Being All a Fighting Marmot Can Be - Support the Annual Fund!

Sugar Bowl Academy alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and members of the extended Fighting Marmot family: please support the Annual Fund!


With the Annual Fund drive well underway (parents have until April 1 to fulfill your much appreciated pledges), you are being asked to be a part of something truly special: shaping the future of a school which - with its well-defined mission and sense of self, the strength of its student body and administrative, teaching and coaching staff - is truly on the move in the independent school world.  

What makes it so special? Academy students attending Monday's All School Meeting recorded SBA Radio spots to share their commitment to the school's student-athlete, "Mind, Body Spirit" mission. 

As you contemplate a gift in the closing hours of the Annual Fund campaign, I encourage you to listen to one of these recordings by clicking on the "Play" button below. Some of the comments are lighthearted and entertaining, but each of them in its own (teenager) way is a profound expression of support for what we have going up at the top of Old Route 40. In case you're confused about the identity of "Punky Brewster," I encourage you to revisit this link. 

While you're listening, here's a little education on why your support is vital: 

What does the Annual Fund pay for?

• Annual Fund gifts help every child in the program—the size of the gift is not tied to the benefit each child receives.
• Sugar Bowl Ski Team Foundation has the most robust financial aid and scholarship program among its peers. This year, our Annual Fund will help fund nearly 65 athletes with over $300,000 of financial support.
• The Annual Fund helps to make up the difference between tuition income and actual program expense and thereby ensures the fiscal health of the entire program. Contributions directly support our students, athletes, coaches, faculty, and all programs (including professional development and safety training, staff salaries, supplemental educational programs, library acquisitions, athletic equipment, Academy and Village Hall building maintenance, radios, etc.)

Why is there a gap in revenue when ski team dues and tuition are already high? Why doesn’t tuition cover all the expenses at the program? Why should I give to the Annual Fund when I already pay tuition?

• Tuition and fees are set to keep them within reach of as many families as possible.  We’ve done market comparisons each year in order to set fees and tuition, and they are already at the highest level we can justify.
• Our adherence to high standards—i.e. low athlete-coach and student-teacher ratios, character education, safety training and strong customer service—requires a high price tag. Therefore our expenses outstrip our tuition income by 25% or so. 
• This “gap” between income (tuition and dues) and actual expense is common for all quality educational programs, whether schools or teams!

Why not just increase tuition?

• It's important to keep our tuition and fees comparable with other programs and to keep it accessible to a wide range of families. Also, your Annual Fund gift is tax deductible, unlike your tuition.

Why is 100% participation in the Annual Fund so important?

• Full participation (alumni, faculty, staff, parents, etc) in the Annual Fund demonstrates the commitment of our community. It serves as a valuable benchmark to corporations, foundations, major donors, and friends, by demonstrating that those who are closest to the program and are dedicated to its well being. Therefore, all gifts, no matter what size, are very important. Remember that your gift is 100% tax deductible.

A Final Word from the Head of School: 


"The ski team foundation’s goal for our Annual Fund is 100% participation," said Head of School Tracy Keller.  

"As you know, the Annual Fund is an opportunity for everybody to support the Sugar Bowl Ski Team Foundation’s efforts to create a program driven by excellence at every level, and helps keep tuition and fees within reach of as many families as possible.

"I encourage you to donate to our annual fund and help us achieve our goal of 100% participation."


Pledge forms should have already arrived in the mail. If you did not receive a pledge form but would like to be part of the proud Fighting Marmot family of supporters, you can donate on line (or give again!) at justgive.org.


Thank you in advance for your support in the 2011 Annual Fund drive. 

Bee-ing a Winner!

The final 13 today at the California Central Valley
Spelling Bee. Zabell is at far left.

Good News Flash from the Fighting Marmot front. Two weeks ago I spotlighted Sam Zabell, a triple podium threat in Nordic skiing, fiddling and spelling.


Zabell is fresh back to the SBA Campus after taking third place out of 58 students competing in the California Central Valley Spelling Bee. 


The force was with him until he had to face the following word: "incorporeity" (incidentally, Blogger spell check doesn't even recognize this word!).


"I asked for an alternate pronunciation, because sometimes it helps to hear it a different way," said Zabell. 


"Then I asked for a definition so I could see if there were any kinds of roots in there, and I also asked for the language of origin. 


"I wrote it down on my finger on the back of the placard, and then I spelled it again as I was writing it out. I switched the 'e' and the 'i' toward the end, because the pronunciation could have gone either way, and I thought it followed the 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' rule.


"I did better than I ever have, and this is my last year in this Bee."


You can show your support and leave a comment below of CONGRATULATIONS TO SAM on making SBA proud!!!!

You're wearing WHAT to the WHAT??

SBA Student-Athlete Katrin Larusson
at a recent Trashion Show

If SBA Nordic skier extraordinaire Katrin Larusson ever strikes Olympic gold, it is no mystery what product she will be seen pitching in television spots.

(Hint: take a close look at the photo...)

That's right: Pirate's Booty.

She likes it so much she doesn't just eat it (a lot!). She WEARS it.

Not to school, mind you, but strutting down the runway at "Trashion Shows" put on by Truckee High School's Envirolution Club.

This Friday night - the night before departing for Junior Olympics in Minneapolis, Minnesota - Larusson will be seen parading on the Truckee High School stage in Pirate's Booty wrappers that she has fashioned into a dress, all to raise attention to recycling issues and to raise funds for an Envirolution Club trip to a convention in Atlanta this spring. The Envirolution/Trashion Gala begins at 6 p.m.

Larusson is the embodiment of the kind of personal investment in local and global environmental issues that guest speaker Rebecca Anderson of the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) asked of the SBA student body at last week's All School Meeting.

ACE and POW - represented by Savannah Cowley and YouTube phenomenon Mike Wilson - presented to SBA students and staff the science behind global warming, as well as some suggestions for how each individual can do his or her part to help reverse or slow the effects of climate change.

At the conclusion of the All School Meeting, students were encouraged to pick a "DOT" (Do One Thing) to make a change to their personal footprint. Students chose DOTS that ranged from shorter showers to not using plastic bags when they go out to the grocery store.

“It is so obvious to see the connection between global climate change and our lives as skiers in the Sugar Bowl community," said Dean of Residential Life and Math/Science Teacher Kristen Lew, who spearheaded efforts to bring ACE and POW to campus.

"I felt that ACE and POW could provide the students with ways to become aware and engaged with the movement to decrease our effects on the planet.”

Learn more about Envirolution, Trashion Shows and Larusson by listening to last night's phone interview: