Scott Hopkins:
CLASS OF 1967
Point Loma High SchoolClass of 1967
San diego, CA
Castle Park High SchoolClass of 2003
Chula vista, CA
Bonita Vista High SchoolClass of 1998
Chula vista, CA
Hilltop High SchoolClass of 1997
Chula vista, CA
Chula Vista High SchoolClass of 1997
Chula vista, CA
Scott's Story
I am currently writing and taking photos for The Peninsula Beacon, the community newspaper covering Point Loma and Ocean Beach. My work has been awarded by both the San Diego Press Club and the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The school's 90th Anniversary was celebrated at a Gala on Oct. 24, 2015 at the San Diego Hilton on East Mission Bay Dr. There, 11 new members of the Alumni Hall of Fame were inducted to join nine original members including our own Steven Correia. I was active in reviving the Hall of Fame, which had been inactive since Steven and the other eight members were inducted in 2000. For information on the school look at the school's official website (pointlomahigh) followed by dot com and you should find a button marked "Alumni.".
Also under the "PLHS Alumni" button you'll find a Class List for every graduation year in the school's history! I hope every one of you is signed up for the Alumni Newsletter that comes out about four times a year via e-mail (free) with updates on school happenings, alumni and (sadly) an updated list of deceased alums.
My career was spent as a teacher in Chula Vista, where I currently live. I am always eager to hear from former Pointers from any class, former students and persons from other schools.
My work with The Peninsula Beacon takes me onto the PLHS campus frequently and I am familiar with the administrators and staff. It is a very different school than in our days, but an excellent one nevertheless.
They give campus tours once a month, so if you would like to visit, it can easily be arranged. The new additions include a fabulous weight room used by all students, a state-of-the art video production facility and music center along with many other upgrades coming up as the San Diego Unified School District looks 20 years ahead to the school's future needs.
The one thing that likely won't change: The school is built on 17 acres...a new school today for 2,000 students would require a minimum of 51 acres by state law!
There are now 28 sports involving about 800 athletes offered at PLHS, and practice space is severely limited after school before darkness ends activities. Band parents have resorted to car headlights lighting the school softball field so their students can get in needed practice.
The lights were installed several years ago and the fears and accusations of neighbors has not materialized. The lights have virtually no effect on surrounding homes and practices in the stadium field now last until 7 p.m. There are 18 night games held each year, nine for boys and nine for girls. Football gets five of those plus possible playoff games. As a concession to neighbors, the stadium gates on Voltaire St. are closed and spectators must park in the staff lot off Clove St...Expand for more
. and walk through campus to the field.
The school is also in the later stages of a "Whole Site Modernization," which so far has built a new classroom building that fronts the intersection of Chatsworth Blvd. and Voltaire St., built another new three-story classroom/media center building with 20 state-of-the-arts classrooms, brought all other classrooms up to the same modern standards, replaced all the old wooden seats in the gym with motorized plastic seating in school colors, re-located all campus phone and computer systems to a more secure location, replaced the school's fire alarm system, taken down the former auto shop building and using the space for added campus parking and completely re-configured the central quad area of the campus which is now much more open and spacious. In addition, security fencing and cameras have been installed in all areas of the campus.
Still to come is a renovation/remodel of the boys' gym and coaches' offices, new seating for 500 fans on the North side of the football field, a new concession/restroom building for these new fans and a press box for the stadium. This work is underway now (Fall, 2021).
Sadly, many community members are calling the new building and school in general many unflattering names. Social media posters say the school "Looks like a prison," and is ugly. They speak of the beauty of the "old school," which I think we all loved and remembered. But the reality is that Point Loma High will never look like it once did. The same people who complain about the "new look" would likely be the first to protest the cost of building the school once again in its "Liberty Station" look. I would like those naysayers to think positively, realize that the current students are being educated in a modern and pleasant environment and will someday go out into the world and make us alumni proud in the same way many of us have done.
Eventually, a secure campus will be completed with only one secured entrance during the school day that will lead directly to the office. All campus entrances will be locked once classes begin so that school police and security personnel can monitor who is present on campus. (The San Diego Unified School District now has its own police department. There is an officer, with marked patrol car and emergency lights, assigned to the campus on a daily basis. These officers are primarily responsible for security at events with large crowds).
The students who will compose the 100th graduating class of Point Loma High School are now on campus as freshmen. These students will graduate in June, 2025 as the school celebrates its 100th year. A celebration has not yet begun planning.
The 95th year celebration was a victim of COVID. Normally a major celebration event is held every five years.
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