Olympia High School (Olympia, Washington)

Olympia High School
Address
1302 North St.
Olympia, Washington
USA
Coordinates 47°01′07″N 122°53′05″W / 47.01861°N 122.88472°W / 47.01861; -122.88472Coordinates: 47°01′07″N 122°53′05″W / 47.01861°N 122.88472°W / 47.01861; -122.88472
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.osd.wednet.edu

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]

History

Olympia High School opened in 1882 as additional public schooling beyond 1-8 curriculum, and graduated its first class in 1886. 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.

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
SeasonSportNumber of ChampionshipsYear
FallCross Country, Girls'11978
Football21953, 1984
Golf, Boys'11996
Swimming, Girls'11987
Volleyball, Girls'21998, 2011
WinterBasketball, Boys'21929, 1986
Swimming, Boys'31956, 1957, 1985
SpringGolf, Girls'11998
Tennis, Boys'41983, 1984, 1998, 2012
Tennis, Girls'12006
Track and Field, Boys'21932, 1998
Track and Field, Girls'12006
Total19

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

References

  1. ↑ http://olympia.osd.wednet.edu/administration/1matt_grant_-_principal
  2. ↑ http://osd.wednet.edu/media/spr/200607/olympia_spr_06-07.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.theolympian.com//2013/05/07/2536068/olympia-high-school-named-among.html?storylink=fb
  4. ↑ http://www.wiaa.com/leagues/
  5. ↑ Booming. "1979 Grammy Best New Artist". The New York Times. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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