I'm only reviewing the gym which was being used for an adult basketball league. Super nice gym, very spacious... not sure about the seating because it was all pushed back, but I can appreciate the amount of space between the court and the gym walls because I've seen a lot of guys run into rusty door handles and unpadded walls in other gyms. This one seems a lot safer. The refs were cool for our game, but they rotate the schedule! Nice play to ball out! read more

Northwood High School - Adult league basketball - Middle Schools & High Schools Near Me - Irvine, California

Don't believe the hype and make sure you talk to parents of current students before you make this decision. 1. The selection of textbooks for core curriculum is so far fetched that 3 of my son's private tutors, all with PhD degree, shook their heads constantly because they had to they struggle with the CPM material - the so-called college grade stuff. 2. Integrated Science is a joke. It combines so many stuff into a single course and in the end the students suck at all of them. 3. It does not offer anywhere near the number of AP courses available at other Irvine high schools. 4. Some middle-aged female math and science teachers are totally irresponsible and out of whack. These people won't survive a week in the real world. Yeah, trust your sons and daughters with these bunch of losers. I gave 1 star and it is for those few hard-working teachers. I'll definitely move out of the NHS boundary when my daughter goes to high school. Good luck and goodbye. read more

The other reviewer is absolutely right about this school, and I speak from experience, I went here. First of all the vibe of this school is extremely hostile and unfriendly, teachers are only kind to the most "involved" students and neglect the kids that actually need help. If you're not an asshole, an athlete, a drug addict or extremely extroverted (the loud and obnoxious type) good luck having any kind of social life at this place. Teachers and staff will treat you like dirt, and you will spend most of your time day dreaming about graduation. So without further adieu, here's my personal list of reasons why NHS is not all it's lived up to be: 1.) The people: I mean it's high school, so you shouldn't expect to see too many kind and friendly faces to begin with, but the amount of cliques at this place is just absolutely ridiculous. Most of the Asian kids hangout amongst themselves and avoid any other sort of social interaction (with exceptions, of course!) and the other kids are pretty much split off into 3 categories: druggies, jocks and the weird kids. Unless you get lucky like I did and get to spend the next four years with your best friend by your side you pretty much have to pick your poison. 2.) The drugs: some of the kids at this school have serious drug problems and both the staff and their parents have turned their backs against this problem. Kids aren't just smoking pot and having a few beers on the weekends, it might just start off that way but by senior year they're doing serious drugs that I can't even bring myself to mention here. So what's the schools solution to this serious issue? Send them all off the Creekside where they will be exposed to even more problematic kids like themselves, perfect! 3.) Integrated Science: oh my god. I can't even begin to explain how this idiotic system is. This is the class that messed up my entire high school experience, it's the reason I didn't apply to any colleges, graduated early and started community college. They are basically trying to fit every different type of science into one class. Sounds like a bad idea right? It is. The class is difficult, too general and the only skill you'll gain from it is how to memories really really well. Oh and they don't tell you this until the end of sophomore year but if your freshman and sophomore grades don't average out to a c+ you can't take another year of science meaning you can't apply to any UC's unless you go to summer school, repeat the whole thing and hope for the best! I've taken biology majors classes in college since and gotten A's in them but integrated science (at least to me and many others) was pretty much hell. 4.) The atmosphere: basically, if you don't have a massive ego or tons of school spirit (two qualities which most teenagers lack) you will be shamed here. The staff will make you feel bad for not be overly excited and energized and so will some of the other kids. For example, they consistently shamed me for wanting to graduate early to get the hell out of there, apparently moving on with your life is an immature and irresponsible decision. They take everything a bit too personality in my opinion. Because I don't want to end things on a bad note I will now to to mention some of the things that made my experience here at least bearable, so here we go: 1.) The teachers: I had some amazing teachers at this school, Mrs. Gates who's kind and sweet attitude helped me get through a really hard time freshman year, Mr. Emery who's creative writing class gave me the chance to get to explore and be creative (not to mention he has great taste in literature and introduced me to some of my favorite authors today: I.e Hemingway), and last but not least Mrs. Crowley who's smile and positive outlook always brightened everyone's day. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't have my share of terrible teachers but honestly the good ones made it worth it. 2.) The cookies: this ones self explanatory 3.) The campus: the campus is just absolutely beautiful, buildings are really new and the school is extremely clean. My final advice: if you are self motivated you will succeed at this school, but if you're a little lost and confused as most kids are in high school this school may not the best choice. But either way you'll make it through. I can't say enough of how much my life has changed since high school, and it's weird to think it's only been a year. The best advice I can give incoming freshman is to just be yourself, it's not as hard as it might seem, don't fall in with the wrong crowd, find your own identity and remember that high school isn't everything. Good luck! read more

All 4 of my kids attended Northwood high school.. and all 4 played varsity sports here (golf, soccer, volleyball). They were spread out and attended from 2000 to 2016. I tend to keep things simple... Don't look for excuses, for my kids, or for the school (teachers/coaches, etc). Simply put and all things considered... Hard to find a better public school in the entire country. NHS is clearly in the top 5% in the country. If you're kids are going on to college... You don't need to pay monster money to go to a private school... Like you might need/want to do in other school districts... Irvine schools are tops... Starting in elementary school thru middle school on up. You'll have your little issues here and there thru the years... But I usually put it on my kids to figure it out and get it done... Part of life. They all went to college... One still in college at UCIrvine. read more

I should first explain the perspective from which I am writing about this school. I am a parent of a current student who mostly takes Honors/AP classes. I would say this school is very competitive academically, and this is demonstrated by the fact that the school produces around 30 National Merit Semi-Finalists per year. I am also writing this review in 2016, and according to my kid, the kids are getting smarter each year. Good points: No bullies. According to my kid, no dominant group exists. The majority of kids have their small groups. My kid says that if any group tried to bully others in this school, other groups would not stand for it. Also, because there are many smart and talented kids in the school, you will not stand out. This and Uni High are two most academically competitive schools in Irvine and Tustin area. Most students who graduate from here say that college academics is not that difficult after you have been through this school. Nice campus situated at the base of hills. Decent teachers: Although my kid has his favorite teachers, my kid doesn't "hate" any of the teachers he has. So I guess that means most of them are good Smart and talented kids: According to my kid, she has not yet met any student who was not smart or talented in some area. My kid says most students have strong points in some areas. Odd Classes and Even Classes Schedule system: On Odd days, you go to odd classes, and on Even days, you go to even classes. My kid likes this system since this is what colleges do. I like the fact that there are many group projects and presentation assignments. I also like the fact that Honors English and Honors History classes work together to make kids write essays each semester. Bad points: Really lousy cafeteria food. In fact, there is no real cafeteria with regular lunches. They just have a few pre-packaged snacks. You would think that a rich high school would be able to afford a decent cafeteria. This means parents have to make lunches for students every day. Sucks. A lot of homework. Kids, especially those who take Honors/AP classes, are just too busy with studies to watch school sports teams. Athletic programs are not that great. This school keeps on saying how great its music program is but since my kid is not in the music program, I wish the money was used for other purposes. Lol Their Honors/AP courses are not all that diverse. You would think a school in affluent area will offer various classes. For example, this school doesn't even offer Chinese Language course even when over 40% of the students are Asians. Integrated Science classes are not effective. There are few bad teachers who are just waiting for their retirements. This is the case in every school. Most teachers are good to very good. Too many students are in the school due to Irvine city's developing new homes. My kid says he feels compressed when he has to walk to another class. ---------------------------- From what I can tell, around 50 to 60 students end up going to UCLA or "higher ranked" schools. The school produces around 20 students to UCLA and another 20 to UC Berkeley, and around 10 or more end up going to higher ranked schools such as Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, etc. One good thing about CA is that if you were not interested in studying during high school (like myself), you can always go to several community colleges here, study hard and then transfer to decent UC schools. I know several kids who went to community colleges and then managed to transfer to a decent UC universities. I disagree with any review which says kids at this school have massive egos. All my kid's friend are not that egoistical, and in fact, there are so many smart and talented kids, so that not that many students think anyone is all that special, although there are few kids who get As without studying and close to perfect scores in SAT or ACT without too much studying. Most kids have to study hard to get good grades. I myself find it funny that out of some 2,000 students, almost 1,400 students are in either Regular Honor Roll or Principal Honor Roll. If your kid wants to attend less rigorous school academically, there are other schools in Irvine you might want to consider. From the perspective of getting into good college, it's better to attend less rigorous school (academic wise) and do well rather than go to Northwood HS and not do as well. Overall, I would rank this school anywhere between 3.5 and 4.0 stars. read more

First off If I could I would give this school 0 stars. My first complaint is the teachers. In the past 2 and a half years I've been there I've never been much pleased. One major complaint is the environment many teachers and staff members 1st priority is to make the School look good. The students at northwood may seem nice but the reality is that people don't say anything to others faces but act two faced. They groups their are very diverse and judgmental. Another complaint is directly to Mr. Clarke, my previous math teacher. I usually come into class late which I agree is my fault but with my knee injury I came in later with no sympathy mr Clarke had me sit on the floor which was very uncomfortable and time consuming for me to get situated with crutches and with part of my leg in pain. After reporting him to the front office there was nothin they had to say because the simply don't give a fuck. Another complaint I have is directly to Mr Mize. My current English teacher. I have a beanie that I wear everyday, it's part of who I am and expresses my individuality. His class rule says I am not permitted to wear it. His only justification Is that he is "old school". After 6 months of dealing with his unjustifiable rule I had enough and simply told him "no" afterwards he spoke with me outside and regarding my opinions he sent me to speak with two assistant principals office where I told them what I told my teacher and explained I have a government given right to express my self and wear a beanie they replied with that the law doesn't apply at school which is fucking bullshit now I am currently facing detentions, suspension, Saturday schools, and eventually expulsion and failing a class because that prick doesn't want me to wear a beanie in his class. These are major reasons among many other reasons why northwood is not a good social environment read more

u know what sissy this school isnt too shabby, but lemme go off for a sec. there is alot to appreciate while being a student at nhs but there are many things during my experience that really frEaKin tIkkeD mE Off MAn !!! there are some teachers that really care about their students and put in alot of effort into their classes. however there are teachers such as two math teachers that i have personally had that just fuckin sucked lolol. literally they came to collect their checks and get the fuck out of there. whenever someone was asking them for help they found every way to not help them by saying either, "ASk ONe oF Ur tEamATes" or just make u feel like complete ass because you don understand a lesson. they make you feel absolutely shitty about yourself. also the principal and staff are so fucking up students ass about everything and dont seem to have empathy at all for them. literally fucking sociopaths. read more

Okay, I read some of the other reviews on here and honestly they don't portray the school that well. I'm actually a student at this school, and I understand this means I am biased but to be honest I'm never one to blindly love things, I'm usually a very critical person and try to look at things objectively. My biggest problem is the fact that people seem to think everyone at northwood is spoiled- that is not true at ALL. It's no secret that everyone who lives in Irvine is generally very well off, that's very obvious. But there are very few 'spoiled' people here. I myself am definitely not- I'm thankful to live in such a safe and nice city, I don't expect my parents to buy me a car, or buy me designer clothes, or have 'nothing to do' with my time- most students here are VERY involved with charities, clubs that raise money/awareness, and positive, community-building activities. Most students here recognize their privilege and actually think badly of the few students who do act spoiled (mostly the ones who get a brand new mercedes for their birthday like... seriously?) A lot of kids here work at part time jobs, so I don't really buy the whole "rich kids who don't understand the meaning of hard work" thing because I find students at this school work very hard in school and outside of it due to the competition. As for the academics, they are very rigorous and it does cause a lot of stress and a general sense of competition that can get overwhelming. But even if you're not the competing, ivy-league aiming student, you'll do fine. The only thing that isn't as great is some of the teachers... honestly, some just don't teach, and even when students make complaints about those teachers, nothing happens. Plus the administrative staff kind of sucks- the vice principal always has this smug look on his face and I honestly think I've seen our principal like... twice in my entire time being a student here. That being said, I've also had my fair share of great teachers, so I'm think it's just luck of the draw- there are good and bad teachers at every school. Oh and the whole integrated science thing sucks. Honors IS1 & IS2 were rough and honestly I wish they'd get rid of it because it's so pointless and just based on memorizing. And given the fact that Northwood is one of the top rated schools (academically) in california, it really doesn't matter that the textbooks match or don't match core curriculum- students here are still consistently getting into the top colleges and achieving a high API, so who cares what some tutor thinks. Thing I hate about northwood most is the stigma people attach to it- the majority of us are pretty down to earth and don't think we deserve special treatment or luxuries, at least I certainly don't feel that way and I don't think most of my peers do either. I would actually feel rather embarrassed if I acted like some spoiled rich kid. The school as a whole is a very accepting community, where everyone mostly does want they want and is celebrated by the rest of the students- be it science olympiad, speech and debate, theater, dance, sports, band, music, anything. As a whole there's a lot of sense of underlying community- like, yeah classes are hard and we're all kinda stressed out but we're all in it together kinda thing. read more