Mountain View High School

This school-related article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. More verifiable information on this school is needed. Guidelines and editing help are available.

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

Opened in 1981, Mountain View High School, located in Vancouver, Washington, is a public school in the Evergreen School District. In 2006, the enrollment was 2098. Mike Meloy is the Principal. 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. Recently they have been using a character called Blueman, though it is unclear whether he is replacing or supplementing Thunder Man. 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.

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.

Mountain View was also recently named one of Newsweek's Top Public Schools in America, placing 1130 of 1200.

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 venerable 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.

• 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.

Mountain View also has strong academic extracurricular activities, including:

• Knowledge Bowl (2007 4A State Champs)

• Science Olympiad (2007 4th at State, 2nd in Southwest Washington)

• Mu Alpha Theta (2007 2nd in the Washington Math League)and (2007 placed 10th in the U.S. in the Team Scramble Competition)

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.

Advanced Placement

Mountain View High School has one of the largest Advanced Placement (AP) programs in the area. 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 2006-2007 school year, 84% of all AP exams taken by Mountain View students earned passing scores.

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.^[1]

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.

• Ryan Lindell, a professional kicker in the NFL. Lindell has played for the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills at the professional level.

• Michael Roos graduated in 2000 and is currently the starting left tackle for the Tennessee Titans.

• Jon Stimmel graduated in 1997 is one of three inventers credited with the invention of the SD (Synchronous Dynamic) memory format.

Increased Security

This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (October 2007)

As of the 2007 summer vacation, a variety of 30+ Sony SNCDFxxN dome network surveillance cameras have been installed. The new system has been installed throughout the entire school. A sighted 14 cameras inside (4 in the student center, 6 in the 300 building hallway, and 4 in the gymnasium hallway) and 14 outside (3 near the 300 building, 1 in front of the security office, 1 on the 100 building, 2 on the 800 building, 1 on the 900 building, 1 on the 600 building, 4 on the 500 building, and 1 on the counseling center) combine to 28 new cameras being installed, contrary to the 40 cameras the staff has reported during assemblies.

References

1. ^ Women of Achievement inducts its 24th class- Columbian.com, Clark County, Washington, Vancouver, Breaking News, U.S., World, Entertainment, Video, Weather, Sports

External links

• Mountain View High School on Edline
• GSHL Football - Mountain View High School