Lake Washington High School

Lake Washington High School
LWHS main entry
Address
12033 Northeast 80th Street Kirkland , (King County) , Washington 98033 United States
Coordinates	47°40′25″N 122°10′52″W
Information
School type	Public, High School
Motto	"aLWays Rising."
Established	1922; 102 years ago (1922)[2] 1949, 2011 (renovation)
School district	Lake Washington School District
NCES School ID	530423000674[4]
Principal	Christine Bell
Teaching staff	96.79 (FTE) (2022–23)[4]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	2,015 (2023–24)[3]
Student to teacher ratio	20.82 (2022–23)[4]
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Purple &   White
Athletics conference	KingCo 4A (2024 onwards)
Mascot	Kangaroos (Lizzy)
Rivals	Juanita[1]
Feeder schools	Kirkland Middle School Rose Hill Middle School
Website	lwhs.lwsd.org

Lake Washington High School (LWHS) is a four-year public high school in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle.

History and facilities

The New LWHS

Lake Washington opened as Kirkland High School (also called Union “A” High School) in 1922, the only high school in the area at the time.^[5] It was originally located northwest of downtown Kirkland at the site of Heritage Park.^[6] With the formation of the Lake Washington School District in 1944, the high school was given its present name. It moved to its present location in 1949, with doors opening in January 1950.^[2] The former building became the junior high and was later known as Terrace Hall; it burned in a spectacular fire in 1973.^[6]

It was a National Blue Ribbon School in 1984-1985.^[7]

The campus underwent an extended renovation project beginning in the summer of 2008. The new gymnasium opened during the 2009–10 school year, and the main school building was completed during the summer of 2011. The renovation, including school parking lot, was completed in late December 2011, while students were on winter break. The new building was designed to facilitate the newly implemented "house system." There was also the north-wing extension that occurred around 2020 which extended the facility adding a new math department and robotics station. During the summer of 2023, there was a full refurbishing of the football field and the old tennis courts allowing for a brand new track and extra space. The extra space from the old tennis courts are now referred as the "cage" by the students as from the resemblance of the black fence enclosure as a prison cell.

Formerly a senior high school (grades 10–12), LWHS added freshman to its campus in August 2012, and its feeder junior high schools (Kirkland, Rose Hill) were converted to middle schools (grades 6–8).^[8]

Mascot change

Lake Washington's team name was the "Hornets" until 1935, when the class of that year decided to change the mascot to the Kangaroos.^[9] The students at the time wrote a jingle involving a "rude phrase" referred to as the "horny hornets" and were punished by the district by having to choose a new mascot. The students selected kangaroos as joke, thinking the district would allow them to keep the hornets.^[5]

Notable alumni

• Jill Bakken, Olympic gold medalist (bobsled)^[10]
• Carrie Brownstein, musician^[11]
• Deb Caletti, author^[12]
• Dan Skipper, NFL player (Houston Texans)
• Craig Caskey, former MLB player (Montreal Expos)^[13]
• John Fiala, NFL linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1998–2002)^[14][15]
• Jeremy Enigk, musician^[16]
• Dann Gallucci, guitarist for Modest Mouse and other projects^[16]
• Matt Hume, retired mixed martial artist; founder and head trainer at AMC Pankration in Seattle^[17]
• Nick Hundley, MLB catcher for the Oakland Athletics^[18]
• Cathrine Kraayeveld, WNBA player^[19]
• Ken Lehman, former MLB player (Brooklyn Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies)^[20]
• Jason Mesnick, former star of ABC's hit show The Bachelor^[21]
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan, actor^[22]
• Robin Pecknold, lead vocalist and guitarist for the indie folk band Fleet Foxes^[23]
• Skyler Skjelset, guitarist for the indie folk band Fleet Foxes^[24]
• Johnny Whitney, musician
• Frank Williams, former MLB player (San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers)^[25]
• Lana Wilson, director ^[26]

References

1. Howard, John William (16 September 2016). "Lake Washington nabs rough-and-tumble rivalry win over Juanita | Prep girls' soccer". Kirkland Reporter. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
2. "History of our schools" (PDF). LWSD. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 4, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
3. "Lake Washington High School". Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
4. "Search for Public Schools - Lake Washington High (530423000674)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
5. "Kirkland's high school was once the Horny Hornets before the Roos ruled". Kirkland Reporter. 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
6. McCauley, Matt (January 9, 2011). "Remember the old Kirkland Junior High?". Kirkland Patch. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
7. "NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM Schools Recognized 1982-2008" (PDF). US Department of Education. 2018.
8. Haug, Charlie (May 7, 2024). "Athletics move from 4A to 3A: New classification". Nordic News.
9. Grindeland, Sherry (2005-08-06). "Kangaroos gather to celebrate good times". The Seattle Times.
10. Lo, Angela (March 23, 2002). "Back-to-school time for gold medalist Jill Bakken". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
11. De Barros, Paul (March 3, 2012). "Carrie Brownstein: the Northwest's funny girl". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
12. "Issaquah author to speak at library". Seattle Times. September 23, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
13. Raley, Dan (August 17, 2004). "Where Are They Now: Craig Caskey". Seattle Post-Intelligiencer. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
14. Dawson, Raechel (May 7, 2014). "Kirklander's Night Out for a Cure raises $185,000". Kirkland Reporter. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
15. Prisuta, Mike (September 1, 1998). "The hard way". Beaver County Times. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
16. Greenblatt, Leah (October 9, 2006). "Days of our nights". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
17. "Matt Hume MMA Bio". Retrieved 2014-01-01.
18. Stone, Larry (March 10, 2012). "Padres catcher Nick Hundley has fond memories of Seattle". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
19. "Lake Washington grad Kraayeveld helps Liberty win". Seattle Times. Associated Press. August 23, 2009.
20. Strite, Dick (May 5, 1964). "Lehman Sees Oregon Rout UW Hurlers". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
21. Chansanchai, Athima (January 4, 2009). "The Bachelor's Jason Mesnick gets his turn". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
22. Cammila Collar (2014). "Jeffrey Dean Morgan". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
23. Matson, Andrew (November 30, 2010). "Interview: Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
24. Phelps, Matt (December 29, 2011). "Kirkland band Fleet Foxes nominated for Grammy". Kirkland Reporter. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
25. Raley, Dan (January 15, 2009). "Frank Williams: 1958-2009". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
26. "Kirkland native tackles difficult subjects in documentaries". 18 October 2017.

External links

• Official website
• OSPI school report card, 2011-12 school year
• Code Purple 5827