Venice High School Kicks off Centennial with Commemorative Calendar

Venice High School Kicks off Centennial with Stunning Commemorative Calendar

This New Year's Day will not only ring in 2011 but also the100th year of Venice High School.

On September 11, 1911 Venice Union Polytechnic High School opened in the old Venice Bath House (current site of the Venice Circle) with fifty-two students. The bath house hosted three graduating classes before relocating in 1914 to its current site at the corner of Venice Boulevard and Walgrove Avenue in Mar Vista. Seriously damaged in 1933 by the Long Beach earthquake, the school was rebuilt in 1935 with the same Art Deco buildings that stand today. Today Venice High is famous all around the world thanks to its role as the school used for filming Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.

To kick-off the Centennial Celebration, the Venice High School Alumni Association (VHSAA) commissioned a calendar of iconic and stunning images to showcase the art and architecture of Venice High as well as local and famous landmarks. The money raised by this project will be used to support the VHSAA, a membership organization that works for the common good of Venice High and its graduates. With one of the strongest scholarship programs of any public school in the U.S., the VHSAA awarded over $105,000 in scholarships in 2010.

More Centennial events
• Student organized Sock Hop in January
• Weekend celebration in June which will include reunions, classic car show, parade, golf tournament and viewing of "Greased Lightening," the 1948 Ford convertible used in the movie

Famous Venice Graduates
In-N-Out Burger chain founder Harry Snyder, Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham, actor Beau Bridges, singer Teena Marie and NFL players Larry Atkins and JP Losman.

For more information: www.venicehighalumni.com