Festival. In May 2007, the orchestra was the only orchestra selected to perform as part of the California Distinguished School Recognition Program in Anaheim, earning the above accolades from California State Superintendent Jack O’Connell. In December 2007, the orchestra again performed at the invitation of the IVC Symphony Orchestra at the new IVC Performing Arts Center; the first high school to perform in the new $32 million theatre.

Students from the group have won auditions to the Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association Honor Orchestras, California All-State Orchestra, the Four Seasons Orchestra, and the Colburn School Orchestra.

Arnold O. Beckman, founder and chairman emeritus of Beckman Instruments, Inc., represents nearly a century of outstanding scientific achievements. What you probably didn’t know about this inventor was that Dr. Beckman was also a very talented pianist and often performed with small orchestras. “Music - especially proficiency at the keyboard – came to play an important role in his life as both a passion and a means of earning a living. His mothers’ insistence on diligent practice, however uncomfortable, conveyed a lesson to him about the importance of disciplined effort in achieving success.” The music program at Beckman High School, inspired by the endeavors and achievements of our namesake, is committed to excellence in the arts. Our state-of-the-arts facilities provide the extraordinary opportunity for our students to engage in independent, creative challenges, thus empowering them to applications far beyond the classroom – similar to those made by Dr. Beckman himself.

Said California State Superintendent Jack O'Connell, "This is the reason we need to keep the arts in our public school system. This is a tremendous group - what a talent! This group represents the best of the best. This is an extremely distinguished group - what an orchestra!"

Band (Entails Concert Band and Wind Ensemble)

The Band is made up of the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble (Festival Band), the latter of which is the higher-level Band. The Wind Ensemble has also earned local and regional accolades and have participated in annual Southern California Music Festivals, earning unanimous ratings of "Superior". They have made repeated appearances in Disneyland as well.

The Beckman High School Band was founded in August 2004 when the high school first opened its doors. The band program at Beckman is already the largest high school band program in the Tustin Unified School District with two levels of concert bands, the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band in addition to the 140 member Patriot Marching Band and the jazz band. The Beckman High School Band has experienced much success in its short history and has already earned Superior Ratings at a district SCSBOA music festival and earned a Superior Rating at an SCSBOA Regional Festival in May 2007. Students from the group have won auditions to the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association Honor Band, and the Chapman University Honor Band.

Jazz Band

The Jazz Band is made up of Brass (trumpet and trombone), piano, Bass, Guitar, drums, and Saxophones. The students learn the history of jazz music and culture, many compositional forms of jazz including the 16 bar blues and the 32 bar song, and how to improvise solos in songs. At the end of the year the students perform in a "coffee concert" in a "jazz cafè" (coffee is actually sold during concert) featuring many popular jazz charts with improvised solos and songs, also with improvised solos, composed and performed, for the first time, by the students.

Marching Band

Beckman's Marching Band marches in many festivals and parades, such as the L.A. County Fair, Tustin Tiller Days, Whittier Christmas Parade, and the Martin Luther King Parade in San Diego. The Band has earned 1st Place in all but one parade since the founding of the school and band, led by Band Director Jim Kollias. The Band has been invited to march down main street at Disneyland multiple times. In April, 2008, the marching band will be appearing in Washington D.C. at the National Cherry Blossom Festival, a prestigious festival hailed as a hallmark of our nation's history. The Beckman marching band will be one of ten who were chosen out of tens of thousands of entries.

The 160-member Beckman High School Patriot Marching Band was formed in 2004 under the direction of Jim Kollias. Since its inception, the group has grown in numbers and stature, earning the group a reputation of excellence in musicianship. The group earned a 1st Place finish in its very first parade and has never looked back; earning 1st place finishes in 9 of the first 10 parades it has competed in. The band has competed in the Tustin Tiller Days Parade, MLK Parade in San Diego, the Whittier Christmas Parade, and Los Angeles County Fair. Also of note, the band has performed with the UCLA Marching Band in the Rose Bowl (2007, 2005, 2004) and the USC Marching Band in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (2004) and marched in parade at Disneyland (2006 & 2007). In April 2008, the Patriot Marching Band has earned an invitation to perform at the 2008 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in Washington D.C.

During the school year, the marching band rehearses daily for an hour and performs for Beckman High School home football games, for various student body events, and honors community Veterans with an annual Veterans Day Concert. The Varsity Band, made up of selected members of the Marching Band, performs at various Beckman High School boys and girls varsity sporting events (which have included water polo, basketball, and baseball games).

Chamber Groups

Currently, there is one active chamber group that spawned from the Wind Ensemble. The "Paradox 5" Woodwind Quintet has achieved Superior ratings at the SCSBOA Los Coyotes Solo and Ensemble District Festival (04/2008) and at the SCSBOA Regional Solo and Ensemble Festival (06/2008), the latter with the "Command Performance" honor. Ironically, this chamber group is technically not part of Beckman High School because it is not a club, not a class, nor any kind of school sponsored group, yet it represents the school everywhere they travel. The members of the quintet are Kelsey Thomas on Flute, Kevin Krause on Clarinet, Isabella "Izzy" Cheng on Oboe, Bobby Olsen on French Horn, and Jorge Ruvalcaba on Bassoon. This group is planning to remain active for the 2008-2009 school year with minor changes.

Visual Arts

In 2008, Jamie Kao, a visual arts student at Beckman High, won first place in Orange County in the Imagination Celebration Poster Contest. The works of Eunice Lau, Jeffery Kim, Shaun Phillips, and Alan Wong were selected to exhibited at the Orange County Fine Arts Gallery as well, alongside Jamie Kao's poster.

In 2007, Eunice Lau won second place in the photography division of the Music Center Spotlight Awards.

Foreign exchange program

Currently, Beckman has a thriving foreign exchange program. Students from countries around the world come to experience Southern California through Beckman's program. The very first exchange student Beckman ever received came from Scotland; students have also come from Poland, Norway, China, Turkey, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Africa, and Japan.

Athletics

Beckman's athletics program include teams in dance, football, water polo, swimming, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, swimming, cross country, track and field, golf, and cheer. The boys lacrosse team were league champions for two consecutive years. In 2007 Softball won CIF. In 2007, Tara Thomas broke Olympian Kaitlin Sandeno's Division 1 state record in the 100 yd butterfly at the CIF finals.

The 2007-2008 Beckman JV Football Team set several school football records such as:

• Best League Record (2-2),
• First Team to beat Corona Del Mar,
• Leading Receiver Touchdowns (4)
• Individual rushing record - 1,500 Yards Rushing
• Sacks in one game - 7
• Tackles in one game - 25
• Scoring by an offensive lineman

The 2007-2008 Beckman Varsity Volleyball team made it into CIF for the second year in a row. In 07-08 Beckman was undefeated in its preseason, got first and third in two tournaments and got second in the PCL. Beckman lost to Oxnard in 06-07 in 4 games, but in the 07-08 season Beckman triumphed over Hemet High School in 3 games.

Beckman is well-developed school

References

• School Detail for Arnold O. Beckman High. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved on 2008-01-03..

External links

• Tustin Unified School District
• Arnold O. Beckman High School