Highlander Families,

We had a great first week of the spring semester—thank you to our students, staff, and families for the strong start!

Highlights from This Week

• Boys Basketball Upset — Our Highlanders stunned Crean Lutheran, the No. 8 team in the CIF Southern Section, with a statement win to open league play.
• Safety First — We conducted a successful fire drill on Wednesday.
• All-CIF Football Honors (Division 3) —
• Coach of the Year: Coach Mazzotta
• Offensive Player of the Year: Kevin Martinez
• Defensive Player of the Year: Bobby Brooks
• 11 Football Players All CIF
• Congratulations to our entire program on these outstanding accolades!
• ASB Reveal: Sadie Hawkins Theme — ASB announced this year’s Sadie Hawkins Dance theme, “Saddle Up,” with a fun reveal in the gym.
• Future Highlander Night — We welcomed families to preview programs and pathways ahead of Open House (Thursday, January 22).
• Students of the Month (December) — Teachers recognized students for excellence in academics, character, and leadership—congratulations to all honorees!

Looking Ahead

• PTSA Meeting — Monday, 6:30 p.m. (Room 20)
• Stay connected and get involved; everyone is welcome.
• Club Rush — Tuesday at Lunch. Explore clubs, meet leaders, and get connected. There’s something for everyone.
• Parent Financial Aid Night (FAFSA) — Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. Guidance on forms, timelines, and next steps for seniors and families.
• District Slam Poetry Night — Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. (PAC). Join us for an inspiring evening of student voices and original work.
• Rivalry Spirit Week- Daily themes all week as we gear up to play Sonora, bring the spirit!
• Rivalry Basketball vs. Sonora — Thursday (Home) Pack the gym and bring the energy for our annual city showdown!
• Grad Nite at Disneyland- PTSA is now accepting payments; spots are limited.

Finally, over the next few weeks, we will be sharing “Did You Know?” highlights about La Habra High School to showcase the great accomplishments of our students, staff, programs, and community over the past few years. These highlights will lead up to our Open House on Thursday, January 22, and we look forward to celebrating all that makes La Habra High School special.

Let’s keep the momentum going as it's great to be a Highlander!

Steve Garcia

Principal- La Habra High School

Congratulations to Maraya and Evelyn and their families on their commitments to attend Colorado State University Pueblo and Pace University, respectively, where they will continue their softball careers on athletic scholarships!

With these signings, the Class of 2026 now celebrates four softball players earning athletic scholarships and nine total student-athletes receiving scholarships. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and accomplishments! 

We loved having the talented dancers from our elementary schools share the floor with our Song Team at halftime for a special performance. It was wonderful to see our students come together across grade levels and showcase their talent! 

Coming Soon: District Poetry Slam (Hosted by LHHS)

Student teams from Troy, Fullerton, and La Habra will take the stage to perform original work exploring identity and social commentary across themed rounds—judged live by Camille Hernandez, Poet Laureate of Anaheim. Join us to amplify youth voices and celebrate the power of spoken word.

When & Where

• Wednesday, Jan. 14 | 5:30–7:30 p.m.

• La Habra High School Performing Arts Center

Please click above for the link to the permission slip

The American FFA Degree is the highest honor an FFA member can achieve, recognizing outstanding commitment to agricultural education, supervised agricultural experience, and leadership at the national level. 

Forensics students are using the Kastle–Meyer test to determine whether unknown stains contain blood, applying hands-on investigative techniques to build real-world forensic science skills.

No updates this week.

No updates this week

The NJROTC program was honored to welcome Navy Captain Kyle Caldwell, Commanding Officer of Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, who visited our unit to promote five of our deserving cadets and to present a very special award.

During the ceremony, Cadet Lieutenant Javier Martinez Santillan, our Unit Executive Officer, was presented with the prestigious Bronze Cross of Excellence from the Legion of Honor. The Legion of Honor is an illustrious society composed exclusively of combat veterans who have been awarded either the Medal of Honor or a Service Cross—the two highest awards for bravery in the United States Armed Forces. Each year, the Legion of Honor sponsors the Bronze Cross to recognize the top NJROTC cadet in each geographic region. This distinction means Cadet Martinez Santillan was selected as the best cadet among approximately thirty NJROTC units across Southern California.

Congratulations to all cadets who earned promotions, and a special congratulations to Cadet Lieutenant Javier Martinez Santillan on this outstanding achievement.

No updates this week

Wrestling

Boys and Girls Wrestling opened North Hills League competition at home with strong victories over Pacifica High School. The boys earned a 46–30 win, while the girls secured an impressive 12–0 victory. Great start to league play, congratulations to our wrestlers! We are at Troy HS on Wednesday.

Girls Water Polo

Thursday night’s Freeway League matchup was a heartbreaker, as we battled Troy HS through three overtime periods at Loch Lomond Pool before coming up just short, 10–9. The match was intense from start to finish, as we traded goals and defensive stops in a true back-and-forth contest. Despite the tough loss, we showed tremendous resilience, composure, and competitive fire, pushing a strong Troy squad to the limit in one of the most hard-fought games of the season.

We quickly turned the page over the weekend at the Troy Tournament, opening play with a solid win against Brea Olinda. That momentum carried into the rest of the tournament, where we competed in three more tightly contested matches but ultimately came up short, finishing 1–3 on the weekend. While the results didn’t fully reflect the effort and growth shown in the pool, the tournament provided valuable experience and highlighted the team’s continued progress as league play moves forward.

Girls Soccer

We continued North Hills League play this week with a pair of competitive matches, showing resilience and determination throughout. On Tuesday, we traveled to Cypress and battled hard in a physical contest, ultimately falling 2–1. 

Thursday’s home match against Villa Park delivered plenty of excitement, as we played to a 2–2 draw in a thrilling league showdown. Emily Flores led the way offensively, scoring both goals for our side and providing a spark throughout the match. The tie capped a week of strong league competition and leaves us well-positioned as league play continues.

Boys Soccer

We opened our North Hills League campaign with a pair of hard-fought losses to Esperanza (3-2) and to Sonora (4-2) on Wednesday. Despite the results, we showed tremendous fight and resilience in both contests, battling until the final whistle and gaining crucial experience that will prove invaluable as the season progresses. We will look to turn things around and secure a league victory when we host El Modena on Wednesday, carrying the lessons learned from our opening week.

Boys Basketball

We faced a challenging week in the always-competitive Crestview League, starting with a road test at Cypress High School on Tuesday. In a thrilling back-and-forth contest, the game went to overtime before we ultimately came up just short. Despite the tough loss, the night marked a major milestone for senior Acen Jimenez, who surpassed 2,000 career points, cementing his place among the program’s all-time greats and providing a memorable highlight in an otherwise hard-fought battle.

Friday night brought an entirely different outcome and atmosphere, as we returned home to Stirling Gymnasium to host Open Division powerhouse Crean Lutheran. Playing our best game of the season, we delivered a complete team effort on both ends of the floor and fed off an electric crowd to earn an impressive 69–56 victory over the visiting Saints. The win moves our Crestview League record to 2–1 and builds valuable momentum as we prepare for three tough league games this week.

Girls Basketball

We finished our first week of league play with a 1-2 record.

In our league opener, we played a tough, competitive first half against Foothill. However, struggles in the third quarter, particularly with turnovers, allowed Foothill to build a significant lead. We demonstrated resilience, battling back to get within 10 points, but ultimately couldn't complete the comeback, falling 64-50.

In the second game, we led Cypress 10-9 after a solid first quarter. The momentum shifted dramatically in the second quarter when we encountered foul trouble. With key players off the court, we struggled with ball handling and handling Cypress' defensive pressure, leading to a 74-26 loss.

Bouncing back after two difficult losses, we secured a much-needed victory in our home gym against Pacifica, winning 42-23. The win was led by strong performances from Ashley Miller, Penelope Miles, and Eliana Corona. Our defensive effort was a major highlight, contributing significantly to the decisive win and marking a positive end to the challenging first week of league play. Our record is 10-11 with a game at El Modena this week

New traffic flow for our student parking lot. Please pay attention to the arrows to help guide you safely through the parking lot to improve safety and circulation.

Please call 562-266-5200 for more information or with any questions you have regarding this newsletter.

Office Hours

7:30am - 4:00 pm