October Update
Wy'East Mountain Academy
October News
Letter from the Headmaster
Dear Parents, Students, and Friends of Wy’East Mountain Academy,
As I write this, I am amazed it is almost the middle of November. Where has the time gone? Students are heavy in their academics, training, and learning how to be good roommates and community members. I have to say, we have a terrific group of students this year who are adjusting very well. Our staff is also the strongest and most dedicated group of individuals I’ve encountered. I am honored to be able to work with such an amazing group of individuals who work around the clock supporting the needs of the students, from nutrition and academics to athletic and social realms. We are here to help our young people become well-rounded individuals with a passion for living and a pathway for reaching their dreams.
Thanksgiving break is just around the corner followed by Christmas break. Enjoy this time with your incredible children. However, this doesn’t mean students can completely relax over Thanksgiving. We do ask that you encourage them to continue working on their studies, if time allows. They will be able to completely shut down over Christmas. Once they return in January, students will be gearing up for lots of travel and training on snow. All the hard work learning how to manage time, get along with roommates, and study hard will be put to full use come the first of the year.
These skills and habits formed are transferable to real life, and I have seen huge growth in students just from this summer. Students are growing taller, thinning out, and becoming more responsible. I hope you will see positive changes, too.
If you have not yet made your holiday plans, please communicate with me and Luke about your departure and arrival times. As a reminder, students should have flight departure times on November 23 between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, and arrive back at PDX on December 1, between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm. Please send itineraries as soon as possible.
Have a beautiful Thanksgiving!
Sincerely yours, Ann
Backcountry & Big Mountain
Our crew took full advantage of the early season snowfall by diving right into some avalanche gear training up on the mountain. We had an introduction course on how beacon transceivers work and how to conduct a companion rescue scenario in a group setting as well as in a solo situation. Our group dynamic is becoming stronger with each practice scenario as they work together to move quicker and smoother as a unit.
Collin and Sophie each took home some prizes for having the two fastest times during a solo companion rescue competition. We’ve been able to make the most of what we have for snow by going out on a few touring missions, which for some of them was their first time on a split board or with new touring equipment, leading to some fun turns on the way back to the parking lot!
The weather decided to warm back up and give us some sunny fall days, which we used to our advantage by spending time on the dry-slope jump to work on freestyle skills and air awareness. We’ve been mixing in hikes with time spent at the gym to get faster & stronger to prepare for the longer winter days ahead of us.
The end of October was celebrated with a Halloween surf trip to the coast along with the Freeski and Snowboard teams! Everyone got into a wetsuit, grabbed a board, and had some serious fun in the waves! I know the team is very excited to get back into the water for more.
- Brandon & Griff
Athlete of the Month: Collin Schubert
Collin has been putting in noticeable effort everyday, no matter what is on the agenda, and shows strong leadership skills. He set the bar with avalanche training and rescue scenarios, has been pushing himself to work harder in the gym, and continues to show progress on the dry slope jump!
Skate
It was a great October for the skate crew. The team settled back into campus life after returning from their New York trip. Everyone soaked in the last of the warm days and made the most the fall colors stacking clips and skating hard! We had an extremely productive filming trip to Seattle, and have been getting mad footage in the Portland streets! Team vibes are all time as everyone’s been working hard getting ready for our upcoming Florida trip and the infamous Tampa Am!
Notable Highlights:
Josh Herrmann officially on Element (Flow)
Malachi Blaylock and Jovani Calo now on Hillcrest Shop Team
Jovani Calo and Josh Herrmann complete their SAT exams
Overall positive team attitude
- Donovan
Skater of the Month: Jovani Calo
Jovani has been extremely motivated to get clips, consistently pushing his skating everyday, and absolutely killing it all month.
Freeski
We had a great second month on the freeski team. We got to start the month off with some early season snow allowing us to make our way up to Timberline Resort and session some DIY rails. The team is really focused, driven and excited going into the season!
The whole team now has gym passes to the elaborate Sandy Rec Center. During our training at the gym, which is often school wide, we break the athletes into a few groups running them through a circuits. We work on upper and lower body strength, core and cardio having each coach push our athletes in different ways every workout.
In the middle of the month, we took a day trip to Mount Bachelor in Bend, Oregon where they had a fun early season rail setup. Everyone got to get their skis back on, wiping off the cobwebs and getting some tricks back under their feet.
When we were not skiing or in the gym, we were utilizing our time to grind on the trampolines on campus, working on everyone's individual goals for our upcoming trip to Canada's Yukon Territory. Along with the progressive tramp sessions, we had some great dry slope rail and airbag training, really getting back to the basics and working on fundamentals team-wide.
- Breeze & Topher
Skier of the Month: Lauren Bendixen
Lauren has been really focused on her training and pushing herself harder than ever. She recently got the great news she will be going to the Jr. Olympics in Europe in January. She will be one of two representing our country at this competition!!!
Academics
Our young scholars are getting into the groove of their routine as October was packed with progress in courses, Parent’s Weekend, SAT’s and more!
Midterm progress report cards have been emailed to Edgenuity parents for a glimpse of where students are standing in their courses. During Parents Weekend, Asher and I showed everyone the layout of our classroom, gave a general consensus on students' work ethic and habits, and discussed how we imagine each student will continue to grow in this community. If you were unable to attend, schedule a Skype or phone conference with us!
Several students completed the SAT and PSAT exams this month. It was comfortable and convenient for students to get to test in their normal learning environment. Test results will be sent out in the beginning of November.
Find Your Grind assessments and activities were also incorporated into our coursework this month. The first step in this program is taking a short survey to explore their career options based on student responses. We discussed the differences between habits, goals and lifestyle, and how healthy and productive daily activities can take them to where they want to be.
Towards the end of the month, we paired each student up with a mentor/mentee for our Mentorship Program. These groups were decided by Asher and I based on ski/skate/snow team, and pairing older/more experienced students with younger students to adjust to our academy setting.
As we move forward with the semester, we will assimilate more community service activities around the holidays, such as volunteering at a soup kitchen, donating Toys for Tots, or animal shelter visits.
We are continually pushing students to get ahead of pace before trips and holidays! Just as a heads up to parents; students are not given a break in the coursework over Thanksgiving. We have encouraged them to get ahead before the break, but they may have to complete work while back at home.
- Jaime & Asher
Student of the Month: Lauren
Snowboard Freestyle
It’s been a super fun month based on campus. We were able to make a surf trip out to the Oregon Coast where the crew got into the ocean, some of them surfing for the first time. As for for Kennedy, I didn’t even know if she was going to jump in the water as the days before she was talking about her fear of the ocean, but once she got in, she didn’t want to leave the water. I was super proud of her to conquer that fear and see her fall in love with a new board sport: surfing.
Meanwhile, Lorena was back home with family and a rolled ankle. I always used injuries, no matter how big, as a great reflection point to come back to center. With the right routine, you can come out of injuries stronger and more hungry to push your riding.
The team is finding that balance point between athletics, fitness, mental training and school. We have been getting outside of our comfort zones in training, with air awareness being a big focus. The girls have been pushing the rest of the teams and each other to step up, but also to have fun in the process. We are itching for getting on the snow, but know that when it comes, the girls are going to be shredding their hearts out.
Lots of smiles, hard work, trick acquisition, and getting more comfortable around campus in time for me to add in different more difficult tasks that make it uncomfortable again. The balancing act that is this thing we love, in a team that supports each other across all disciplines.
- Elijah
Athlete of the Month: Lorena Kelley- Shining through with some grit this month, Lorena is hungry for as much feedback as we can give her- she’s got heart and is going to be force to be recon with this season at contests. I am excited to keep her progressing and can’t wait until we get on snow to keep pushing her learning. As she steps up, the rest of the crew follows her lead.
Life & Leisure
October was a great month! As the seasons change and we start to transition into winter, let's recap our final month of fall. October started off with our annual Parents Weekend! On the second weekend of October, we hosted the families of several students. Some of the highlights were; delicious meals served by our cooks Travis and Steve, athletic demos held by our students on our facilities, and a trip to Timberline. Thanks all for joining, hope to see the rest of the families join us next year!
Our Industry Outreach Program continued to provide educational opportunities and entertainment for our students. We took the school down to Nemo Design, a design agency based in Portland, where owner Trevor Graves showed us his whole operation, detailing how students can set themselves up for their dream job in the future. We also welcomed our second guest speaker of the year, Jeff Kohnstahm, owner of Timberline Lodge. Jeff described how Timberline started in the 1930’s, and how they have continued their success as one of America’s premiere ski resorts since their inception.
Our students frequented many movie premieres and industry events in October. Jaime took the girls to an art event hosted by evo for Boarding for Breast Cancer. The fundraiser featured live music, a silent auction, and artwork produced by snowboarders, with all profits donated to B4BC. The students also made their way to town for a huge snowboard movie premiere, The Cold Front Tour. The premiere, put on by Snowboarder Mag, featured several snowboard films in one fun event.
We had a few special guests join us for some skating in B.O.B. last month. Pro snowboarders Desiree Melancon and Jill Perkins came up to put on a little skate clinic with the girls, while pro skater Willis Kimbel ripped around the park with the skate team.
October was a blast! Parents, please send us your students Thanksgiving Travel Itinerary if you haven’t yet!
- Luke Giacopelli
