San Mateo High School celebrated its 120 year anniversary in extraordinary fashion on Saturday, October 8th,inviting alumni, students and faculty to a performance by the Dance Team, the Chamber Singers, the Cheerleading Squad, and more, celebrating its growth over the past century.
Opened on September 15, 1902, San Mateo High School began with an enrollment of 27 students and three teachers. 25 years later, not only had the student body expanded, but the school had also moved from its previous location on Baldwin Avenue to where it is now.
Over the next century, San Mateo High School flourished, being named a National Distinguished Blue Ribbon school by the United States Department of Education, renovating the school in 2005, rebuilding the well-known Performing Arts Center in December 2011, and constructing a renowned Biotech Building in December 2010.
But most of all, over its time as an institution, San Mateo High School maintained its focus on inclusion, school spirit and promotion of student leadership. “Seeing the students take leadership at this event has been a highlight for me,” class of 1995 graduate Dina Bertolina says. Her time at San Mateo High School convinced her that the “school highlights the best in our community” and that “everyone can find a way to be successful” at San Mateo High School.
The attendance at the celebration showed the diversity and far reach of San Mateo High School. Alumni from the classes of 1951 to students still at San Mateo High School attended the event.
“I loved the performance,” Mickey Demayo, a San Mateo Alumni, comments, “I love the new marching band uniforms.” Many other alumni echoed the sentiment, agreeing that the performance showed everything San Mateo High School stands for.