Mountain View High School (Washington)

For other schools named "Mountain View High School", see Mountain View High School (disambiguation).

Mountain View High School
Location
1500 SE Blairmont Drive Vancouver, Washington, United States
Information
Type	Secondary
Motto	Home of the Mighty Thunder
Established	1981
School district	Evergreen School District
Principal	Mike Meloy
Grades	9 - 12
Enrollment	1716
Mascot	Thunderman
Publication	The View
Website	[1]

Opened in 1981, Mountain View High School, located in Vancouver, Washington, is a public school in the Evergreen School District. In 2009, the enrollment was 1716. Mike Meloy is the Principal.

History

It was the second high school built in the Evergreen School District—Evergreen High School was the first, Heritage High School was the third, and the fourth high school in the Evergreen School District (Fall 2007), is Union High School. The four high schools share one football stadium, McKenzie Stadium, which is adjacent to Evergreen High School.

Mountain View has been named one of Newsweek's Top Public Schools in America for 2007–2009, placing 777 of 1500.^[1] This list represented the top 6% of schools in the nation at the time. In June 2010 Newsweek magazine again listed Mountain View High School in its annual list of “America’s Best High Schools,” which includes 1,600, or about 6 percent, of the nation’s high schools. MVHS was ranked 680th nationally and 11th out of 32 high schools listed in the state of Washington.^[2]

Along with its own students, Mountain View has also introduced and promoted several activities that are designed to help incoming students become successful in their later lives. A well known example of this is the Thunder Success Academy, or TSA, which has two branches of older students, Thunder Crew, the general workers during the school year, and Thunder Mentors, who not only participate in Thunder Crew, but also attend a summer camp with the freshmen. TSA has been so successful that other schools in Washington have modeled their own programs after it, in order to make their students feel responsible for each other, though some students just take the program for the .5 credit awarded to each student who takes TSA. TSA talks about caring for every student and also is a chance for students to plan out their future goals.^{[citation needed]} TSA is currently run by Barbara "Barb" Williams, under whom it has expanded annually to take in several hundred freshmen every year, and introduce many students who have moved into the area to their new environs.

Extracurricular activities

Mountain View also has strong academic extracurricular activities, including:

Knowledge Bowl (2007 4A State Champs)^{[citation needed]}

Mountain View is home to a thriving music program. There are 3 concert bands, 3 jazz bands, one orchestra, several choral groups, and dozens of student-organized chamber ensembles that compete at the Solo & Ensemble Contest.^{[citation needed]}

Athletics

The school colors are blue, green, and white. The school's mascot is Thunder, as represented by Thor and Thundra (a god and goddess that ride in a chariot wielding thunder bolts). However the school now uses Thunder Man as a mascot in pep rallies and assemblies.^{[citation needed]} Recently they have been using a character called Blueman, though it is unclear whether he is replacing or supplementing Thunder Man.^{[citation needed]} Over the past decade, an intense rivalry has developed between Mountain View and Evergreen High School. This rivalry is generally lighthearted, but has been known to spark fights and small riots at sporting events involving the two schools, including recent acts of vandalism to both schools prior to games.^{[citation needed]}

Advanced Placement

Mountain View High School has one of the largest Advanced Placement (AP) programs in the area.^{[citation needed]} Courses offered at the AP level include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, Statistics, Computer Science, European History, U.S. History, U.S. Government and Politics, Comparative Government and Politics, Micro and Macroeconomics, Psychology, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Spanish, French, Human Geography, Studio Art, and Music Theory, but new course options are being added each year. AP classes can also be taken as an Independent Study in some departments. For the 2008-2009 school year, 86% of all AP exams taken by Mountain View students earned passing scores.^[3]

Notable faculty

Patricia Downey, a Pre-AP Freshman English and Spanish 1-2 teacher, along with being the adviser for the school's Key Club, was recognized as a Women of Achievement by Clark College and The YMCA of Clark County.^[4]

Notable alumni

• Derek Raivio, a star basketball player who set Clark County Scoring records at MVHS and later went on to star at Gonzaga University.^{[citation needed]}
• Rian Lindell, a professional kicker in the NFL. Lindell has played for the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills at the professional level.^{[citation needed]}
• Michael Roos graduated in 2000 and is currently the starting left tackle for the Tennessee Titans.^{[citation needed]}
• Robert Ramsay, played major league baseball for the Seattle Mariners after starring at Washington State University.^[5]

References

1. ^ http://www.newsweek.com/id/201160/?s=mountain+view+vancouver&q=2009/rank/1
2. ^ "In our view: Academic Acclaim." The Columbian - Serving Clark County, Washington. The Columbian, 16 June 2010. Web. 17 June 2010. <http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jun/16/academic-acclaim/>.
3. ^ http://evergreenps.schoolwires.net/1993209191481010/site/default.asp?
4. ^ Women of Achievement inducts its 24th class- Columbian.com, Clark County, Washington, Vancouver, Breaking News, U.S., World, Entertainment, Video, Weather, Sports
5. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramsaro01.shtml

External links

• GSHL Football - Mountain View High School