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Antelope High marks new chapter in district

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As students packed the quad of Antelope High School early Thursday, freshman Charmane Robinson summed up the general buzz on campus:

“This’ll go down in history,” said Robinson, standing with a gaggle of girlfriends just outside the school office. “Years from now I’ll come back with my kids and go, ‘Hey! I was here!”

Robinson was one of 895 freshmen and sophomores – known as Titans – who walked through the long-awaited school’s gates for its very first day of classes. And, even if not everyone was excited to be back at school – 8 a.m. is, after all, a fairly ungodly hour when you’re a teenager -- most had to admit being part of the inaugural student body was at least kind of cool.

“I like it,” said sophomore Alay’sha Evans. “I like to be the first of things.”

Added freshman Mary Schafer: “It’s not scary, because everyone’s new.”

The opening marks the fifth comprehensive high school for the Roseville Joint Union High School District, and a major milestone for the community of Antelope. Until now, most residents in the unincorporated Sacramento County community have been bussed to Oakmont High in Roseville.

Now, the two-story brick edifice of Antelope High School looms near the intersection of Palmerson Drive and Elverta Road. The $100 million-plus facility, designed by Roseville-based Williams + Paddon Architects + Planners, was made possible by Measure J, a district-wide school bond voters in Roseville helped approve in 2004. Over the next two years, the school will add juniors and seniors and is eventually slated to hold 1,600 students.

On Thursday, most everything went off without a hitch, with the exception of some minor air-conditioning troubles.

“It's probably the smoothest first day I've had in seven years as a principal,” said Principal John Becker.

Inside room L-109, leadership teacher Kristin Dawidczik was busy laying the groundwork for the nascent school’s culture and traditions.

“You don’t have juniors and seniors here to be that model, so sophomores on this campus, you’re going to have to step it up,” Dawidczik told her first-period class of about 40 students, which included freshmen and sophomores. “If we are teaching traditions at the school, it has to start with you.”

To wit: The proper Titan response to the utilitarian query, “How are you?” isn’t “Fine,” Dawidczik informed the class, but rather, “Better than good,” an effort to kick-start school pride.

And just because the school lacks seniors doesn’t mean it won’t have a homecoming-style dance. It’ll just be called “up and coming.”

“I’m excited because we get to set all our own traditions,” said sophomore Lexie Alonso.

But first-day efforts mostly focused on ice breakers. Students were given nametags to wear and a lunchtime game involving playing cards was designed to get them all talking. Free cupcakes later in the day, billed as an Antelope High School birthday party, continued the celebratory atmosphere.

Freshman leadership student Taylor Davis was already settling in just fine, thank you.

“It feels like a regular day at school, like we’ve been here forever,” he said.

At lunchtime, students flooded into the area around the cafeteria, reuniting with friends, snapping cell-phone pictures and gulping down free offerings from Jamba Juice. Only a few braved the pristine grass oval in the center of the quad.

Freshman Allison Gibson said her first day so far had been a success – mostly.

“Getting here took forever, just because of traffic,” she said. “Other than that, classes have been great.”

Back inside room L-109, BreAnna AhPo, a sophomore, said the best part about being at the new school was escaping from that whole underclassman/upperclassman thing.

“Here, we’re like seniors,” she said.

Still, wasn’t there a downside?

“I kind of get lost,” she said.