Mt. Spokane High School

Mt. Spokane High School
"Dignity, Class, and Respect."
Location
6015 East Mt. Spokane Park Drive Mead, Washington 99021 USA
Information
Type	Public High School
Established	1997
School district	Mead School District
Principal	John Hook
Vice principal	Jim Preston Brenda Goehring
Staff	133
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1382[1]
Campus size	77.80 acres (31.48 ha)
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Navy Blue, Cardinal, White
Athletics	WIAA 3A
Athletics conference	Greater Spokane League
Mascot	Wildcat
Rival	Mead Senior High School
National ranking	1177
Newspaper	The Peak
Yearbook	Summit
Feeder schools	Mountainside Middle School
Website	Official website

Mt. Spokane High School is a public high school located in Mead, Washington. It is located several miles north of Spokane and has a student body that currently enrolls 1,382 students in grades 9-12.^[1] The school opened in 1997, and had its first graduating class in 1999.^[2] Mt. Spokane is one of two high schools in the Mead School District, the other being Mead High School.

Throughout its history, Mt. Spokane has shown excellence through its academics. In the 2007-08 school year, Mt. Spokane had an on-time graduation rate of 95.1%, beating the Washington state average of 72.0% during the 2007-08 school year.^[3] In the first semester of the 2009-10 school year, Mt. Spokane had 478 of its students qualify for the honor roll, which required students to get a 3.5 GPA or higher.^[4]

History

Mt. Spokane High School opened its doors in the fall of 1997 as "Mt. Spokane-Mead High School". The name was changed to Mt. Spokane High School by request of the attending students during the first two years of being open. Mt. Spokane saw its first graduating class in 1999. The class of 2012, with 413 students, is the largest class to attend the high school as of 2010.

Location and structure

Mt. Spokane High School's courtyard. You can see four of the five sculptures in the picture.

Mt. Spokane's courtyard in HDR.

The school is located several miles from Mount Spokane among the many wheat fields populating the Mead area. The school itself has a functional, quarter-circle design with a courtyard in the center. The sculptures within the courtyard, known as "The Circle of Friends", were designed by local sculptor Harold Balazs, also known for designing the Rotary Fountain at Riverfront Park.

Extracurricular activities

DECA

Throughout the Thirteen years of Mt. Spokane's DECA involvement, over 700 students have qualified for state, and over 75 students have qualified for nationals.^[5]

In 2011, Mt. Spokane qualified fifty six competitors from our DECA regional competition to the Washington State Competition.^{[citation needed]} Mt. Spokane also won the 1st annual Bill Christiansen trophy for the top school in Area 11. Following several victories at the state competition, six MSHS students attended DECA's International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida. Washington DECA is known for having fierce competition at the state level, and thus even winning the right to attend a national competition is considered an honor.

In 2007, 6 students went to nationals in Orlando, and in 2008 four more students qualified for nationals in Atlanta.^[6] In 2010, the Mt. Spokane DECA program again qualified four students for Nationals.^[7]

In 2010 and 2011, Mt. Spokane was named one of many schools to be "Gold Level Re-Certified" for its high standards for a model school store operation.^[8]

Debate

Debate at Mt. Spokane is a co-curricular class that focuses on both speech and debate where students learn and practice research techniques, organization skills, analysis, and public speaking.

In 2010, the Mt. Spokane Debate team was awarded the "3A Academic State Champions" award for the 2009-10 season.^[9] During that same season, Mt. Spokane also earned 3rd place at the 2010 3A Speech Tournament.^[10] There were three student finalists for this tournament, in categories that included "Impromptu", "Dramatic Interpretation", and "Oratory".^[10]

Clubs

Mt. Spokane has many clubs that students can be a part of. Clubs offered at Mt. Spokane include: Debate, DECA, French Club, German Club, History Day, National Honor Society, Knowledge Bowl, Math Club, Mock Trial, Robotics Club, Chivalry Club, Eco Club, Ultimate Frisbee Club, Improv Club, Ski & Snowboard Club, Video Production Club, Yearbook, Gamers Club, WDFY, and Young Republicans and Democrats.ref name="http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?p=234">"Mead School District: Clubs". Mt. Spokane. http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?p=234. Retrieved July 20, 2010. </ref>

Club	Advisor
Debate	Anya Gumke
DECA	Dave Whitehead
French Club	Millayna Klingback
German Club	Angelika Wilson-Wipp
History Day	Luke Thomas
National Honor Society	Chris Pelton
Knowledge Bowl	Paul Kautzman
Math Club	Cheryl Mockel
Mock Trial	Jessica Shoemaker
Ski & Snowboard Club	Bob Ganahl
Video Production Club	Bob Ganahl
WDFY	Nancy Butz
Yearbook	Ashley Byrne
Young Republicans and Democrats	Paul Kautzman

Athletics

Mt. Spokane offers a wide variety of athletics, including sports such as: baseball, football, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, softball, track and field, and volleyball.^[11]

Baseball

The current varsity baseball coach for Mt. Spokane is Alex Schuerman, who is assisted by assistant coaches Darin Rinck and Gregg Hare.^[12] During his thirteen seasons of coaching baseball, Schuerman has acquired an overall record of 100-56 and has received two GSL titles and one state appearance.^[13] Also, Coach Schuerman has made many baseball projects possible, including receiving a scoreboard for the varsity baseball field.^[14]

In the 2010 season, the Mt. Spokane Baseball Team finished with a record of 18-5 (17-3 GSL).^[15] They tied Central Valley High School as the 2010 GSL Champions.^[16]

Football

The official banner to show Mt. Spokane being the 2009 GSL Champions.

The current head coach of the varsity football team is Mike McLaughlin.^[17] McLaughlin has been named the "2009 GSL Coach of the Year", while his assistant coach, Terry Cloer, has earned the "2009 GSL Assistant Coach of the Year".^[18]

During the 2009 season, the Mt. Spokane varsity football team received a record of 10-2.^[19] Their record during that season was almost 9-3 after an appeal was made to determine if Mt. Spokane was required to forfeit a game against East Valley because they allowed an academically ineligible player to play during the last two plays of the game.^[20] However, it was determined that the player did not affect the outcome the game, so Mt. Spokane did not have to forfeit.^[21]

Basketball

Men's basketball

The current head coach of the men's varsity basketball team is Greg Hannan, who has been the head coach of Mt. Spokane for one season.^[22]

During the 2010 season, the Mt. Spokane varsity men's basketball team finished with an overall record of 1-19.^[23] The only win of their basketball season came from a 63-58 win over Lake Roosevelt.^[24]

Women's basketball

The current head coach of the women's varsity basketball team is Melissa Allen, who has been head coach for one season.^[25]

During the 2010 season, the team received an overall record of 5-18.^[26]

Volleyball

Mt. Spokane has had 4 consecutive state appearances under the leadership of John Reid. In 2010 the team finished 4th in the state, after finishing 2nd in 2009, and 7th in 2008.

Traditions

Battle of the Bell

Battle of the Bell is an annual football game between Mt. Spokane High School and its district rival, Mead High School.^[27] The winner of the game earns the right to possess the Bell for one year, until the date of the next Battle of the Bell. Mt. Spokane won the bell in 2009 after a four year losing streak. Mt. Spokane again won the bell for the second consecutive time in 2010.

Pack The Palace

Pack The Palace is the annual varsity basketball game played at Mt. Spokane against their rival Mead High School. Mt. Spokane lost during the 2009 season after beating Mead earlier in the season. Mt. Spokane won the Pack the Palace game in the 2010-2011 school year.

Senior Bus Picture

Every year, the senior class takes a photo with school buses as the backdrop. These pictures are displayed in the commons.

Notable Alumni

Jess Roskelley, class of 2001, became the youngest American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, via the North Col route in 2003.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Mount Spokane High School - Mead, Washington". greatschools.org. http://www.greatschools.org/washington/mead/1018-Mount-Spokane-High-School/. Retrieved July 17, 2010. 
2. ^ "GSL school information - KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho". khq.com. http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?s=6844853. Retrieved July 17, 2010. 
3. ^ "Washington State Report Card". OSPI. http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?schoolId=2763&OrgType=4&reportLevel=School&year=2008-09. Retrieved July 17, 2010. 
4. ^ "Celebrating Academic Success". Wildcat eNews. http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?p=12032. Retrieved July 18, 2010. 
5. ^ "Mt Spokane High School - Mead, Washington/WA - Public School Profile". Public School Review. http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/86820. Retrieved July 18, 2010. 
6. ^ "Wildcat Report May 2007". Wildcat Report. http://www.mead354.org/uploaded/Mt_Spokane_High_School/Newsletter/Wildcat_Report_May_2007.pdf. Retrieved July 18, 2010. 
7. ^ "Wildcat eNews May 2010". Wildcat eNews. http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?p=12116. Retrieved July 18, 2010. 
8. ^ "DECA's School-based Enterprise - Certification Program/DECA Certified School Stores". School Based Enterprises. http://www.schoolbasedenterprises.org/decacertified.htm. Retrieved July 18, 2010. 
9. ^ "Mead School District: Debate". Mt. Spokane Debate Team. http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?p=10017. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "Mead School District: Debate". Mt. Spokane Debate Team. http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?id=10017&show=bulletin&allbulletins=true. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
11. ^ "Mead School District: Athletics". Mt. Spokane Athletic Director. http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?p=265. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
12. ^ "Mt. Spokane Baseball Coaches". mtspokanebaseball.com. http://www.mtspokanebaseball.com/coaches.html. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
13. ^ "Mt. Spokane Baseball". mtspokanebaseball.com. http://www.mtspokanebaseball.com/index.html. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
14. ^ "Mt. Spokane Score Board Installation". mtspokanebaseball.com. http://www.mtspokanebaseball.com/projects.html. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
15. ^ "High School boys hardball :: spokesmanreview.com". The Spokesman Review. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/preps/hardball/listgames_team.asp?gender=boys&teamName=Mt.+Spokane. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
16. ^ "CV, Mt. Spokane share baseball title - Sportslink - Spokesman.com - May 6, 2010". The Spokesman Review. http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sportslink/2010/may/06/cv-mt-spiokane-share-baseball-title/. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
17. ^ "Mt. Spokane Football:Wildcats aim to be king of mountain : HomeTeam Sports". HomeTeam Sports. http://htsports.org/u-hi-footballwildcats-aim-to-be-king-of-the-mountain. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
18. ^ "Football". Mt. Spokane Football. http://coldfusion.mead.k12.wa.us/mtsp/staff1/figueira/Football.htm. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
19. ^ "High School Football :: spokesmanreview.com". mtspokanebaseball.com. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/preps/football/listgames_team.asp?gender=&teamName=Mt.+Spokane. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
20. ^ "Mt. Spokane to appeal penalty for rules of violation". SWX Right Now. http://www.swxrightnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11369422. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
21. ^ "Mt. Spokane may forfeit EV victory". The Spokesman Review. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/23/mt-spokane-may-forfeit-ev-victory/. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
22. ^ "Mead School District: MSHS Staff". Mt. Spokane High School. http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?p=230&viewdirid=1553&&start=41. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
23. ^ "Mt. Spokane Wildcats High School Basketball Schedule - MaxPreps". MaxPreps. http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/kxJS69ODFEuL2RRh3ZKv6g/mt-spokane-wildcats/basketball/schedule.htm. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
24. ^ "High School boys basketball :: spokesmanreview.com". The Spokesman Review. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/preps/basketball/listgames_team.asp?TeamName=Mt.%20Spokane&gender=boys. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
25. ^ "Coaching Staff". Mt. Spokane Basketball Team. http://web.mead.k12.wa.us/jkistler/kistler/09basketball/09Basketball/Coaching%20Staff.html. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
26. ^ "Mt. Spokane Wildcats High School Girls Basketball Home - MaxPreps". Mt. Spokane Basketball Team. http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/kxJS69ODFEuL2RRh3ZKv6g/mt-spokane-wildcats/girls-basketball/home.htm. Retrieved July 19, 2010. 
27. ^ "Mt Spokane High School - Mead, Washington/WA - Public School Profile". Public School Review. http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/86820. Retrieved July 22, 2010. 

External links

• Mt. Spokane High School website

Coordinates: 47°47′19″N 117°19′22″W / 47.78861°N 117.32278°W / 47.78861; -117.32278