Cascades Academy Middle and Upper School

Nature of Words and of Students

2009-11-09T23:29:11Z

Central Oregon's very own Nature of Words concluded over the weekend and word from our students and parents was that it was the best event yet. Students kicked off their participation by going to the Thursday night reading at a packed Tower Theatre here in town. This event highlighted the readings of Karen Karbo, Matthew Dickman, and Sherman Alexie. On Friday our high school student attended two different writer's workshops at the OSU Cascades building at COCC. Half of our group attended a workshop by Jane Kirpatrick. this workshop, called She's Such a Character, focussed on developing meaningful colorful characterizations in your writing. Poet Valzhyna Mort, who hosted the workshop Beauty on the Edge of Failure, spoke to creating fearless and honest language in poetry.

I've Heard of a Steelhead Run, but This is Ridiculous

2009-11-04T22:29:34Z

The first-ever CACO Middle School Cross Country season is officially ended, and we have nothing but great memories of the inaugural team. (And maybe some good photos and strong legs as well.) The seven-meet series took our six runners up, down, and across all kinds of terrain, but the one constant was a great team attitude. Everybody on the team showed big improvement and awesome spirit. We had fun, we got strong, and we really did post some impressive results. Let's take one more moment to congratulate our team on a fantastic season:

Chloe Green (6th grade): Recognized for most improved race time - nearly four minutes!
Thomas Wimberly (6th grade): Highest meet placement - 4th place at La Pine!
Denali Hart (7th grade): Best first race representation - one of the few who jumped right into the season.
Jack Armstrong (7th grade): Most impressive kick - Jack FLEW through the last 150m of the Three Rivers race like never before.
April Vernon (8th grade): Most encouraging team spirit - Even though we didn't have an official team captain, April filled the role on her own.
Cale Cox (8th grade): Best overall race time - Cale put it all out there at Sisters and bottomed out at 11:45!

And let's not forget . . .

Katie Lamarre: Best women's coach ever!
Brian Kent: Best men's coach ever!
Petra Vernon: Honorary assistant coach - thanks for all the help!
Special thanks to the Wimberly, Cox, Armstrong, Green, and Hart families for their support as well. Even an individual sport is only half the fun without a legion of fans to encourage us.

The races have been run and the team is on to winter sports and such, but the Steelhead XC legacy will continue . . . next year!

National Park Rangers Receive 1st Aid Training From Bend Physicians and Firefighters

2009-10-23T02:33:11Z

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The National Park Rangers participated in a fun and informative 1st aid training session, led by Dr. Jill Wimberly and Dr. Gary Gallagher. The Rangers learned how to assemble a 1st aid kit, how to surgically remove splinters (ok, how to remove toothpick pieces from a grape), and how to treat a cut. They recently received additional training from Dr. Kathryn Kocurek and from firefighters Bill Boos and Rob Cravens. They are now prepared to treat those wayward hikers that they may come across in their National Park.

Amigo the Octopus and the Crab

2009-10-22T22:23:32Z

Teachers Dr. Eklund and Brian Kent report an outstanding Autumn Outing to the Oregon Coast. The Hatfield Marine Science Center was a huge highlight as was Amigo the Octopus eating a live crab! Students saw so many seal lions that they lost count - including on that had a plastic ring around it's neck! Dr. Eklund called NOAA and the local police to report this unfortunate situation only to be told that they already knew about it and that this sea lion had been wearing his necklace for quite a while. Smores on the beach, yurt living, Moe's and so much more to report!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

600 Willows in the Ground at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve

2009-10-22T21:54:21Z

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The Cascades Academy middle school made short work of the "600 Willow Challenge" put forth by the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council. Even though we were nine students down due to the recent flu outbreak the 20 students and two teachers that did partake were able to get 600 willows planted in the banks adjacent to the new river channel under construction on Wychus Creek northeast of Sisters. These willows will stablize the banks of the new meandering channel and keep the soil in place and out of the spawning habitat downstream. With winter rains on the way timing was of the essence so to speak. Thanks to Dr. Eklund for organizing these efforts and congratulations to our students who put in five hours of hard work!

Alder Springs and Smith Rock - An Autumn Outing

2009-10-21T22:00:09Z

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Last week saw our middle and upper school students scattered about the state exploring different cultural and natural phenomenon that in many cases, are entirely unique to our region. One small group led by teacher Jay Stalker, explored the oasis that is Alder Springs, located between the Crooked River Grassland and the Deschutes River Canyon. Day two saw Head-of-School, Blair Jenkins hiking with students across the outback of Smith Rock State Park.

Lower School Students Receive Their Park Ranger Assignments

2009-10-15T17:34:54Z

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The lower school teachers gave out their National Parks assignments to some the very excited lower school students. Each Park Ranger was assigned to a particular US National Park. The newly appointed rangers were very excited to receive their official National Parks vest and hat and they quickly went to work on making their own park ranger character. Each group of park rangers got together and made a beautiful national parks "frieze" (a decoration running along the wall of a room). See if you can find the Arches National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Everglades National Park, Denali National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Crater Lake National Park in these photos.

Sliding on Down to the College Fair

2009-10-14T02:13:31Z

Neither an early flu season nor ice-coated roads could keep our high school students from attending today's Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling's College Fair today in Redmond. The event was well attended (read: a bit chaotic) and our students had a chance to visit with admissions staff from the likes of Gonzaga, Cal Poly (SLO), Lewis and Clark, Marquette, Portland State, St. Mary's, Evergreen, Vanderbilt, and West Point just to name a few. With SAT's coming up and fall grades soon on the way it is never too early to start researching options.

Cascades Academy X-Country

2009-10-12T16:41:54Z

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Congratulations to the Cascades Academy X-Country Team for a fantastic start to the season! Coaches Brian Kent and Katie Lamarre have certainly been impressed with the commitment and performance of our athletes up to this point. When you get a chance be sure to congratulate our CACO athletes including Thomas Wimberly, Cale Cox, Denali Hart, Chloe Green, Jack Armstrong and April Vernon. Also check the team and individual results here.

Not All That Meander Are Lost

2009-10-12T03:21:45Z

Dr. Eklund tells us that our middle and upper school students will soon be meandering toward Sisters to participate in the Camp Polk Restoration Project at Wychus Creek on October 22nd and 29th respectively. Students as part of our their service learning program and as part of their science curriculum, will be supporting the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council with their ambitious plan to reconstruct the stream's natural meander pattern in preparation for the return of spawning salmon.

The project is part of a documentary by Wahoo Films, and Cascades Academy has been chosen to be part of the documentary. Students will be filmed during their work at the site as well as on October 13th, when Kolleen Yake, of the Watershed Council will be a guest speaker at Cascades Academy.

October Means Autumn Outings.......

2009-10-01T21:01:07Z

October means it is time for the Autumn Outing field trips for the middle and upper school students. This series of field trips endeavors to show our students some of the unique cultural, historical and scenic wonders in the state of Oregon. This year we will embark to three different regions in our state. One trip will head to the Oregon Coast and the Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Newport Aquarium in Newport. Students choosing this trip will also find themselves sleeping in yurts in nearby Lincoln City. Another group of students will head east to the Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge south of Burns, Oregon. While in the region students will visit historic Frenchglen and the nearby Pete French Round-barn and Diamond Craters. A third group of students will spend two days exploring the likes of Alder Springs and the outback of Smith Rock State Park.

Starlab Lands on Campus

2009-10-01T20:41:03Z

What at first looked like a giant marshmallow sitting in the student commons turned out to be Starlab. This portable planetarium has been used all week by students in all grades Pre-K through 8 as a complement to the astronomy unit underway in both the lower school and in Dr. Eklund's middle school classes. Rumor is that Blair Jenkins held sway over a recent board meeting inside this thing!