CWA girls win event at Bellevue Invite
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Freshman Katie Mayer, senior Sarah Lawrence, sophomore Janay Davis and junior Emily Harper walked away from the Bellevue Invite last weekend with a big win. They ran the four legs of the girls sprint medley relay (600 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and 800 meters) in just 5 minutes and 56.67 seconds, 9.76 seconds faster than the second place team. Their win was all the more impressive by the competition they faced – teams from many 3A and 4A school. Their toughest competition can from runners at Henry Jackson (4A), Stadium (4A), Interlake (2A), Juanita (3A), Eastlake (4A), Kennedy (3A), Peninsula (31), Port Angeles (3A), Franklin (3A) and a school in British Columbia.
Lots of factors determine what sort of spirit a school develops. Sometimes it’s the history of the place, the educational philosophy, academic programs or athletics. Always, it’s the students. CWA senior Brandon White lives and breathes athletics. A Tarrier since kindergarten, he’s played four years of high school basketball and football. Long before he was a member of the state championship basketball team, Brandon claims the third word he learned to say was touchdown. Whether that’s truth or White family legend, one thing is clear: for Brandon, a great college is all about sports. 
The vegetable gardens at Charles Wright, carefully maintained through the winter by faculty and students, are growing quickly this spring. To support the gardens, the school is hosting an Edible and Ornamental Plant Sale on Friday, May 21. The sale will be set up outside the Lower School Commons and run from 2 to 4pm. All proceeds support the school garden programs. Many of the plants that will be for sale are seedlings the students have cultivated this spring. They’ve all been grown chemical-free (organically, but not organic certified).
With two weeks of league competition left in the spring season, every varsity team at Charles Wright is poised to qualify for the post season. The girls tennis and boys golf teams are undefeated. The boys soccer team is undefeated within the Nisqually League. Half of the varsity girls golf players have already qualified for the post season and the track and field team holds 12 of the top-ten 1A finishes in the state so far this year. The varsity baseball team is battling for fourth place in the Nisqually League and a chance to compete in the district tournament. 
CWA only gathers the entire student body under one roof twice year. In December, students and teachers gather in the Wight Gym for the annual holiday assembly. Again, in April, they gather for Founders Day, a celebration of the school’s history and purpose. Last week Chaplain Mike Moffitt led the community in a Founders Day assembly focused on the school’s ethos of excellence, a key phrase in the school’s mission statement. 
College decision day is coming up fast for the Class of 2010. Most seniors have less than two weeks to accept an admissions offer by May 1. While many made up their minds weeks or even months ago, a good number are still reviewing financial aid offers, making last minute trips to visit schools and talking it all over with their parents. Even as the process draws to a close for this year’s graduates, the junior class is beginning their college search in earnest. 
At this morning’s Upper School assembly, CWA students said goodbye to their four new friends from France. After two weeks in the United States, the exchange students are scheduled to return home tomorrow. The Associated Press reports that the European Union will resume limited air traffic on Tuesday, but the volcanic eruption from Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland continues to disrupt international travel and it is not yet clear if the students visiting CWA will be able to fly home as planned. 
At the end of the week, four French exchange students will head back to Europe after a two week stay at Charles Wright Academy. Celine, Pauline, Victor and Foucauld have enjoyed living with host families and participating fully in the life of the school, from assemblies and sports events to prom. The foreign language faculty at CWA say their students have benefited greatly from the opportunity to engage daily with native French speakers their own age. Teacher Jaime O’Dell says hosting exchange students helps all CWA’s French students get excited about their studies and appreciate how developing fluency can help them form friendships across cultural lines.
Events in Poland don’t frequently make headline news in the United States, but when President Lech Kacyznski, his wife, and dozens of Polish political, military, religious and cultural leaders were killed in a plane crash on Saturday in western Russia, the world took notice. The loss is being felt across Western Washington where communities of Polish immigrants have gathered in churches and homes to mourn. And the loss is being felt at Charles Wright Academy, where students and teachers have formed close friendships with Polish families through an international exchange program. 
Bathtub is to faucet as teapot is to stove? Fume? Spurt? Saucer? Spout? A team of students from the Lower School at Charles Wright Academy knew the answer and it helped them beat out teams from 519 other American elementary schools to win highest honors in the WordMasters Challenge – a national language arts competition entered by approximately 220,000 students annually. Competing in the difficult Blue Division and coached by Deanne Trummert and Jon Flies, the school’s third graders tied for first place in the nation in the year’s second of three meets.