January 2025 Newsletter
A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Ski team at a USASA Mt. Hood Series competition.
We were very excited to welcome our students back at the beginning of January. The arrival day of the 2025 winter semester was the largest in the history of Wy'East Mountain Academy. For the first time ever, we are at full capacity and have a waitlist. All of our seniors have sent in college applications and are anxiously waiting to hear back from universities.
Three of our students were invited to compete in the Grand Prix World Cup event in Aspen, Colorado. Congratulations to Finley Good, Luka Kuharic, and Anders Chapman. We are very proud of you!
As the accomplishments of the student body continue to rise, they are blended with the accomplishments of alumni. Alumnus Nick Goepper won the X Games in ski halfpipe, after a career in slopestyle. Alumni Hugh MacMenamin and Konnor Ralph are also competing in the Grand Prix World Cup in Aspen.
The bar continues to rise across the board as the level of expectations exceeds any previous goal. Through the diligence of our PTO President and Olympic skier Wendy Fischer, we are making some structural changes to the PTO in order to improve the parent and staff relationship. Instead of a monthly meeting, parents now have a direct line of communication to the administrative staff via a parent liaison on a weekly basis.
Our student body is now composed of young, talented student athletes from a dozen different countries. With this eclectic mix of students, our staff is challenged to push their own capabilities with trips to Spain, Switzerland, Hawaii and everywhere in between to broaden the horizons of what is possible.
Mike Hanley
ACADEMICS
Ella and Brady posing with pennants from universities they were accepted into.
Winter semester is in full swing and it has been great to have the classroom filled with students once again! We have some new students and it has been nice to watch them acclimate to academic life here at Wy'East. The balance between established students and new students is always enjoyable to watch. Returning students are always willing to offer up advice on Edgenuity and the ins and outs of the learning platform.
One of the main jobs that we have as teachers is to make sure that students are doing their own work and are resisting the temptation to use one of many online devices that offer up a quicker way to get answers or write essays. It is a problem that teachers face everywhere, whether it be overseeing an online platform, or overseeing students sitting at a desk in class. We are very diligent in ensuring our students are doing their own work. First and most importantly, we want every student to be learning what they are supposed to learn. Especially for younger students, the information that they might be skipping if they are able to cheat is always foundational and will be something that they will need to know later in their academic career. Second, establishing a culture where students know that they have to do the work, eliminates the belief that they will be able to find shortcuts. It requires them to work harder to understand the concepts so that they can do as well as they want to in their classes. That hard work translates to successes in the classroom and later in life. Fortunately, we don't have many students looking for shortcuts here at Wy'East. And we discover ones that do, we make sure to redirect them and teach them the right way to work through their classes.
STUDENT LIFE
Students participating in the egg relay race during the monthly assembly.
The first month of our winter semester was very exciting and busy! We welcomed 12 new students for the first full semester ever. The sunshine greeted us for the better majority of the days this month, and students celebrated with evening dry slope sessions under the lights and sunny days skiing and snowboarding on the volcano.
Weekends were spent trekking to downtown Portland to watch Oregon's professional basketball team, the Trailblazers, and strolling to the Wunderland arcade to rack up a serious collection of arcade tickets and prizes. On the last day of the month, our student government representatives hosted an assembly to reflect on January, to celebrate Valentine's Day, and to prepare for a February filled with care and positivity ahead. An egg relay race was the cherry on top of this assembly; the egg, of course, representing the hearts of the student body. Each team of cabinmates was tasked with carrying the egg on a spoon in their mouth without breaking it. This was an energetic and joyful send off for the students leaving the same afternoon to compete in local USASA events or departing early next week for big trips to Vermont and Spain!
CULINARY
January was an exciting month and the Culinary Team is having fun. We welcomed Jay to our team, and we cannot wait to see what he brings to the department. With a full campus of students here, our department has been busy trying to keep everyone happy and full of delicious and nutritious food. This past weekend, I had fun making house cinnamon rolls for the students. Kellen has been enjoying making breakfast and coming up with different ideas to keep the students on their toes, such as different compotes for French toast and pancakes. I cannot wait to see what other ideas he has for breakfasts.
Until next month – hope you have a great February and enjoy the snow!
ATHLETICS
It’s been a great start to the year! The first week of school, we changed up the training schedule to gather all the students together and allow training. During that time, we came up with three goals as a student body:
Goal 1: Learn every other kid's and staff's name, especially all of the new students in our winter semester. If you are meeting this person for the first time, learn 5 new things.
Goal 2: Review rules, protocols and athletic concepts including: showing up prepared and on time, trampoline etiquette and safety, gym etiquette and work out safety, fall protocols, etc.
Goal 3: Review athlete IQP & performance work books. Discuss how to set an aspirational S.M.A.R.T. Goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely) and reverse engineer it. Discuss trip and contest calendar for the winter semester.
The weather is clear and bright so vibes have been high as we are firing on all cylinders and in all programs.
FREESKI TEAM
Ski team enjoying a bluebird day!
We have 3 brand new Freeski students this semester and are very excited to have them with us in the program!
FOCUS OF THE WEEK
Week 1: Reflect on the first 2 events of the season. Profile mental skills and behaviours as athlete and individual against PCDE’s (Psychological Characteristics of Developing Expertise). Execute runs at Futures Tour and USASA events.
Week 2: Work on multiple run options with the team, utilizing these at the right time for tactical success. Continue to emphasize PCDEs and how athletes learn to recognize these in themselves. Develop a competition ready state of mind. Futures Tour crew intensify training in preparation for Mt Snow/Okemo.
Week 3: Routinely train at a level beyond the level of planned competition with emphasis on robustness and improving take off patterns. Execute competition runs at Futures Tour, USASA Rail Jam, and IFSA Event.
HIGHLIGHTS
The weather has been beautiful and freeski student athletes are taking advantage of the slushy snow on double days. At the first USASA slope event we had 10 medals for the freeski team!!
Griffin - Gold
Vivian - Gold
Mattia - Gold
Fisk - Bronze
Prestyn - Gold
Jace - Silver
Tobi - Bronze
Skyler - Gold
Will B - Gold
Sullivan - Silver
SNOWBOARD TEAM
Snowboarders getting instruction from coaches before a USASA Mt. Hood Series competition.
We have 4 brand new students this semester and are very excited to have them with us in the program!
FOCUS OF THE WEEK
Week 1: Style progression and increase familiarity with new students. Set expectations with training and group riding. Peer mentorship introduction.
Week 2: Team trip to Minnesota with focus on rail progression, content creation, industry involvement.
Week 3: Practice expressing yourself through your competitive snowboarding. Participate in sub-elite events with multiple run options in order to utilize these at the right time for tactical success.
HIGHLIGHTS
The trip to the midwest rope tows was a great trip to end the month on. Many students learned lots of tricks and were exposed to a great snowboard culture. 4 students completed doubles on snow and Henry and Brady landed their first double wildcats. The first USASA slope event had 10 medals for the snowboard team!!
Kiah - Gold
Estelle - Silver
Emilie - Bronze
Boden - Gold
Joe F - Silver
Ella - Gold
Taj - Gold
Elliot - Silver
Brady - Gold
Lyric - Silver
MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM
Mountain bike team posing with products from their new electrolyte sponsor, Momentous.
We have 3 brand new mountain bike students this semester and are very excited to have them with us in the program!
FOCUS OF THE WEEK
Week 1: Learn the names of all peers, especially those in other programs. Focus on strength and conditioning. Try new tricks into the indoor airbag.
Week 2: Complete personalized workouts to target areas of weakness in each athlete. Review video footage to grab inspiration for new tricks.
Week 3: Apply new tricks to the outdoor airbag. Make sure we are ready for Spain with bikes and that everyone is in good academic standing.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ben and Toby joining the program has been amazing. The sunny weather that has happened for most of the month of January has made for a lot more training outdoors which has been so good for the team.
SKATE TEAM
Skate team enjoying a beautiful sunset in Hawaii.
We have 2 brand new skate students this semester and are very excited to have them with us in the program!
FOCUS OF THE WEEK
Week 1: Seek Contest Consistency Check #1. Focus on Week of Welcome goals. names, rules and protocols. Get ahead academically so that all students are prepared for the upcoming trip.
Week 2: Ensure students are healthy and academically prepared for the upcoming trip. Depart for Hawaii at the end of the week.
Week 3: Team trip to Hawaii to ride with and learn from industry professionals in the area.
HIGHLIGHTS
The skate team just had a beautiful day on the North shore of Hawaii. They watched some big wave surfing while they had photos taken by Soty Arto Saari. They rode with and learned a lot from the Proper skate team and were filmed by Heimana. They also stopped at UH Manoa for some college life exposure on the trip.
