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Sammamish High School is one of four regular 9-12 high schools in Bellevue School District in Bellevue, WA . In 2004-05 school year, SHS had 1169 students enrolled which is increasing throughout every school year. The school mascot is totems, and school colors are red, black, and white. Currently, Spencer Welch serves as principal along with three assistant principals, Laura Bang-Knudsen, Jennifer Rose, and Andrea Pfeifer. Sammamish generally serves students from the east zone of district, but other students can still enroll in SHS through Open Enrollment policy. The student body consists high diversity, which includes large groups of minorities, 20% of Asians and 12% of Hispanics, as well as other ethnics present. Its feeder elementary schools are Cherry Crest, Stevenson(west of 140th Ave, south of NE 8th St), Lake Hills, Phantom Lake, and Spiritridge. Its feeder middle schools are Odle and Tillicum(north of I-90). Sammamish is well known for its Arts Magnet Program (Sammamish Visual and Performing Arts Center), solid and challenging Advanced Placement classes, strong CTE programs including Graphics, Sports Medicine, Health Science Careers, and its unique block schedule, which allows special course arrangements that are highly different to other schools to be made. ACADEMICS Sammamish High School has a tradition of academic excellence. Recently the school was ranked as #227 in 2005 and #141 in 2003 out of all the high schools in United States by Newsweek Magazine. The ranking is based on the number of Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate tests taken divided by number of graduating seniors. All other high schools in the district including the 6-12 International School are on the list of the best 1,000 high schools within US. However, this ranking is not fair in some aspects, which make Sammamish not be able to get higher ranking. The policies of IB tests require students to attend a high school that participates in IB programs, but AP tests is open to every student even if they are home-schooled. Some IB schools encouraged students to take both IB and AP tests in the same subject areas, which give them advantages to double their numbers of tests taken. That is why some IB schools, like Interlake High School in the district, would gain unusual high rankings even if they are not that competitive. Sammamish uses "Block Schedule" since 1999-2000 school year. By taking four 90-minutes classes instead of seven 50-minutes classes every day, the student can gain better academic performance and deeper understanding in the courses. In addition, students can get one credit more than other high schools each year because of block schedule. Also, this unique schedule help the faculty to develop special courses that cannot be done in other high schools such as AP American Studies Block(combined AP Language & Composition / AP US History), AP Calculus AB/BC, Honors Biology/Chemistry, Physics/AP Physics B, Honors Integrated Algebra & Trigonometry 4/AP Statistics, and a large amount of others. One of the accomplishments is that SHS produced over 50% of students who passed the AP Calculus exam in the entire Washington State in 2004-05 school year. ATHLETICS Sammamish High School is a member of KingCo 3A Conference in Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. There are 21 sports in SHS played in 3 different seasons, and Cheer and Drill for all seasons every year. Student-athletes of SHS compete in sportsmanship and gain a wide range of success. Cheer and Drill team are not unusual to be seen in regional and state competitions, and often win champion. Some other strong athletic teams are Boys' and Girls' Water Polo, Boys' Basketball, Girls' Badminton, and Boys' Soccer. Past statistics can be found in WIAA website. ACTIVITIES Sammamish High School has a variety of activities which can meet every student's needs. Associated Student Body and adminitrators coordinate the activities around school. There are academic National Honor Society , National Arts Honor Society, Tri-M (Music Honor Society), Mu Alpha Theta (National Math Honor Society), and other club activities. An active Multicultural Club conducts events to demonstrate the diversity of the student body and coordinates the annual event "Taste of Sammamish" successfully every year. Also, the Arts Magnet Program creates a wonderful opportunity for students to explore in arts and music. Dance, drama, art classes including glass works, photography, and drawing are the strengths of SHS. They had already created a reputation for Sammamish in the application process to arts colleges. Band, choir, and orchestra are active in the community. The marching band had won numerous of awards, and Jazz choir is among the best in state, which competes in Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in University Of Idaho every year. The facilities of SHS make the improvement of these groups much easier. The brand new theater finished in early 2005 is the best high school theater in the Northwest and is equipped with professional theater equipments that make the theater the third professional theater in King County, WA . LINKS
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