Alumni Spotlight: Emperor Meng?

News of SBA Nordic alums Austin Meng and Cassidy Cichowicz has surfaced recently from St. Lawrence University Ski Team's Facebook and blog posts. The SLU Ski Team maintains a strong social media presence, with its own Facebook page, Tweets, and a Blogger page much like our own. 

SLU's Facebook page reports that Meng had a top-ten finish at today's University of Vermont 10K Classic. The SLU Ski Team's blog site reports that Meng "has been the story of calm, consistent skiing" throughout the season.  

The Fighting Marmot congratulates Austin on his fine skiing this season at SLU and wishes both Meng and Cichowicz the best in the season's remaining races. 

Spring Bake Sales Net $400 To Fight Fistula

For the last few weeks, the older girls' advisory has been tempting us with sweet treats for sale at the back of the lunch room. Quietly, and quite deliciously, they have managed to make quite an impact. Thank you to Joanne Knox for the following write-up on the older-girls' advisory's efforts to combat fistula. 

Older girls show the funds that 

they helped raise within our small

school community to help support 

the efforts of Ethiopia's Hamlin 

Fistula Hospital. 

"One theme of the older girls’ advisory has been to learn about the lives of young women, especially who live vastly different lifestyles than our own. Most recently we focused on health crises of women around the world. We learned that more than two million women in the world suffer from the very curable, but very debilitating life-altering condition of a fistula. These women are affected by both the physical trauma of the condition and the psychological trauma they endure when cast out from their families and society. Our goal was to help make a difference in at least one woman’s life by raising money for the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Through a series of spring bake sales, we were able to raise over four hundred dollars. This money will be donated to the hospital to support our sisters in need. This experience not only helped open our eyes to a real problem for women, but also allowed for us to change a life positively. For more information on the Hamlin Hospital, please go to: http://www.hamlinfistula.org/."

Spring Spirit Week's "Hero Day" on Film

SBA Goes Big, Then Home at Pole Peddle Paddle

Congratulations, again, to Nordic Coaches Schloss and Tuscano for their fantastic finish at the Pole Peddle Paddle last weekend in Bend, Oregon! 

Coach Schloss submitted the following highlights. You will notice that each of the SBA student-athlete teams that participated in the event finished first in its division!

 

"Bend, Oregon’s Pole Pedal Paddle is a six-leg relay race that includes alpine skiing/snowboarding, xc skiing, biking, running, canoe/kayaking, and a sprint to the finish for a total distance of about 34 miles. This year, 2,922 racers competed in the 882 individual/team entries. Olympian and US Nordic Ski Team member Kris Freeman won the men’s elite division and XC Oregon’s Stephanie Howe won her third straight title in the women’s elite race. Six SBA teams represented Far West Nordic. All SBA teams came in first in their division with the exception of coaches Ambrose Tuscano and Jeff Schloss who were second in their age group but seventeenth overall. Ambrose alpine skied, biked, and paddled while Jeff nordic skied, ran and sprinted.

• Team SBA: Skyler Mullings and Casey Jobe - WINNERS of pairs age 17 and under.

• Team Gangstar Ninjas: Cassidy Cichowicz and Scott Cooper - WINNERS of coed pairs age 18-24.

• Team PB: Bria Riggs and Peter Carroll - WINNERS of coed pairs under 17.

• Team Victorious Secret (males): Joe Piercy and Austin Meng - WINNERS of male pairs 18-24.

• Team Victorious Secret (females): Savannah Blide and Erika Klenk - WINNERS of female pairs under 17."

Left to Right: Casey Jobe, Jeff Schloss, Skyler Mullings, Peter Carroll,
Austin Meng, Scott Cooper

Keeping Our Campus Clean!

Sugar Bowl Academy faculty and student-athletes worked together during advisory today to collect garbage from the campus grounds and around the West Bay parking area of Sugar Bowl Resort. You will notice an SBA Suburban packed for the Pole, Peddle, Paddle in Bend, OR. Go Fighting, Garbage-Collecting, Poling, Peddling, Paddling Marmots! 

Hamlet Cast Takes Fencing Lessons from Coach Schloss

Head Nordic Coach Jeff Schloss took some time off from the skinny skis recently to show SBA student-athlete-actors some of his fencing moves. 

Enjoy the short film (with music by Truckee violinist Liz Glattly) and Joanne Knox's preview of the spring play, and get your tickets now for the big event! 

"In preparation for the spring drama performance of an adapted version of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, students have been busy analyzing characters’ motives, memorizing lines, learning Shakespearean language, and even received some fencing instruction from Nordic coach extraordinaire, Jeff Schloss. The enthusiasm and excitement around this production is palpable! Our Hamlet (junior Chuck Klein) is supported by: Riley Plant (Claudius), Camille Hartley (Gertrude), Cassidy Cichowicz (Ophelia), Augie DeRyk (Polonius), Joe Piercy (Laertes), Lauren Dunn (Horatio), Chris Fitzpatrick (Ghost of Hamlet's father), Colter Fellows (Marcellus), and Devin Gill and Matt Hourigan (Players and Gravediggers). The play is held together by the explanation of our enthusiastic storytellers Dylan Murtha, Grace Hutton, and Katrin Larusson. Please join us Friday, June 15th (the night before graduation) at Judah lodge for our performance. You can reserve tickets by contacting Joanne Knox (jknox@sbacademy.org); the cost is $5 per a ticket and this production will sell out, so get your requests in soon! Thanks in advance for supporting SBA drama!" - Joanne Knox

Scene on Campus Photo of the Day, 5/14

Student Council and a few guests...

Plant a Tree, Support Your School, and Order a Yearbook ... by April 27th!

The Yearbook staff, led by Chief Editor Maya Anthony-Crosby, has been working diligently this year to produce a book which will make us all proud to be part of the Sugar Bowl Academy teaching and learning community. 

While the theme hopefully remains somewhat of a mystery within our school community, I can report with confidence that it could go down in history as one of the most unique - not to mention difficult - themes to ever be attempted by a yearbook staff. It is a theme which speaks to the individuality and creative spirit of our student-athletes. 

The price of the yearbook this year is $37.11, with $5 of the purchase price going to support teaching and learning at Sugar Bowl Academy. The yearbook staff this year is working with TreeRing Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based company which has been featured in a number of national news spots and which pledges to plant a tree for every book it prints. Naturally, that means that the more books we order, the more trees will be planted. 

Purchase orders are due April 27th to the office. Delivery is currently scheduled for the first week in June.

We all owe a huge collective THANK YOU to our yearbook staffers, including school leaders Anthony-Crosby, Laurel Fiddler, Lauren Dunn, Katrin Larusson, Cassidy Cichowicz, Sinclaire O'Grady, Bria Riggs, Erika Klenk, and Taylor Elicegui. Each has given selflessly of her time to make a yearbook we will long enjoy and remember. 

Please support your school and Mother Nature and order your yearbook today!

Scene on Campus Photo of the Day, 4/12

Here's another from the vault - Candygram sales on dorm...

Scene on Campus Photo of the Day, 4/5

Team Nordic goes alpine skiing, and gets their dinosaur on.

(note the flame coming from Jefe's pole!)

Yes, Needlepoint

What exactly was the older girls' advisory up to during advisory yesterday? Stay tuned for the older BOYS' advisory needlepoint video...

Talent Show 2012 Slide Show

Congratulations to the Winners and a Giant THANK YOU to all performers, judges (Kristen, Steve, Diet Coke Kai), and emcee (Devin), and chefs (Scott and Daniel).

First Place: Camille Hartley (and Patrick) - original song "Oh Honey"

Second Place: Grace Hutton and Sam Zabell - "Wagon Wheel"

Third Place: Grace, Camille, Cassidy Cichowicz, Dylan Murtha, Sam Zabell 

(aka Tone Deaf)

Nordic Girls Sweep...Again!

The Nordic girls once again flexed their muscles, taking the top four places yesterday at Auburn Ski Club's combination race. This video clip shows the mid-race ski switch from skate to classic, or vice-versa...

J1 Women Sweep, J2 Riggs Tops Podium at Far West JO Classic Qualifier, Mammoth

One on One

One of the hallmarks of a Sugar Bowl Academy education on display here: plenty of opportunity to work with faculty one on one.

SBA Student/Athletes Wade into Political Consulting

"We picked Romney because we felt he had the largest chance out of all of the candidates since he has been steady in the polls throughout the entire race thus far. The race is getting more interesting!!" - Cassidy Cichowicz

Put in the shoes of hired political consultants for an AP English Language and Composition project, SBA student/athletes Grace Hutton, Dylan Murtha, and Cassidy Cichowicz delivered the advertisement below for Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney.

"Back in December the AP Language students chose Romney as the most likely to win the Republican nomination and the election, based on the various candidates' relative appeals and liabilities," said teacher Ambrose Tuscano. "They did a lot of background research on the primary candidates and watched a bunch of ads to get the flavor of the race, looking at all the details of making an effective, persuasive (campaign) commercial." The objective of this assignment was for students to use the fundamentals of persuasive rhetoric to produce an ad that would appeal to South Carolinian Republican voters in the run up to that state's primary.

"Students did research on South Carolina's Republican electorate and then chose the type of ad they wanted to produce (positive or negative) and the main themes they hoped to touch on," Tuscano said. "From there, each student scripted a 20-second piece of ad that would highlight one or two of the themes the class had chosen to evoke--patriotism, fiscal acumen, etc. The finished product, not surprisingly, turned out to be a lot like some real ads the Romney campaign was running in South Carolina."

After creating their ad, AP Language students will be looking at how candidates prepare for a debate and write a speech. Each step of the process is heavily dependent on rhetoric (or persuasion), which is a primary focus of the AP Language course.

Mind, Bluegrass, Spirit

After Friday's races, a group of boarding and day students met at the SBA dorm to do some pickin' and grinnin,' working on Flatt and Scruggs' "Cripple Creek" (among other tunes).

SBA - TV en español

SBA - TV en español reporters conduct surveys on the following - yes, somewhat random - questions: 

*Have you ever skied in Europe?

*Have you ever kissed a frog? 

SBA Nordic Team Dominant in First Junior Nationals Qualifier

The following report of Marmot mastery of snow and skis comes courtesy of Nordic Coaches Schloss and Tuscano...

Bria Riggs (photo by Mark Nadell)

"The snow was only 4 inches deep on the trails of Auburn Ski Club on December 28 for the first Junior National Qualifier (JNQ) race of the 2011-2012 season, but this did not stop the SBA Nordic team from turning in some remarkable performances in the classic sprint race.

 
"Every SBA J1 and J2 had a qualifying time in the 1.2K preliminary round. There are three more JN qualifiers and these athletes who qualified in this first race only need to qualify in one more of the qualifiers to make the Far West Team for the 2012 Junior National Championships which will be held in Soldier Hollow Utah, March 5-12th. 

"The format for the JNQ race included a 1.2-kilometer preliminary loop with each athlete racing against the clock. Next, athletes were ranked by their preliminary race times and the top 20 women and the top 20 men raced in 4-person head to head heats. The top 2 from each heat advanced to a semifinal heat of six racers and then the top two from each semifinal advanced to the final. 

"Junior National qualifying was based on the preliminary round only and the Fighting Marmots came out fast. Bria Riggs had the fastest time of all the women followed closely by Katrin Larusson, Cassidy Cichowicz, Laurel Fiddler, Joelle Romo, Savannah Blide, Danielle Nivinski, and Camille Hartley for an SBA sweep of the top 8 places! SBA senior Kelly Habibi qualified in 11th place and J3 racer Olivia Jeffrey was outside the qualifying cut off but skied strong in 19th place.

"In the men’s qualifying round, Joe Piercy had a breakout race with the 8th fastest overall and second fastest junior time. Joe was followed by Sam Zabell in 13th with the fastest J2 time and by Peter Carroll in 20th; all three of these guys easily made the JN qualifying standard. J3s Skyler Mullings and Trent Hommeyer raced strong against the field of older racers placing 28th and 37th respectively.

"In the women’s heats it was again SBA dominating the field again, with the overall win going to Katrin Larusson, with Laurel Fiddler in second, and Cassidy Cichowicz in third. Bria Riggs finished 4th and was the top J2 while Joelle Romo, Danielle Nivinski, and Camille Hartley swept the top spots of the “B” final for places 7-9.

"The men’s heats were highly competitive with several strong college racers and a member of the US ski team and the Canadian Development team on hand to mix it up with the Far West juniors. SBA graduate Austin Meng had one of the best sprint races of his life, taking 3rd while Sam Zabell placed 9th and Joe Piercy 11th.

"All in all it was an extremely strong day for SBA and sets the stage for what looks to be an awesome year for the Nordic squad. Now if it would just start snowing…

Student/Athlete/Artists!

Skyler Mullings

As Monday's formal Christmas dinner at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort's Village Hall showed, Sugar Bowl Academy is more than a family of student/athletes. 

There are among us a number of very talented performing artists, as well. 

SBA eighth-grader Skyler Mullings of the Reno Youth Concert Orchestra played a Christmas medley solo on his trombone. 

Casey Jobe, Sam Zabell, Lauren Dunn, Camille Hartley

Reno Youth Symphony Orchestra violinists Sam Zabell and Camille Hartley, YCO violinist Casey Jobe, along with Lauren Dunn (somehow still standing after a red-eye flight from races in Alaska), treated the gathering to some stringed Christmas selections, as well.

And, finally, the fledgling SBA Glee Club showcased their singing talents to the current students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered at Village Hall Monday night. 

Head of School Tracy Keller addressed the audience as one fast-growing and tightly-knit family.

Cassidy Cichowicz, Camille Hartley, Erika Klenk, Rollin Atkinson,
Michael Cooper, Maya Anthony-Crosby

Chefs Scott and Dan cooked a tasty traditional turkey dinner and marmot moms Paige Derdowski, Gale Klenk, Mary Beth Larusson, Brenda Nivinski, and Roxanne Romo volunteered their set-up services. 

"A special thanks to our awesome marmot moms who moved lots of tables and chairs and set up beautiful holiday dining tables, replete with greenery donated by the Larusson family," said SBA Student Council Advisor Aly Kendall.