APRIL 2024 EDITION

Spring in Oregon is the season of change. Whether it is the end of the school year, snowing one day or 70 degrees the next, there is excitement in the air. For the first time ever we have reached our capacity for the graduation ceremony in BOB with friends, family & staff coming in to celebrate our 23 graduating seniors. Students are still traveling the globe to compete in their athletic disciplines to get in their final podium performances before it is time to head home and get ready for what life has in store. After over five years of planning, we have finally broken ground on the construction of the landing bag on campus. We were all in shock at how fast the machinery took down the trees to reveal the mountainside that will be the home of the best angled landing bag training facility in the world. While change can be scary at times, we know that it also comes with limitless potential for growth. As we all brace ourselves for the new face of Wy'East Academy's 28 acres, we are reminded that the only constant in life is change. As all of our departing seniors and Gap Year students transition into life as college students and beyond we join them in the adventure of embracing this next step for all of us!

Mike Hanley

ACADEMICS

Students taking advantage of a sunny day and doing school work outside

One of the many great things that comes along with the arrival of Spring is the higher frequency of days with sunshine. Academically, this gives us the opportunity to take our learning outside where we can all enjoy the warm, dryer days while also getting some work done. Wy’East has many options available for outside learning. There are many picnic tables in the grassy areas as well as a table on the cafe patio and multiple options for places to sit on the many skateboard/mountain bike structures around campus. In addition to being great places to learn, being outside also fuels students with valuable Vitamin D and the many health benefits that come along with that.

We all look forward to the days that are dry enough and warm enough to work outside. The students have done a great job of showing that they are still able to get their work done when we work outside and that has given them the opportunity to do that more often. Not every group of students will be able to navigate all of the potential hazards of working outside but this group has shown that they can handle the responsibility and thus, are able to reap the benefits. We look forward to many more outside learning days as we finish up the semester later this month.

Hannah and Adam

STUDENT LIFE

Student showing off the fish they caught

We were so lucky to have some amazing sunny weekends in March! We started the month off watching the epic Monster Jam which comes to town once a year. Who doesn't love a good monster truck drift? The next weekend, Wy'East juniors traveled to Oregon State University and the University of Oregon for a two day adventure to explore what a college campus has to offer. We ended this trip at a U of O Ducks basketball game, and it was a nail biter. The Ducks brought home a win at the last second, and the arena was packed with excited fans. Back on home base, the remainder of the student body went to see the Trail Blazers game, and also celebrated a huge win in overtime. It was a great weekend for Oregon basketball. A small group of our dedicated students attended the Portland Parks and Recreation Terwilliger Parkway volunteer opportunity in mid march, where they really made an impact in planting over 150 plants and removing 1000 sq ft of non-native blackberry and ivy. It is a special moment when our students are able to give back and contribute to local trail systems, and we believe it helps them better understand the value of our Mt Hood National Forest. This weekend, we are soaking in more sunshine by visiting the opening weekend of Oaks Amusement Park and also traveling just down the road to fish at the local Rainbow Trout Farm. The students have taken to blow-up pool parties and DJ'ing on the cafeteria deck during their weekend down time. April will be packed with more of this sunshine and fun, and we are looking forward to a few more weekends of adventure and activity.

Barbara and Team

CULINARY

Fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast and the newly planted vegetable garden

The month of March was another great time for the Culinary Department. With teams traveling all over the World, we were able to get some things done around the Café, notably, our garden. Kellen took to a sunny morning one weekend to come in and till the garden beds. He planted asparagus, onions, added pineberries to the strawberry bed, and string beans to grow on a trellis. We are waiting for another week or so to start planting lettuce. I am looking forward to seeing the garden grow this season.

Besides the garden, we are still feeding all the students a well-balanced meal and we are trying to mix it up. Kellen has done a great job in creating a robust dinner for the students every night. As well as, I have been doing a good job in the morning with breakfast and lunch. I have been getting help in the morning with Preston Archer. He is starting to get a great handle on everything. Also, we have a baker in the mix now! I have rehired Sarah E. who stepped away for a year and a half. She is doing a great job in making tasty treats for the students.

The Culinary Team

FREESKI

e've got a lot to catch up on. Here's a quick rundown of what went down this month.

First off, B team departed to Mammoth from Tahoe. The course at Mammoth proved to be tough but Topher and the crew were able to get some solid training and media. After the competition the team had an amazing day at Boreal. Everyone took advantage of the conditions and leveled up with some awesome new tricks. In the meantime, sunny days at Timberline for the crew at home meant it was time to focus on those unnatural and switch tricks. The crew embraced the challenge and progressed some of their fundamental skills.

Shortly after the A team left for Aspen Rev Tour. From Rev tour the squad went straight to Italy for Junior World Championship. Representing our crew on the world stage!

Meanwhile, the C team headed to White Pass and came back with a whole bag of new rail tricks. While we were there a few were able to compete in the last IFSA big mountain competition of the season. It's amazing to see everyone expanding their arsenal of tricks and pushing their limits.

Back on campus, our students have been gearing up for nationals. The excitement is palpable as we get ready to hit the road to Colorado.

Brian, Shannon and Topher

SNOWBOARD

Hello Families!
March has been a great time for the snowboard team! With nationals on the horizon, everyone has been buckling down and getting as much training in as they possibly can on both jump and rail lines. Coaches and students have been hard at work, and the results have been showing in everyone’s riding. We also took a trip up to mission ridge to get some time on a rope tow set up, which allowed for a lot of rail training as well as an increase in clips and social media postings. On March 28th Stew and Alec will leave with the team for USASA nationals in Copper mountain. We wish everyone the best of luck!

Best regards and hope for fair weather,

Brandon, Stew, and Alec

MOUNTAIN BIKE

Hello Families!

March was an action packed month for the Mountain bike team, with the first couple of days finishing off our Utah trip, a week in Oregon, then off to the south for some of the best riding of the year in Georgia and Tennessee. The weather couldn't have been better for us down south. We were able to put in 9 full days of lift riding in two locations, Jarrods place in Northern Georgia and Windrock Bike park in Tennessee. Jarrods place was fast and flowy with jumps, big berms and some whoops. Windrock was technical, off camber, steep, and rooty, which made way for some great training. In Windrock, all of the students competed at the national downhill race during the last weekend. Of course, the night before the race it rained to make the track interesting and we had some struggles, but all the kids made it down safely and we had some good results as well. The kids are stoked to be home for the month of april and hopefully we get some days of sun, it's now outdoor airbag season!

Asa and Bolio

SKATE

Hi Families,

I hope everyone is doing well! It is wild that we are getting to the end of the spring semester. Looking back on the month of March we really had every kind of weather on campus, from freezing cold with snow to warm sunny 70 degrees. The sunny days were a great intro into what campus is like through spring and summer. The start of the month was focused on the Seek contest in BOB. This was the 3rd event in the series and was a Jam format contest. This meant there were 3-5 competitors at a time skating for 3 min. It’s tough to skate for 3 minutes straight by yourself but when there are other people skating with you and you are cutting each other off it can be a bit chaotic.Everyone did an amazing job at their first time in an event like this. It was also a perfect way to prepare for our trip to Phoenix AZ to watch the Phoenix AM. The PHXAM has been going on for 25 years with the top 200 amateur skaters from all over the world. None of the students were able to compete this year but it was a fantastic event to watch. We were lucky enough to have Elijah, Arlan, Bobby, and Gregg join us on most of the trip and throughout the contest. The students had the opportunities to meet the Team Managers behind the biggest brands and see what the world of top sponsored skaters is like. Aside from the contest we enjoyed the sun and spent time at ASU skating around parts of the campus and checking out the local parks. On an off day we hiked South Mountain trail through the desert to a place called Hidden Valley, where we had to squeeze and slide between rock to enter the valley. We were able to spend time with one of my favorite skateboarding non-profits, Skate After School. Here the students met Tim (Co-Founder) and Zamara (Community Organizer) to learn about the history of the program and how a grassroots organization turned into a foundation in the skate world. Tim and Zamara were nice enough to invite us to one of the elementary schools they provide after school programming at. Here we helped with the programming and got to see how it all works.

April is a busy month on campus! We will have a trip to NYC to experience skating on the east coast and check out some of the Universities there. Please keep an eye out for emails regarding the end of the semester. Things like graduation, check out procedures, cabin cleaning, and summer semester.

Brian Johnson