Seneca Valley High School

For the high school located in Pennsylvania, see Seneca Valley School District.
Seneca Valley High School
Address
19401 Crystal Rock Drive
Germantown, Maryland 20874
United States
Coordinates 39°10′30″N 77°15′52″W / 39.17500°N 77.26444°W / 39.17500; -77.26444Coordinates: 39°10′30″N 77°15′52″W / 39.17500°N 77.26444°W / 39.17500; -77.26444
Information
Type Public secondary
Motto Soaring Towards Excellence
Established 1974
School district Montgomery County Public Schools
Principal Marc Cohen
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 1,349 (2008)
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Kelly green and gold
Mascot Screaming Eagle
Rival Northwest High School
Newspaper The Talon
Website SVHS website

Seneca Valley High School (SVHS) is an American public high school (grades 9-12) in Germantown, Maryland. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools. As of 2005, its enrollment was 1,700 but with the opening of new schools in the area it has dropped to a little less than 1,400 students.

History

Seneca Valley High School sits on land which was once the site of a dairy farm owned by baseball player Walter Perry Johnson, having been purchased by him in 1935. Johnson lived there with his five children and his mother, as his wife died, until his death in 1946.[1]

1970s

Seneca Valley High School opened in 1974 as the first high school in Germantown and remained the only one until 1998, when Northwest High School opened. In its first year of operation, the 1974 to 1975 school year, under Principal Nathan Pearson, Seneca Valley hosted students grades seven through ten. In the following 1975 to 1976 school year, the school operated grades nine through eleven, with 8th graders transferring to the newly opened Ridgeview Junior High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. During the 1976 to 1977 school year, Seneca Valley transformed into what was then a senior high school, hosting grades ten through twelve, graduating its first class in June 1977.

1980s

Finally in 1988, Seneca Valley changed to the present state of full-fledged high school with grades 9-12.

1990s

The class of 1992, was the first to graduate all upper high school years in one facility.

2010s

The existing school building, built in the 1970s, is due to be demolished, with a new one to be built in its place by the end of 2020.[2][3]

Programs

As of 2010, Seneca Valley was deemed an IB school, meaning that they offer the rigorous International Baccalaureate program. SVHS previously used to offer the Cambridge program, which was linked to Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, but the program was phased out with the class of 2011.

The Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NJROTC) unit at Seneca Valley High School was established in 1983. Seneca Valley's NJROTC unit is a recipient of the Distinguished Unit Award and the award of "Most Improved Unit" for the 2006-2007 school year.

Sports

The school colors are Kelly green and gold, and the mascot is the Screaming Eagle. Seneca Valley's football biggest rivalry is with fellow Germantown neighbor, Northwest High School.

Seneca Valley's football team is one of the most accomplished public school programs in Maryland history. They have a record 12 state football championships, with the most recent title coming in 2002. Seneca Valley won the state title in 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2002.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ Germantown Historical Society. "Germantown's History, A Brief Overview". Germantown Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2013. Johnson bought his dream farm in Germantown in 1935 and lived here with his five children and his mother, his wife having died, until his own death in 1946. His dairy farm was located where Seneca Valley High School is today. He was elected by the local people to two terms as a County Commissioner.
  2. ↑ https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Rice/Resources/Files/GermantownCommunityMeeting.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.germantownpulse.net/#!School-Board-Approves-Preliminary-Plans-for-New-Seneca-Valley-High-School/cjds/C40744DB-F1F0-4F84-9668-1B86CE7654E0
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