The West Wing of Charles Wright’s Upper School came tumbling down yesterday. Construction crews sliced through the building, right across the room most recently used as the English department’s office. To the west of that cut, they demolished in just a few hours the four smallest classrooms on campus and three tiny offices. The choir director’s office, English chair’s office, and study hall/music room/theater will saved, although their uses will change once construction of the new Language and Performing Arts Center is complete.

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Tacoma-based Rushforth Construction set up camp at Charles Wright this week.  The firm built CWA’s Lower School and now they’re starting work on the new Language and Performing Arts Center.  Work is well underway as crews prepare for demolition of the West Wing on June 27.  The most notable changes on campus so far are the disappearance of the old drama shack, installation of the construction office trailer, and arrival of a giant dumpster and a tall fence encircling the site.

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Today is the last day that the hillside west of the Upper School will look like this.  Tomorrow the portable known affectionately as the “Drama Shack” will be removed.  As soon as graduation concludes this weekend, demolition of the old West Wing and construction of the new Language and Performing Arts Center will begin.  Check back here over the summer for frequent construction updates with pictures and the occasional video.  Here’s one last look at this corner of campus before we get started….

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News from Kari Whitney and the Wright Stuff rummage sale team:

We celebrated the hard-working CWA maintenance staff at rummage this week, with the farmhouse crew providing treats of a southwestern nature for a yummy lunch. We eat well every week, but my favorite times are always the big potlucks.

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Yes, truly, only at Charlie!  The groundbreaking ceremony for Charles Wright’s new Language and Performing Arts Center was captured on video.  You won’t believe it ’til you see it. 

Click here to watch the entire student body join in making this event a great success in High Resolution or Low Resolution.

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Students and teachers at Charles Wright celebrated groundbreaking for the new Language and Performing Arts Center yesterday in a very big way, complete with dancing monsters and an excavator. 

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After Wednesday’s Parent Association volunteer appreciation breakfast, farmhouse volunteers were back to sorting and packing treasures for the rummage sale to benefit construction of the new Language and Performing Arts Center. Kari Whitney reports:

This week we received many box-loads of collectable china and crystal, many of which you’ll fine at the big November rummage sale.

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Charles Wright’s symphonic band won two awards at the Heritage Festival in during an April trip to Anaheim, California.  Director Heidi Huckins said the festival was held at two venues and CWA competed against about two dozen other bands.  The Tarriers came home with a big trophy for winning the Outstanding Band award and a second trophy for the Silver Award. 

Charles Wright alum Nicolai Wohns ’03 has been named one of the Puget Sound region’s finest young classical musicians.  He and five others will be featured in a Winners’ Recital presented by the Tacoma Philharmonic this month.  Wohns, a violinist, is now a student at Northwestern University and is taught by Gerardo Ribeiro. Read the rest of this entry »

The time has come for alumni to stand up, sing out and speak up for the language and performing arts at Charles Wright Academy!  Today the school launched a new webiste — www.charleswright.org/boundless — to give alumni all the latest information on the need for a new language and performing arts center, the design of the building, and the people supporting this campaign.

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