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Interlake High School
Location
16245 NE 24th Street Bellevue, WA 98008
Information
Type	Public high school
Motto	Integrity, Humanity, Scholarship
Established	1968
Principal	Russell White
Enrollment	1,341
Color(s)	Navy blue, Columbia blue, White
Mascot	Saint Bernard
Nickname	Saints
Website	Interlake High School Home Page

Interlake High School, also known as Interlake or IHS, is a public high school in Bellevue, Washington. The school is one of the six high schools in the Bellevue School District. It is known for its diversity, its students' scholarship, and the International Baccalaureate program located at the school. The school prides itself on three main aspects: "Integrity, Humanity, Scholarship". Its mascot is a Saint Bernard named Bernie, and all of the school's teams are known as the "Saints". The current principal is Russell White; Jeff Lowell and Katie Klug are the assistant principals.

History and general information

Interlake High School was first opened in 1968 to serve students from the East Side, mainly those within a few miles of Lake Sammamish. In 1997, Interlake became an International Baccalaureate school, and in 2006, the GATE (Gifted And Talented Education) program started as an extension of the middle-school PRISM program (discussed below).

In 2003, the Interlake High School Construction Project began. Over the next few years, most of the school was torn to the ground and rebuilt while its students continued to attend class in portables. Interlake reopened its brand-new doors at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.

Interlake's outdoor facilities include a turf football field with a blue track; two concession stands, one run by the music parents (remodeled in 2008), and one run by solar power and various IHS teams and clubs (built in 2008); new baseball and softball fields; seven tennis courts; a courtyard; and several parking lots designated to staff, students, and guests.

Its indoor facilities include three gyms, a Performing Arts Center, a technology wing, a horticulture building, a music wing with four soundproof practice rooms, a large commons area used for lunch and events, and a library that contains a computer lab and study tables.

Interlake has become increasingly prestigious in academics and sports over the past several years. Academically speaking, IHS was rated #14 in the nation, according to Newsweek's Top Public High Schools article in 2010.

Demographics and special programs

As of the 2009–2010 school year, Interlake has approximately 1,350 students, the largest population since the 1980s. Interlake's class sizes have grown larger and larger in recent years, beginning with the 250-student freshman body of 2006.

Interlake's students include an large variety of races, ethnicities, religions, ideals, and backgrounds. 51% of students are white, 29% are Asian, 9% are Hispanic, 8% are multiracial, and 3% are African-American. Many student organizations have been created to group people of different backgrounds, including the Jewish Student Union, The Reach (Bible Club), Gay-Straight Alliance, Black Student Union, Ginger Club (for redheads), Islamic Cultural Awareness Club, French Club, and ELITES (Estudiantes Latinos Internacionales Trabajando por una Educacion Superior).

More than a third of students speak a first language other than English, and many more are multilingual. Widely known languages at IHS include Chinese, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Hindi, and Russian. Interlake requires two language credits and offers tuition in French, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. It also has an extensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program that allows students arriving from foreign countries to learn English as a secondary language.

Another special program at Interlake is its Center program for Special Education. Students with disabilities from all over the district, age 14 to 21, come to Interlake to experience a typical school day adjusted to their individual needs. Interlake's Center program has five classes, including Self-Contained (for the students who are best suited to staying in a primarily Special Ed environment), several classes of students who spend part of their day in the building referred to as the Apartment and part of it in mainstream IHS classes, and the Transition program. The Transition program teaches 18- to 21-year-olds work, interaction, and life skills to prepare them for later life; the students go out and work in different jobs for most of the day to pactice these skills. A unique feature to Interlake's Center program is that mainstream students can sign up to help out in the Center for a period in their schedule.

Academics

Newsweek magazine has consistently ranked Interlake High School among the best high schools in the nation (as measured by the number of AP and IB tests administered, divided by the number of graduating seniors) since it initiated its ranking of U.S. high schools in 2003. Interlake ranked 13th in the nation in 2010.

PRISM at Interlake

See also: Odle Middle School § High School Extension

The PRISM program continuation from Stevenson Elementary School and Odle Middle School to Interlake began in 2006, allowing students to take the program through high school. Due to the PRISM program continuation and the IB program, which students in the PRISM program at Interlake take one year earlier than usual, the faculty expects to see a student population increase.

The program, which is currently in its fifth year of implementation (the 2010-2011 school year), extends the science, English, and social studies classes further in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Interlake High School. In the IB program, PRISM students complete the IB diploma during 10th and 11th grade, rather than the usual 11th and 12th grade. Bellevue College also provides special English and Social Studies classes for PRISM students in their senior year, such as Psychology.

Clubs at Interlake

The following include some of the popular after-school activities at Interlake.

• Newspaper Club creates the school's newspapers. Over the years, this club has grown tremendously, with students meeting every Thursday to write and edit articles. They publish a professional-looking newspaper that is soon distributed to the entire school.
• Math Club takes part in math competitions around Washington. Many students also joined ARML in which they competed in Las Vegas. Interlake has won many trophies with many students taking advanced math classes at Interlake.
• Key Club is part of the international Key Club organization, the oldest and largest service program for high school students. Key Club is a student-led organization whose goal is to teach leadership through serving others. They meet on Wednesdays after school in the library to inform the students about upcoming service events and opportunities. Key Club is a great way to meet other students and have fun while serving the community. Of the 300+ clubs in the Pacific Northwest District of Key Club, Interlake High School is the home club of the current District Governor.
• Saints Robotics is a FIRST Robotics team (Team 1899) consisting of about sixty students. They meet after school on Wednesdays and Fridays to create robots for the annual FIRST Robotics Competition as well as the VEX Competition. They also maintain a website, participate in the 3D animation competition, and are involved in their community. Saints Robotics has won several competitions, including the Website Excellence and Autodesk Excellence in Design competition (for 3D animations). The VEX team, constituting mainly of freshmen and several upperclassmen mentors, earned fifth place at the Worlds Competition in 2009. In March 2011, Saints Robotics, along with two other teams, won the Olympic Regional in the FIRST Robotics Competition.
• Amnesty International is a club that works to prevent and end abuses of human rights. They do various projects such as selling T-shirts to promote awareness of the crisis in Darfur.
• Green Team is a club that promotes a greener school, reducing paper use, reducing the use of electricity, and promoting recycling.
• Fleur de Lys is a club for upperclassmen that run major school events such as graduation, 8th-grade parent night, and tolo.
• Honor Society is a club that works to promote service to the community, both in and outside of school. They do various projects such as valentine grams, food drives, and work with the local YMCA organization.
• Chemistry Club, also known as Chem Club, is an after-school club that meets every week to do unique experiments/labs not normally conducted in class and at the same time discuss questions about chemistry.
• Chess Club has competed in nationals and has won state. Notable players on the Chess team include Michael Lee.

Notable alumni

• Michael Allan – former tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
• Larry Andersen – former Major League Baseball player from 1975 to 1994.
• Chris DeGarmo – former guitarist for the Grammy Nominated band Queensrÿche.
• Luke Esser – state senator and chairman of the Washington State Republican Party.
• Tom Flick – former quarterback for University of Washington and former NFL quarterback with the Washington Redskins
• Jim Mora – former NFL head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, University of Washington LB-DB.
• John Olerud – former Major League Baseball player.
• Timothy Omundson – professional actor, currently on Psych (USA Network)
• Steve Pelluer – former quarterback for the University of Washington, the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.
• Matt Pitman – former Public address announcer of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics.
• Chuck Swirsky – radio play by play announcer of the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
• Nancy Wilson (rock musician) – co-leader with her sister Ann of the world famous band Heart. Class of 1972.
• Michael Wilton – guitarist for the Grammy Nominated band Queensrÿche.
• Brian Wood – anchor and reporter for KATU-TV in Portland, Oregon.

External links

• Interlake High School home page
• Interlake High School P.T.S.A.
• Interlake High School Construction Project
• The 100 Best High Schools in America
• Interlake IB Diploma Program
• Interlake chess site
• Interlake Saints Robotics Website

Category:High schools in King County, Washington Category:Bellevue School District Category:International Baccalaureate schools in Washington (state) Category:Educational institutions established in 1968