This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007)

Newport Senior High School
Address
4333 Factoria Blvd. Bellevue, Washington, 98006  United States
Coordinates	47°34′05″N 122°10′19″W / 47.56806°N 122.17194°W / 47.56806; -122.17194Coordinates: 47°34′05″N 122°10′19″W / 47.56806°N 122.17194°W / 47.56806; -122.17194
Information
Type	Public secondary school
School district	Bellevue School District
Principal	Bethany Spinler
Faculty	approx. 70[1]
Number of students	approx. 1600[2]
Color(s)	Scarlet and gold
Mascot	Knight
Website	Newport High School

Newport High School (NHS) is a public secondary school in Bellevue, WA. It serves students in grades 9–12 in the southern part of the Bellevue School District, including the neighborhoods of Eastgate, Factoria, Newport Hills, Newport Shores, Somerset, The Summit, and Sunset. As of the 2008–2009 school year, the principal is Bethany Spinler and the assistant principals are Aaron Miller and Dan Irvine. The mascot is the Knight, and the school colors are scarlet and gold.^[2]

[edit] History

Newport High School was built in the 1963 and opened in the fall of 1964 to accommodate Bellevue's growing population.^{[citation needed]} Prior to construction, students in the Eastgate, Somerset and Newport Hills neighborhoods went to Sammamish High School and Bellevue High School. The first graduating class was of 1966.^{[citation needed]}

From 2005 to 2008, the school went through a major construction project. A new three story building replaced the original classrooms, library, and offices. The original buildings remained in use during construction of the new building. The project included extensive remodeling of the gyms and locker rooms. In early 2007, students and teachers moved into the new building. The old buildings were demolished to replace a baseball field and a softball field displaced by the new building.^[3] The project cost $54 million.^[3]

[edit] Demographics

In the 2009-2010 school year, the total student enrollment was 1,640. The racial demographics are 2% African American, 36% Asian, 3% Hispanic, 9% Multiracial, and 50% White. 25% of students speak first language other than English. 11% qualify for free or reduced lunches.^[4]

[edit] Achievements

Due to its extensive Advanced Placement course offering, Newport High School has consistently been ranked in the Top 50 List of Best High Schools by Newsweek Magazine as measured by the number of AP tests taken divided by the number of seniors in the school, ranking 37th as of 2006, 31st as of 2008, and most recently 34th in 2009.^[5]. Newport was also selected as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Education^[6]. In 2005 Newport High School's World History program was recognized as exemplary in the College Board's Report To The Nation based on its top-ranking pass rate on the national AP World History exam.^[7]

[edit] Technology

During the 2004-2005 school year, the Bellevue School District made a push to buy "Smartboards" for all classrooms, accompanied by Dell projectors which are mounted into the ceiling.^[8]

Some of the technology related courses include the NHS Cisco academy, including CCNP classes, and Advanced Placement Computer Science.^[2]

[edit] Students

Newport High School hosts a variety of clubs, including language/culture clubs in Spanish, French, and Chinese, as well as a branch of the National Honor Society, Gay-Straight Alliance, Debate, Junior Statesmen of America, DECA, Key Club, a community-service organization called ACE, a robotics club known as NRG (Newport Robotics Group), a math club, a snowboarding club called Snow Riders, a sports debating club called Sports Debate Club,a Jewish club, break dancing club, and anime club.^[9]

Multiple classes are designed to teach students to perform at their personal best, including ASPEN, AVID, leadership and link-crew. Link-crew is a semester-long class for Juniors and Seniors, where everyone is assigned a group of freshmen, and these students help the freshmen adjust to high school life.^[9] Leadership is either semester- or year-long, and in this class students (Sophomore standing or above) learn various leadership techniques which they put to use in projects such as Adopt-a-Family, which raises money for local needy families during the holiday season. ASPEN is Newport's advanced health class, in which students learn extensively about HIV/AIDS, and then teach other students about STDs, HIV/AIDS, and safe sex practices. In 2009, they raised over $44,000 for Lifelong AIDS Alliance, making them the second biggest contributors only behind Microsoft.^{[10][citation needed]} AVID (advancement via individual determination) is designed for students who are taking courses the students feel are challenging. This class teaches study skills, and students practice college entrance examinations and essays. Newport students take part in many 'Spirit' activities, especially during Homecoming Week. The Knights pride themselves on wearing as much Scarlet and Gold clothing as possible during Red & Gold days, and usually on Fridays, or the end of a school week, if there is no school on Friday.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Music

The NHS band playing at Safeco Field on the Seattle Mariners' opening day^[when?]

The Newport jazz program is successful, following a trip to New York City by the Newport Jazz Ensemble I. The trip was due in part to the band's acceptance into the prestigious Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival and Competition in 2006.^[11] The Jazz Ensemble participates in many festivals including Clark College Jazz Festival, Bellevue College Jazz Festival, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.^[12] Other activities include the KPLU School of Jazz Recording Project and performing at the Paramount Theater.^[12] The Marching Band plays at home football games and participates in the annual Victoria Day Parade in Victoria, British Columbia.^[12]

The Newport Orchestra program has also had a great deal of success, consistently placing at the Northwest Orchestra Festival in Gresham, OR^[13]. The program features a select chamber orchestra for top orchestral instrumentalists.

[edit] Mathematics

Newport Math Club is very successful, claiming top prizes at numerous state contests such as Math is Cool Championships, Math is Cool Masters, and the Northwest Math Championship.^{[citation needed]} Recently, Newport's math team also placed third in the state at the 2009 Washington State Mu Alpha Theta contest.^{[citation needed]} Excited to share its love of mathematics with younger students in the community, Newport Math Club hosts the Knights of Pi Math Tournament for students in grades 5-8.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Scott Anderson, Major League Baseball pitcher.
• Anna Cummins, 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medalist (rowing)
• Marcus Hahnemann, goalkeeper for English professional soccer team Reading F.C.
• Chip Hanauer, hydroplane racer.
• Martin Harrison, American football player; NFL 1990–1999. University of Washington 1985–1990.
• Todd Hollandsworth, Major League Baseball outfielder.
• Cheyenne Jackson, Broadway actor.
• Peter Line, Professional snowboarder, co-founder Forum Snowboarding
• Justin Lo, Hong Kong Cantopop singer/actor.
• Cliff Pastornicky, Major League Baseball infielder for the Kansas City Royals.
• Mark Pope, former National Basketball Association forward.
• Jeff Probst, host of Survivor.
• Ron Romanick, former major league pitcher with the California Angels.
• Ugur Taner, 1992 Summer Olympic competitor in swimming.
• Steve Wiebe, classic arcade coin-op World Record holder and subject of renowned documentary file The King of Kong.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• School Webpage