What are high schools like in California?

What are high schools like in California?
Hi, I live in Sydney Australia and am in year ten and considering six months exchange next year in San Diego, California. Can anyone (preferably teens and students or their parents) tell me what the local high school/s are like, eg. when terms begin and end, whats the deal with cafeterias, etc? Just because I wont be going with an exchange program I'd be staying with family. Any details are appreciated, I'm curious! Thanks!
Primary & Secondary Education - 1 Answers

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I went to Poway High School in california, in san diego county. The semester starts and ends the same time as any other school in the country, the exact day might be a little different but they all start sometime in september and end some time in late may/early july. From what I've seen there usually aren't cafeterias per se in high schools. they usually have lunch carts that you can buy overpriced crappy food from (at least that's how it was at my school and all the others in my district). The school's really aren't that great in California. I'd seriously consider going there to study if you really want to learn anything. If you're just going for the experience, well, you will definitely get to experience the superficial, shallow american lifestyle in California. But be prepared to not learn anything, I know I didn't learn a goddamned thing in high school, and I passed with a 3.2 average. Basically, those schools are designed so even the retarded kids can pass the same classes as everyone else (i.e. they dumb down all the class so the stupid kids can pass).