First Semester Wrap-Up
THE WRAP-UP
The Latest from Wy'East Mountain Academy
December 2019
Letter from the Headmaster
Happy Holidays Friends and Families,
We are in the final week of school before everyone leaves for winter break. Enjoy the time with your loved ones, because next term is going to shoot out of the gate full speed ahead!
It’s finally snowing, and over the past couple of days, the kids have been coming off the mountain with rosy cheeks and huge smiles.
Winter term is what our kids live for. Students have been preparing all fall for the winter season, and they are ready! I am confident in their ability to pull off an excellent 2020. When I tell you this past term has been the best yet, I mean it. They have been on top of their academics and student behavior on and off of campus has been all-time. I am so proud of our students and am incredibly grateful for our staff who support their daily needs.
We have nine seniors entering the final term of their high school career and graduating this spring. This can be an emotional time for parents and students as they near graduation and prepare for the next phase of their lives, as well as yours. This term will also be our inaugural graduation from Wy’East Mountain Academy, issuing our first set of “official” high school transcripts. We are super excited! Mark your date for April 23, 2020. Graduation takes place at Timberline Lodge on their home mountain, beautiful “Wy’East”.
Thank you for your continued support. May the next few weeks bring memories that last a lifetime. Have a safe and Happy New Year. I’ll see you in 2020!
Cheers!
Ann Scott aka “Academy_Mum”
Backcountry & Big Mountain
This is what "No snow November" looked like for the Big Mountain Team..
We did manage a couple days of ski touring on the glacier, however, November did not grace us with an early season wintery blanket as it often does. We made the most of training time last month by strength and cardio conditioning at the gym two to three times a week, learning and mastering new tricks on the recently finished trampoline expansion, and taking those new tricks to the dry slope/airbag on campus. In addition, we drove out to Pacific City on the Oregon coast to try our hand at surfing. A great time was had by all.
On the weekend of November 9th and 10th, we spent 16 hours together as a team in a wilderness first aid course. It was a great experience and a very important time for team building. We practiced many scenarios, from wound care to spinal stabilization. Skills that this group of kids will use for the rest of their lives. The team is in a great place to head out into the backcountry and make the best of any situation.
Praying for snow. (Update: the snow is arriving!!)
- Brandon & Griff
Athlete of the Month: Sophie Felici.
Sophie put in non stop effort this month and has been a role model for other athletes. She learned backflips and misty flips on the trampoline, excelled in the Wilderness First Aid course that we took through NOLS, and has been taking our avalanche safety training very seriously. She continues to have a contagious positivity about her & a work ethic to match.
Skate
Welcome to the swamp!
The skaters spent most of November in Florida at the 2019 Tampa Am. There they competed alongside the Top 100 up and coming skaters in the world and all eyes of the industry. Although we didn't have any top finishers, everyone still had an amazing experience and made lots of new industry connections and friends.
We wrapped up the month with a trip to Eugene where the crew put on a full-blown demo at the famous Willard School Rails (three 10 stair rails back to back) Everyone got clips, sending us off with a bang and giving everyone something to remember as they headed home for Thanksgiving.
Freeski
November was an epic month for us on the Freeski Team. We had a great surf trip to start the month off with the whole Academy “on board”. It was a great opportunity to get the athletes out of their comfort zones and bond together over something they knew nothing about. Our days throughout the month consisted of rail island, trampoline and dry slope airbag sessions working on everyone's individual goals for the Yukon trip to Mt Sima. When not utilizing the campus facilities, we would train at the Sandy Recreation Center. During our sessions, we broke into groups targeting upper and lower body ski specific workouts as well as focusing on agility and core workouts.
All of the preparation really paid off as we made our way to Canada. Everyone showed up with a great understanding of the goals they set for themselves. We had seven productive days on snow. Each day we started with two hour snowmobile laps on a private jump getting back into the swing of things. Day by day we were increasing the intensity and simulating competition formats, and in turn conquering many goals and working towards others. After the jump sessions, we would end the day on the rope tow rail setup, having the kids work on getting tricks in every direction and also hosting mock rail jams for them to get some comp experience. Over all, November treated us well and we hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the break and Happy Holidays!
- Breeze & Topher
Skier of the Month: Shiloh Greenfield
Shiloh has really come into this season ready to push himself harder than ever. This month, he grinded through all of his down time on the trampolines in preparation for our Yukon Trip. His hard work and driven attitude paid off when he landed his first proper cork sevens on the big jump in Canada!
Academics
November was a quick and quiet month for the academy. Skaters traveled to Florida and the ski team was in the Yukon after that trip. Students were busy with their coursework and pushed to stay ahead of pace so they could have an enjoyable Thanksgiving break.
During the break, students worked tirelessly and were mostly on track when they came back, thanks to your support families! Everyone is wrapping their classes up and working to re-do assignments and quizzes to improve grades.
Our seniors have been applying to colleges- writing essays and requesting recommendation letters. We are continually encouraging our students to dream big and work hard to achieve their goals for the future. The young scholars have been creating a 5-year plan and polishing up their portfolios that include resumes, cover letters, SAT/PSAT/MAP scores, letters of recommendation, transcripts, community service, Find Your Grind and any other outstanding work.
We are all excited about gaining more community service hours in December by helping out with Toys for Tots and other volunteer opportunities.
- Jaime & Asher
Student of the Month: Drew
Congratulations for being accepted to Western Washington University!
Snowboard Freestyle
The team has been very composed and patient with the late start to the season. Our focus has been on strengthening the mental components, with a strong emphasis on robustness in our cross training approach with trampolines, dry slope, gym and skate. The girls are strong and are ready to shred this season. Our team bond is getting stronger and I am happy to see everyone getting along so well.
We are in preparation for our trip to Colorado, working hard in school to get ahead to ensure we can stay focused during our training days in Copper. The girls are excited to have some other athletes join in with us as well, it's gonna be epic!
So grateful to have such a great facility and to be building this program with these two skilled ladies. They are full of fun and enthusiasm, they keep everyday interesting, and work hard when it's time to get things done. The program will be growing next semester, so we are really trying to hit this last month of training with our small group with a bang!
- Elijah
Athlete of the Month: Lorena Kelley - With a composed attitude, Lorena has been pushing her limits in our training. We have been having some wonderful breakthroughs and I want to keep her driving this program forward!
Life & Leisure
Between international travel, training and Thanksgiving break, student life has been crazy! November brought us many great moments. For one, our local resorts are finally open! The kids have been busy spending their weekends up on Timberline and Meadows, ripping around and having fun.
The unusually dry November allowed the kids to skate around the Concrete Jungle while not training or in school. Our first ever Wy’East Academy Ping Pong was crowned, after a heated contest at our first annual ping pong tournament. Everyone came to play, but Nathan Crane came out on top as the king of ping pong. The ladies of the academy branched out and had an eventful holiday themed afternoon, where they went ice skating inside the Lloyd Center mall in Portland and hung out by the Christmas Tree.
We hope you all have a great holiday break!
- Luke Giacopelli
