CWA’s fall sports season was one of the most exciting and most successful in recent years. The boys cross-country team took fourth place at state with two runners on the podium in individual places. The boys tennis team swept through the league and quad-district tournaments defending their quad-district title and setting themselves up to make a run at their third consecutive state championship title in the spring. The girls cross-country team sent two runners to state, both of whom turned in strong performances. Both volleyball and football also competed at the district level. It was the second district appearance in as many years for the volleyball team. It was the football team’s first district appearance in 14 years. As the all-league honors began rolling in for Tarriers on both team, word came that CWA Head Football Coach Mike Finch took Coach-of-the-Year honors for the Nisqually League. Read the rest of this entry »

The Williams women’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA Sectional Semifinals last weekend after defeating Westfield State 2-1. Natalie Weyerhaeuser ’11 is one of ten Williams freshmen on the 23-woman roster. The team has 12-4-3 overall record this year.  Weyerhaeuser leads the team in shots-on-goal percentage. The team now faces Emory on Saturday, November 19, in sweet-16 action. Read the rest of this entry »

High school seniors apply to multiple colleges for two reasons: 1) they do not know yet exactly where they want to study; and 2) they do not know where they will be accepted. Do your research, then hedge your bets and apply to a range of schools you would be comfortable attending including a few safety schools, a few schools you’re reasonable certain will accept you, and a few schools like feel like a reach. That’s the common advice and it is the advice that Rachael Williams took to heart. Read the rest of this entry »

In 1984, Charles Wright established the Distinguished Alumni Award to recognize and honor a graduate who through their work and service to the community has brought honor and distinction to him- or herself and to our school. Charles Wright is proud to recognize Barb Dobler Tucci for her commitment to create and strengthen communities around the south sound and here at Charles Wright.   Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Daniels retired in June of 2011 and was presented with this Lifetime Teaching Award and the annual faculty/staff appreciation event.

For 41 years, Steve Daniels taught and coached at Charles Wright, always striving with humility, dignity and grace to help each student achieve his or her full potential. For so many years, and through so many changes, Steve was a steady rock in our community. He set high yet obtainable goals for his students and made sure they understood his expectations. His great consistency allowed growing minds to learn how to be good students as they fine-tuned their study strategies and built foundations for knowledge. He never gave up on anyone and always held all those around him accountable to themselves and the Charles Wright community. He modeled for all integrity, honesty, kindness and generosity. Read the rest of this entry »

CWA junior Bryan Gula and alum Iean Drew ’10 are inviting the whole Charles Wright community to attend a spotlight production of their new musical Falling Back on Monday, May 23, at 8pm in the Donn Laughlin Theater. The spotlight show with selected readings and songs is the culmination of three years of effort. Gula hopes to see the entire production staged before he graduates from high school and is the first opportunity for others to see what he and Drew have been working on for so long. Read the rest of this entry »

CWA football players Michael Kane and Pat Dale, both seniors, were recognized last weekend at the 35th Annual Tacoma-Pierce County Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet. Coaches from each of the 31 high schools in the area nominated a lineman and back candidate from their school on the basis of outstanding football ability, academic application and performance, and outstanding leadership and citizenship in both school and community activities. Read the rest of this entry »

The Jumping Jaguars are wrapping up their 15th season dazzling fans with their acrobatic jump-rope and dance routines. The team of Lower Schoolers will perform on campus for the last time at the Town Hall on Friday, March 4. Their last off-campus performance will be April 2 when they march in the Junior Daffodil Parade. Read the rest of this entry »

The Woodrow Wilson Foundation announced this week that Charles Wright Academy alum Aukeem Ballard ’07, a senior communications major at Lewis and Clark College, has been selected for a prestigious national fellowship in teaching. Ballard is one of 25 fellows selected for the second cohort of the Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund (WW-RBF) Fellowships for Aspiring Teachers of Color. The Foundation seeks to recruit, prepare and retain effective teachers for the students and schools who need them most. Read the rest of this entry »

The Collegiate Baseball newspaper has named Charles Wright alum Patrick Philley ’08 to its NCAA Division III National “Players to Watch” list. Philley, raised in Gig Harbor, is a junior at Carleton College in Minnesota.

Philley, a 6-foot-2 economics major, played basketball during his freshman year at Carleton and switched to baseball as a sophomore. He quickly became a star with a batting average of .364. Only two of his teammates were more successful at the plate and in runs scored. He led the squad in RBIs. He highlighted his versatility by playing every position except pitcher, catcher and first base, eventually settling in as the everyday designated hitter. This year it looks likely that Philley will find a home in right field.

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