- Mercer Island High School
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Mercer Island High School 
Location Mercer Island, Washington, USA Information Type Public Established 1957 Principal Patricia Blix (interim) Asst. Principal Craig Olson Teaching staff 67.6 FTE[1] Grades 9-12 Enrolment 1,424[1] Campus Suburban Mascot Snail (unofficial) Nickname Islanders Affiliation Mercer Island School District Awards National Blue Ribbon School Award Website http://www.misd.k12.wa.us/schools/hs/ Mercer Island High School (MIHS) is a public high school located in Mercer Island, Washington in the U.S., as part of the Mercer Island School District.
As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,460 students and 67.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 21.7.[1]
Contents
Awards and recognition
During the 2006-07 school year, Mercer Island High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[2][3] the highest award an American school can receive.[4][5]
Academics
Featuring average SAT scores of 635 in math and 613 in verbal,[6] Mercer Island also features the highest Washington Assessment of Student Learning scores statewide.[7] Additionally, more than 95% of graduates pursue higher education.[8]
Class offerings include special education, honors, and AP classes. KMIH 88.9 FM is a student-run radio station and also an educational class at Mercer Island High School.[9]
Music Program
With regard to the MIHS music program, consisting of the concert bands, the marching band, the jazz bands, and the steel drum bands (conducted by Parker Bixby), over 300 students annually participate—about 25% the MIHS student population. It so is then one of the largest of its sort,[10] and since Anno Domini 1976,[11][12] under marvellous leadership,[13] such as aforementioned has made itself to be of the best known. In addition to participation with the 2011 London, England New Year’s Day Parade & Festival[14][15][16][17][18][18][19][20][21] by royal patronage,[22] the many year exploitation has yielded a number of achievements[11][12]:
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- Selected as one of 50 Grammy Signature Schools in recognition for exceptional achievement in arts education 1998-99 & 2002-03
- Competitor & performer, Tournament of Roses & Parade; Pasadena, California 1993, 2006, & 2012
- Invited performer 2011 London New Year's Day Parade
- Invited performer 2010 WMEA State Convention
- Completed a successful ten day cultural and musical exchange in China during 2008
- Sugar Bowl; New Orleans, Louisiana 1991
- Superior Ratings at national festivals including the Dixie Classic Invitational in Washington, DC, and the Heritage Concert Band Festival in Chicago, Illinois
- Consistent superior ratings in local and regional festivals
- Over 50 students selected to participate in the All-State and All Northwest honor ensembles during the last 5 years
- 4 Students Selected to the National Wind Ensemble under the direction of H. Robert Reynolds
- Performed with world-class musicians such as composer/conductor, Hummie Mann, and composer/performer, Allen Vizzutti (both parents of students)
- Featured performer at Seattle Seahawks gridiron football games
- Invited performer at the 2009 MLS Cup
Athletics
Cheerleaders
Mercer Island High School was honored by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association as the 3A Wells Fargo Scholastic Cup Champion for the 2005-06 school year, based on State championship victories in boys' track and field, boys' golf, boys' swimming and diving and boys' tennis.[23]
Girls Swim and Dive had an undefeated season in 2009 ending it by winning the State Championship. Boys Swim and Dive also went undefeated in the 2009-2010 season, and went on to win their fifth consecutive State title.
The girls and boys tennis teams have won a combined 41 State championships since 1972.[24]
The basketball team, formally coached by all-time Washington state wins leader Ed Pepple,[25] recorded its first losing season in 38 years in 2006.
In 1981 Mercer Island Basketball Team lost the AAA State basketball final game to Shadle Park in a controversial decision. At 64-65 to Mercer Island, a last second shot by Shadle Park "depending on who you are listening to, either clearly did or clearly didn’t beat the air horn."[26][27] Though Shadle Park won the game, it is recorded as a "win" in the Islanders official school records.
Boys swimming was rated first in its class by the 2006-07 NISCA National Dual Meet Team Rankings.[28]
The sailing team was Olympic medaled silver on two occasions. The noted championships are only a minute fraction of the total historical county, State, and national championships that Mercer Island High School has achieved. Those are listed on the walls of the primary sport courts, id est: drill team won State of Washington and King County championships during 2006; water polo & lacrosse are ranked nationally and have won national and international championships consecutive years; sailing; track & field; cross country; golf; baseball; basketball; gridiron football; tennis; squash; wrestling; soccer football; cheerleading; volleyball; gymnastics; softball.
Notable alumni
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- Steve Bunin ('92), ESPN commentator.
- Robert Meyer Burnett ('85), Hollywood film writer, director and producer. Wrote and directed 1998's indie hit Free Enterprise.
- Stanley Ann Dunham ('60), mother of U.S. President Barack Obama.[29][30]
- Steve Hawes, played ten seasons (1974–84) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, and Seattle SuperSonics.[31]
- Adrian Hanauer, owner of the Pacific Coast Feather Co., he is also the minority owner and general manager of Seattle Sounders FC.
- Pete Higgins, co-founder of Second Avenue Partners and former Group Vice President of Microsoft Corporation.
- Aaron Levie ('02), Co-founder of Box.net.
- Daniel Lorenz Johnson ('92), permaculture activist and artist. Co-founder of World Naked Bike Ride and Body Freedom Collaborative.
- David Kirtman ('01), fullback for the New Orleans Saints.[32]
- Joel McHale ('90), stars as Jeff Winger in NBC's Community, and host of E! Entertainment Television's The Soup.[33]
- Annie Parisse ('93), actress who has been featured on Law & Order and As the World Turns.[34]
- Owen Pochman ('95), played for the New York Giants in 2001 and San Francisco 49ers in 2003.[35]
- Karen Russell, attorney and legal commentator.
- Ethan Sandler ('91), writer and actor.
- Dylan Smith ('02), Co-founder of Box.net.
- Quin Snyder ('85) basketball coach.[36]
- Mary Wayte, ('83) Olympic gold medalist in the 200m freestyle in 1984.
- Sean White ('99), Former pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, currently in the Colorado Rockies minor league system.
- Peter Daniel Young ('95), animal rights activist
References
- ^ a b c Mercer Island High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2007.
- ^ Tuinstra, Rachel. "3 Eastside schools get top honor; "Blue Ribbon" designation - Mercer Island High, Wellington, Pine Lake get national recognition", The Seattle Times, September 23, 2006. Accessed October 16, 2007.
- ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 Through 2007 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
- ^ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
- ^ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
- ^ Mercer Island High School Instruction and Assessment team: "SAT Scores." Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ The Seattle Times: "Eastside WASL scores mirror state's, including dips"
- ^ Mercer Island High School Profile (pdf), see page 4
- ^ KMIH-FM 889.9 MHz, radio-locator.com. Accessed November 28, 2007.
- ^ [1] 30 December 2010
- ^ a b [2] 30 December 2010
- ^ a b [3] 30 December 2010
- ^ [4] 30 December 2010
- ^ [5] 30 December 2010
- ^ [6] 30 December 2010
- ^ [7] 30 December 2010
- ^ [8] 30 December 2010
- ^ a b [9] 30 December 2010
- ^ [10] 30 December 2010
- ^ [11] 30 December 2010
- ^ [12] 30 December 2010
- ^ [13] 30 December 2010
- ^ "WIAA 4A/3A Scholastic Cup Champions", Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Accessed October 16, 2007.
- ^ WIAA State Championship History, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. Accessed February 28, 2008. See Classifications 3A and 4A, boys and girls tennis.
- ^ The Final Score: "Washington basketball coaches career win-loss records." Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/mir/sports/42205207.html
- ^ http://www.basketball.org/%E2%80%9Cby-the-way-the-shot-was-late%E2%80%9D/
- ^ "2006-07 NISCA National Dual Meet Team Rankings" retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ Jones, Tim. "Family portraits: Strong personalities shaped a future senator, Barack Obama.", Chicago Tribune, March 27, 2007. Accessed May 21, 2008. "For Wall and a few dozen others, Obama on the campaign trail often brings to mind Stanley Ann Dunham, Obama's mother and a strong-willed, unconventional member of the Mercer Island High School graduating class of 1960."
- ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw11252007/2004023329_pacificpjeanie25.html
- ^ Steve Hawes, Basketball-Reference.com. Accessed November 28, 2007.
- ^ David Kirtman, CSTV. Accessed December 10, 2007.
- ^ Brodeur, Nicole. "From Mercer Island, jumping into "The Soup"", The Seattle Times, August 22, 2004. Accessed October 6, 2007.
- ^ Annemarie Cancelmi, As the World Turns. Accessed December 10, 2007. "Graduated from Mercer Island High School, near Seattle, WA."
- ^ Popper, Steve. "PRO FOOTBALL; Fledgling Punter Steps Forward After Six-Year Layoff to Do the Kicking for the Giants", The New York Times, November 10, 2001. Accessed November 28, 2007. "Owen Pochman remembers the last time he stood behind the line of scrimmage waiting for the ball to be snapped to him for a punt. It was at Mercer Island High School in Washington, where, a proud Pochman says, he never had a punt blocked."
- ^ via Associated press. "Missouri coach Quin Snyder resigns", The Seattle Times, February 10, 2006. Accessed May 20, 2008. "Snyder, a graduate of Mercer Island High School, spoke to his team before practice today and said he was leaving."
External links
Categories:- Blue Ribbon schools in Washington (state)
- High schools in King County, Washington
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