The Bear Creek School is a preschool through grade twelve private school in Redmond, Washington. Educating around 840 students, the school is a non-denominational Christian religious school, focusing on college preparation.[1] It was established in 1988. The head of school is Patrick Carruth. As of 2020, school review website Niche ranks The Bear Creek School as the best Christian high school, third best private K-12 school, and seventh best college prep private high schools in Washington state.[2]
| The Bear Creek School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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8905 208th Ave NE , | |
| Coordinates | 47°40′52″N 122°03′56″W / 47.681208°N 122.065446°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private Christian (nondenominational) |
| Motto | Credo ut intelligam |
| Established | 1988 |
| Dean | Kevin Davison |
| Headmaster | Patrick Carruth |
| Faculty | 74 |
| Grades | Preschool–12 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Enrollment | 841 |
| Color(s) | Forest Green, Gold, White |
| Athletics | WIAA Emerald City League 1A |
| Mascot | Titus the Grizzly |
| Accreditation | Northwest Association of Independent Schools, Association of Christian Schools International |
| Website | tbcs.org |
Campuses
editThe Bear Creek School has three campuses in Redmond, Washington. The Main campus houses kindergarten through grade 8. The Upper School houses grades 9-12, and the third, or Valley Campus houses preschool and pre-k.
Academics
editIn profiles of the school, The Bear Creek School was one of 50 private schools nationwide selected in the 2014 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and the only school in the State of Washington, public or private, recognized by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.[3][4]
The Bear Creek School is accredited by the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities and the Northwest Association of Independent Schools. The school is also a member of the Association of Christian Schools International.[5]
Despite being a small school, Bear Creek students have had consistent successes in the National Merit Scholarship competition:
- 2002: one National Merit semifinalist.[6]
- 2003: three National Merit semifinalists.[7]
- 2005: two National Merit semifinalists.[8]
- 2006: four National Merit semifinalists.[9]
- 2007: two National Merit semifinalists.[10]
- 2008: two National Merit semifinalists.[11]
- 2009: one National Merit semifinalist.[12]
- 2010: one National Merit semifinalist.[13]
- 2011: three National Merit semifinalists [14]
- 2012: three National Merit semifinalists
- 2013: three National Merit semifinalists
- 2014: one National Merit semifinalist
- 2015: three National Merit semifinalists
Athletics
editThe school is a member of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), participating as a member of the Emerald City 1A League and the CrossTown Middle School League.[15] In 2014, The Bear Creek School opted up to the 1A classification. Numerous teams have won academic state titles.
Performances of note:
Basketball
- In 2007, Will Sanger walked on to the University of Tulsa basketball team, which competes in Division I (NCAA).[16]
- The boys' varsity basketball team took fifth in 2008 and 2010 and third in 2011 and 2014 in the WIAA 2B boys' basketball state tournament.
Golf
- Marianne Banton placed second in the Class 1A/B state girls' golf tournament in 2004 and first in 2005.[17] In 2007, Sydney Conway won the Class 2B/1B golf girls' individual title.[18]
- In 2011, The varsity boys' golf team won the 2B/1B state tournament.[19]
- In 2018, freshman Tiger Liu won the inaugural state Long Drive Competition, with a record distance of 370 yards.
Soccer
- In 2006, the varsity boys' soccer team won the 1B/2B state soccer championship over Northwest Christian in a penalty kick shoot out.[20] The team also took second place in 2009.
- In 2011,[21] the Varsity Girls' Soccer team won the 1B/2B state soccer championship in a penalty kick shootout.
- In 2012,[22] the Lady Grizzlies became the first 1B/2B soccer program to win Back-to-Back state championships. They beat Napavine High School 4-0 in the State Title game.
- In 2013 the Lady Grizzlies once again made it to the Girls' Soccer 1B/2B State Title Game, however falling 0-1 to underdog Crosspoint Academy.
Tennis
- In 2009, freshman Jacob Imam won the 1A/2B/1B state singles tennis title.[23] In 2010, he and senior Jamie Meyer placed second in the 1A/2B/1B state doubles tennis championships.[24]
Track & Field
- In 2009, freshman Madelyn Magee placed second in the 2B state high jump competition;[25] in 2010[26] 2011, and 2012 [27] she placed first. In the 2010 and 2012 outdoor seasons, she recorded the highest jump for high school girls in any division in the state. She signed with Columbia University.
Other Sports
- Student Cara Linnenkohl took sixth place in the women's pair final at the FISA World Rowing Junior Championships in Beijing in 2007, and second in the single in 2008 in Austria.[28]
- Student Kimi Pohlman signed with the University of Washington in November 2007 to play softball for the Huskies.[29] Along with her accomplishments in softball, Pohlman also excelled in track, soccer, and basketball.[30]
History
edit- 1988 - School founded by Drs. Nancy and William Price on the campus of Bear Creek Community Church, Woodinville, WA.
- 2000 - Redmond Campus is opened.
- 2005 - School acquires new Valley Campus to start a new K-6 campus, after leaving former Woodinville campus.
- 2006 - Nancy Price resigns from her position as the head of school to pursue mission work in Africa.
- 2006 - Karen Beman is appointed Interim Head of School.
- 2007 - The Board of Directors announces Patrick B. Carruth as the new head of school from July 1, 2007.[31]
- 2015 -Upper school campus opens.
School symbols
editThe school's original crest displays four symbols surrounding a cross: a book and pen signifying the arts; an atom, the sciences; a winged shoe, athletics; and an honor torch, personal character. Above the crest is the Latin motto of the School, Credo Ut Intelligam, which means, "I believe so that I may understand."[32] A more recently updated crest shows a cross and a path. The cross represents the school's Christian foundation, while the path represents the path of life. The motto, chosen by the founders, is traceable to St. Anselm and St. Augustine before him.
Notable faculty
edit- Stephen C. Meyer, vice president of the Discovery Institute, is a former board member.
References
edit- ^ "The Bear Creek School", Great Schools
- ^ "Explore The Bear Creek School". Niche. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ Staff, Woodinville Weekly. "Applause - October 6, 2014". The Woodinville Weekly. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ "NWAIS: Bear Creek School, The". www.nwais.org. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ^ "The Bear Creek School", Ziegler Capital Markets Group, 25 October 2005
- ^ "National Merit semifinalists announced", The Seattle Times, 18 September 2002]
- ^ "National Merit semifinalists are announced", The Seattle Times, 18 September 2003]
- ^ "National Merit semifinalists named", The Seattle Times, 14 September 2005]
- ^ "Merit Scholarship semifinalists", The Seattle Times, 13 September 2006]
- ^ "National Merit semifinalists from Eastside announced", The Seattle Times, 12 September 2007]
- ^ "Names of Seattle-area National Merit Scholar semifinalists announced", The Seattle Times, 10 September 2008]
- ^ "National Merit Scholar Recognition", The Bear Creek School, 1 October 2009]
- ^ "National Merit Scholarship Recognition", The Bear Creek School, 1 October 2010]
- ^ "Lakeside, Interlake lead local list of National Merit Scholarship semifinalists", The Seattle Times, 14 September 2011]
- ^ "Athletics" Archived 2007-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Watanabe, Tim (18 August 2008). "Bear Creek grad Will Sanger balances books and basketball at D-I Tulsa". Redmond Reporter. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ "2005 girls' golf outlook: Second chance for state title", The Seattle Times, 12 April 2005
- ^ "Kamiak freshman bags girls' championship", The Seattle Times, 24 May 2007
- ^ "Bear Creek boys win program's first state golf championship", Tim Watanabe, Redmond Reporter, 26 May 2011
- ^ "2B/1B boys' soccer - Bear Creek comes a long way for crown", George Edgar, The Seattle Times, 19 November 2006
- ^ "Lady Grizzlies win 2B state soccer title: Bear Creek defeats Napavine, 1-0, in thrilling shootout", Tim Watanabe, Redmond Reporter, 22 November 2011
- ^ "Bear Creek girls' soccer scores second straight state title", Andy Nystrom, Redmond Reporter, 19 November 2012
- ^ http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/red/sports/46656557.html [dead link]
- ^ "'Storybook' ending for Bear Creek senior Jamie Meyer | Male Athlete of the Year", Tim Watanabe, The Redmond Reporter, 10 June 2010
- ^ "Results from Wash prep track championships", The Seattle Times, 29 May 2009
- ^ "Maddie Meyers repeats as 3,200 champ / Prep track and field", The Seattle Times, 28 May 2010
- ^ "Maddie Meyers wins sixth career track title | 2A, 1A, 2B/1B Track and Field", The Seattle Times, 27 May 2011
- ^ "Rowing pair sixth in Beijing", The Seattle Times, 12 August 2007She also placed second this year in the United States Junior Women's single sculls, the highest placement of any American sculler.
- ^ News Post
- ^ "Redmond's Kimi Pohlman has yet to find a sport she doesn't excel in", Molly Yanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 13 June 2007
- ^ "History" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, The Bear Creek School
- ^ "Our School Crest", The Bear Creek School