Lake Washington High School

Lake Washington High School
LWHS main entry
Address
Map
12033 Northeast 80th Street

Kirkland
,
(King County)
,
Washington
98033

United States
Coordinates47°40′25″N 122°10′52″W / 47.67361°N 122.18111°W / 47.67361; -122.18111
Information
School typePublic, High School
Motto"aLWays Rising."
Established1922; 102 years ago (1922)[2] 1949,
2011 (renovation)
School districtLake Washington School District
NCES School ID530423000674[4]
PrincipalChristine Bell
Teaching staff96.79 (FTE) (2022–23)[4]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,015 (2023–24)[3]
Student to teacher ratio20.82 (2022–23)[4]
Campus typeSuburban
Color(s)  Purple &   White
Athletics conferenceKingCo 4A (2024 onwards)
MascotKangaroos (Lizzy)
RivalsJuanita[1]
Feeder schools
  • Kirkland Middle School
  • Rose Hill Middle School
Websitelwhs.lwsd.org

Lake Washington High School is a four-year public high school in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle. It is one of four main high schools in the Lake Washington School District, with an enrollment of approximately 2,100 students as of 2023-2024 school year.[5] Located in the Rose Hill neighborhood east of downtown Kirkland, LWHS competes in the KingCo 4A athletic conference as of the 2024-2025 school year; the school colors are purple and white and its mascot is the Kangaroo.

History and facilities

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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.[6] It was originally located northwest of downtown Kirkland at the site of Heritage Park.[7] 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.[7]

It was a National Blue Ribbon School in 1984-1985.[8]

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).[5]

Mascot change

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Kirkland'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.[6]

Notable Clubs

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  • Code Purple[10] is the school's official FRC robotics club that competes yearly at the FIRST Robotics Competition. Their team identifier is 5827 and their cheer is "1011011000011".

Notable alumni

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References

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