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
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.

Information

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] The school's 2012 Boys' Golf team was known throughout the state for their eclectic style of teamwork, often incorporating occult rituals, philosophic debates, impressionist artwork, and even terrain alteration into their unique strategy.

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.

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. ↑ http://www.olyscat.com/
  6. ↑ Booming. "1979 Grammy Best New Artist". The New York Times.
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