The Seniors. The Schools. The Year.

Know all the seniors in the Class of ‘99?

We can.

There are 28,747 seniors named in this section--hopefully, all are spelled right (we got them from computerized lists from each school). Sure, the type is small, but if we ran everyone’s name in headline type, you wouldn’t be able to carry this thing.

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‘99 is oh so fine.

But by next year, the 1900s, the 1990s, even the great Class of ’99 will be history.

Everything will be coming up twosies (as in Class of 2000) and in four digits (not OK to just say 00, or OhOh, or whatever).

But this year, the Class of ’99 reigns. And deservedly so. Its members include Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard of Irvine High and technology magazine writer Brian Goldfarb of Canyon High. Yousuke Hamai of Dana Hills High invented a working ellipse compass, and Naomi Tomimatsu of Foothill High performed in a Joffrey Ballet summer-program production of “The Nutcracker.”

Want to know more about ‘99’s accomplishments? We have tons more to tell you.

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Campus Grande. . .

There are small schools--some tiny private schools have only one member of the Class of ‘99--and big ones, such as Los Alamitos High, with 680 seniors this year.

Number of Orange County high schools with:

* More than 600 seniors: 4

* More than 500 seniors: 10

* More than 400 seniors: 22

* More than 300 seniors: 20

OK, quickly:

Which Orange County high school did

* Sugar Ray’s lead singer, Mark McGrath, go to? (Page XX)

* “Saturday Night Live” comic Will Ferrell attend? (Page XX)

* No Doubt’s front woman, Gwen Stefani, graduate from? (Page XX)

That and other stuff about Orange County’s high schools is on the pages that follow--we’ve profiled 70 of them.

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Brains nearly melted . . .

How many Orange County seniors do you think were brainiac enough to pull off a 1600 on the SAT?

A) 1

B) 4

C) 7

D) 12

E) 28,747

(If you chose E, you’re wrong--it’s a very tough test. If you chose D, you are right. We name names on Page XX.)

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Can you spot talent?

Match the student with his or her claim to fame:

1) Emily Sanderson of Katella High

2) Justin Lo of Newport Harbor High

3) Miggy Fagins of Buena Park High

4) Andrew Bermond of Savanna High

5) Jackie Sepulveda of Santa Margarita Catholic High

A) “I can touch my tongue to my nose--and I mean full-on, getting-it-wet touching.”

B) “I am always late, always hungry and always wanting to sleep.”

C) “I exchanged autographs with John Travolta.”

D) “A picture of my rear end at 6 months old appeared on ABC’s ‘Fridays’ with the words ‘The End’ over it in 1980.”

E) “When I was little, I loved to enter coloring contests. Winning them gave me confidence in myself as an artist.”

Answers: Real simple--we didn’t mix them up!

Cher & Cher alike, we’ve always said . . .

Her career started decades of graduating classes ago and has had more sideways flips than that long, black hair. So who could have predicted that Cher would make yet another comeback? Sure enough, she’s got a new hit single, “Believe,” out there. Apparently, more than one of our seniors saw it coming--and going.

Among their predictions for the next millennium:

“ ‘80s music becomes ‘oldies.’ Cher will have a new singing career.”--Andrew Albers of Century High

“Cher will become unpopular again and then rise back to popularity, and then fall in popularity, and then become popular again . . . .”--Bret Taboada of Estancia High

If Cher does make a full-scale comeback (perhaps with a new rendition of “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”?), we feel confident there will be those ready and able to sing along.

Need proof? See these claims to fame:

“I’m able to name or sing along to almost any ‘80s song ever to hit the charts.”--Vernon Liang of Irvine High

“I can tell you anything about ‘80s music.”--Jessica Johnson of Ocean View High

Extreme Yearbooks. . .

We don’t think you’ll find another yearbook quite like the one you’re reading now, but enough about us.

You probably won’t find a yearbook quite like the one put together by the Tri-School Theatre Conservatory either.

Three high schools--Rosary, Servite and Connelly--pooled their talents to create “Yearbook: The High School Musical.” Begun in 1992 as a workshop production in the Tri-School Theatre, students were invited to share stories that were then incorporated in the show’s script. In the years since, “Yearbook” has been revised and polished.

The payoff: an invitation to perform the musical at the end of this month at the International Thespian Festival in Nebraska. And national honors for the Tri-School Theatre awarded by the Educational Theater Assn./International Thespian Society.

The musical will be presented Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Pearson Park Amphitheater in Anaheim. Tickets $12; available at the door or in advance. Call: (714) 774-7575, Ext. 155.

Wait. Before you turn the page . . .

We need to say thanks. This yearbook section wouldn’t have happened without the help of hundreds of students and staff members at Orange County high schools.