Tacoma, Wash. – Charles Wright students from the Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School gathered throughout the day on Friday, May 3, to collaborate on a number of visual arts projects during the annual C'DAT Arts Festival. From throwing clay pots to screen printing graphic T-shirts to weaving elaborate webs with brightly colored string-like material, US art students mentored their younger counterparts from the MS and the LS to explore a variety of artistic outlets and projects. Check out the highlights in our slideshow below. 

The Spirit Store is open every Friday, noon to 3:30 p.m., through June 7.

Also, we'll be open at 4:30 on Wednesday, May 22, for the Powder Puff football game!

Tacoma, Wash. - Colin Reynolds of Tacoma, a senior attending Charles Wright Academy, signed a letter of intent to play Division III football for the Polar Bears at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he plans to study Economics or Mathematics. 

Array of Styles & Mediums on Display during April & May

University Place, Wash. - Summer is right around the corner and we're excited to announce we've brought Steve and Kate's Camp back to Charles Wright Academy. For you newbies, Steve and Kate's is basically the coolest camp - ever! In fact, they just nabbed the top spot in the 'Best Camp' category in South Sound magazine's annual 'Best of 2013' poll.

University Place, Wash. – Charles Wright Academy Middle School students dominated the Super National Chess Tournament recently. The event was held in Nashville, Tenn., on April 4-7. James Wang and Noah Fields won both individual and team awards in the National Junior High School Championship sections. Both boys are seventh grade students attending Charles Wright Academy.

Despite their young age, both boys are veteran chess players. James began playing chess at age eight. Noah's father taught him how to play chess at the tender age of three. He began competing in tournaments as a kindergartener with the Charles Wright Lower School Chess Team. He is a two-time Washington-state champion. This was James’ third appearance at the National scholastic tournament and Noah’s 11th appearance.

The United States Chess Federation (USCF) holds two national scholastic tournaments each year in the spring and the fall. This event drew more than 5300 competitors, ranging from Kindergarten through grade 12.

More information on Middle School at Charles Wright Academy can be found on-line.

Dear Parents,

We have some very exciting news to share with you!  Charles Wright Academy’s Board of Trustees has generously created a way for you to double your gift to the Annual Fund.

The Christopher Steele Award was created in 2006 to recognize a deserving Charles Wright Academy staff person who consistently goes above and beyond his or her job to benefit the school and its students, faculty, and staff. A cash award of $1,000 accompanies this honor, which is to be used for professional development by the recipient.

The CWA Knowledge Bowl Team (the "Muckrakers") defeated Lakeside School and Mercer Island in the finals to win the state 3A Knowledge Bowl Championship on Saturday, March 23.

University Place, Wash.  – This year marks the first time a seminar for high school students is offered as part of the Powell-Heller Conference in Holocaust Education at Pacific Lutheran University. During the conference, high school students will learn about social injustice and personal accountability.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Empowerment.”  The high school seminar was developed by Nick Coddington, an Upper School History teacher at Charles Wright Academy and fellow for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Auction payments and contributions to Fund-a-Need may be made using our Payments & Donations portal (note that you can bypass the ticket field to enter any amount in the "Total Amount").

Three Charles Wright Academy athletic teams were recognized by city of University Place Mayor Ken Grassi and members of the city of University Place City Council. Coaches and players received official mayoral proclamations during the March 4 city council meeting. 

The general proceeds from this year's event continue to support the Parent Association's pledge toward Charles Wright Academy's Language and Performing Arts Center. This showcase building sits high on the west side of campus, and is a fitting tribute to the academics and artistic talents performed within.

More than 100 faculty and staff members at Tacoma’s Charles Wright Academy used part of their inservice day on Feb. 15 to give a little back to the community around the school. Every year, with students away for the President’s Day weekend, the faculty and staff gathers for professional development. About three years ago, they decided to add community engagement to their professional development curriculum. Since 2011, the adult members of the Charles Wright community have volunteered more than 600 hours in support of numerous projects around Pierce County, including a beach cleanup at nearby Chambers Bay and working in the greenhouses and fields at L’Arche Farms in Tacoma. 

We found suits and sneakers of all sorts all over campus today as Charles Wright's faculty, staff, and students prepare for the annual Wright Spirit Auction organized by the Parent Association. The 2013 auction, Suits and Sneakers, will raise money for both the arts and athletic programs. The special dress-up day gave everyone on campus an opportunity to show their support for the event. 

Charles Wright’s theater students like to surprise their audiences with unexpected twists on classic tales. This winter they’re pulling William Shakespeare into the 21st century with their production of Julie Caesar. Using the original script of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the students are staging a production in an aspiring prom queen is stabbed to death by social media. They will take to the stage this weekend with shows of February 7, 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Donn Laughlin Theater at Rome High School, better known as Charles Wright Academy.

Charles Wright’s own Kevin O'Rourke ’74 is back on the small screen. The actor and director is a guest star with a recurring role on the hit HBO series Boadwalk Empire. O’Rourke plays a New Jersey construction magnate, Edward Bader. Bader was elected mayor of Atlantic City in 1920, both in real life and on the show. In 2012, O’Rourke won a SAG award as a member of the Boardwalk Empire ensemble. The show is set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the prohibition era. 

Kids love television; and that’s alright, especially when the TV they watch is educational and age sensitive. Join KBTC public television and Charles Wright Academy for a special, one-hour workshop – Exploring Kids TV. The free workshop is open to all and will be held at Charles Wright on Thursday, February 28 at 6:00 p.m. The school’s campus is located at 7723 Chambers Creek Road West in Tacoma, Washington.

Follow the activities taking place at Harvard and Vancouver, B.C.:

This Wednesday, January 30, we held our first Middle School Knowledge Bowl tournament, hosting two teams from North Tapps Middle School and two teams from Woodward Middle School of Bainbridge Island.

As students work through the semester in Digital Photography, they take on regular assignments and blog their results and reflections.

CWA youth tackle football starts in August and includes 3/4 and 5/6 grade teams.

Applications are now rolling in for the 2013-14 school year. Please keep those great word-of-mouth referrals coming our way as they continue to be the #1 way families say they heard about Charles Wright.

Thank you, Kodama, Iregui, and Will families, for referrals that resulted in a school tour or completed application! Thanks, thanks, and thanks again!

While December brings dreams of sugar plums dancing in children’s heads, for 6th grader Cole McMason it means actually dancing with the Sugar Plum Fairy.  Cole is performing this year in his 4th Nutcracker with Studio West Dance Academy in Olympia.

Outstanding music students from across Washington have received top honors by being selected to participate in one of our 2013 WMEA All-State performing groups. Celloist Hanna Um '14 will join other outstanding high school student musicians in the All-State Symphony Orchestra.

Charles Wright has been nominated in South Sound magazine's Best of 2013 annual reader poll.

Now it's your turn. Tell the world (well, the South Puget Sound region at least!) just how awesome our school is by voting for us as your favorite.

Dear CWA Community:

Once again we have invited 44 people with low or no income to join us at our annual Christmas Dinner Party on December 8 in the Upper School commons.  They'll decorate cookies, make crafts, and play games.  Then they'll eat a hearty dinner, followed by meeting Santa!

Edited by Emily McMason

What once might have begun as a mere graduation requirement has blossomed into academic passion that extends beyond the gates of CWA for many World Language students.  Here’s what five Charles Wright alumni are pursing with their Japanese expertise.

Congratulations to the CWA boys cross-country team for winning the state cross-country meet.

The 2012 champions summarized the season during Upper School Assembly:

Junior Isaac Roberts '14 will be representing Charles Wright Academy at the 2013 American High School Honors Symphonic Band.

The Boys & Girls Club Halloween party was a big success this afternoon. It was a very busy 2+ hours at the Club. Over 200 cupcakes were iced and 40 pumpkins were decorated. There was lots of happiness and joy. Dee, the Boys & Girls Club art teacher, said three or four times how much she loved Charles Wright, and the Charles Wright students. CWA students were engaged, busy, and constantly working with students from ages 5 through 13. The students had a great time and there was a great deal of laughter on the bus on our trip home.

Charles Wright Headmaster Rob Camner's letter to the CWA community introduces a new list of commitments, crafted by faculty, that Charles Wright makes to every student.

New Parent Meetings provide an opportunity for families to meet one-on-one with experienced parents and/or staff who can help navigate the school calendar, classroom volunteering opportunities, social opportunities, fundraising expectations, school governance, and CWA traditions.

By Althea Cawley-Murphree
CWA's fifth Global Teen Summit is underway this week. Delegations of students and teachers from the U.A.E., Poland, China and Colombia are staying with host families and participating in a five-day conference with Charles Wright students. The focus of the Summit is the ways in which students can individually and collectively address world problems.