Lake Stevens High School
| Lake Stevens High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Principal | Sir William Rupert Worcestershire Collins |
| Information | (425) 335-1515 |
| Colors Mascot | Purple and Gold Viking |
| Website | http://viking.lkstevens.wednet.edu/ |
Lake Stevens High School is a high school located in Lake Stevens, in the Lake Stevens School District, of Washington state, in the United States. LSHS currently educates grades 10-12.
Academics
LSHS offers a variety of Advanced Placement, University of Washington extension and Honors classes. AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Statistics, AP European History, AP United States History, AP English, UW English, UW Literature and UW Foreign Language are just a few of the options. Several teachers have worked hard to ensure that aspiring students at LSHS are able to challenge themselves, and LSHS students have been successful in many areas. In the past, LSHS students have been WA State Scholars, AP Scholars, and National Merit Scholars, and LSHS alumni have attended some of the best universities in the country.
History
LSHS first opened in the early 1900s where North Lake Middle School is currently located. Since LSHS has moved to its current location on 113th avenue, and the currently school was most recently remodeled in the 1990s.
I hope to bring a few things to the attention of the readers of this almighty wiki about this fine school. Lake Stevens High School has a rich history, that of which has not been seen by many of the surrounding suburbs of Western Washington. It was started long, long ago, in a time that was distant, but not that far off. A local man, by the name of Edwin Roberton had grown weary of the sub-prime education that of which the local one-room schoolhouse brought to his children and local townsfolk. So, as the legend holds, he set off on a long daunting journey to the volcano of Mt. Pilchuck to seek the Wise one, who for years had been in exile for his extreme intelligence.
Edwin laboured for a fortnight in his haphazard attempt to scale the deathly Mt Pilchuck, when several native folk happened to meet him while he was running through their village. The conversations that went on during this confrontation are lost in time, but legend has it that he brought them such great things as antibiotics and machine-guns. Somehow or another, he was able to convince 2 local sherpas to assist him in his gargantuan task of meeting with the Wise Man, and with the help of the sherpas and the fact that moss grows on the south side of trees, they found the desolate cave that the Wise One dwelled.
"Who goes there" said a disgruntled voice
"It is I, Sir Edwin Roberton of the Lake Kingdom to the West. What say you Wise Man?"
Edwin was able to interigate the Wise One for several hours before he got a good answer, the legend of LSHS dictates that Sir Roberton was able to water board the Wise Man into telling him what he wanted to hear. So, with this information, Edwin the Great set forth on his return journey to the Lake Fortress with his knowledge he procured from the misty mountains of the East. Sadly, the journey was elongated by the fact that the map that they were using was not correct, in fact, it was actually an instruction manual for a gas-powered washing machine of the time. The party was able to track their steps, but got hungry and ate one of the sherpas.
Upon the return of Sir Roberton, he was greeted with a parade and Bar-B-Que hot dogs, but he wanted to get straight to the brass tax, education. He had the answers; the perfect way to teach, to learn, the perfect learning environment, everything.
"First things first," he stated "We need an institution".
So he grabbed his plow and some local townsfolk, and proceeded to declare war upon the Natives living just West of Grade Lane. The following battle was known as the battle of Little Big Brains, and it was a sad, sickening sight. After all was said, all shots were fired, and all the blood was spilled, there were 14 Lake residents dead, along with 23 natives and 4,383,094,836 Russians(they died from famine). Alas, the story is close to it's end, or really it's beginning. Sir Roberton was able to hire some local Poles to construct the school, then he, Sir Edwin Roberton, instated himself as Commander-In-Chief of the school. He lead with an iron fist and a silver tongue, and had the most disciplined students in the region, along with a wrestling team that were more or less an Army training machine(it is said that thumbscrews were employed for those who were silly enough to question what is in the Gatorade). It seemed that all of his work was finished. Or was it? There is another legend, perhaps more obscure than this, but it is stated that President Roberton was in the back of his stretch convertible on a drive around the school when he was mysteriously assassinated, some say by the school's own teachers. But, that story may be for another time, for I am parched and am in needing of a stiff drink.
'Pink Palace'
From 1936 to 1979, Lake Steven's high school was located on the grounds that North Lake Middle School now occupies. Painted with a surplus of pink paint left over from WWII efforts, the school was eventually nicknamed the Pink Palace. After the 1978-1979 school year, the building was demolished, and students began at the current LSHS location in the fall of 1979. In July of 2007 a raging inferno tore through the upper portion of the 100 building. No one was injured (school was out for the summer), but some damage was incurred by the school.
General Information
Year Book
The annual year book is called the Rune, honoring the Scandinavian heritage of LSHS's Viking Mascot. First published as the 'Rune' in 1933, the 75th volume will commemorate the 2007-2008 school year. Every year the Rune comes up with themes to try and capture the spirit of the school year as well as show different sides of high school life. Past themes include; "What Lies Beneath" and "Stripped Bare."
Alma Mater
Now we gather to pay homage to the school - we love so well. To our high school, dear Lake Stevens, let our devotion tell. Lift the Chorus, speed it onward, let our voices ring. Hail to thee, our Alma Mater, we thy praises sing. Spread before us dear Lake Stevens, glistening in the sun, held against the heart of nature, till earth and sky are one. Lift the Chorus, speed it onward, let our voices ring. Hail to thee, our Alma Mater, we thy praise sing.
Newspaper
Supporting the theme of Scandinavian heritage, the LSHS student newspaper is named The Valhalla. It is a student-run, student-produced publication. LSHS began publishing a student newspaper in 1925. For the 2007-08 school year, The Valhalla will have its fourth faculty adviser in five years.
The Valhalla became a fully digital operation in 2005. It is produced using Adobe InDesign and printed at a local print shop. The Valhalla is best known for its "Top Ten" list, which offers a humorous look at events or items on the minds of students. The paper is typically heavy on sports and A&E. Some complain that the paper contains little actual news. This used to be, in part, because of prior review from the administration, which in term restricted "controversial" stories from being published. After a conflict in the 2006-2007 school year, the Valhalla was finally released from prior review and thus was able to print more controversial stories, although still maintaining a careful policy for fear of falling back into the prior review system.
Following the lead of most top student and professional non-daily publications, The Valhalla transformed from a traditional newspaper format to a news magazine in 2005. In the 2007-2008 school year, the Valhalla adopted somewhat of a hybrid layout, mixing elements of both newspapers and news magazines. The Valhalla, in the same year, also adopted a new view of its journalistic style, providing more relevant and hard-hitting stories that would make the paper relevant even in a school that got its news from the daily VTV broadcast.
Bands
Lake Stevens High School has three bands which all play at either one of the two annual concerts, or at a large amount of festivals and ensembles. These bands are the jazz band, which meets before school most mornings, the wind ensemble, and the concert band. All the bands are directed by Mr. Neil Proff. Mr. Proff also directs the Woodinville Jazz Ensemble at [1].
Drumline
The LSHS drumline is made of a mixture of percussionists from both the Wind ensemble and the Concert band.
Notable alumni
- Chris Pratt - Television actor
- Marv Harshman - Member of National Basketball Hall of Fame
- Stephen Thompson - Played on Super Bowl III New York Jets, currently a pastor in Marysville, WA.
Sports and Athletics
LSHS is a member of the 4A WESCO North division of Washington State.
Wrestling
The varsity Wrestling team has complied an impressive list of accomplishments during its history. Most notably, in recent years, the team has won five state titles: 1990, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2007. Also under infamous coach Brent Barnes, the team has not lost a WESCO league match in 18 years, last losing to Lynnwood High School during the 1993 season. Originally, this feat was nicknamed the Decade of Dominance, but has since surpassed ten years of unbeaten league matches. In the 2007-2008 season, the streak ended with a loss to Snohomish High School by a margin of 18-31. However, the team went on to win the state championship that same year.
Football
The Lake Stevens High School football team has won numerous league titles with Ken Collins as the head football coach. Most recently, the team made it to the state playoffs in the 2006 season, the first time since 2002. Perhaps its most accomplished season was 1994, when the team lost the state championship Kingbowl game 7 - 6 to O'Dea High School on a last second missed field goal attempt.
Boys' Soccer
The boys soccer team has been nationally ranked by the Adidas National Soccer Association of America. In the 2006 season, their peak ranking was #9 in the national poll and #2 in their region.