Seneca Valley High School
Seneca Valley High School | |
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Address | |
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19401 Crystal Rock Drive , 20874 United States | |
Coordinates | 39°10′30″N 77°15′52″W / 39.17500°N 77.26444°WCoordinates: 39°10′30″N 77°15′52″W / 39.17500°N 77.26444°W |
Information | |
Type | Public secondary |
Motto | Soaring Towards Excellence |
Established | 1974 |
School district | Montgomery County Public Schools |
Principal | Marc Cohen |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 1,226 (2019-20) |
Campus | Suburban |
Color(s) | Kelly Green and Gold[1] |
Song | "Seneca Valley is the Best!"[2] |
Nickname | Screaming Eagles |
Rival | Northwest High School |
Newspaper | The Talon |
Website | www |
Seneca Valley High School (SVHS) is a U.S. public high school (grades 9-12) in Germantown, Maryland. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. Its enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year was 1,226 students.[3] A new building is scheduled to be completed in 2021, which will have a capacity of 2,551 students.[4]
History[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Seneca_Valley_High_School%27s_parking_lot_in_1974.png/200px-Seneca_Valley_High_School%27s_parking_lot_in_1974.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Seneca_Valley_High_School%2C_Germantown%2C_Maryland_%28July_7%2C_2021%29.jpg/200px-Seneca_Valley_High_School%2C_Germantown%2C_Maryland_%28July_7%2C_2021%29.jpg)
Seneca Valley High School sits on land which was once the site of a dairy farm owned by baseball player Walter Perry Johnson, having been purchased by him in 1935. Johnson lived there with his five children and his mother, as his wife died, until his death in 1946.[5]
1970s[]
Seneca Valley High School opened in 1974 as the first high school in Germantown and remained the only one until 1998, when Northwest High School opened. In its first year of operation, the 1974 to 1975 school year, under Principal Nathan Pearson, Seneca Valley hosted students grades seven through ten. In the following 1975 to 1976 school year, the school operated grades nine through eleven, with 8th graders transferring to the newly opened Ridgeview Junior High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. During the 1976 to 1977 school year, Seneca Valley transformed into what was then a senior high school, hosting grades ten through twelve, graduating its first class in June 1977.
1980s[]
Finally in 1988, Seneca Valley changed to the present state of full-fledged high school with grades 9-12.
1990s[]
The class of 1992, was the first to graduate all upper high school years in one facility.[clarification needed]
2010s[]
The original school building, inaugurated in 1974, was demolished in 2020 and replaced with a new building on-site in 2021.[6][7] Construction work began in September 2017 and was completed in September 2020.[8] The new building is the largest high school in the State of Maryland, and will draw students from the former Clarksburg High School boundary area.[9]
Sports[]
The school colors are forest green and gold, and the mascot is the Screamin’ Eagle. Seneca Valley's football biggest rivalry is with .
Seneca Valley's football team is one of the most accomplished public school programs in Maryland history.[citation needed] They have a record 12 state football championships, with the most recent title coming in 2002. Seneca Valley won the state title in 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2002.
Notable alumni[]
- Mark Bryan (1985), lead guitarist for Hootie and the Blowfish[10]
- Neil Fallon (1989), vocalist for Clutch[11]
- Dean Felber (1985), bass guitarist for Hootie and the Blowfish[10]
- Jean-Paul Gaster (1989), drummer for Clutch[11]
- Dan Maines (1989), bass guitarist for Clutch[11]
- Andre Smith (2006), former football player in the NFL[12]
- Paula White (1984), Televangelist and Pastor, Paula White Ministries[13]
References[]
- ^ colors selected in 1974
- ^ "Seneca Valley High School Song".
- ^ "Seneca Valley High School at a glance" (PDF). Montgomery County Public Schools.
- ^ "Superintendent's Recommended FY 2022 Capital Budget and Amendments to the FY 2021-2026 Capital Improvements Program. Chapter 4 - Seneca Valley Cluster" (PDF). Montgomery County Public Schools. October 23, 2020.
- ^ Germantown Historical Society. "Germantown's History, A Brief Overview". Germantown Historical Society. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
Johnson bought his dream farm in Germantown in 1935 and lived here with his five children and his mother, his wife having died, until his own death in 1946. His dairy farm was located where Seneca Valley High School is today. He was elected by the local people to two terms as a County Commissioner.
- ^ "Germantown Community Meeting Montgomery County". Councilmember Craig Rice. Council of Montgomery County. October 7, 2015.
- ^ "Germantown Pulse News for Germantown Md". Germantown Pulse News for Germantown Md.
- ^ Peetz, Caitlynn. "A look inside the new Seneca Valley High School". Bethesda Beat Magazine. September 28, 2020.
- ^ Tallman, Douglas (November 28, 2019). "School Board Shifts Boundaries Between Clarksburg, Seneca Valley High Schools". MyMCMedia.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Harrington, Richard (July 26, 1996). "Locally Schooled Blowfish". The Washington Post (Weekend). p. 11.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Nader, Elisa (January 24, 1997). "The House That Clutch Built". Washington City Paper.
- ^ O'Rourke, Kevin (November 30, 2018). "Coming Home for Good: Former NFL Player Now Patrols His Hometown Streets with MCPD". Germantown Vibe.
- ^ Harris, Hamil R. (December 16, 2004). "My Story Is a Story of Restoration". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seneca Valley High School. |
- Official website
- Seneca Valley Football
- Seneca Valley Lacrosse
- Seneca Valley Class of 1979 Alumni
- Seneca Valley High School at the Wayback Machine (archived October 11, 1999)
- Seneca Valley High School at the Wayback Machine (archived August 13, 2001)
- 1974 establishments in Maryland
- Educational institutions established in 1974
- Germantown, Maryland
- International Baccalaureate schools in Maryland
- Public high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland