Olympia High School (Olympia, Washington)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2007) |
| Olympia High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
1302 North St. , | |
| Coordinates | 47°01′07″N 122°53′05″W / 47.01861°N 122.88472°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Motto | We, the Olympia High School Community, are dedicated to personal excellence and responsible citizenship. |
| Established | 1882, 1907 became William Winlock Miller |
| School district | Olympia School District 111 |
| Principal | Matt Grant[1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1850 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Blue and White |
| Mascot | The Bear ("Pepper") |
| Yearbook | The Olympiad |
| Website | olympia |
Olympia High School (OHS), commonly referred to as Oly, is a public high school in the southeast part of Olympia, Washington along the city's border with Tumwater. As the first of two comprehensive high schools in the Olympia School District, it also is one of the oldest public secondary schools in the state of Washington.[2][citation needed]
History
Olympia High School opened in 1882 as additional public schooling beyond 1-8 curriculum, and graduated its first class in 1886.[citation needed] OHS shared a few locations with elementary schools before having its own building in 1907, when OHS became officially named William Winlock Miller School [sic], a high school. The 1907 building was built on a square block donated by the widow of pioneer leader William Winlock Miller on ground immediately east of the today's sunken gardens, part of the Washington State Capitol Campus. That building burned in 1918, its Tenino sandstone was salvaged in 1920 to construct the face of the Power House on Capitol Lake, used to heat Washington's permanent capitol campus that proceeded in construction.[citation needed]
The next structure for W.W. Miller High School was built in 1919 between 12th and 13th Streets on Capitol Way because the state had purchased the land near the sunken garden to increase the Capitol grounds. An auditorium, gymnasium, and more classrooms were added to that building in 1926; however, any further expansion on this site was impossible. As the school's capacity needed increasing, 40 acres (160,000 m2) between Carlyon Avenue and North Street were purchased.
Until 1955, Oly drew students from all of Thurston County, WA, except its most southern reaches. But Oly's catchment area split in 1955 with the creation North Thurston High School, then split again in 1961 as Tumwater High School opened, then once again with the spawning of Capital High School in 1975. Today's location of OHS opened in 1961, and underwent a full renovation, completed in the summer of 2000 that enclosed the 9 separate buildings of the 1961 design.
Currently in 2017, Olympia High School provides a variety of "school lunches", the most notable of these meals goes by the name of "Oly-Bear Nuggets". These nuggets, consisting of chicken and oil, are one the most popular school served meals on campus, providing well needed sustenance for the students at OHS.
Information
- 56% scored 3, 4, or 5 on AP tests
- Drop out rate: 11.47%
- Graduation Rate: 91.6% (2016)
- SAT Score Average: verbal = 560, Math = 556
- 58 Vocational Class Offerings
- Cooperative agreement with New Market Vocational Skills Center
- Alternative programs provided in the areas of: Direct Instruction in Reading and Math, Academic Contractual Learning, and Social Affective Block for students with adjustment needs.
Olympia High School was recently included in Newsweek's "America's Best High Schools" for 2013—the only Thurston County high school to receive the honor.[3]
Sports
Olympia High School is a 4A-division member of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.[4] Olympia High School is known for their athletics teams consistently placing in the top 10 for the 4A classification.
| State Championships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
| Fall | Cross Country, Girls' | 1 | 1978 |
| Football | 2 | 1953, 1984 | |
| Golf, Boys' | 1 | 1996 | |
| Swimming, Girls' | 1 | 1987 | |
| Volleyball, Girls' | 2 | 1998, 2011 | |
| Winter | Basketball, Boys' | 2 | 1929, 1986 |
| Swimming, Boys' | 3 | 1956, 1957, 1985 | |
| Spring | Golf, Girls' | 1 | 1998 |
| Tennis, Boys' | 4 | 1983, 1984, 1998, 2012 | |
| Tennis, Girls' | 1 | 2006 | |
| Track and Field, Boys' | 2 | 1932, 1998 | |
| Track and Field, Girls' | 1 | 2006 | |
| Total | 19 | ||
State Championships, second place:
Boys' Basketball - 1987, 1998; Girls' Golf - 1997; Girls' Gymnastics - 1998; Girls' Soccer - 1988, 1995; Boys' Swimming - 1958, 1970, 1972; Girls' Swimming - 1989, 1995; Boys' Tennis - 1979, 1982, 1990, 2007; Girls' Tennis - 1982, 1999; Girls' Volleyball - 1981
Clubs
Olympia High School offers a wide variety of clubs.
- Rotary Interact
- Earth Corps
- Robotics Club
- Open Books Open Minds (OBOM)
- Programming Club
- STAND
- QSA (Queer-Straight Alliance)
- Key Club
- Bear Crew
- French Club
- German Club
- DECA
- Drama club
- FBLA
- Journalism
- Guitar Club
- Yearbook
- Student Government
- Knowledge Bowl (State Champions: 1983, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2011, 2014, 2015)
- Book Review Club
- Science Fiction Club
- Art Club
- Pokemon Club
- Speech and Debate
- DotDiva
- Hiking Club
- Philosophy Club
Notable alumni
- General Muir S. Fairchild, 1913, Vice Chief of Staff for USAF, first Academy commander, key air war strategist in World War II, World War I Flyboy
- Eric Alexander, '86, Jazz musician
- Gerry L. Alexander, '54, Chief Justice, Washington State Supreme Court
- Floyd Brown, '80, author, speaker and media commentator
- Adam Conley, '08, current MLB player (Miami Marlins)
- Gretchen Christopher, '58, singer, The Fleetwoods
- Bruce P. Crandall, '51, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army (Ret.) (helicopter pilot, call sign "Snake", in movie We Were Soldiers)
- Daniella Deutscher, '94, actress
- Barbara Ellis, '58, singer, The Fleetwoods
- Ira Flagstead, former MLB player (Detroit Tigers, Boston Braves, Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Rickie Lee Jones, '74, singer, songwriter, producer[5]
- Kathleen Hays, '70, financial reporter on the Bloomberg TV network
- Douglas Massey, '70, professor of sociology and former President (2000–01) of the American Sociological Association
- Bill Moos '69, Director of Athletics at the University of Nebraska
- Moon Mullen, former MLB player (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Joy Osmanski, '93, actress, television series The Loop
- Don Rich, '59, guitarist/fiddler/band leader for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos
- Travis Shook, '86, jazz musician
- Irene Stewart, '75, Seattle School Board member
- Gary Troxel, '58, singer, The Fleetwoods
References
- ^ http://olympia.osd.wednet.edu/administration/1matt_grant_-_principal
- ^ http://osd.wednet.edu/media/spr/200607/olympia_spr_06-07.pdf
- ^ http://www.theolympian.com//2013/05/07/2536068/olympia-high-school-named-among.html?storylink=fb
- ^ http://www.wiaa.com/leagues/
- ^ Booming. "1979 Grammy Best New Artist". The New York Times.
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