A Chance to Return: The Miraleste High School All-Class Reunion By Amy Bergant
The saying, “You Can’t Go Home Again”, is true in so many ways, and probably how most alumni of Miraleste High School felt after the campus closed in 1991. However, thanks to the hard work, dedication, and persistence of class of 1986 alum, Jack Alexander, among others, the campus will open for one more day as a High School to former students, faculty and staff on July 29, 2023 for an All-Class Reunion.
Opened in 1968, Miraleste High School was the newest campus on The Palos Verdes Peninsula, and its location, high above the Los Angeles Harbor, made it a very desirable campus to attend. It served as a high school for only 22 years, when the School District made the decision to close the campus due to declining enrollment. According to PVPUSD statistics, enrollment at Miraleste was 566 students for the 1990-91 school year, whereas Palos Verdes High School was 1,258, and Rolling Hills, 1,273. With the campus closed, former students no longer had a place for one of the most essential of high school traditions, homecoming. Miraleste alumni have held individual class reunions over the years, but they were always at various locations in the South Bay, not on campus.
Speaking to Jack Alexander about this labor of love, it’s clear how special this event is going to be. Lasting the entire day, the reunion will begin with various sports, taking advantage of the athletic facilities, followed by tours of the campus, including a tribute room at the library, for everyone to pay their respects to classmates and faculty who have passed. Bands comprised of Miraleste alumni will play at several locations on campus throughout the day, culminating with a homecoming dance in the gym. Food trucks will also be on campus for lunch and dinner.
There had been one all class reunion held and organized by the Accardo Family, in the early 90’s, which had a good turnout, but after that, each class held their own reunions. Fast forward to the days of social media, and talk of an all-class reunion began spreading. Said Alexander, “One day, someone posted we should do an All Class Reunion. I am sure I did not see a single post that said it was a bad idea. Some ideas are universally well-received and it stuck with me. A lot. I had done class reunions, and I have heard from some that they liked our class, but they hung out with people in other classes more – so they would not show up. It took me a few years to get the stamina to do a reunion of this size. It is daunting and full of stresses no one can imagine – but the payoff is to finally bring back ALL of the Miraleste alumni and let them have One More Day on campus together.”
Having the reunion on campus is another complicated factor. But Alexander knew it was the key to a successful event. Fate landed him at the Miraleste Campus, where he decided to take a trip down memory lane.
“As I stood in the football stadium, I thought of the games played, I was sad to see the scoreboard was gone (but I still saw the 30-0 score from powderpuff 1986). I walked to the baseball field, locker room and then once I got onto the main campus, I could just feel the ghosts of our past. You physically feel different, there is something about standing where you stood at your locker as a kid now as an adult. It almost spiritually brings you back and, for me, I literally saw the memories in front of my eyes and felt so “at home” for a lack of a better term. It was something I told my family and all my friends about. It was that day I knew everyone should go back – again, just for one day, to the place where they became who they are. To remember the teachers, the classmates, the sights and sounds of years gone by.”
“That is why I wanted to have the ACR be all day and I have gotten the school to run the bells at the regular school schedule. Imagine how it will feel as you sit down on a cafeteria bench with someone you haven’t seen for decades, eating your lunch, and then hearing the bell ring to get back to class? I imagine most of us will have a Pavlovian experience and want to head to our lockers and get to a class.”
Of course, you can’t have a school reunion without music, which can evoke the best memories of days past, and what better resource than those who played at the school, or were in bands outside of class? Getting this list together seemed challenging, but with help, 5 bands will play.
“Once I said I wanted to steer this party, I knew we had to have music”, said Jack. “As a decorated Class of 1986 Party Animal of the Year winner, I know what a good party needs. It needs a soundtrack that everyone can relate to. The music from 1968 – 1991 is the greatest era of music in my opinion and it covers the time we all spent on campus. So, I was aware we had a lot of bands even in our class and started reaching out. Then, I started to get FB messages and I have to give a ton of respect to Tony Lauro as he sent me a bunch of band names. How could you have an event without a band made up of entirely Miraleste alumni?
Music is the soundtrack to life and all the bands have more than graciously donated their time and are playing in various places and various times so each can perform for their classmates. They have donated their time and skills for us – which is typical for Miraleste. All great guys, willing to play for their friends and classmates and willing to help each other be their best.”
Performing throughout the day will be, Grillo and Balestri (1973), Pavlov’s Dog (1981/82), Jukebox (1970/79/80) and Paul Lemire, class of 1991 and Everyday Housewives (1978/79), who will play at the evenings Homecoming Dance.
Not lost on those planning the reunion, and those attending, are the classmates who are no longer with us. As a member of the Class of 1986, we’ve said goodbye to far too many, way before their time, and the idea of opening the library, a space reserved for peace and quiet, is a fitting location to honor those who have passed.
Reflecting on how he hopes the event goes, Alexander said, “In order to plan something like this, something that you think can be really big but also a complete flop, you just have to be ready for anything and everything. I had to take some time and try to visualize what would work for every person who ever attended Miraleste. I know some don’t go to reunions as they weren’t in the cool crowd, others because they had a bad experience, some because they aren’t sure of what to expect, who will be there, what to do, and the list goes on.”
But then he realized, “ ‘One More Day’. I mean, you see it in movies, you think about it late at night, you talk about it with your old friends – what if we could go back to high school for just one day and that really is the theme”.
At the end of our talk, Jack said his ultimate hope for the day is something Coach Jim Valvano famously said:
“To me there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think -- spend some time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think and cry, that's a heck of a day.”
One more heck of a day.
The Miraleste High School All-Class Reunion will be held on Saturday, July 29, 2023 on the campus of Miraleste Intermediate School. 29323 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275, from 8am to 10pm.
Tickets can be purchased online, at:
Amy (Barber) Bergant is a proud Miraleste High School alumna, who grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes.
She attended the University of Southern California, getting her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from The Annenberg School for Journalism, where she was also a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She currently lives in South Redondo Beach with her husband of almost 25 years, twin 14 year old daughters, and their 2 cats, George and Henry. When not chauffering her kids around, she enjoys hanging out with friends, eating good food, listening to great music, watching ridiculous television shows and going to the beach.