Students hiking Latourell Falls in the Columbia River Gorge

A LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Mountain Bike team visiting YT Industries

Another year has come & gone with a new year passing to bring us into 2023. Once again, we have had another record-breaking arrival day for our largest student body in the history of Wy'East Academy. All of our programs have been making the most of the new year hitting the road & taking advantage of the sunshine in Oregon. Everyone has managed to get some time up on the mountain to enjoy all of our snow matched by the green grass back on campus. Competition results have been flooding in from the mountain bikers as well as the ski & snowboard programs. Everyone has been staying busy hitting the road to California, Nevada, Vermont, Canada, Italy, Utah & Colorado to get shots & stack up podiums in addition to our local USASA Mount Hood Series. 13 of our 15 seniors have now been accepted to four year universities with our final two waiting to hear back any day now. Even our senior leadership team get the chance to hit the road to attend a conference focused on development working with the Murdock Trust so it has been a period of growth on many different levels. Our PTO has continued to raise the bar of expectations proving to be invaluable advocates for the Academy & we cannot thank them enough for all of their help through good times as well as those that challenge us to improve. If you have not attended a PTO meeting, we are always looking for more voices at the table in addition to our weekly "Coffee with Hanley" every Tuesday at 11:15am. Thank you very much for your continued support & input.

Mike Hanley
Head of School

ACADEMICS

The students of the month for January: Will Baker and Ole Hubbard

Greetings Wy'East Families,

January has been a busy month on the academic front! We appreciate all the support as we make the teacher transition. I'm so grateful for the way Hannah and Peter helped improve lives at Wy'East--they will be missed. I'm also so excited to welcome our new teachers Hannah Eagle and Loren Terry. Students will remain in their current classroom settings, and we plan to make a seamless transition. Thank you again for all of your support! Meet the new teachers during the Parent Teacher Virtual Conferences on February 23rd & 24th. Look out for sign up link in the progress report this week. Midterm Report Cards will be sent out on February 22nd.

Parents of seniors, please send me baby pictures, portraits, action shots, and a congratulatory paragraph for your students if you have not done so already. Those are due for the yearbook by February 28th. Yearbooks will be shipped to the school during the last week of school. The yearbook is hardcover, 68 colored pages, and $36.50. The last day to purchase the yearbook is March 31st. Here is the link to purchase the yearbook: https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1016450563251701

Graduation is also right around the corner. Everyone is invited to Graduation on April 27th. Each senior gets two complimentary tickets, all other tickets are $20 each. The luncheon and dinner is provided. Please reach out if you did not receive the itinerary pdf. Please RSVP using this form by March 1st.

Lastly please reach out if your student will be taking the SAT on campus, March 1st. It's also not too late to sign up for the SAT on March 11th. The late registration deadline is February 28th. Please select the Parkrose Sr High School when registering. Contact me if you have any questions.

Congratulations to our January Students of the Month: Will Baker and Ole Hubbard!

Kayla Hokanson
Academic Director

I have chosen Will Baker for January student of the month. Will has aimed for nothing less than perfection since day one of this semester--he has been striving to get a stellar 100% in each class. So far, his efforts have earned him an amazing 4.12 GPA, all while working ahead of pace in his classes. Will has been proactive about asking for help and tackles missed questions right away so that the content is still fresh in his brain-- an awesome strategy. Will is one of the first students to arrive to class each day and always has a positive attitude that keeps classroom vibes high. Keep up the inspiring work, Will!
-Hannah Green

For January, my student of choice has got to be Ole. Based on his productivity and grades, it would be almost impossible to tell that this was his first month here. Ole has a fantastic work ethic, and was able to transition to our system swiftly and efficiently. Right from the beginning Ole was turning in stellar work, and that's been the norm from him since then. That is why I am awarding him with Student of the Month for January.
-Peter Ellis

STUDENT LIFE

Greetings,

With the first month of winter term in the books we can’t begin to say how stoked we are on how things are going. We currently have the most students on campus that we have ever had. During the week students have been busy with athletics, school, cabin cleaning, spending the evenings in BOB, hitting the gym, polar plunging in the backyard, dry sloping, and once a week we have also been taking them night skiing. Night skiing at SkiBowl is a fan favorite among the students. In addition, Student Government has been meeting once a week and working closely with administrative staff to create the best campus experience for every student. Most notably, Student Government has been fundraising for a new cable machine in the gym. Furthermore, Student Government has been collaborating with staff on planning weekend activities. We started off the first weekend of winter term going to Top Golf and the students had a blast. The next weekend we went and explored some waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge as well as going and checking out McMinville Waterpark. The students' favorite waterslide was the toilet bowl slide. The following weekend students had the option to go see Avatar in 3D or go to the Oregon Zoo. Even though Avatar 2 was over three hours long, students enjoyed the movie and can’t wait for Avatar 3 to come out! This last weekend on Saturday we took the students to Portland for the day where we hit up the local skate shops, food carts and some thrift stores. We had a relaxing day on Sunday where students had the option to go into town for manicures and pedicures. This past month has been a blur and we are looking forward to the rest of the term!

Netanya Beard
Dean of Students

culinary

Greetings All,

Hopefully everyone had a great New Year and the first month of 2023 has treated you guys well!

For the Culinary Department, it has been good for us!

First, we have upgraded all our plate wares from plastic to ceramic. This is a start to help elevate the experience in the cafe. We are in the process of getting our toaster up and running in the next few weeks.

Overall, the month of January was mellow for us, with teams traveling. Though, we did bring our “A” game this first month with the food that we provided. The students are been liking Kellen’s dinners at night. Along with the desserts that he has been whipping up! For lunch, the students have been hitting the hot food items that we have been providing. A good example is we served some “Old School” Open Face Beef Sandwiches, mashed potatoes and gravy. As well as, students favorites chicken tenders and fish sticks. And for breakfast, we have been doing the normal options with other treats like Biscuits and Gravy! The oatmeal with cinnamon apples have been a hit as well.

This coming month, we will be providing Teriyaki Chicken and Stir Fry Vegetables, Burritos, BBQ night and a Korean Night. To name a few menu options. As well as getting our house made muffins and cinnamon rolls out in the morning time. With a few other items up our sleeves!

That is it for now and Thank You All!!

Travis Gibson
Culinary Director

freeski

Hugh, Luka, and Anders getting ready to drop in for their runs at the Calgary Nor-Am Slopestyle

Greeting Freeski Families,

Where has January gone! We have been grinding both figuratively and literally out here in Oregon making the most of all the Volcano has to offer. With 7 new students joining us for the second semester the energy on the team is at an alltime high! With Timberline and Mt Hood Meadows both offering up good training venues for the squad. We have had the pleasure of having both Head of School, Mike Hanley and Athletic Director, Elijah Teter jumping in and helping us out on the hill. Both bring insane coaching experience to the table and it has been awesome watching them pass their knowledge down to the team. We have seen a lot of progression so far and a lot of “firsts'' have gone down. We really look forward to keeping this train moving and bringing that energy into the months to come! Although some travel has been going on for contests, most of the team travel will be in March and April, so we are looking forward to getting everyone on the road and exploring some of the resorts the west coast has to offer!

-Toph, Cam & Breeze

snowboard

Hello Snowboard Families!

What an awesome start to the winter semester we’ve had! The snowboard team just returned from our Midwest rope tow trip, swept another local USASA contest and are planning for our trip to Utah coming up in the near future.

Our Midwest trip was jam packed with 6 days of riding at 5 different “mountains” (hills) and got a total of 10 sessions. We started day 1 with a small session at Wild Mountain where kids were able to get comfortable on the snow as well as riding the rope, to ease into what the week was going to look like. We then cruised over one of the most popular rope tow parks, Trollhaugen, where kids were able to find some airtime and be around the Midwest culture that seems to produce some of the best snowboarders in the country.

The next two days took place at Buck Hill where we met their marketing coordinator to trade social media content for tickets! The team got to get a glimpse at what most professional snowboarders do when traveling to new resorts and get complimentary tickets. With 3 different ropes, 3 different park setups, a half pipe, and a full slopestyle course that some of the crew was competing on the next day, there was something for everyone. That Saturday was the USASA contest and I will say, Brando and I enjoyed watching the kids compete and push themselves against kids who live on the ropes of the Midwest. As well as comparing who had more ice on their eyelashes at any time during the contest.

Sunday we decided to have half a rest day, starting the day checking out Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) where they let us check out their main gallery where students and professors displayed some of their biggest projects and studies from over the years. From there we went to the University of Minnesota, toured around the campus and got to experience walking over the Mississippi River. The temperature may have been in the single digits and the kids were itching to get back in the van, but we were able to find a museum on the way back where we checked out more art and were able to warm up before making the final trek back to the van. Later that day we were able to squeeze in another rope session at Elm Creek; another resort with 3 ropes and 3 parks built on a 80 vertical feet hill that actually ended up being a favorite for a couple kids on the team. The amount of laps and repetition of tricks you can get at these places is unmatched!

The rest of the week we got two sessions at Hyland Hills, which had more rails and jumps set up than the rest of the mountains combined, made a trip back to Wild and Troll in Wisconsin, and also made a trip back to Elm Creek to finish off the trip. Our focus over the week was getting clips of each other, making edits, and learning how to market oneself and promote the academy with the use of social media. So I hope you at least saw a video or two of your kid ripping in the Midwest!

The snowboard team is preparing for a trip to Utah where we’ll get to check out a couple of the most popular snowboard schools in the west, the University of Utah and Westminster College. We’ll also get to experience working with the park crew at Woodward Park City, and riding one of the most popular resorts in the snowboard scene, Brighton. Until then, training at Meadows and Timberline, and getting caught up in the classroom is the main focus! Can't wait to see what the team brings in the month of February!

-Stewart & Brando

mountain bike

We had a good start to the semester with our trip to San Clemente and Bootleg Canyon. After a long and grueling drive down to San Clemente from Wy’East Academy, we were welcomed with the California sunshine. The students had the option of going to the skatepark in San Clemente or go surfing at T-Street in San Clemente. After the skatepark, the students joined the crew on the beach and created some amazing Slopestyle courses out of the sand and worked on their parkour skills. In true fashion, we managed to bring the rain with us to southern California and made the most out of those rainy days by visiting UC Irvine and shuttling in San Diego. There was a good mix of rain and sunshine during this trip and on our sunny days we made sure to take full advantage of that with shuttling in Laguna, riding Clairemont skatepark in San Diego, with the highlights of visiting YT and riding with Dylan Stark.

A big thanks to Asa for putting together our tour with YT and giving the students the opportunity to ride with Dylan Stark at his trails in Lake Elsinore. Dylan is one of the most creative riders in the mountain bike world and a good role model for the students to look up to as he puts in so much effort to building trails, riding as much as possible and maintaining a good relationship with his community and the future generations of the sport. Asa was able to get Harper and Aiden on the same program that he is on with YT, where they are going to receive a loaner bike for the year. This is a great opportunity for those two to build a relationship with the brand with the hopes of leading to a future sponsorship. Lastly, we at Wy’East Academy now have a partnership with YT Industries where the students that attend can get 20% off all bikes in the YT lineup.

Our second leg of the journey brought us to Bootleg Canyon in Nevada for the Southwest Regional Championship. On this trip, Asa and Barb took the students to Anthem Skatepark in Las Vegas, we shuttled Bootleg Canyon the day before the event began, and the students who didn’t race had a skatepark/street day in Boulder City, NV. We had a great time at Bootleg and were able to come away with some medals from the racing with Curran- 2nd in dual slalom, Rodrigo- 2nd in Cat 3 15-18 men, and Etan- 2nd in Cat 1 17-18 men.

While on campus we have been blessed with little to no rain, allowing us to spend time in the backyard riding the trails and airbag. During this time we have also continued our workouts in the gym and on the spin bikes to maintain and increase the levels of fitness for the students. Elijah has also been taking the students that want to go snowboarding up on the hill in the morning. Since being on campus we have had a healthy mix of activities that has kept morale high and the students stoked.

-Kevin Simpers and Asa McGill-Howe

skateboard

Hi Families,

January has been a great month for us up on campus! It has been cold but fairly dry so we have been able to skate the jungle and get off campus a lot. Getting off campus we have been able to spend a few days doing double athletics, going to Portland and Eugene. Everyone is pretty excited to snowboard right now as well so we are trying to go up on hill once a week for some cross training. In the gym we have been spending a lot of time working on stretching (pre and post skating) and ankle/core strengthening. The first Seek Game of S.K.A.T.E. on flatground was won by our very own Miky! Miky beat out Tag in the finals to take the win and the cash! Looking forward to heading down to Southern California with the students here soon in February for some warm sunny weather, college tours, and lots of skating!

-Brian Johnson

time to say goodbye

Hannah Green and Peter Ellis’ last day is February 10th.

As my time at Wy'East comes to a close, I wanted to express my deepest appreciation to all of the staff, parents, and most of all, students who have made my time here so special and memorable. I knew from my first day on campus, even before I met the students, that I was about to meet a special group of young adults, and yet they still managed to surpass my expectations in so many ways. Each one of them has inspired me and made me laugh, and taught me so much in a short period of time. In all my time working with youth, I don't think I've ever met a group of young people so driven and passionate about their interests who are also so humble, kind, and joyful.

I had the privilege of watching Ski and Snowboard's USASA competition at Meadows this weekend, and seeing them practice their sport in person for the first time, it truly hit home how much these students accomplish in their daily lives. To not only go through the daily rigors of high school but at the same time pursue their passion with full force is incredible, and I'll be inspired by their joie-de-vivre for long after my time here is done. I'll miss the students greatly, but hope to stay in touch and hear about their many accomplishments to come. Thank you all again for helping to shape such wonderful young adults, and for all the support during my time at Wy'East. Enjoy the rest of the Winter Term!

-Hannah Green

I have met a lot of interesting and amazing staff members while working at Wy'East. From Olympic level coaches, to phenomenal photographers, to incredible chefs; everyone at Wy'East has an interesting back story. Having such a diverse group of people is a great way to help support these students to follow whatever interests they might be leaning towards. I will definitely miss that diversity on campus as I move into the next stage of my life, and the lessons I learned from them will stay with me.

The students at Wy'East have definitely been the highlight of my time at Wy'East. They are hard working, determined, resourceful, and on top of that they are really really funny. There was never a dull day while in the classroom, and the students definitely kept me on my toes. I don't think I have been in a classroom with as much energy and humor as I have her at Wy'East, and that liveliness is what I will miss most. So thank you all for the intriguing conversations, continue to pursue the things that interest you, and I hope to see you at the skatepark someday.

-Peter Ellis

now introducing our new teachers

My name is Hannah Eagle, and I arrived at Wy'East by way of Salt Lake City, Utah, where I taught sixth grade in the general education classroom for the last four years. Prior to classroom teaching, I taught in an outdoor education program in the Tetons, and am excited to work with outdoor athletes at Wy'East. I have a BA of Humanities with an emphasis in English Literature and Outdoor Leadership from BYU-I and am currently pursuing a Masters of Education with an emphasis in English Pedagogy from WGU. During my free time, I enjoy rock climbing, fly fishing, and skiing with my dog Baldwin.
-Hannah Eagle

Hello! My name is Loren Terry. I am originally from Mason, OH--just 30 minutes north of Cincinnati. I finished high-school in 2013 and went on to study Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. I received my Bachelors in 2017. I grew up snowboarding and instructing at Perfect North Slopes, Indiana. After college, I moved abroad to be an English Teacher. I taught English in Uttaradit, Thailand and in Harbin, China. After returning to the states, I worked in Manhattan, NY for the International Rescue Committee’s Refugee Youth Summer Academy. Here I helped students with their English, transitioning to an American lifestyle, and taught American sports. After this, I spent 4 years serving as a Lieutenant in the Marines where I spent most of my time in Okinawa, Japan. I had the privileges of leading and training Marines and then helping them transition out of the military and apply for colleges or look for jobs. Health & fitness is another one of my passions. I received a Master’s of Science in Sports and Health Sciences in 2022 and became a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. I am very thankful to have the opportunity to be a teacher at Wy’East Academy and I am looking forward to getting to know everyone!
-Loren Terry