A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Somehow, it is already November, and the snow has started to come down again on Mount Hood. Recently, someone told me, "Oregon only gets one storm per year, but it lasts for seven months." Transition periods can be challenging, whether athletic, academic, or meteorological, but these are times of growth when we shift gears to overcome new challenges in life. October is always a roll of the dice in the Pacific Northwest; it might be snowing, or it might be sunny and 70 degrees, so you have to make the most of each day.

It's inspiring to see so many of our students embrace this time, training on the dry slopes in the rain to progress their bag of tricks before trying them on snow. Many of these same students have been applying the same dedication in the classroom, working ahead, knowing they will have a busy travel schedule in the months ahead. Nearly our entire student body challenged themselves with either the PSAT or SAT, practicing resilience in the face of standardized testing.

Embracing challenges and overcoming obstacles can be pivotal in shaping the future, and these kids are getting a head start on the competition just around the corner.

Mike Hanley

ACADEMICS

One of the most important aspects of being a teacher at Wy'East Academy is ensuring that each student is on pace to finish all of their classes by the end of the semester. When you factor in that each sport has a different travel schedule for training and competitions, combined with students occasionally taking trips back home, it can get confusing for each student to know exactly where they should be.

One tool we've established to help is a pacing goal calendar (pictured above). Each student has access to this calendar, which shows them exactly where they should be to stay on track. The calendar is broken down by sport and provides a day-by-day percentage of where they should be in their classes. We also use these pacing goal numbers to assign students to study hall or double academic days: study hall is assigned when a student is slightly behind, while double academic days are assigned when a student has fallen a bit further behind. Each of these options is designed to give every student the best opportunity to complete all of their classes by the semester’s end, despite time spent off-campus.

Attending a school like Wy'East has many perks. Traveling around the country and world to participate in your favorite sport is an experience that few people get to have. Providing each student with specific pacing goals is our way of ensuring they can fully enjoy those opportunities while excelling academically.

Adam and Heidi

STUDENT LIFE

Students right before bungee jumping (most are trying to be brave but are very nervous)

October was action-packed with weekend activities. Although our students are very invested in their extreme sports, many of the Wy'East kids also enjoy following local high school athletics. At the beginning of the month, Wy'East attended a Nelson High School football game. Melt Away Boutique, a local massage therapy program, also joined us for weekend sessions on campus. Students were selected for appointments based on their athletic and academic effort. These offerings will continue through this semester and into the next.

In other notable events, the students demonstrated bravery at Central Oregon Bungee Adventures and Bungee Masters, two of the tallest bungee jumps in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, Central Oregon is home to the tallest bungee jump in North America.

Of course, the October spirit wouldn't be complete without a Halloween celebration. The Student Government organized a pumpkin carving event on a sunny Thursday afternoon, where cabins competed to carve the most creative pumpkin. The winning pumpkin had buck teeth and a mohawk made from its pulp. The festivities continued with a trip to Portland's haunted house, The Scaregrounds, and some local trick-or-treating in the Sandy neighborhoods.

To round out the month, the skiers took to the high dive to showcase their trampoline skills in a different setting. This activity is always a favorite.

Barbara Edwards and Team

CULINARY

We’ve been enjoying making great food for the student body! Sarah has been focusing on house-made breakfast items, cookies, and desserts, and she’s starting to ensure that our gluten-free and vegan students are well taken care of. Stephannie, our morning cook, has been doing an amazing job with breakfast and lunch; her presence in the kitchen has made a real impact on the students' morning meals and complements Kellen’s skills beautifully. Kellen continues to impress everyone with his dinners each night, which are always a hit with the students. As for me, I get to watch my team thrive in the kitchen, making sure we’re moving in the right direction.

Travis and Culinary Team

FREESKI TEAM

Hello Freeski Families,

October was a well-rounded month for the freeski team, as everyone has settled into our daily training schedule. It’s been fantastic to see the camaraderie and bonding among the team, with everyone supporting each other’s progression. We’ve packed our days with dynamic warmups and a variety of gym routines, including core workouts, weighted exercises, and stationary bike sprints. We balance our training between indoor sessions on the trampolines and workouts, and outdoor practice, focusing on rail tricks and reps on the airbag jump.

A highlight this month was our trip to Park City for early-season training on their larger dry-slope airbag. During our stay, we enjoyed a tour of Westminster University in Salt Lake City from a former Wy’East Academy student. We also visited the Center of Excellence, where Team USA athletes train, see physiotherapists, and work out on trampolines.

Recently, we had the unique opportunity to tour the Line and K2 Advanced Resource Collective, where we observed how prototypes are conceptualized and brought to life before mass production. Witnessing the process from start to finish gave us a new appreciation for the craftsmanship behind the equipment we use.

We’re excited for the season to begin—this team is ready to reach new heights!

LET IT SNOW!

Brian, Topher, Leo

SNOWBOARD TEAM

Greetings, Snowboard Families,

October was an action-packed month filled with memorable experiences for our team. We dove fully into our three-phase training cycle of progression, execution, and reflection, a philosophy that has been essential to achieving success in athletic goals. The progression and execution phases were especially intense during our team trip to Europe. Some athletes focused on perfecting their competition runs and then executed them during events, while others pushed their progression, learning new tricks in Terneuzen, and capturing these on film to build their social media portfolios. The drive to improve continued back home at Banger Park, where the team trained on landing bags and ramped up their skills. We’re incredibly proud of everyone’s hard work and dedication on this trip.

Back in Oregon, the team had time to reflect, catch up on schoolwork, and recharge at the Mount Hood Athletic Club. Once everyone was ready, we returned to our campus training schedule, putting in hours on the dry slopes, trampolines, and in the gym.

In the snowboarding world, there's an ongoing debate: is snowboarding a sport, an art form, or a lifestyle? For us, it's a lifestyle. While it has elements of both sport and art, snowboarding represents more than just competition. To switch things up, we also took a surf day at the coast, where we lucked out with sunshine and clean waves.

We hope you enjoyed the trip recap and videos shared on Google Drive. Please keep an eye out for upcoming communications, as we will soon begin the competition registration process, finalize season passes, and tie up a few details for our winter semester. Until then, we hope you're enjoying the fall season, and here’s to a snowy November!

Cheers,
Brandon & Stew

MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM

Hello Mountain Bike Families,

October was an incredible month! It’s been so encouraging to see students carry their energy from September, continually pushing their riding to new levels. The positive team environment, where students support each other in learning tricks, capturing clips, and encouraging one another, has been inspiring to witness. While time on the bike is important, the camaraderie and teamwork off the bike have been equally rewarding.

Our trip to Port Gamble was a semester highlight, especially with Arlan joining us to work on the Varsity Team video. The students collected a ton of footage for the video and their own social media, and we took some time to explore the historic town and its old sawmill—a nice break and a chance to engage in some team bonding.

October also gifted us with plenty of sunny days, which allowed us to maximize our time riding on campus and building up trick repertoires on the airbag. With fewer sunny days ahead, we’ll start shifting our focus toward gym work to build strength for the upcoming season. I’m excited to see the progress made so far carry into November!

Kevin Simpers

SKATE TEAM

Hi Skate Families,

October was a great transition month for the skate program. We started off with warm, sunny days that let us make the most of Portland parks and the Jungle. We also worked on a skate photo project inspired by a video from Matt Price, where students paired up to try capturing skate photos and then chose their best shots for peer review.

Mid-month, we took our first trip of the year to San Francisco, visiting SF State and UC Santa Cruz. Two big highlights were DLX Distribution and Alcatraz Island. At DLX, Andy Pitts (Art Director) and Frank Gerwer (TM/Pro) gave the students an inside look at how simple sketches transform into board graphics. The Alcatraz tour was a hit—students were so engaged they even prepared questions for a former inmate.

We skated the new UN Plaza park and spent a lot of time at two iconic spots, Fort Miley and Battery Banks, both overlooking the Pacific. Thursday, we did a full-day city skate from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., covering 10 miles, hitting favorite skate spots, and seeing tourist sites. We even fit in a surf session at Cowell’s in Santa Cruz!

Looking forward to November, we’ll start with a digital lines contest where students will film each other’s one-minute runs, with industry friends providing feedback. Mid-month, we’ll head to Southern California for more skating, industry visits, college tours, and sunshine.

Looking forward to another great month ahead!
Brian Johnson