Oysters on the half shell. The glow of characters and subtitles projected onto a garden wall. The clink of champagne flutes. As CEO of Foreign Cinema and several other top San Francisco restaurants, Bruce McDonald ’84 creates experiences defined as much by cuisine as they are by innovation, impeccable service, and panache. “I think of the effort as something similar to mounting a Broadway show,” he says. “Every night we open to a new audience and try to repeat the magic.”

Bruce’s first encounter with that magic took place nearly 800 miles from San Francisco at the old E.R. Rodgers restaurant in Steilacoom, where he worked his way up from dishwasher to busboy the summer before his senior year at Charles Wright. “I remember getting my first tip, five dollars, just for bringing a customer some extra sauce for his steak. I was hooked at that point.” Bruce didn’t dive into restaurant life full time right away, however. He headed to Dartmouth after graduation, then on to Chicago to begin work as a software engineer. He recalls that “the career was exciting but lacked much creative opportunity, and I didn’t relate to some of my nerdier coworkers. I felt the need to find some other line of work so went to business school to reinvent myself.” After graduating from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1995, Bruce landed in San Francisco with Booz Allen as a management consultant. “Three years of constant travel and long hours left me feeling exhausted and ready for another change, so I struck out on my own as a freelance consultant,” he explains.

Years before Silicon Valley tech and start-ups would come to predominate the Bay Area economy, the dot-com boom provided the backdrop for Bruce and his business partners to open their first restaurant. “San Francisco in the late 1990s was an exciting time with everyone making lots of money, and no business seemed too far-fetched,” he says. “I had always thought it would be fun to open a bar or a restaurant as a side project and met two guys raising money for a new concept combining food with film. I jumped at the chance to be their financial partner, and we opened Foreign Cinema in 1999.”

Bruce’s transition to restaurant ownership wasn’t the first time he had pursued a new direction in his life. “CWA gave me the opportunity to pursue so many different interests,” he says. “Although I grew up thinking of myself as a jock, I found myself unsatisfied and not very good in basketball or wrestling.” A conversation with faculty emeritus Donn Laughlin helped Bruce to envision a shift in his student life. “I still remember the day he pulled me into his classroom and asked me if I had ever thought of getting involved in theater,” he says. “At first I worked on set construction and then helped with design. Then I mustered the courage to try acting and portrayed Lawrence Redding in Murder at the Vicarage followed by Romeo in Romeo and Juliet my senior year. That experience, probably more than anything, inspired me to work in a field where I could combine art and science.”

With Foreign Cinema, McDonald renewed the inspiration he’d found on stage at CWA. “I love the combination of art and science required in hospitality,” he says. “Most of the artistic effort happens in the beginning when you are imagining a place. It’s like writing a story, and you can say almost whatever you want.” Bruce has co-written such stories to open many other restaurants, from gourmet sausages and beer in a turn-of-the-century Victorian setting at Showdogs in 2009 to tropical cuisine in a British Caribbean setting at Palm House in 2014. “I always collaborate with others, which is typical in restaurants because you benefit from collective thinking and protect yourself from pursuing something too crazy,” he explains. “It’s got to be exciting but also sound profitable, or you won’t be able to raise the money to open.” According to Bruce, the creative spark must balance with well-planned organization. “Once open, the project becomes a scientific one in maintaining the high standards on a daily basis and putting all the processes in place to make sure every day runs smoothly. This requires a lot of discipline and structure to do consistently, and good restaurants must master this part in order to thrive.”

Next up for Bruce is a new artistic pursuit with the science of viniculture: “The hospitality business in San Francisco has been strong for the past few years, and many new restaurants have opened,” he says. “I am taking a break from more places and moving up the supply chain to work on creating a vineyard on 50 acres I bought in Sonoma in 2014” Although his restaurants and new winemaking pursuits demand much of his time, Bruce enjoys the opportunity to return to the Charles Wright campus whenever possible and has also hosted Bay Area Tarrier alumni at his restaurants. He keeps ties to the arts on campus with nephew Drew Snyder ’18 participating in productions in the Language and Performing Arts Center’s Donn Laughlin Theatre. Bruce’s sister (and Drew’s mom) Liz Snyder serves as CWA’s Arts Boosters chair. “I love coming back to see how everything is thriving with a larger student body, beautiful facilities, great sports teams, and such accomplished students,” he says. “I had a charmed life in high school at CWA and am so grateful for the experience.” //

by Cheryl Miller

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Guests are invited to partake of fresh Alaskan Bairdi crab, clam chowder, and crab bisque while enjoying live music by Steve Stefanowicz and Too Many Cooks (and special guests).

We look forward to celebrating Tarrier athletics with you! Click HERE to register!

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The following athletes earned all Leauge recognition during the winter season: Shoni Prichett was named MVP of the League (second year in a row), Henry Cheney, and Majestic Moler 1st team, and Honorable Mention, RubyJoy Pikes. Congratulations to the student athletes who were recognized by the Nisqually League.

Shoni Pritchett was invited to play in the All-State game on March 19th at Kings and was also invited to play in the Queens of the Hardwood this Saturday March 12 at North Seattle CC. In addition Shoni was All-Area TNT 1st Team.

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Tacoma, Wash. – Charles Wright Academy’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Matt Culberson will be the next Head of School. Mr. Culberson will succeed current Headmaster Robert Camner, who retires in June after serving in the role for 20 years, and will assume the position on July 1, 2016.

“I am so honored and beyond thrilled,” says Mr. Culberson, currently Head of School at the McGillis School (K-8) in Salt Lake City. “From my earliest visits with the students and faculty, I knew Charles Wright Academy was a school community of which I would like to be a part. I am excited for the opportunity to help shape and lead a vision of the future that builds upon the incredible excellence so firmly established in the DNA of CWA. What an incredible place to be a student, to be a teacher, to be a Head of School. I cannot wait to get started.”

Charles Wright leadership established a search committee comprising faculty, parents, alumni, and Trustees who, in partnership with Dallas-based Brigham Hill Consultancy, conducted a national search and vetted dozens of candidates before inviting six finalists to campus for community meetings throughout late 2015 and early 2016. The Board unanimously voted in favor of extending the offer to Mr. Culberson.

“Matt Culberson is very excited for the opportunity to lead CWA,” says CWA Board Chair Joe Mayer ’88, who also chaired the search committee. “He is eager to get back to a junior kindergarten-12th grade program, loves our community and campus, and can see great potential for CWA’s future. Mr. Culberson has been a teacher, a division director, a college counselor, and an academic dean in charge of curriculum at K-12 schools where he helped evaluate, refine, and improve programs.”

photography by Jasper Xin ’18

Mr. Culberson has been Head of School at the McGillis School since 2006. He was previously assistant Head of School and academic dean at Oakley School, a boarding high school outside of Park City, Utah, and he spent 12 years at the Waterford School (PK-12) near Salt Lake City as an Upper School English and philosophy teacher, coach, middle school dean, and college counselor. Earlier in his career, Mr. Culberson served in various teaching and administrative roles at the University of Denver, Belmont Hill School, and Storm King School.

The Board of Trustees sought a visionary leader for CWA who could raise the profile of the school in the greater Pierce County area; bring a fresh perspective to the curriculum and help grow and develop the academic program; and embrace the school’s philosophy of blending and balancing academics, the arts, and athletics.

“Rob Camner and Matt Culberson have known each other for many years through their leadership on the Board and Accreditation Committee of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools,” says Mr. Mayer. “The Board of Trustees will work closely with both of them to ensure that the transition of the school’s leadership will be handled with great care.”

Mr. Culberson holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Washington and Lee University and a Master of Arts in philosophy from the University of Denver. He is a former vice president of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools’ Board of Governors and a former President of the American Mountain Guides Association in addition to having served on a number of other boards.

Between 1984 and 1992, he was a professional mountain guide and a senior staff member of American Alpine Institute in Bellingham, in which role he worked, traveled, and climbed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. “Mr. Culberson’s background as a nationally renowned mountain guide and adventurer will energize the Outdoor Education program at CWA—a hallmark of our school,” Mr. Mayer says. An avid mountain runner, backcountry skier, and climber, Mr. Culberson has made seven expeditions through the Alaska Range, 14 trips through the Andes, and four trips through the Himalayas. He was awarded the Presidential Gold Medal by the American Mountain Guides Association in 2010.

“Beyond Mr. Culberson’s extraordinary skill sets and experiences, our committee found him to be a genuine human being who relates very well with people representing all sectors of our school community,” says Mr. Mayer. “We felt that his style—warm, thoughtful, engaging, down-to-earth, and driven by his passion for greatness—reflects the best in us as a community.”

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The Upper School winter play for 2016 was cult classic “Little Shop of Horrors.” Theater teacher John Forier shares his excitement over the students’ stellar performances and the success of this year’s winter production below. You can also learn more—including plenty of behind-the-scenes insights—on the CWA Little Shop of Horrors Facebook page. To see photos from the production, click here. 

CWA’s winter musical, “Little Shop of Horrors,” was a huge success. The show itself was performed with precision and great energy, and every show was close to sold out—breaking all of our existing records for attendance.

The musical itself is beautifully written with powerful messages and wonderful songs, and the Charles Wright Academy Players gave stirring performances across the board. Johnny Hammer ’16 as the Dentist was comically despicable, and Ken Yang ’16 and Morgan Potter ’16 as the tragic couple showed power and great vulnerability throughout the show.

All of the actors sounded amazing, and the student pit did an incredible job under the direction of Ms. Huckins and Mr. Wadleigh. A very big tech crew created an amazing set, mood lighting, and four intricate puppets that stole the show in their scenes. Mr. Twiner and Mr. Bishop led the crews to outdo themselves day after day, and Mr. Moffitt guided the publicity team to create an experiential entrance, as well as a new reservation system and social media campaign that helped achieve our record audiences.

As always, all of our kids sacrificed much to offer the community a tremendous weekend of theatre. Bravo.

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Charles Wright Academy’s Director of College Counseling and Academic Dean Katie Ryan shared the following review of the new SAT exam in the March 2016 Upper School Newsletter.

On Saturday, January 23, students all over the world took the SAT in its current version for the last time. March 5, 2016, will mark the first administration of the College Board’s redesigned SAT, which is substantially different in structure and content than the “old” SAT and assesses a different set of skills.

In preparation for this significant change to the college admissions landscape, I have spent time reviewing the content of the new SAT in depth, using full-length sample tests and test specifications released by the College Board. I’ve also read articles and attended several workshops that analyzed the new SAT and compared it to the old SAT as well as the ACT. The overarching conclusion from my research is that the new SAT is more difficult than either the old SAT or the ACT. It tests higher-level skills, such as critical thinking and analysis, and requires conceptual understanding of complex ideas. Further, just as the College Board intended, the new SAT deliberately reflects high school curriculum much more than the old SAT, and it closely follows the standards set forth by the Common Core State Standards Initiative developed in 2009. In fact, the current College Board President, David Coleman, was one of the key architects of the Common Core.

In a recent New York Times article called “Everything You Need to Know About the New SAT,” a test prep expert and author of a book called “Conquering the SAT” was quoted saying, “The new SAT will align better with what kids are learning in school, but if you haven’t gone to a school that’s prepared you well, the test isn’t going to serve you well.” I agree. Skills such as critical thinking can’t be learned in a Saturday test prep cram course; they are learned over time in a rigorous curriculum. So, how well served will Charles Wright students be by this new SAT? Because we have rigorous expectations and emphasize critical thinking, analytical writing, and conceptual understanding within our program, we hypothesized that our students would be well prepared. In order to be sure, we formed a Charles Wright “SAT Committee” comprised of myself and the department chairs from English, Math, Science, and History. Over several months this fall, the committee analyzed sample tests and test specifications with the goal of determining, subject by subject, how well Charles Wright’s curriculum matches the skills and knowledge assessed by the new SAT. The committee was also charged with making recommendations for adjustments to curriculum that might be necessary in order to prepare our students well for this new exam.

I’m pleased to report that the findings of the SAT Committee overwhelmingly indicate that Charles Wright’s curriculum will prepare our students very well for the new SAT. The primary skills measured by the new SAT are skills that are already emphasized at Charles Wright, often in more than one discipline, and Charles Wright students will be familiar with virtually all of the material
they will encounter on the new SAT. There was just one area within the math section, statistics and probability, where the committee uncovered content on the new SAT not covered in the CWA curriculum, and plans are already underway to add this material to several math courses.

Here’s a brief overview of the major changes to the SAT:

Return to a 1600 scale. The new SAT will have two sections, Evidence Based Reading and Writing and Math, each with a maximum of 800 points.

The essay is optional and significantly different. The essay will be scored separately with a maximum sub-score of 50 points. Students will read a passage and be asked to write an essay that analyzes the author’s intent and how he or she builds an argument. Since many colleges will require the essay, we
recommend that CWA students take it.

No penalty for guessing. Students may feel less pressure when they are uncertain of an answer because they will not lose points for wrong answers, as they did on the old SAT.

Includes science. Science is incorporated into both the reading and math sections. Students will need to interpret graphs, charts, and tables and understand reading passages that include sophisticated scientific vocabulary.

Vocabulary in context. Gone are the so called “SAT words.” The new SAT will test students’ ability to understand the meaning of words commonly used in college and careers in the context of reading passages.

Reduced emphasis on grammar. Instead of drilling students on standard English conventions, as the old SAT did with sentence completion questions, the new SAT will assess students’ rhetorical skills. Questions in the writing section focus on expression of ideas, subtle transitions, introductions, and supporting examples.

Depth over breadth in the math section. Fewer math concepts are assessed by the new SAT, including much less geometry. However, students will need to have a deep, conceptual understanding of each topic in order to perform well. Analysis will be emphasized over solving. Word problems are prevalent, which could be a struggle for non-native speakers of English.

Here’s what the CWA SAT Committee found in their study of the new SAT

English Department Findings. The English department asserts that the skills assessed on the new SAT ARE the curriculum of the English Department. Review of sample SAT exams revealed that the following key skills are assessed on the new Evidence Based Reading and Writing test:

• Close reading and analysis, which consists of discerning a writer’s purpose and the evidence and analysis used to support that purpose.
• Understanding a writer’s rhetorical choices, including genre, diction, syntax, vocabulary, and structural elements.
• Basic fluency with literary devices, such as simile, metaphor, symbol, antithesis, irony, tone.
• Application of the strategies they study and analyze in various writers’ works to their own writing, across a variety of genres. These skills are taught throughout the English curriculum. Some specific examples:
– In Literary Genres, typically taken in 9th grade, students practice close reading and study literary devices in context. Their writing skills primarily focus on sound paragraph structure and organization.
– In Analytical Writing, typically taken in 10th grade, students extend the reach of the close reading skills they practice in 9th Grade by identifying literary devices and their intended effects on readers. Their textual analysis    includes increasing emphasis on the relationship between word choice and tone. Their writing
moves to multi-paragraph analytical essays, wherein they practice the skills they are asked to analyze as readers in the SAT multiple-choice section and essay section.
– In American Writers, typically taken in 11th Grade, students spend more time with analysis of non-fiction (mostly essays); they are also introduced, through the works they study, to Critical Theory and to literary
movements such as Naturalism, Realism, Modernism, Post-Modernism.

Math Department Findings. A majority of the topics that students will need to know in order to be successful on the new SAT are sufficiently covered within the Charles Wright curriculum in both the honors and regular tracks, and are introduced for most students prior to spring of the junior year, when we recommend they take their first SAT. Some minor adjustments to the math curriculum may be needed to ensure that CWA students will be well prepared for the new SAT, and those adjustments are currently under discussion.

• The set of mathematical skills that the College Board refers to as “The Heart of Algebra” and which comprises 35% of the test emphasizes: analyzing and fluently solving equations and systems of equations; creating expressions, equations, and inequalities to represent relationships between quantities and to solve problems; and rearranging and interpreting formulas. All of these skills are covered, primarily in Algebra 1 and Algebra 2, both regular and honors level, and virtually all are covered in depth.
• The set of mathematical skills that the College Board refers to as “Passport to Advanced Math” and which comprises 27% of the test emphasizes: rewriting expressions using their structure; creating, analyzing, and fluently solving quadratic and higher order equations; and manipulating polynomials purposefully to solve problems. These skills are covered in Algebra 2, Math Modeling and Pre-Calculus.
• The section of the test that the College Board calls “Problem Solving and Data Analysis” and which comprises 28% of test presents the only area of concern for the math department. The skills assessed in this section—creating and analyzing relationships using ratios, proportions, percentages, and units; describing relationships shown graphically; and summarizing qualitative and quantitative data—are touched on in 6th to 8th grade, but not covered in depth in the Upper School except in the elective course, AP Statistics. The math department is currently exploring how to incorporate these topics into the curriculum.
• “Additional Topics in Math”, comprising 10% of the test, include: making area and volume calculations in context; investigating lines, angles, triangles, and circles using theorems; working with trigonometric functions. All are covered in depth, primarily in Geometry and Algebra 2, both regular and honors level.
• Another significant change to the math section of the SAT is the addition of a section for which no calculator is allowed. Because it is common practice within the CWA math department to include a no-calculator section in assessments, CWA students will be well prepared for this change.

Science Department Findings. The science department is confident that our current curricula will serve students well in mastering the skills that will be measured by the new SAT.

• The primary scientific skills that will be measured by the new SAT are comprehension of reading passages with scientific content, graph interpretation, and science vocabulary recognition. Regularly assigned textbook reading throughout the year and occasional assigned articles from magazines or journals (assigned for enrichment) help students to build solid skills with reading comprehension and introduce them to science vocabulary in context. Throughout all science courses at CWA, graphs are created to analyze or present experimentally gathered data, giving students a great deal of exposure to and practice with interpreting graphs.
• The science department does not believe that there are any skills covered on the new SAT that are outside the parameters of our curriculum, and thus no major adjustments to the curriculum are planned. However, in the future, teachers may increase the number of reading assignments that will require students to interpret text and draw conclusions from it, and more attention may be paid to the correct use of content-specific vocabulary in its appropriate context.

History Department Findings. The history department has concluded that all of the skills covered in the reading and writing section of the new SAT are touched on somewhere within the CWA history curriculum. Some of the primary skills assessed by the new SAT, such as thesis and argument analysis; document analysis; contextualization of brief reading samples; and synthesis of facts by extending an argument to a different era, theme or academic discipline are covered in depth. Specific examples are listed below.

• All history classes at every level from the Middle School through Upper School work on writing analytical essays centered around developing a concise, comprehensive thesis that is the centerpiece for a strong, fact based historical argument.
• Document based questions (DBQs) are also used throughout the curriculum and require students to use a limited number of documents to provide evidence used in historical analytical essays.
• Reading the DBQ documents, and other primary and secondary sources, and successfully using them in an essay requires students to not only understand what they are reading but to think about issues such as authorship, audience and purpose for the samples.
• Bringing together information and skills from the gamut of academic disciplines (literature, science, statistical analysis, world languages/cultures, and history) are one of the main goals of a comprehensive survey class. All the Upper School history courses target this skill.

New SAT recommendations from CWA College Counseling.

For all of the reasons I’ve outlined, the college counselors believe that Charles Wright students should feel confident that they have the skills and knowledge necessary for success on the new SAT. Still, because the new SAT seems to be a more difficult test than the ACT, students are advised to try both tests in order to see which they prefer and on which they perform better. Colleges accept either the SAT or the ACT and do not have a preference for one over the other. Soon concordance tables will be available that will allow comparisons between the new SAT and the ACT, and the college counselors will be able to help students determine which test is better for them individually. In order to better prepare our students for taking the ACT, we offered a practice ACT here at school on Saturday, January 9, and 80 students signed up to take it. We plan to continue this practice in the future so that our students will have adequate information with which to decide which college admissions test will be best for them.

Although we have so much more information about the new SAT than we had just six months ago, a great deal of uncertainty still remains. Logistical details such as how long it will take for students who take the March exam to receive their scores (we’ve been told there will be delays but not how long those delays will be) and how many colleges will require the essay, remain unknown. In terms of larger conclusions on a national level about student performance, several administrations of the new SAT will need to occur before any statistically significant data can be analyzed. I’ll continue to follow these developments closely and keep students and parents informed as new information becomes available.

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Matt Culberson has been named Charles Wright Academy’s next Head of School. He will assume the position on July 1, 2016, upon current Headmaster Rob Camner’s retirement. Below is an essay he has written on educational leadership. You can learn more about Mr. Culberson and the school’s hiring process here. 

Education is inherently moral. The choices we make about what we teach, how we teach, and the end toward which we teach are laden with the value we hold for critical thinking, integrity, justice, richness of curiosity, and participation in the robustness of living fully. The life of the mind, rigor of physical activity, and appreciation of the aesthetic are the foundation we build to help children become the very best of humanity.

In schools, the framework of education should be a vigorous vertical curriculum that balances critical thinking and creative discovery with disciplined study and the opportunity to explore ideas horizontally. Nourishing and supporting independent talents and interests through differentiated discovery in a creative and interactive learning environment helps each child embrace more fully the world of knowledge as they come to understand how it is all interconnected and limitless. The content we choose to teach is the means to creative and critical thinking. The context we give to what we teach guides the child’s ethical development and helps them understand their responsibility and participation in creating a just world. Understanding the human condition becomes the driver to act meaningfully and celebrate the commonalities and differences in each of us.

Creating a strong educational community begins by building and sustaining healthy relationships. The foundational relationship in a school is between teacher and student. By fostering an environment where this relationship can blossom, as well as the partnership between parents and school, the institution is positioned to be a rich educational community for everyone. Providing fertile ground and opportunity for these relationships to grow, and building and sustaining clear communication and trust with the faculty and parents, have to be the first priority of school leadership. Embracing this work toward the end of raising and teaching children well, the successful school leader is ever attentive to the nourishment and harmony of these relationships.

photo by Jasper ’18

But the twenty-first century independent school Head is like the multi-headed Hydra, with responsibilities for academic programming, marketing, admissions, fund-raising, governance, communications, financial modeling, strategic visioning, construction management, creative problem solving, employment law, and the psychology of human relationships. (Fortunately the Hydra grows two heads back for every one lost!) Attentive management in each of these areas is essential to the success and sustainability of a school community into the future. Success in these endeavors requires leadership with integrity, which demands a genuinely open forum for discussion and growth that begins with the premise that everyone’s perspective has value that deserves to be respectfully acknowledged and regarded. The effective leader will model and mentor by applauding successes, encouraging those who stumble, while never relinquishing accountability, and always being authentic. With clear vision and direction that serves as the touchstone for decision-making and community building, the successful educational leader can create, engender, and facilitate an environment of support, collaboration, growth, and success that permeates the community of students, parents, and staff.

As Plato suggests in his metaphor, the duty of educators is to leave the brilliant light of knowledge and return to the depths of the cave to help others unshackle themselves from the shadows of deception and ignorance. The critical thinking and creative problem-solving tools teachers give to their students are nourished by encouragement, challenge, and support. The school community is the safe place for students to learn how to use these tools and appreciate the richness in learning as they come to understand the possibilities in the world, then create their own meaningful place in it.

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Tacoma, Wash. – Charles Wright Academy is pleased to announce that current Lower School fitness teacher and Assistant Athletic Director Tyler Francis has been named the school’s next Athletic Director. Mr. Francis will succeed current athletic director and Head of Upper School Bill White on July 1. Mr. White will remain Upper School head moving forward.

“Tyler has served for the last six years as assistant athletic director and has worked at Charles Wright for more than 20 years,” says Headmaster Rob Camner. “He has coached multiple sports, including leading the Tarrier boys basketball team to a state championship. He has the rare gift of being equally adept at working with high school seniors and with 4-year-olds in junior kindergarten.”

The national search process began with 50 applicants—many of whom were current athletic directors—and eventually narrowed to five finalists who underwent an extensive on-campus interview process with administrators, coaches, teachers, students, and parents. “The search committee was unanimous in its recommendation to me that Tyler was best suited to take on the role of athletic director at this time,” says Mr. Camner. “I am grateful for the time and care that the members of the search committee put into the process, and I am equally grateful to those members of the CWA community who took the time to provide feedback about the candidates they met with.”

In addition to his current role as assistant athletic director and fitness teacher, Mr. Francis has also coached basketball, baseball, football, and soccer. The CWA Parent Association honored Mr. Francis with the Inspirational Faculty Award in 2009. He highlights working with students across all grade levels as a favorite part of his current role and looks forward to strengthening relationships with students, parents, and coaches as the athletic director. “Athletics has been a big part of my life, and I want to have the opportunity to help others find their passion in sports,” Mr. Francis says. “I want to make a difference working with athletes and coaches across all Tarrier sports. It’s a new challenge I feel ready for.”

Mr. Francis will be succeeding Mr. White, who has served in his dual roles of head of Upper School and athletic director for six years. “Bill is an indefatigable worker and a highly experienced and very knowledgeable multiple-sport coach,” Mr. Camner says. “During his tenure as athletic director the quality of Tarrier athletics has improved both in quality and in consistency, and he hands to his successor a very strong program well poised to continue its growth trajectory.”

The announcement about CWA’s new athletic director comes on the heels of the school’s news that it has named a new Head of School, Matt Culberson, who will also be assuming his new role on July 1 along with Mr. Francis. Both are looking forward to building relationships within the CWA community as well as the greater South Sound community.

“Tyler has been a steady presence and a phenomenal organizer and worker with all aspects of Tarrier athletics,” Mr. Camner says. “He will put that experience and deep knowledge to good use in his new role.”

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Upper School Japanese teacher Stephanie Glenn ’86 shares with us an update on a longstanding Tarrier tradition highlighting cultural exchange and global experiences—the annual March visit by students from our sister school in Japan. Read about some of their activities below!

For more than 15 years, Charles Wright has been hosting three exchange students each spring from our sister school, Mukogawa, in Japan. They are here to practice their English and learn about American culture. They also participate in our Japanese classes, helping our students practice their language skills and learn about Japanese culture. This year we are very happy to welcome Miyuu, Saki and Aika.

Below are Saki, Miyuu, and Aika enjoying a little outing to Starbucks wearing their new CWA swag:

And here they are playing a traditional Japanese card game, Karuta, with an Upper School Japanese 200 class:

They will be joining Middle School and Upper School classes until March 25. Please say hello if you see them on campus or in the Tarrier community!

The post CWA and Mukogawa Celebrate Cultural Exchange appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

When: Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m.
Where: Donn Laughlin Theater in the Language and Performing Arts Center

Please join us for an evening of choral performances by Upper Schoolers.

The post March 16: US Spring Choral Masterworks Concert appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

When: Thursday, March 24, and Friday, March 25, during school hours
Where: Various locations

It’s that time again: Middle School Days 2016 are upon us! This annual event has been offered continuously for almost 40 years and continues to be one of the most popular experiences for both students and faculty today.
All Middle Schoolers participate in Middle School Days, which is part of the experiential learning experience that is a hallmark of a CWA education. Students participate in a myriad of courses in the fields of art, fashion, science, sport and fitness, technology, design, outdoor education, service learning, and more.

The post March 24-25: Middle School Days appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

Charles Wright Academy seventh graders spend the first full week of March in Ashland on the grade’s annual field trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Tarriers went to performances of “Twelfth Night” (which they studied in their English class prior to the trip), “The River Bride,” and “Yeoman of the Guard.” They also attended workshops led by professional actors and crew members, learning about the craft both onstage and behind the scenes. “We went to an actor workshop in which we got to chat with one of the main actors from ‘he River Bride,'” says seventh grade English teacher Lydia Roberts. “We also visited workshops on stage makeup and costume design—with a play on Ye Olde Project Runway—and took in a prologue for ‘The River Bride’ and a prologue for ‘Yeoman’ in addition to having a chat with the stage manager from ‘Twelfth Night’ after the show.”

Go-karts and arcade games were also part of the fun. For photos on the seventh graders’ festivities, please click here.

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A team representing Charles Wright Academy achieved highest honors in the recent WordMasters Challenge—a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 150,000 students annually. The third grade team scored an impressive 183 points out of a possible 200 in the second of three meets this year, placing fourth in the nation. In addition, the eighth grade team also scored 183 points and finished in tenth place in its division.

Competing in the difficult Blue Division of the WordMasters Challenge, Charlie ’25 and Olivia ’25 each earned a perfect score of 20. Nationally, only 23 third graders achieved this result. Other students from Charles Wright Academy who achieved outstanding results in the meet include Tessa ’25 and Isabella ’23.

The WordMasters Challenge is an exercise in critical thinking that first encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words (considerably harder than grade level), and then challenges them to use their new vocabulary to complete analogies expressing various kinds of logical relationships. Working to solve the analogies helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically. Although most vocabulary enrichment and analogy-solving programs are designed for use by high school students, WordMasters Challenge materials have been specifically created for younger students in grades three through eight. They are particularly well suited for children who are motivated by the challenge of learning new words and enjoy the logical puzzles posed by analogies.

The WordMasters Challenge program is administered by a company based in Indianapolis, Indiana, which is dedicated to inspiring high achievement in American schools. Further information is available at the company’s website.

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Soccer

3/14 Charles Wright @ Gig Harbor
CWA- 0 Gig Harbor- 3

3/15 Charles Wright @Elma
CWA- 6 Elma- 0

1st goal: Nick Iregui #10 PK
2nd goal: Nick Iregui #10 asst. Adam Berg #11
3rd goal: Adam Berg #11 asst. Ethan Brassard #6
4th goal: Nick Iregui #10 asst. Grant Young #3
5th goal: Nick Iregui #10 Deflection of Elma’s keeper
6th goal: Wyatt Swift #15 asst. Nick Iregui #10

CWA:
Corner Kicks: 3
Shots on Goal: 22
Goalkeeper saves: 4
Fouls: 5
Offside: 2

Baseball

3/15 Charles Wright @ Mt Tahoma
CWA- 10 Mt Tahoma-0

Winning Pitcher:
August Perry-Jones 4 ip, 0 Hits, 5 K

Batting:
Henry Lenaburg 2-2, 2B, 3B, 5 rbi, 2 runs
Anthony Lundberg 1-1, 3 runs, 2 bb
Henry Cheney 1-1, 3 runs, rbi, 2 bb

Key:
runs = runs scored
bb = base on balls
rbi = run batted in
ip = innings pitched
k = strike outs

Boys Golf

3/8 Charles Wright vs Cascade Christian
CWA- 173 Cascade Christian- 170

Gyan Bains led the way shooting a two over par 37 to be the Match Medalist. Kevin Xu and Ben Hallman tied at 44, and Kieran Coumou played strong with a 45.

Winter Season recognition update-

Wednesday, March 16, Henry Cheney, Majestic Moler and Shoni Pritchett were recognized at the Tacoma Athletic Commission as winter athletes of the year. Congratulations to them for their great efforts and positive impact to Charles Wright Athletics!

Also, Shoni Pritchett is playing in the All-State game this Saturday(3/19) at Kings HS at 4pm. She is on a roster of 10 – 1A players who play vs a 2A team. This game is called – “Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association Senior All-State Game”.

B vs 2B at 2pm
1A vs 2A at 4pm
3A vs 4A at 6pm

The post US Athletics Update: Week of March 14 appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

On March 5, 2016, Charlie’s Club at Charles Wright Academy had its grand opening—and what a success it was! Fellows and flappers came out in droves to attend the 2016 Spirit Auction, and we can’t thank all of Charlie’s supporters enough for helping us make this evening happen. To our amazing volunteers and our generous donors, sponsors, and guests we want to say thank you for your contribution in helping us raise money to support the students at Charles Wright Academy. Charlie’s Club supporters hit on all sixes and together we broke several records! We’re so excited to support our “bright young people” now and for years to come with the newly endowed Robert Camner Fund for Faculty. Pat yourselves on the back folks—we think you’re the bee’s knees!

Thanks to all of our amazing volunteers and supporters, we had a fantastic year! Here’s a look at the 2016 Spirit Auction by the numbers:

• 503 guests (an attendance record)
• 1,942 bids placed
• 33 bids placed on most-bidded item (CWA custom glass ornaments)
• 22 event sponsors
• 6 advertisers
• 60 adult volunteers
• 42 student volunteers from the Class of 2016
• 306 item donors
• $18,311 Spirit Dollars donated (a Spirit Dollar record)
• $4,860 in faculty and staff sponsored tickets donated
• $173,011 in auction bids
• $352,416 total raised after expenses (preliminary)
• $203,950 of that will fund the Robert Camner Fund for Faculty (a Fund-A-Need record)

THANK YOU to our Charlie’s Club Management—you’re the cat’s meow!

• Bootleg Buyout Coordinators: Jenny Unruh and Maria Junemalm-Emerick
• Class Art Project Coordinator: Ann Vogel
• Communication and Guest Generation: Tiffany Spaulding
• CWA Parent Association and Auction Coordinator: Brenda Mueller
• Data Entry: Carla Pelster
• Dessert Dash: Lynne Parrott
• Display: Deb Sclair and Cassandra Will
• Large Item Procurement: Blake Goldberg ’82
• Live Production: Kerri and Chuck ’72 O’Farrell
• Procurement: Jen Smith, Nicole Rode, and Lori Sullivan
• Senior Class Volunteer Coordinator: Leon Phillips
• Sponsor Recognition: JoAnne Tees
• Volunteer Coordinator: Tareena Joubert

Thank you to the following Spirit Auction sponsors and advertisers—you helped make our event a roaring success!

We just can’t say THANK YOU enough! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for your support of Charles Wright Academy.

Gratefully,

Jamie and Rajiv Nagaich (Sid ’15, Abby ’17, and Sam ’22)

Charlie’s Club Co-Chairs

The post Charlie’s Club Grand Opening was a Huge Success! appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

Charles Wright Academy seventh graders in Riley Meinershagen‘s science class were tasked with writing a persuasive essay as part of a research project co-led by Middle School librarian Sam Harris. Liam Emerick ’21 decided to learn more about the methanol plant proposal currently being debated in the Tacoma community. Below, Mr. M outlines the assignment, which in this instance has also encouraged a serious study of current events and civic engagement, and Liam shares his persuasive essay and sources.

Mr. Meinershagen: “The assignment was for each student pick a research topic and write a persuasive essay. Students picked between three topics: Is mining worth the cost? What should humans do about our effect on the atmosphere? Are nuclear power plants a good alternative source of energy? Sam Harris directed the student research and brought up the Asarco smelter plant as a topic to look at within the mining question. After starting his research on mining, Liam looked into the Asarco smelter plant. He asked me if he could focus on the methanol plant issue and I let him pursue that, encouraging him to look at newspaper sources and the science behind methanol production. I was only peripherally involved in the direction and detail of his research. After the two weeks of research, we spent two weeks in class structuring and then writing the essay. This research project was attached to our chemical elements unit as a way to look at the use and effects of particular chemicals and elements by modern industry.”

Northwest Innovation Works is planning on building the largest methanol plant in the world, here in the port of Tacoma. After the methanol is produced it will be shipped to an olefins plant in China where it will undergo further treatment, eventually being used to make plastics. This proposal has caused much controversy and debate in the Tacoma-Seattle area. Some argue that the plant will create jobs and a better economy for the city of Tacoma. I believe on the other hand, that the disadvantages outway the advantages. This plant would introduce multiple public health risks and potentially prove hazardous to the residents in the area. It would also require immense amounts of utilities that would need to come from outside sources. Finally, the last time Tacoma had a production plant this size it released great amounts of pollution and proved harmful to the citizens of Tacoma.

The last time Tacoma built a large scale production plant it caused multiple public health risks, and now three decades later we are still cleaning up the arsenic and lead waste it left behind. In 1890, a new smelter plant was built in Tacoma. After releasing plumes of lead and arsenic fumes into the air for almost a century, Tacoma finally shut it down in 1985. Three decades later, families are still finding substantial amounts of lead and arsenic waste in the environment, which can lead to brain disorders and learning disabilities and various organ cancers, respectively. Not only are these chemicals found in the ground, but they can also be found in Tacoma’s lakes and rivers. “Angle Lake and Lake Killarney, both in South King County, had levels of arsenic more than six times a level the Department of Ecology cites as a concentration above which harmful effects on sediment-dwelling organisms are expected to occur frequently. The highest lead concentration was found in Steel Lake in Federal Way, where the analysis found more than 10 times the corresponding state-defined threshold,” said Derrick Nunnally.

Although the new methanol plant could bring jobs, it would also require more energy and water then our city alone can supply. Estimations by the TPU (Tacoma Public Utilities) reveal that the plant would use up to 3.8 billion gallons of water every year; that is 10,000 gallons per minute, enough to supply 77,500 homes per day. For perspective, in 2014 Tacoma’s residents used 5.9 billion gallons of water. In the summer of 2015, Tacoma asked their residents to reduce their water usage by 10%. Not only will the methanol plant use water, but it will also require 450 megawatts of electricity to function. By those numbers you can see that Tacoma will not be able to supply this plant alone. Almost all of it would have to come from outside sources which will cost time and money.
Evidence shows the new methanol plant would cause multiple public health risks and would be harmful to the residents of the Tacoma and Seattle area. According to Citizens of a Healthy Bay, the new plant will release multiple harmful chemicals; these include CO2 which is a greenhouse gas,; and benzene and formaldehyde which are both carcinogenic (cause cancer). This plant will also need to be supplied with a ten mile underground pipeline which will transport the methanol. This is also a big environmental concern considering that pipes leak, and once released, methanol is much worse for the atmosphere than CO2. The plant will also create 1.44 million gallons of wastewater every day. Because this water cannot be safely returned to the water cycle, it would have to be treated in a treatment plant. This plant would be unsafe for the Tacoma citizens.

In conclusion, even though the methanol plant may bring jobs and economic opportunities to the area of Tacoma, it would also likely prove harmful and unsafe to the health of the area residents, require large quantities of outsourced water and power and would in brief, generate more harm than good.

Sources

Tacoma News Tribune Tacoma Smelter Plant
Citizens for a Healthy Bay Citizens For a Healthy Bay
Tacoma News Tribune Methanol Plant
The Allegheny Front Chemical Plants are Dangerous

The post CWA Middle Schooler on Tacoma Methanol Plant appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

Boys Golf
3/15 Charles Wright @ Vashon
CWA- 201 Vashon- 209
Gyan Bains was the match medalist

3/17 Charles Wright @ Seattle Christian
CWA-210 Seattle Christian- 193

Girls Golf
3/17 Charles Wright vs Seattle Christian
CWA- 210 Seattle Christian- 238
Annie Walker 46 (Annie was the match medalist)
Jackie Yeh 53
Aliyah Narcisse 55
Viola Michlitsch-Rambo 56

3/22 Charles Wright vs Bellevue Christian
CWA- 200 Bellevue Christian- (forfeit)
Aliyah Narcisse 47 (Aliyah was the match medalist)
Jackie Yeh 48
Viola Michlitsch-Rambo 51
Annie Walker 54

Tennis

3/18 Charles Wright vs Tenino
CWA- 5 Tenino- 0

1. Singles: Alexis Schorno(CWA) def. Brandi Bratton 6-0, 6-4
2. Singles: Jenny Soel(CWA) def. Ali Vestal 6-0, 6-0

1. Doubles: Maddy Gonzalez/Meera Patel(CWA) def. X. Ontiveros/T. Jones 6-0,6-1
2. Doubles; Mei Ge/Casey Kim(CWA) def. Nice/Newby 6-0, 6-1
3. Doubles: Laney Schorno/Maria Gonzalez(CWA) def. Zamudio/Nienfraus 6-0, 6-0

3/22 Charles Wright vs Vashon
CWA- 5 Vashon-0

1. Singles – Alexis Schorno (CWA) def. T. Malvihil 6-1, 6-3
2. Singles: Jenny Seol CWA) def. Lizzy Maciejewski 3-6, 6-1, 12-10

1. Doubles: M. Gonzalez/Patel (CWA) def. Wittwer/Richter 6-3, 6-2
2. Doubles: Ge/Kim (CWA) def. Fiala/Nelson 7-5, 6-3
3. Doubles: L. Schorno (CWA) def. Vaughn/Osborn 5-7, 6-3, 10-4

Soccer

3/17 Charles Wright @ Eatonville

CWA- 5 Eatonville- 1

CWA
1st goal: Nick Iregui #10 PK Drawn by Adam Berg #11
2nd goal: Nick Iregui #10 asst. Billy Chissoe #7
3rd goal: Nick Iregui #10 asst. Adam Berg #11
4th goal: Wyatt Swift #15 asst. Nick Iregui #10
5th goal: Adam Berg #11, asst AJ Taghavi #2

CWA:
Corner Kicks: 13
Shots on goal: 30
Goalkeeper saves: 1
Fouls: 7
Offside: 3

3/22 Charles Wright vs Vashon
CWA- 4 Vashon-1

CWA
1st goal: Wyatt Swift #15, asst. Nick Iregui #10 37:30 1st half
2nd goal: Wyatt Swift #15 no assist 20:59
3rd goal: Nick Iregui #10, asst, Billy Chissoe #7 19:30 2nd half
4th goal: Nick Iregui #10 asst, Adam Berg #22 12:19

*minutes are recorded counting down from 40:00.

CWA
Corner Kicks: 4
Shots on goal: 19
Goalkeeper saves: 4
Fouls: 8
Offside: 1

Baseball

CWA- 3 Overlake- 13

The post US Athletics Update: Week of March 21 appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

Six ninth graders competed at the National History Day regional competition on Thursday, March 24, in Auburn.

Congratulations to Micah ’19, Tin-Tin ’19, Hannah ’19 (first place, senior division, historical paper), Nikki ’19 (second place, senior division, historical paper), Heidi ’19 (second place, senior division, individual website), and Ryan ’19 (third place, senior division, individual performance)! They have been led by Middle and Upper School history teacher Susan Sparrow.

Hannah, Nikki, Heidi, and Ryan are moving on to compete at the state level in April at Green River Community College.

photo: from right, Ryan, Nikki, and Ms. Sparrow

The post Four Upper Schoolers to Compete at State National History Day appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

Charles Wright Academy English teacher Lydia Roberts, who teaches ninth grade in the Upper School and seventh grade in the Middle School, shares her perspective on how the annual field trip to Ashland, Ore., for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the perfect experiential education field trip to reinforce lessons learned in the classroom.

We talk a lot about interpretation when we are studying any play. What would their interpretation be of a scene if they were the director and/or actor of a particular show? What exactly is being conveyed? Are the words being said and the subtext or underlying meaning of what is being said the same things? Who has the most power? Who thinks they have the most power? What choices would they make to demonstrate these things? ​​

​For our students to then be able to see the play and consider the choices and the interpretation that this particular director and cast had is priceless!​ The Oregon Shakespeare Festival really demonstrates that the themes and conflicts are universal, even though these words are hundreds of years old and from a time that is so different from ours in so many ways. It also allows them to see that there is no real right or wrong way to “do” Shakespeare (or, at least, to develop an opinion about that—and some of them feel very strongly that there is a right or wrong way)!

Many of our kids think of “drama” and theater only in terms of being an actor. The trip to Ashland lets them experience so much more than that. Do they get to see world-class thespians? Of course! They get to work one-on-one with them and discuss their craft, too. However, they also get to meet and talk with stage managers; work on make-up, costuming, lights, and props; and consider the elements that go into many of the various aspects that are required for building a show and being involved in repertory theater. It provides a remarkable amount of exposure that they may never have had an opportunity to experience otherwise.

In seventh grade English, we talk a lot about life—real life and the diverse experiences that we all have. While some may see Shakespeare’s texts as one of the “sacred cows” that perpetuates the notion that knowledge and happenings of white, male, cisgendered heterosexuals are the only ones that matter, the work done at OSF turns that idea on its head. This is one of the aspects of taking classes to OSF that I appreciate immensely because it supports my curriculum and honestly opens people up to having more of an accurate and healthy view of the world. We have seen Julius Caesar—one of the most powerful leaders and most brilliant of military strategists—played by a female. The ghost of Hamlet’s father was deaf and communicated with his son through ASL, which truly gave the audience a sense of the uncertainty Hamlet surely faced! (Was his father really there? What did he really say, and was Hamlet interpreting his words correctly? Could Hamlet’s purported knowledge of what was going on be trusted?) “Romeo and Juliet” demonstrated the strain between families of Spanish and Mexican aristocracy in 1840s California on the verge of the Mexican-American War.

​A​fter seeing the wonderfully multicultural cast of ​”Much Ado about Nothing​,” o​ne of my students (a student of color) said​, “I didn’t know theater could be so diverse,” in such a tone of wonder. His eyes were opened to the fact that the theater and the classics also belong to him and other people who look like him. That alone says it all for me!

The post Middle Schoolers Experience Modern-Day Shakespeare appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.

Charles Wright Academy had a newsworthy month in March, garnering coverage in several South Sound media outlets. Get caught up here!

Here is a link to a University Place Press profile of our next Head of School, Matt Culberson. Mr. Culberson’s pending arrival was also mentioned in an education news roundup in the News Tribune.

The Suburban Times, published by Ben Sclair ’88, published a story on our incoming athletic director, Tyler Francis.

In athletics news, Shoni Pritchett ’16 was named to the News Tribune‘s 2016 all-area girls basketball team as well as to the Associated Press Washington all-state 1A team. Shoni, Majestic Moler ’16, and Henry Cheney ’16 were also named winter athletes of the year by the Tacoma Athletic Commission. Congratulations, Tarriers!

The post Charles Wright Academy in the News During March appeared first on Charles Wright Academy.