GHS History

"In 1906, the cornerstone was laid for the old Gardena High which is now Peary Junior High School. It was called Jewel Union High School. The people of this region voted in 1907 to become a part of the Los Angeles City School System which at that time consisted of only two other high schools . . . thus Gardena was the third high school in the city system."

 

"Green and white were selected as school colors, and Breaking Ground for the Future became the school motto . . . In 1920, Gardena was changed from a purely agricultural to a comprehensive high school. In 1956, Gardena High School moved to its present facilities."

 

1988-1989 WASC Accreditation Report

"In 1919, Gardena High School Principal John H. Whitely embarked on a program for student in the senior class that was devised to lend crucial support to their cultural foundation. He encouraged the students to acquire works of art for the walls of the high school as their senior gifts, describing them as "silent teachers." The students' first selection, made as a result of a visit to the artist's studio, was Valley of the Santa Clara, by Ralph Davison Miller." GIFTED: Collecting the Art of California at Gardena High School, 1919-1956

 

Learn more about the GHS Art Collection.

In song to our alma mater,

lift we our voices high.

We pledge to thee dear high school,

a song that ne'er shall die.

 

Each day in thee we're learning,

better to know thy rule.

Each day in thee we're finding,

a friend in our high school.

 

Hail Alma Mater, lasting thy praise.

Noble thy future, ever bright the days.

Kind, true, and loving, always thy rule.

Hail Alma Mater, hail to our high school!

 

"This song was sung after football games and . . . graduations . . . p.s. the Alma Mater was once required learning in 10th Grade English."

 

Gardena High Knights and Las Laureas, 1995