“Why is it so hard being a guy?”

“I don’t know, Ms. Gerla. It just is.”

This was a statement from one of my students in digital citizenship several years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. When I first began teaching the class, I had big plans to address media literacy, stereotypes and bias, and the myriad ways our behavior online is shaped by the culture around us. Social media, texting, sexting, media consumption, cyberbullying, gaming, easy access to online pornography… all of these are in my wheelhouse. They are complex and sometimes uncomfortable discussion topics.

The news is constantly filled with stories of all the things teenagers do wrong, which certainly shapes the way adults treat them and think about their behavior. That, in turn, shapes the way they think about themselves and their own behavior, and it is easy to get stuck in “that’s just the way it is” mode. The language of stereotypes and social constructions invades this space quickly and easily, and I really want to challenge my students to think differently about the messages they are sending and receiving on a regular basis. As we struggle to find our own identity, how do cultural perceptions of gender, and more specifically masculinity and femininity, shape who we are and how we behave? How do we treat each other?

If you are a parent of girls, like I am, you probably think a great deal about the messages they receive from our culture through advertising, films, popular music, and television. What about boys? What messages do they get about what it means to be a man in our culture? Where do these come from? How does it shape how they feel about themselves and each other? To help us explore these questions, we bring to our community a screening of The Mask You Live In, a film by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, founder of the Representation Project. Through interviews with experts, stories from men and boys, and national statistics, this film seeks to enlighten us on the ways our culture’s narrow definition of masculinity places incredible pressure on our boys and young men. Rosalind Wiseman, author of Masterminds and Wingmen and Queen Bees and Wannabes, refers to this as the “man box,” and from within it comes the quote above from one of my students.

Who should come see the film and stay for the discussion? Everyone. Anyone. Though this might feel more relevant to families with boys, and it will most certainly resonate differently with males in the audience, all of us can engage and learn something here. To quote myself, “Frequently, when schools do workshops or classes on sex ed, puberty, or general social skills, we separate our students by sex. While in many cases that makes for a safer environment in which kids can ask honest questions without fear of embarrassment (which is a good thing), I worry sometimes that it removes boys and girls from the experience of really trying to understand each other (which is a hard thing). That’s why I would recommend all parents read books, like Wiseman’s, that outwardly appear to be for just one group, but can very powerfully teach us more about ourselves in the process—and help us teach our kids about things they don’t necessarily experience all the time.”

The Mask You Live In is about and for boys and men. But it can be equally powerful for those who don’t live that experience to see it through their eyes. Wouldn’t conflicts be easier to resolve if we simply took the time to understand each other better? I hope you’ll join us! And please stay after the film (runtime 97 minutes) for about 20 minutes of Q&A with three inspiring CWA faculty: Athletic Director Tyler Francis, eight grade team leader and English teacher Rob Scotlan, and Lower School science teacher Gabriel Newton.

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Four Charles Wright students studying Japanese received accolades in the 2017 Nengajo (Japanese New Year card) Competition, a national art contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Japanese.

Middle Schooler Cedar O. ’22 placed first in the CG (computer generated; above) category in the middle school division while Beixi H. ’17 placed second in the artistic category in the high school division. Sofie L. ’21 (artistic) and Tahsis F. ’21 (comical) received honorable mentions in the middle school division.

The AATJ Nengajo competition welcomes submissions from students in elementary school through college. Each Japanese teacher is allowed to send up to two per category; this year Middle School Japanese teacher Alia Greenbaum sent eight for the middle school division and Upper School Japanese teacher Stephanie Glenn submitted six for the high school division. Overall, 787 cards were submitted by 127 Japanese teachers across the country. “We’re super proud of all of our students who participated and excited for these four in particular,” Ms. Greenbaum says.

Congratulations to Cedar, Beixi, Sofie, and Tahsis!

Beixi ’17

Tahsis ’21

Sofie ’21

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Lower School parent Major Aaron Teller (Kenley ’28 and Scarlett ’30) and fellow members of the U.S. Army’s 707th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) visited CWA yesterday to show the Wright Angle robotics team and young members of the Tech Club for a demonstration and presentation.

Major Teller shares that the 707th Ordnance Company is one of two EOD companies located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. There are six companies spread across the western U.S who are responsible for the safe disposal of any found military munitions both on and off federal property. They also provide bomb squad support for military installations, to cities without their own civilian bomb squads, and back-up support to other bomb squads. They also routinely work with local and federal law enforcement.

Staff Sergeant Jordan Lindsey gave a presentation on the capabilities for two of their primary robotic platforms, the Talon robot and the PacBot robot, explaining how the robots are designed to keep EOD techs safer by allowing work to be done on hazardous items from a distance. “Tech Club members were excited to see real-world applications of robotic, engineering, and programming skills,” said Lower School science teacher and Tech Club advisor Gabriel Newton. “And…cool robots!” Wright Angle co-coach Jim Albers concurs. “For our FTC robotics team, we were really interested in the design and function of the robots, along with the real-life application as to how robotics and programming can be used in the real world as a career,” he says.

Tarriers were offered hands-on time with the robots and challenged the 707th team to direct the PacBot to climb the stairs outside of the Lower School Commons. “It’s a real pleasure for us to be able to do community engagements both to showcase what we do and educate,” Major Teller says. “Hopefully the presentation nested well with what the students are learning in Tech Club and on the robotics team. The students asked some great questions with regard to range of the robots, the frequency range of the robots, robot grip strength and lift capabilities. Our 707th team was impressed with how engaged the students were. Hopefully this lends to additional innovation ideas for the robotics team and increased interest in technology for the younger students.”

Students from all three divisions were able to participate and learn from this visit. “The Wright Angles and Tech Club students want to thank Major Teller and his team for taking the time to share with us the role of the bomb squad in real-life scenarios and for adding insight as to how robotics can be used to enhance and improve the lives of others—and in this case, ensure the safety of those who must work with explosives,” Mr. Albers says.

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Girls and boys varsity basketball games are being played at the same time in the Wight Gym and the Tarrier Dome. Halftime programs feature the Lower School jump-rope team and the tae kwon do students. Middle School students play a game of Ultimate outside and are memorizing Shakespeare in the hallways. MS and US students work intently to defend their Washington state robotics championship. Upper School thespians engage in a final rehearsal before their performance of “As You Like It.” Parents and art faculty prepare the gallery for a progressive evening of visual arts, dinner prepared by our incredible food service team, and performing arts. The Board of Trustees is responsibly managing our school’s finances and future. Parents are committed partners in their children’s educational journey. Our faculty and staff continue to refine and master their craft. And our students are engaged, healthy, and thriving.

And… and… and… this is the State of the School at Charles Wright Academy at the beginning of February 2017.

All of these anecdotal observations of the students’ and the school’s health are supported by hard data (as seen in the recently published 2016-2017 Report to Families). These are some impressive statistics that represent the strength of our program and our community of learners.

Since July the faculty, staff, and I have been engaged in exciting conversations about the future and “turning over stones” to imagine our future as a learning community. We do this because we believe our school has the capacity to be even better, and as committed and caring educators, we want the best for our students. Listed below are some of the things that we are currently working on to improve our educational community in the next 12 months:

• creating a robust offering of 15 to 18 trimester electives in the Upper School in all disciplines starting in the fall of 2017

• engaging in a campus-wide safety and security audit—changes are in progress

• providing more tools and training for our Lower School faculty in early literacy teaching as well as in acquisition assessments and interventions

• launching an educational technology audit in March 2017 to inform our vision and plan for technology education and infrastructure

• shifting to a more equitable model of awarding financial aid

• increasing cross-staff understanding of the value of every person and every job in delivering on our promise of an excellent education every day for every student

• creating a strategic-thinking group of faculty and staff to guide and imagine the future of a CWA education

• assessing the recently completed skills map led by the Curriculum Committee in order to create a seamless scope and sequence in all disciplines and divisions

• reshaping the academic administrative structure to provide a more distributed workload to better support the student experience

• shifting our thinking about prospective students from asking if they are “mission appropriate” to asking if they are “mission servable”

This is a not-so-short list of the work in progress by the faculty and staff even as they deliver a high-quality program to our students every day. In the next few weeks I will be sending out a more detailed report on the State of the School to the entire CWA community, and I look forward to conversations with you on the direction in which we are headed. We will also be announcing a series of Pub Nights inviting parents and guardians to meet with me in a casual setting to chat about CWA now and into the future.

The faculty and staff are quivering with anticipation and enthusiasm as they begin to build an even better program. The state of Charles Wright Academy is healthy. We are thriving.

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It was with great excitement last summer that we invited the CWA community to view a collection of short films shining a spotlight on what makes Charles Wright Academy so special. In addition to a highlight reel showcasing the academic, artistic, and athletic programs that set CWA apart is a handful of family testimonials wherein Tarriers share why they made the decision to join our school family.

The Quisenberry family joined the CWA community when their oldest son, Connor ’14, was in second grade, and his brother Ryan ’19 joined a few years later. The family has appreciated that the teachers and program have been able to educate both boys in drastically different ways. “It’s not just the differences in what is taught here, it’s how it’s taught,” Ryan says. “The teachers, at least for me, have been absolutely fantastic in helping me learn how I wanted to learn.”

Connor is now in his junior year of college, and Ryan is a sophomore in CWA’s Upper School. “Looking at how he [thinks] about things has really made an impact on how I think about things,” Ryan says of how he and his brother approach school differently. “If I didn’t have Connor’s mind telling me to work on something harder or be persistent with something, I probably wouldn’t have as great of an academic mind as I would claim to.”

Learn more about the Quisenberrys’ experience at CWA by watching their testimonial video above.

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Lower Schoolers competed in their annual indoor field day known as Winter Wipeout on Tuesday, Feb. 28, with the theme honoring the renowned long-running sports TV show Wide World of Sports.

Students in grades junior kindergarten through five rotated through 11 activities in the Tarrier Dome, trying their hand at baseball, golf, track and field, volleyball, basketball, tennis, bowling, football, swimming, hickey, and cycling. Upper Schoolers on Winterim chaperoned and cheered, providing an opportunity for our youngest and oldest Tarriers to participate in mentorship. “The younger kids look up to the big kids, and it’s nice for our Lower Schoolers to have that—it’s similar to our buddy system in that way,” says kindergarten teacher Karen Burdick, who organizes Wipeout every year.

The idea for Winter Wipeout stemmed from the Minute to Win It field day held in the spring; it’s indoors since the weather is hit or miss here in the Pacific Northwest. A winter all-Lower School roller-skating field trip became harder to coordinate. Inspired by the Olympics (in fact, Wipeout activities are themed for Olympics years) and the popular TV show Wipeout, Winter Wipeout was born as an alternative. Ms. Burdick says she prefers Wipeout to a more traditional field day. “The students have 10 to 12 activities to explore, and they have a check list to mark off which ones they complete,” she says. “They are free to go and do their own thing without having to rotate as a group with their classmates—it allows them more freedom and flexibility to enjoy the day.”

To view photos from this year’s Winter WipeOut—as well as the intro video made by Academic Technology Coordinator Holly Gerla—please see below or click here.

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Upper Schoolers at Charles Wright Academy spent the week of Presidents’ Day 2017 participating in the annual experiential education tradition known as Winterim.

Hundreds of students chose one of 24 course offerings ranging from local service learning opportunities to outdoor education hikes to international travel and cultural exchange programs. The goal of these courses is to provide Upper Schoolers with the opportunity to be introduced to a new skill, culture, language, or perspective outside of the classroom. For instance, International Student Coordinator Ann Vogel reflects on a story shared with her by an international student. “An Upper Schooler had really poignant things to say about the Adirondack chair Winterim,” Ms. Vogel says. “It was not one of her top three choices, and she was not all that excited about it. But then she worked with machines and power tools she’d never seen before, and she ended up being so proud of the chair she made. Her mom even called her at 3 in the morning one night to chat about how she was doing on it; she’s trying to figure out if someday she can get it to China. I just thought it was lovely. We spoke about how it’s so much about attitude, resilience, and the way you approach a new experience—if you do it the right way, you can discover things about yourself that you didn’t know were there.”

Other courses included an on-campus series in cooking and grilling; international excursions to Costa Rica, Japan, and Spain; treks through Joshua Tree and Havasu; explorations of our weird and wacky PNW backyard; lessons in baking, glassblowing, and screen printing; service learning with the Boys & Girls Club and local food banks; explorations of cinema, science fiction, and comic-book cover designs; and so much more. For a glimpse at the range of activities Tarriers undertook during Winterim 2017, please see the photo gallery below.

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Sixth graders visited the Seattle Art Museum on a field trip on Friday, March 3, in an example of how experiential education at Charles Wright helps to reinforce what students are learning in the classroom.

The Class of 2023 saw the exhibit “Seeing Nature,” a show from the collection of Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, that’s been traveling the country for the past year-plus. Sixth grade visual arts teacher Dana Squires explains more.

“This is a show of [as SAM explains] ’39 historically significant European and American landscape paintings from the past 400 years. These diverse works offer a unique opportunity for visitors to see the natural world through the eyes of great artists.’ In preparation for the trip, we looked closely at several of the paintings from the show, analyzing what the artist is saying about the landscape and themselves. In particular, we are looking at these two very different interpretations of the Grand Canyon (by  Thomas Moran and David Hockney). The students are also using these images as a jumping-off point in a compare-and-contrast writing project in their language arts class.

It is an interesting way for students to see diverse interpretations of similar content. We have found that by picking a few pieces in the show to preview beforehand, the students connect to the art in a different way. They are excited to see ‘their’ picture and are eager to pick out how it is different in the original than in the reproduction. We were standing in front of one of Monet’s lily pond paintings, and several students were peeking into the next room where the Hockney was, whispering, ‘There it is!’ and ‘It’s so big,’ etc., barely holding themselves back form running into that room to experience ‘their’ painting. I love that ownership and engagement.

In the next few weeks we will look at landscapes through the cultural lens of Ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock prints. Specifically, we will be looking at Hokusai’s series ’36 Views of Mt. Fuji’ and how the prints are a reflection of the times, culture, and worldview. The students will spend some time reflecting on the Pacific Northwest landscape and their own relationship to Mt. Rainier, to be expressed in our ’36 Views of Mt. Rainier’ block prints.”

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If you walked into the Tarrier Dome on Saturday, March 4, you would have thought you warped back to the Solid Gold era of the late ’70s. Neon orange, purple, pink, and green flooded your eyes, along with flashing lights and music. Guests could choose between Miss Pac Man and Asteroids with a goal to beat the top leader, “Goo.” Dancers could take to the glowing light-up dance floor to boogie to disco beats. And, most importantly, the Charles Wright community could come together to raise money for our incredible school.

Thus was the 30th annual CWA Spirit Auction. Close to 450 people dressed the part and raised their paddles high to support our school by bidding on class art projects, fabulous trips, party dashes, and so much more. This year’s Fund-A-Need has raised more than $125,000 so far to support libraries and learning at CWA. You can make a gift toward this investment in the next generation of Tarrier libraries by clicking here. Learn more by watching the video below:

The live auction started off with a video of Upper School Head Bill White reprimanding the “strutters” of the school talking in the library and otherwise causing mischief. These “strutters” (Manuel Iregui, emcee Rajiv Nagaich, and Trevor Will ’93) then started the night off right with a dance on the auction stage to “Saturday Night Fever.”

This event would have not been successful without the tireless help of the 2017 Spirit Auction Co-Chairs Nicole Rode and Jamie Nagaich—as well as of all the hard-working volunteers!

Lastly, we are so fortunate for our wonderful sponsors:

Titus-Will Automotive Group
Columbia Bank
CORT Party Rental
Alaska Weathervane Scallops
Wave Lending Group
Dobler Management
Rush Companies
Aesthetic Surgery Center
Aging Options
LaborWorks
Sound Surgical Arts
Soundbridge Dental Arts & Sleep Therapy

Thank you to all that lost sleep over the details of the event, donated packages, and bid high. Final tallies are forthcoming! In the meantime, to see photos from the Ed Beck Photography photo booth, please see below or click here.

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As we approach the home stretch of Matt Culberson’s first year as our Head of School, it should come as no surprise to the community that Matt is passionate about the challenging and rewarding work of educating children. Be it expanding course offerings, encouraging equity and inclusion, or supporting professional development, Matt has spent much of this year inviting us as faculty, staff, parents, guardians, and alumni—as a community—to turn over rocks and gain new perspectives with the aim of even further strengthening and enriching our program.

Matt is equally keen on the value of instilling in both children and adults a lifelong love of learning. The classroom extends far beyond any four walls on our campus; the great outdoors and even a passerby on the street can deliver lessons just as powerfully and poignantly as those we learn in class. Nor does learning end once a diploma is in hand. In this new video, Matt shares three watershed moments from his life that have impacted him as a person, a learner, and an educator. “I do think that the best teachers are those who bring themselves into the classroom, who share with their students who they are by how they engage with them,” Matt says. “I think Charles Wright is full of those kinds of teachers.”

We hope this video not only sheds new light on our Head of School, but also offers an even deeper understanding of the direction in which Matt is leading us. As Matt stated in his State of the School letter last month, “This is all driven by a desire to invite you to participate in our work of serving students well—and our intention to serve them even better. The faculty, staff, and I are committed in our pursuit of becoming an even more extraordinary school community.”

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Charles Wright Academy senior Cooper Cochran signed a letter of intent on Friday, March 10, to play football at the University of Puget Sound. His family, coaches, trainer, teachers, and classmates—including from the Lower School—were in attendance to celebrate his latest accomplishment with him.

“I started playing football when I was thirteen at Charles Wright,” Cooper says. “I say what I fell in love with (which I continue to love to this day) is how football is a sport unlike any other in that it brings communities together. There are not that many sports that have an impact on people outside of the team than football. It brings people together and creates a truly unique experience that can’t be replicated.”

Cooper captained the Tarrier football team in 2016 and was voted by Nisqually League coaches to the all-league first team as a tight end and to the all-league second team’s defensive line his senior year. He had two touchdowns, 15 catches for 250 yards, 17 total tackles (two tackles for loss), and two quarterback sacks. “Cooper’s strength as a player this year was his determination to get better each and every day,” says Head Football Coach Brian Burdick. “Cooper is a coach’s dream as far as his work ethic. He is a sponge and soaks up all of the advice coaches gave him.”

The UPS football team competes in NCAA’s Division III as a member of the Northwest Conference. They finished their 2016 season with a 3-6 record. “The University of Puget Sound will be getting a hard-working and willing-to-learn player in Cooper,” Coach Burdick says. “Cooper changed positions this year—from the offensive line to tight end—and did an outstanding job of picking up the schemes and working on his ball catching. UPS has been recruiting Cooper since the summer and are extremely excited to get a player like him.”

Cooper has enjoyed his time playing football as a Tarrier and is looking forward to becoming a Logger. “What I enjoy most about football is the special bonds you form with teammates and coaches—and how these relationships essentially boil down to become a second family,” he says. “This family by bond is just as important to me as my family by blood and it truly is something special. What makes UPS a good fit for me is how the team is as a unit. A few weeks ago, I stayed overnight with the team and being with the team in a setting outside of football was an eye opener. The team was a tight unit, having each others’ backs and doing lots of things together. It reminded me of the special connections I have with my own teammates. What I look forward to most about being a Logger is being a part of another family that has its own characteristics that makes them unique. Family is an important value in my life, and being on the football team creates another family for me to learn from and grow.”

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Three student visitors from our Japanese sister school in Mukogawa have been visiting Charles Wright for the month of March, attending (and helping in) Japanese classes and homestaying with CWA families until Spring Break next week. Below, Tin-Tin L. ’19 shares what she’s enjoyed about this opportunity for cultural exchange so far.

“Having the Mukogawa students helping in our classes is really fun because we get to practice speaking with native speakers who are our age. We’re able to practice in smaller groups and listen to the language spoken by other people. It’s also fun being able to talk about and learn cultural differences between America and Japan. I was able to learn some nuances of Japanese culture that aren’t taught in our textbooks, in addition to learning how some phrases are technically correct yet are rarely used in regular conversation. I even discovered some pieces from American culture I never thought about before I had to explain to them.”

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Each year in April an outstanding faculty and staff member are chosen for the Inspirational Faculty Award and the Christopher Steele Award, respectively. We rely on nominations from the community to make the selection and ask that you take a moment to submit a nomination if you have an outstanding candidate in mind for one or both of these awards. Please read more about each honor below and submit your nominations today!

The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, April 21, 2017.

The Inspirational Faculty Award was created in 1987 by the CWA Parent Association to honor a faculty member for his or her outstanding contribution to the Charles Wright community. This award is given to any member of the CWA faculty that has proven to be inspirational in their teaching techniques, shows dedication to their students, and demonstrates a passion for their field.

Eligibility: All faculty with at least three years of CWA teaching experience who have not received the award in the past five years are eligible. Faculty peers, parents, students, or alumni may make nominations.

Award: The recipient will receive $2,500 for his or her educational enrichment and a commemorative plaque, a copy of which will also be displayed at CWA. Announcement and presentation of the award takes place at the graduation ceremony in June. The CWA Parent Association funds this award.

Use of Funds: Award recipients may use awarded funds at their discretion for professional development and/or for the instructional benefit of their classroom.

To nominate a faculty member for 2017, please click here.

The Christopher Steele Award was created in 2006 to recognize a deserving Charles Wright Academy staff person who consistently goes above and beyond his or her job to benefit the school and its students, faculty, and staff. A cash award of $1,000 accompanies this honor, which is to be used for professional development by the recipient.

The award is in memory of Christopher Steele, a 1982 graduate of Charles Wright Academy who benefited deeply from his experience at CWA. He died in 2002 after a long battle with cancer. He was a soccer player, an outdoor enthusiast, and a talented artist. While at CWA, Chris took an active part in drama productions, both onstage and backstage, and faculty members recall his passion for hiking and climbing during outdoor trips.

To nominate a staff member for 2017, please click here.

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Charles Wright Academy’s Upper School Knowledge Bowl team won the 2A Washington state championship on Saturday, March 18, at the state tournament at Arlington High School. The 2A division is one division higher than the Tarriers typically compete in based on the size of the school; the team won the 3A state title in 2015.

The Tarriers defeated Orting High School to advance to the finals of the state competition, where they played Pullman High School and Ellensburg High School—the team beat the latter by one point to earn the state title.

Congratulations to the US Knowledge Bowl team and coaches David Kangas and Tom Cramer!

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Sixteen members of the Class of 2024 competed in the regional Math Is Cool tournament on March 10 at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, with fifth grader Daniel D. leading the Tarriers to an eighth place finish in the Phi Division. Math Is Cool is a part of Academics Are Cool, a statewide program for students in elementary, middle, and high school that promotes learning across a variety of academic subjects.

Four teams of fifth graders represented CWA at the regional Math Is Cool meet, which comprised two individual tests (open-ended and multiple-choice problem sets) and four team tests (college bowl, math relay, multiple choice, and joint contest). Four divisions (with approximately 50 teams total) competed at the regional level, and there were 11 teams in the Phi Division.

Leading up to the regional competition was an in-house competition here at CWA in late February. The in-house competition was a great opportunity for the fifth graders to gain experience in the types of events and atmosphere of the regional competition. The individual winners of the in-house competition were Nawal A., Daniel D., and James Z.

Congratulations, Tarriers!

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Charles Wright Academy senior Sophie Hinz signed a letter of intent on Thursday, March 23, to play soccer at Chapman University in Southern California. Her family, coaches, teachers, and classmates were in attendance to celebrate her latest accomplishment with her.

“I love being around teammates who push one another, get excited to play, and are ready to take on challenges as a team,” Sophie says. “I enjoy being on a team, and soccer was able to give me a social outlet where I could be around girls who share the same interests—and senses of humor. Whether it was in games or practices, I wanted to help promote a fun and hard-working atmosphere by getting the girls hyped about soccer just as I am.”

Sophie, a midfielder and forward, captained the Tarrier girls varsity soccer team her junior and senior years. She was selected to all-Nisqually League teams each of her four years and received first team honors last fall as a senior. “Sophie is an all around tremendous player,” says Coach Saraid Faville. “She has great speed, is always fit, and has a great touch and fantastic vision. Sophie is the epitome of a team player. She is passionate, intense, and focused on the field, and off the field she is supportive, happy-go-lucky, and a friend to everyone.”

The Chapman University women’s soccer team competes in NCAA’s Division III as a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. They finished their season 9-9-2 overall and 6-7-1 in the conference, averaging 1.15 goals per game. Tarrier Coach Thiago De Sousa, who earned Nisqually Coach of the Year honors during Sophie’s senior season last fall, says Sophie will make an immediate impact as a Chapman Panther. “I could answer how she contributed to our team with lots of kind words and beautiful imagery, but I would rather be direct: She contributed with goals—a massive amount of them,” he says. “Sophie is a hustler. She is the kind of player every coach enjoys having on the squad. She is definitely not afraid of any opponent, and she stays consistent the entire season. Chapman definitely will be glad to see her positive spirit and appetite for winning alongside with her soccer skills.”

Sophie first began honing those soccer skills in third grade. After having played soccer since kindergarten—alongside competing in gymnastics, ballet, basketball, swimming, and other sports—she fell in love with the beautiful game and committed to training with Harbor Soccer Club, a premier team in Gig Harbor. “I loved how physically and mentally engaging and challenging soccer was,” she says. “I also was able to express my natural competitive nature in a way in which no other sport could. I was in it for the long haul.”

She’s looking forward to taking the next step in her soccer career at Chapman. “I not only fell in love with the campus and school as a whole, but I really enjoyed the coaches, the teammates, and their determination to work hard,” she says. “Also, I wanted to become a part of something greater than my own. I am so excited and grateful to be a part of the Panther community as a student and an athlete, because it will give me the opportunity of a lifetime. I cannot wait for what the future brings.”

Sophie isn’t the only Tarrier who signed a letter of intent to compete at the collegiate level this month. Cooper Cochran signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Puget Sound, which you can read about here.

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Last week, Middle School students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades set aside their regular studies and embarked on Middle School Days. The 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.

During Middle School Days, all regular classes are suspended and students instead spend two school days right before Spring Break participating in courses and workshops on a range of activities in the fields of art, science, sport and fitness, service learning, architecture, outdoor education, culinary arts, and more. This year, 20 courses were offered. The Middle School Days program is the cornerstone of the Middle School’s experiential education program. “What I think Middle School Days is all about, and what I admire about it, is that you get to decide what you want to do—and you can go places like Tacoma, Olympia, and even Seattle,” says Connor Senftleben ’23, who explored athletics facilities and public transit on Thursday and took a daylong photography workshop on Friday. “I enjoyed learning how to develop film and how Husky Stadium and SafeCo Field were built and are operated and maintained.”

To view a selection of photos of Middle School Tarriers on their 2017 Middle School Days adventures, see below:

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Alum of the Year: This award is presented to a graduate of Charles Wright Academy and recognizes the individual’s accomplishments and/or service to community.

Charles “Chuck” Morey ’65 is a director, playwright, and former artistic director with more than 45 years’ experience in professional theater and extensive credits from coast to coast.

He started at Charles Wright in the eighth grade when the school was only four years old. “Those first years, the school was so small, everybody had to do everything or nobody got to do anything,” he recalls. “That meant most participated in multiple sports and activities.” As a Tarrier he competed on the football, baseball, basketball, and ski teams; served as the editor of the literary magazine; and was president of the student council.

During Chuck’s sophomore year, teacher Donn Laughlin said, “Hey, let’s do a play.” And so they did. The first production was a play by Milton Geiger about the great 19th century actor Edwin Booth. A small group of students founded the first drama club, the Charles Wright Players, and Chuck took the stage for the first time. “I played his crazy father—very badly, I am quite sure—but I loved it,” he says. “I was swept up in that most ancient adrenalin rush of telling a story at the lighted end of a darkened room.”

Chuck’s junior year a new teacher, Jack Coogan, joined the school. He taught English, but his passion was dramatic literature, so students read a lot of plays, from Shakespeare to Arthur Miller to Samuel Beckett. “It was Jack who began to really encourage me as a writer,” Chuck says. “And in emulating him, I too developed a passion for the theater, which I followed in to college, and then graduate school, and eventually into the professional theater in New York and around the country.”

In 1969 he graduated from Dartmouth and went on to Columbia, where he received his MFA and where his acting career began. “I was an actor, a stage manager, and a theater carpenter and electrician. I even worked as a bouncer,” Chuck remembers.

In 1977 he became the artistic director of New Hampshire’s Peterborough Players, where he more than tripled the size of the equity company and production staff, increased the budget five-fold, and more than doubled seasonal attendance.

Photo credit: Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune
Chuck Morey (center) with Maria Eberline (left) and William Michals (right) in Pioneer Theatre Company’s “Man of La Mancha.”

In 1984 he became the artistic director at the Pioneer Theatre Company, where he led the conceptualization and implementation of a new mission that fully professionalized the theater. His vision transformed the landscape of theater in Utah and helped to advance the careers of hundreds of actors. During his 28 years at the Pioneer Theatre Company he directed more than 90 productions, including several world premieres.

In addition to his time at Peterborough Players and the Pioneer Theatre Company, Chuck also is the author of 11 produced plays, has served as a panelist and onsite evaluator for the National Endowment for the Arts and on the Board of Trustees of the National Theatre Conference, been the recipient of the Bravo! Award, is a fellow of the MacDowell Colony, and is a regular guest director at theaters around the country.

“I am told I created something of a controversy in my senior year at CWA when, after two years as a varsity basketball player, I dropped basketball so I could be in the play ‘Billy Budd,’ as the rehearsal schedule and basketball practice were in conflict,” Chuck recalls. “It is testament to Headmaster Ted Sanford and the faculty at that time that I never heard a whisper of ‘the controversy’ until years later. Whenever anyone asks, ‘How did you become a director and a playwright?’ I invariably answer, ‘Some amazing teachers at Charles Wright allowed me to think that I might someday become an artist.’”

We are thrilled to have Chuck join us on campus next week as we celebrate his accomplishments. He will be visiting Upper School theatre classes and speaking to all students at the Founders’ Day assembly.

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Most independent schools, including Charles Wright Academy, have long touted small class size and student-teacher ratio as strength for delivering higher student achievement. And there is an intuitive logic to that—fewer students in a class, and the teacher should be able to better deliver what each child needs to be successful. What is often missing from the calculation is an analysis of the quality of the instruction.

A review of the research (Center for Public Education) does identify some of the key factors that lead to student success:

• class sizes of fewer than 20 in grades kindergarten through three and 24 or fewer students per class in upper elementary grades
• a coherent and rigorous curriculum that connects through the grades
• and highly qualified teachers that pursue frequent professional development

Class Size
At Charles Wright, we have all of these pieces gathered in place to support student success, and even so we have recognized areas in which we can do our work better. We are committed in grades kindergarten through three to a target of 18 students per class, but it is important to note that, in addition to this low class size, we have teaching assistants and specialists in art, language, music, physical education, and science, as well as a learning specialist that “pushes in” to support classes, particularly in reading acquisition, and “pulls out” for intervention for some students to help them stay on trajectory. In our upper elementary grades (fourth and fifth), and into middle school, class size can grow some (we have a target size of 20 students per class) with the same additional specialist support. Our intention in the future (and yes, the future is now!) is to build capacity throughout the junior-kindergarten-through-grade-12 program by “Wright-sizing” both our classes and our grade levels. As children reach upper elementary and middle school grades, there is an increasing need to expand their social groups, and we know that a more diverse tapestry of students and families creates a richness to learning, knowing, and playing—the work of children!

Building Capacity
Building capacity is finding the right size for our student body so that our curriculum can be both challenging and differentiated, our students can be exposed to different ideas, and there is enough difference in our community so that students can develop meaningful relationships. This year we intend to sustain—for the second year in a row—a third class of fifth grade, actually making class sizes even smaller while creating a larger social pool. We intend to do the same this or next year in fourth grade. This also sets up our enrollment funnel with smoother growth increases as we work to achieve four classes per grade level in the Middle School. In our Upper School we are all but full, and we are adding numerous additional electives, both to enrich the student learning experience and to reduce the size of many of the classes. The faculty in all divisions and the Board are excited about the opportunity to build capacity, as a fully enrolled school allows us to put a smaller portion of tuition into fixed costs (facilities, transportation, administrative infrastructure) and more into the program that serves the student experience.

Master Teacher
A final word on what I believe is the most important factor in delivering a successful and high-quality educational experience to each child: the quality of the faculty in the classes. A great teacher makes the difference. Period. We each know it from the experiences we had ourselves in school or have seen our children have. The teacher who can connect with each child, generate enthusiasm for learning, and encourage students to pursue their interests as well as advocate for their needs—that is a master teacher. A master teacher is devoted to their craft and has spent years learning through education, mentorship, experimentation, and continual professional development. Charles Wright has many master teachers, and many teachers who are becoming masters of their craft. Our faculty are highly trained (two-thirds with masters or doctorates, many with teaching certification, including National Board certified—and all of whom continue to pursue professional development opportunities). Their dedication is to the success of your child, whether they are learning to read, creating works of art, or exploring the rigors of AP physics.

So building capacity means we strive to provide an extraordinary experience every day for every child. We do this by providing a supportive and differentiated educational experience in an intimate classroom setting, delivered by highly trained master teachers who are committed to guiding children to discover their potential as learners and as human beings.

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Girls Tennis

 CWA – 3   Vashon – 2

1.Singels:  Alexis Schorno(CWA) def. Lizzy Macijewski 6-0, 6-1

2.Singles: Hanna Nelson(V) def. Maria Gonzalez 6-2, 6-1

1.Doubles: L.Schorno/Ge(CWA) def. Lematua/Nelson 6-2, 6-1

2.Doubles: Xu/Wang(CWA) def McGray/Fiala 6-3, 6-3

3.Doubles; Fiano/Oswald(V) def. Ursic/Park 7-6, 4-6, 10-3

Final Score:  CWA – 3   Curtis -2

1. Singles: Alexis Schorno(CWA) def. Zoe Garrett 6-1, 6-1

2. Singles: Clara Ursic(CWA) def. Summer Rettig 7-5, 6-3

1. Doubles: L.Schorno/Ge(CWA) def. Zhang/Dawa 6-3, 6-2

2. Doubles: Oy/Hansen(C) def. Park/Wang 6-3, 6-4

3. Doubles: Bigler/Thompson(C) def. Ma/Bortel 6-3, 6-3

Boys Soccer

Gig Harbor 2 CWA 1

Baseball

Bellevue Christian 12 CWA 4

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