Sage Creek opens with freshman class

CARLSBAD — Sage Creek High School opened its classroom doors for its first day of school to a freshman class of about 300 students on Wednesday.

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“I’m excited to see what you are going to create,” Sage Creek Principal Cesar Morales told students during the welcome to school pep rally in the new gymnasium.

The Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD) decided several years ago to build Sage Creek to relieve crowding at its only other high school, Carlsbad High School.

The $95 million school on Cannon Road and College Boulevard was paid for by Prop P, which was passed by voters in 2006.

“I felt like I would get more attention here instead of at Carlsbad High School with fewer students,” said C.J. McFadden, a 14-year-old freshman, on why she chose to attend Sage Creek.

Freshmen students talk with their peers and check their phones while awaiting the start of the first day of school pep rally in the gymnasium. Photo by Rachel Stine

The school will operate on a trimester class system and is maintaining a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) focus academically, offering BioMedics and engineering course pathways.

“The whole trimester schedule is really neat,” said Sam Wezniak, a 14-year-old Sage Creek freshman who is interested in engineering. “I can get ahead or take breaks if I need to.”

At the pep rally hosted before classes, teachers and staff greeted students and shared something about themselves.

One teacher dressed up in a Santa Claus costume, another sang, and one did the worm before the entire student body.

CUSD Board Trustee Kelli Moors, former trustee Nicole Pappas, Superintendent Suzette Lovely, Board President Elisa Williamson, and Principal Cesar Morales smile during the all-school photo. Photo by Rachel Stine

Physics teacher James Fieberg demonstrated what students should not wear to school by parading around in short-shorts and cut-up orange tank top.

“I wanted to scar these kids right from the start,” he said, chuckling about his warning about inappropriate apparel.

But on the whole opening a new school experience, Fieberg said, “I think it’s a very exciting opportunity to be the founding staff of a new school.”

He said he was proud that the school is linking curriculum to make better connections between science and math, citing the link between physics and geometry classes as an example.

Morales said that the staff’s goal for the end of the first day is to have students, “leave here thinking, ‘I made the right choice. I can’t wait to be back here tomorrow morning.’”