September Update
September News
Letter from the Headmaster
Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, and Friends,
It’s my pleasure to introduce you to the first of our monthly academy newsletters for the 2019-2020 school year! This year has started out smoothly with staff and students coming from the four corners of the USA and abroad. Campus is looking better than ever with facilities continuing to be improved and updated. Every employee plays a special part in the success of our program in supporting your student athlete to prepare for a successful year and a positive experience. Our newsletters have updates on the academic, athletic, and student life departments.
The weather is changing quickly with temperatures dropping. This is the earliest I have seen snow drop in years, resulting in an optimistic winter forecast- which is why the fall term is so important. The fall term is when students get settled and learn to manage their time incorporating their academics, training, and student life. The first three to four weeks away from home are usually the most difficult, and then the kids settle in. Learning how to get along with a new roommate with different habits and backgrounds can also be challenging. We want all students to become advocates for their own needs, but also cognizant of the needs of their roommates. Learning to compromise and respect others are just two of many life skills we hope to instill in our students.
This weekend, we welcome those parents and relatives who can make the trip for our second annual Parent Weekend. The weekend will encompass individual conferences with coaches and teachers, as well as a trip to Timberline, great food, campfires, pumpkin carving, and some individual family time. Dan and I will be around along with our on-duty life coaches. So, if there are any pressing questions, someone will be available to answer them. If you cannot make the family weekend, please feel free to schedule a conference call via telephone, Skype, WhatsApp, or any other method that meets your communication needs.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to a fulfilling year ahead.
-Ann
The Westside of Mount Hood with a fresh coating of snow
Skate
The skate team started off the year with a bang! As soon as everyone arrived on campus and got squared away with classes, we hit the road for the 2019 Damn Am in NYC! It was a real baptism by fire as the crew dove headfirst into the rough and tough LES skatepark scene. The crew showed up, shut up, and let their skating do the talking. By the end of the event, they had made countless friends and were celebrated by the locals!
The field that they competed against was comprised of the TOP 140 up and coming skaters in the world (the fact that this is labeled an amatuer event is misleading- it is essentially a pro-level contest). Despite the pressure, everyone did really well for the first event together- most finished in the top 70 with our guest coach Gregg Dehart taking home 3rd! The group produced enough footage while in NYC for a full length skate video, and hasn’t slowed down since we returned to campus.
The last few weeks of the September were spent exploring the local Portland skate scene and stacking clips while the weather was behaving. Skateboarding is about having fun with your friends, and pushing yourself to be the best you can be, it’s not about who’s better than who. That being said, the individual talent level in the group is insane! As the leader of the team, I am consistently blown away with the skating that has gone down on a daily basis.
One highlight worth noting was our session at the Corbett 4 block. It is a rather iconic Portland skate spot which we cruised by with very short time on our way to dinner one evening. With the clock ticking and 30 mins to get after it, the whole crew attacked the spot, everyone got multiple clips, and we essentially filmed a minutes' worth of solid footage for our year long movie project. There were even some NBD’s (never been done) that happened during that session! Talk about producing when the pressure is on!
Can’t wait to see what next month brings as we continue to explore the NW and prepare for a November trip to Tampa!
-Donovan
Skater of the Month: Dillon Jennings- Best attitude and most improved.
Snowboard
It's been a great last few weeks, we have been getting use to the facility, building relationships among the whole Academy and finding limits that we have to work with and push beyond. We have a smaller coach to athlete ratio this year, so it has been awesome for our tight-knit crew. I know this program is going to continue to grow, so I am really giving the athletes that are out here as much interaction on my coaching techniques and life methods as possible to help them grow into amazing athletes and individuals.
The month of September was spent concentrating a majority on fitness, cross training techniques, air awareness, and team camaraderie. We ended the month with a bang, heading up to the Seattle area to visit some iconic spots. At the Mervin Factory (home of GNU, Roxy and Lib Tech boards, skis, skate decks, and surfboards), we were able to talk to and get a tour from one of the owners of the company. He explained to us that Mervin Manufacturing has been modeled around sustainability since their beginning- it was awesome to see all the athletes light up at this fact. You could tell there is a great deal of enthusiasm around this topic- they want to protect the earth, which is so good to see at such young ages.
Also at Mervin, we talked to a good friend and snowboard legend Barrett Christy (who held the most X Games medals out of any athlete for quite some time). Finding mentors is huge, so it was awesome to see athletes send Instagram follows out to Barrett and to be motivated by such a powerful woman.
We also visited the K2 headquarters and were able to check out 2021-2022 product lines, giving us the warming sense of a special experience- it's not always that you get this going on during a tour. Some of the managers and employees at K2 have worked at or still do some work with Windells and High Cascade, so it was fun to see the bridge of that, and everything that these experiences here at Wy East bring to all.
Zumiez was also a fun visit- there was some heated debates brought on by our athletes around sustainability and the efforts that Zumiez is doing to push for better practices among the people that they work with. The last day of our Seattle tour was a trip to UW campus, which was great to see and have that interaction with a well-known and respected university. Great to have athletes thinking short and long-term with everything they do in life. The last stop of our trip was a visit to the Musuem of Pop Culture, which was a fun finalé. Lots of history and fun architecture, as well as a mini-jam among a few of us who didn’t know how to play guitars, drums and keyboards.
This month has laid an awesome foundation for us to go and keep building upon. Excited for what's to come!
-Elijah
Athlete of the Month: Kennedy- She brings smiles everywhere that we have been, laying the foundation of bonding with our team. I thank her for keeping us grounded- although we work hard, we have happy faces as well!
Academics
Fall semester is here, each student’s progress is on the rise, and the weather is turning rapidly! The young scholars arrived to campus with motivation and brilliance. They are studiously accomplishing assignments with the goal of staying ahead of pace in their course loads as they balance their academics with travel.
Edgenuity students were involved in MAP testing this month. MAP Growth will reveal how much evolvement has occurred between testing events and, when combined with MAP norms, shows projected proficiency. We, as educators, can track growth through the school year and over multiple years with our students. Juniors and seniors are preparing for SAT/ACT with practice tests during class (as long as they are on top of their course work). The SAT will be held in the classroom October 16, followed by a PSAT October 19 for freshman and sophomores.
All students will be completing a series of courses through Safe Schools this upcoming month. Safe Schools is an online training that is proven to create a safer campus and prevent serious safety incidents.
With the heavy course loads this fall, we believe it is important for the students to have breaks throughout the day, being allowed to skate, head to the cafe for a snack, or get some fresh air outside. To reward students for being on pace and consistently working, Asher and I even let the big mountain team and the lady snowboarders out of class early last week and brought them up to Timberline to find some snow.
As we prepare the students for the real world, we listen to the news daily, hold class discussions on climate change, and speak openly about each student’s dreams and goals for their future- then relate it back to career exploration, college apps and the Find Your Grind program we are implementing.
We are so proud of these dedicated and determined student athletes and what they have accomplished so far in this school year!
- Jaime & Asher
Student of the Month: Shiloh
Freeski
It has been a great first month on the freeski side of the things! Everyone has come back hungry and ready to progress. We have had daily agility, plated weight, and core workouts where the whole team has shown lots of gains already. Along with the workouts, we have had plenty of time working on individual tricks on the trampolines prepping for the season ahead. In addition to the trampoline sessions we have challenged everyone on the dry slope rail setup weekly, and rail skills are certainly on the up and up.
Our first trip of the year to Utah Olympic Park was very successful. Our daily three-hour sessions were packed full of progression and levels being unlocked. Everyone walked away with new tricks and a better understanding of what they will need to achieve this early season. During the Utah trip we were able to get in a couple of industry visits in between bagging and school work.
First, we got to fully experience everything that Pit Viper Sunglasses has to offer. They graciously welcomed us and the team learned what it takes to build a successful brand in the eyewear industry. We got to see a new goggle being released, checking out the 3D printed molds that led to the final product. Our second trip was to the head USA office of Armada Skis. The world team manager greeted the kids and gave them insight on what it takes to run the social media of a major ski brand, as well as keep the team organized and properly marketed. He also showed us some sneak peaks at 2020 outerwear, as well as prototypes and skis that were top secret.
October will be spent grinding at campus and in the gym prepping for our trip to the Yukon Territory in Canada. Looking forward to another solid month ahead.
-Breeze & Topher
Skier of the Month: Konnor Ralph- Shows up ready to work every day and puts in 100% effort during training. Came to bag camp hungry and walked away with a handful of new tricks, ready for snow.
Backcountry & Big Mountain
The first month of school and training proved to be a great start for our team as the students are bonding with each other, creating a positive group dynamic and foundation for what’s to come in the next eight months. We’ve been productive in the gym with setting base line fitness tests to track progression, hiking around the terrain in our back yard, utilizing the skateparks, trampolines, and dry slope facilities, and just ended the month with an incredible industry trip up to Seattle!
Keep an eye out for a special write up on our blog that will include more photos from the experience! The students came back from those three days with a much better understanding of what an environmentally conscious manufacturing facility looks like, what headquarter offices entail, and even got eyes on some brand new product that nobody else in the public has seen.
I am so excited to be working with this group of individuals on becoming responsible, talented, and educated young adults in the snow-sports industry.
Cheers!
-Brandon Sorel
Athlete of the Month: Sophie Felici
Life & Leisure
The first month of school has been packed with so many activities! The Industry Outreach Program is off to a hot start. We had legendary photographer and owner of Portland's Nemo Design, Trevor Graves, as the first member of our Guest Speaker Series. The ski team made the most of their trip to Park City, visiting ski companies Armada and Pit Viper during their Airbag trip. The big mountain and snowboard teams just returned from their industry trip to Seattle, where they visited many companies including Mervin Manufacturing, K2 Sports and Zumiez. They also did a college tour at The University of Washington, and stopped at Seattle's famous Museum of Pop Culture.
Back in the Oregon home front, the students have been engaging in community service by helping pick up litter at Mount Hood Ski Bowl, and the girls put on their hiking boots and went on a hike deep into the Mount Hood National Forest to visit a hot spring. Ski and snowboard movie premiere season is in full effect, with major production crews making stops down in Portland. So far, our students have been to the Teton Gravity Research screening, as well as Return to Send’er ski film.
The weekends have been filled with activities. One of the students' favorite trips was to the Aquatic Center in Portland, where they took advantage of the high dive and showed off their athletic abilities with all sorts of spins, flips and dives. What’s better than mini golfing? Glow in the dark mini golfing- another popular trip this past month. On campus, our students have been taking full advantage of our brand new indoor skatepark, with skate and tramp sessions going off every night.
It’s been a fun month, be sure to follow our social media channels to stay updated with everything happening here at the Academy!
