Kamiak High School

Kamiak High School
Location
10801 Harbour Pointe Boulevard Mukilteo, Washington United States
Coordinates	47°54′04″N 122°18′07″W / 47.90111°N 122.30194°W / 47.90111; -122.30194Coordinates: 47°54′04″N 122°18′07″W / 47.90111°N 122.30194°W / 47.90111; -122.30194
Information
Type	Public
Established	1993
Principal	Mike Gallagher
Enrollment	2,076[1]
Color(s)
Mascot	Knight
Information	(425) 356-6620
Website	ka.mukilteo.wednet.edu

Kamiak High School is an American public high school in Mukilteo, Washington, opened in September 1993. The school was built to accommodate overflow population from the overcrowded Mariner High School, and was the second high school in the Mukilteo School District.

After a dispute between district communities over which would provide Kamiak its student body, the junior class at Mariner High School voted to remain at the school for their senior year, leaving that year's sophomore class to open Kamiak as juniors. Kamiak had no senior class during its debut year. 1993 and the Kamiak's opening also marked a change in class distribution in the Mukilteo School District, with freshman classes attending Kamiak and Mariner. Previously the freshman classes attended the district's junior high schools.

The first attendants to Kamiak (the class of 1995, 1996, and 1997) voted and chose its colors – purple, silver, and white – along with its mascot, a knight.

Kamiak's campus features over 40 classrooms, a physical education complex with two separate gymnasiums and a weight room, a half-Olympic sized swimming pool complex, a Performing Arts Center (known as "The PAC"), a number of portables, six tennis courts, a softball field, baseball field, soccer field, football field, track facilities, and the school's East Campus, which houses science and math rooms as well as a third gymnasium used as a secondary cafeteria.

Programs

Kamiak Band Program

The school is in the NWAPA circuit of bands and does well at competitions. The Kamiak Show Band has won sweepstakes awards at Northwest marching competitions in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014. Earlier in 2009, the Kamiak Show Band traveled to Washington D.C. to perform in the National Cherry Blossom Festival as well as on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial. In April 2012, the Kamiak Show Band travelled to Paris, France, including performances near the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and in Disneyland Paris. In December 2014, the Show Band traveled to Orlando, Florida. The trip included performances in the Citrus Bowl Parade and in Universal studios.

There are four concert bands (Concert, Symphonic, Wind Ensemble, and Chamber Winds) as well as Jazz I and Jazz II. The concert bands perform in festivals during the spring and usually do fairly well.

Kamiak Chorale Program

The Kamiak Chorale Program includes four choirs (Kantorei, Bel Canto, Chanson – Women, and Chanson – Men) and is known for its performances under the direction of Nancy Duck-Jefferson, who has also been honored several times for the musical direction of the Spring Musicals (i.e., Pirates of Penzance, 2005; Guys and Dolls, 2008) by the 5th Avenue Awards. The choir goes on trips every year, with a trip abroad, such as to Canada or to Ireland (where they sang in both Dublin and Belfast 2007) occurring every so often. In March 2010, the advanced choirs went on a choir tour of New York, and in 2013 the advanced choirs traveled to Spain.

Kamiak Orchestra Program

The Kamiak Orchestra program includes three main orchestras (Intermediate, Philharmonic Strings I and Philharmonic Strings II) under the direction of conductor Brian Steves, who was inducted into the Washington State Teaching Hall of Fame in 2009. These string orchestras often combine forces with the band program to build Symphony Orchestras I and II for concerts and competitions. The school is also home to a chamber group called the Kamiak Über Kammerstreich (from the German for "Super Chamberstrings") consisting of roughly 15 players from Philharmonic Strings I, free of a conductor. The award-winning Philharmonic Strings I and Über Kammerstreich have consistently performed well at the Pacific Northwest Orchestra Festival held annually in Gresham, Oregon. Additionally, many members of the orchestras have placed in statewide competitions. The Kamiak High School Orchestras have traveled to and performed in Italy and Hawaii, among other places. In the Spring of 2011, they travelled to Spain on one-week tour, performing in such destinations as Madrid and Seville. In April 2012, the Kamiak Über Kammerstreich took 1st Place at 2012 WIAA/WMEA State Solo and Ensemble Contest.

Kamiak Drama Program

June 2010, the school won Best Overall Musical at the 5th Ave Awards for the play The Pajama Game. For the play, they were nominated for 11 awards and received 14 nods overall. In August 2002, a group of school students performed an adaptation of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at the annual International Fringe Festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland. The show received four out of five stars for their performance. Kamiak was one of 25 American schools selected to perform at the festival and only one of two to be located west of the Mississippi River. In June 2005, the Kamiak Spring Musical Pirates of Penzance, by Gilbert and Sullivan, was pronounced the "Best Musical Show" in the entire state of Washington by Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Kamiak has also had several students place at the Washington Music Educator's Association State competition. The Drama Department is run by Laurie Levine whose hard work and tough-love techniques have made what Kamiak's drama program is today. She works alongside Duck-Jefferson in the directing of the spring musicals, as well as with the stage and technical crews for all shows.

Kamiak Knowledge Bowl

The "Golden Horde", a team consisting of four seniors and two juniors, won a narrow first place against Curtis High School at the 2008 Washington State Tournament, after placing sixth place the previous year.

In the 2008-09 season, Kamiak Knowledge Bowl swept the district playoffs, with all three state-qualifying slots filled by Kamiak teams. The two remaining members of the Golden Horde successfully led a new team, Mao's Dragons, to win the state 4A title for the second year in a row.

The legacy of Kamiak Knowledge Bowl dates back to 2005, where the premiere team known as the Robster Craws placed first in the 4A Division at the Anacortes High School Competition. Since then, the five members of the Robster Craws have founded the Robster Craw Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that rewards a Kamiak senior in Knowledge Bowl with a prestigious cash scholarship each June.

Kamiak Dulcineas

The Kamiak Dulcineas Dance Program (named for Don Quixote's fantastical lover in Cervantes' famous novel) consists of students in freshman through senior year. Various activities include performing at football and basketball halftimes, competing in competitions, District and State Championships, as well as various parades and festivals. The team is under the direction of Kathy Noonan.^[2] They have qualified for the WIAA State Championships every year of their competitive career, and in the Spring of 2011, took first place in 4A Kick with their routine "Waka Waka: This Time for Africa".

Kamiak Colorguard and Winterguard

The Kamiak Colorguard and Winterguard consists of students in freshman through senior year. Various activities include performing at football halftimes, competing in competitions as a part of the Show Band, NWPA Circuit shows and Championships, WGI Regionals, as well as various parades and festivals.

The Kamiak Colorguard has taken High Auxiliary at several NW Marching Band Competitions as a part of the award winning Kamiak Show Band. The Kamiak Winterguard has been the State NWPA Scholastic A Class Champions three times in a row from 2006 to 2008.^[3] In 2008, they competed at the WGI West Regional in Hayward, California. They placed seventh overall out of 24 Scholastic A Class Winterguards and moved onto the finals round of competition. In 2009, they competed at the WGI NW Regional in Vancouver, Washington, and ended up placing third out of 19 Scholastic A Class Winterguards.^[4]

This award winning ensemble is currently growing to be one of the premier scholastic colorguards in the NW.^[5]

Notable alumni

• Jean-Luc Baker (2012), champion ice dancer, won the 2014 Junior World Ice Dance Championships in Bulgaria.^[6]
• Thomas Erak (2003), lead vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist for the band The Fall of Troy, which formed during their time at Kamiak.^[7]
• Tim Ward (2003), bass guitarist and screamed vocalist for the progressive rock band The Fall of Troy, which produced a single for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.^[7]
• Andrew Forsman (2004), drummer and percussionist for the progressive rock band The Fall of Troy^[7]
• Marko Liias (1999), Democratic member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 21st legislative district.^[8]

Notable faculty

• Chance McKinney (until 2010), Country musician and winner of CMT's Music City Madness Competition

Clubs and activities

Athletics

The school is part of the Wesco South District and with having well over 2,000 students, Kamiak is a 4A school. Their main rival in athletics is Mariner High School the other high school in the Mukilteo School District.

See also

• List of high schools in Washington

References

External links

• ka.mukilteo.wednet.edu, the school's official website
• The Gauntlet Online