WINTER 2024
Oh, what a night! Upper School actors star in the fall musical, “The Prom.” The musical follows four Broadway actors lamenting their days of fame as they travel to the conservative town of Edgewater, Indiana, to help a lesbian student banned from bringing her girlfriend to the high school prom.
Writer & Editor
Gena Wynkoop
Todd Rotkis
Additional Writing
Rob Phillips
Todd Rotkis
Darby Frey
Madeline Pennington
Todd Rotkis
Andrew Spitzer
Gena Wynkoop
FRONT COVER:
Jonathan Corcoran’s Financial Literacy class is learning about federal taxes. In the picture, his students are matching the cents for each tax dollar collected with percentages to the corresponding federal budget line item.
BACK COVER:
Makaila Johnson (Grade 11), shooting a three-point shot during the Girls Varsity Basketball game at Winter Hoopla.
Middle Schoolers show off their #SAASPride by dressing up in Halloween costumes in the fall of 2023.
10. Introducing a New Plant-astic Class at SAAS: Botany!
19. The Path of a Professional Writer: SAAS Grads Write In
27. Vandalism to Vision
29. Students
34. The Evolution of Seattle Academy’s Wrestling Program
44. The Sky is NOT Falling
Written by:
Rob Phillips,Head of School
48.
69. A Coach’s Perspective on Talent, Teamwork & Basketball Brotherhood
62. Rocketing Towards Mars
78. Lights, Camera, Spotlight
SAAS SNAPSHOT: Outdoor & Trips
Participants in the SAAS Backcountry Ski and Splitboard trip working with a guide to learn about avalanche safety during their AIARE training.
How Achijah Berry ’10 Built a Championship Legacy at Seattle AcademyFrench faculty member Lise Lalonde working with Upper School students to practice translating a paragraph from French to English.
Middle Schoolers take on the American Mathematics Competition, a challenging event with 25 questions to solve in just 40 minutes. Originally for 8th graders, the competition is open to all Middle Schoolers, thanks to SAAS math faculty member Charlotte Krzysztopik. Students, particularly those with a passion for math, prepare intensely for a chance to advance to the second round after the initial test. “It takes a lot of resilience for this test,” said Charlotte. “I have a math degree, and I still find it challenging!”
Over the years, Hannah LeBlanc, a science teacher at Seattle Academy, has heard students expressing interest in an elective that explores the diversity of plant life, something Hannah is also passionate about. After a year of planning, Hannah was able to turn her botany enthusiasm into an elective class for Upper Schoolers!
“I’ve been joking that this class should be called ‘Plant Appreciation 101,’” laughs Hannah. From her background in ecology, geology, and forestry, she brings a wealth of knowledge for the plant world.
The goal of Botany 101 extends beyond textbooks and classrooms. Hannah’s ultimate aim is to foster a deeper connection between students and the natural world.
“My goal of the class is to introduce students to botany as a science, but really, I want for them to notice things in the world around them and appreciate the diversity of plant life.”
In her class, the environment becomes the classroom. Seattle University’s lush campus, across the street from SAAS, becomes a treasure trove for curious minds. “I connected with the gardeners and got
permission to use that space from them. It’s such a great resource because it has such a great assortment of plant life.”
Hannah also believes that the practice of studying plants encourages mindfulness within herself and in the students. In the busy world that these students live in today, taking a moment to focus on a single thing can be transformative.
“There’s so much that students can benefit from practicing mindfulness and being aware of the world around you–there’s so much you can teach yourself.”
The class is structured around the evolution of plants, starting with ancient mosses, moving on to towering vascular plants, and finally exploring the world of flowering plants.
“I wanted to take botany both because Hannah is the best, and because plants are such a huge part of our world, I wanted to have more knowledge about them,” said Caroline Smith (Grade 10). “My favorite thing we’ve learned about in class is stairstep moss.”
The class doesn’t just stop at theory; it’s a voyage of exploration and discovery. Armed with field journals, students venture into the outdoors, sketching, observing, and literally tearing things apart.
“I had kids tearing pine cones apart in front of me and getting so excited that if you rip open a certain type of pine cone, it looks like an orange inside,” said Hannah. “It feels like we all get to be kids for an hour by going outside.”
In the end, it’s not about cramming botanical jargon, but about cultivating enduring curiosity.
“The point I am continually trying to get across to them is, ‘this is different’ and ‘this is cool.’ They don’t need to memorize the names of the female reproductive structures, I just want them to know that there are spores, and this is why they evolved,” she said.
In Botany, students explore the plant world and are inspired by Hannah’s infectious passion. It’s not just about learning the facts–it’s about gaining appreciation and nurturing a lasting love for botany that extends beyond the classroom.
The SAAS Student Facilitators volunteer their time for a wide variety of school events and activities, everything from welcoming and guiding new students to helping underclassmen in advisory to leading tours during admissions events and Back to School Nights.
In a society where the value of an English major is often underestimated, three Seattle Academy alums stand as a testament to the incredible career opportunities that unfold for proficient and self-reliant writers. Whether it be in journalism, podcast production, or working as a features writer, meet the SAAS alumni who have taken three different paths, blazed their own trails, and bust any myth about a writer’s professional life.
“To all the aspiring or potential English majors out there, there’s a common misconception that an English major won’t lead to viable career opportunities,” said Alessandra (Allie) Wollner ’06. “This notion is entirely untrue. There is a consistent demand for proficient and self-reliant writers in various professional fields.”
Allie is no stranger to the various professional fields she mentions. She has worked in many interesting storytelling and multimedia spaces over the years, but now, she’s working for the Man…Burning Man, that is. “I work on internal communications for Burning Man. With the constant fluctuation of employees from 160 full-time to 15,000 volunteers at the event, those people need to talk to each other and be coordinated.”
Allie’s path to communications was easy; she always felt an intrinsic motivation to write, which she explored during her time at SAAS. “My love for writing was bolstered at SAAS,” Allie said. “It was always something I was drawn to and knew was a strength.”
“American Studies with Rob Phillips and Joe Puggelli stands out to me. I know that what I learned in that class was a pivotal experience in my education,
pushing me to dig deep and express myself skillfully. I felt so nurtured by my teachers and was able to develop and cultivate the skills that I already had. I think a unique outlier at SAAS is how much mentorship teachers give students.”
After SAAS, Allie went to Brown University, where she got her bachelor’s in English and Creative Nonfiction, and eventually went to The Ohio State University for her MFA. Allie wanted creative freedom and took a stab at copywriting and journalism work but found that the writer’s life was “too solitary” for her. “I’m really social, so that’s what led me to podcasting.”
In 2016, one of Allie’s mentors suggested podcasting. At that time, the medium was having a sort of renaissance, emerging as a popular platform for storytellers to tell great stories. “It was a time when that market was flourishing and burgeoning, and people
had the freedom to figure out where the possibilities ended. I taught myself how to edit audio and parlayed those skills as a storyteller into podcasting. It was gratifying because nonfiction storytelling is a big part of podcasting.”
Allie worked as the Senior Producer for Wonder Media Network on a show called “I Was Never There” which made The New York Times “Best Podcasts List of 2022.”
As the podcast market saturated, Allie found herself searching for work that wasn’t necessarily available anymore. With a lack of full-time positions and companies tightening their belts because of
advertising limits, Allie needed to explore her options. In her search, she saw a job listing for an Internal Communications Manager for Burning Man.
“I found the Burning Man job listing and honestly, my first reaction was, ‘Oh, no way, I’m already way too deep with Burning Man and it shouldn’t take one more second of my life,’ but the more I read about it, the more I started noticing that I really did care about it as I was writing my cover letter.”
Allie has been a “burner” since 2011, and has been involved in really rad ways. She led a camp called Milk + Honey that offered a Kabbalat Shabbat service at sundown on the Friday night of the event with over 1,000 attendees. “I was 23 when I started going,” Allie shared. “That is kind of the trellis on which my development and life have grown, so I can’t say it changed my life, but I can say it really has shaped my life.”
But in reflecting on her English degree and where it’s taken her, she sees the value of good writers across many markets, as demonstrated by her professional Rolodex. “My experience has shown me that you can go back and forth across the threshold between media; first storytelling like podcasting and journalism, and then storytelling that’s organizational. Strategic storytelling for organizations and companies, or brand work, or copyediting–it’s not as black and white as one thinks.”
Her advice for students is to go for it–there is a need for writers everywhere.
“I’ve seen teams that don’t have that person who has strong writing skills, and they have to outsource some essential functions because they don’t feel like they have someone who can properly complete that task. It’s not a dead-end career or something that’s a fruitless pursuit,” said Allie. “Pursue work that you can move between. There are no hard and fast boundaries in this industry.”
Gabriel (Gabe) Greschler ’14 remembers finding a love for writing at SAAS, but it wasn’t in any one class or any one assignment. It was in the rigorous essay writing, the creative writing, and poetry classes that he realized he had a knack for words.
“I have to shout out Tom Hajduk. I learned so much from him when it comes to writing. I wrote tons of essays in that class, which definitely started my journey and sparked a love of writing,” recalls Gabe. “Barton Truscott was another teacher I loved and wrote extensively for. I took a poetry class with Lauri Connor that also got my creative gears going. I thought, ‘I love writing, this is so much fun.’”
That love persisted after SAAS as he explored different classes but took a liking to journalism quickly. He worked on his college paper, The San Francisco Foghorn, at the University of San Francisco, and shortly after graduation, he was hired as an Editorial Assistant for the Jewish News of Northern California. It was
there that Gabe really honed his reporting skills, eventually moving up to a staff writer. That chapter of his career then led him to San Jose Mercury News, where he currently reports and covers a spectrum of topics.
“I started off as the Santa Clara County reporter, reporting on
COVID and the tech industry. Obviously, housing and homelessness are huge issues in California with the exorbitant housing and rent prices. Then, about a year ago, I had the opportunity to step into the San Jose City Hall reporter role,” said Gabe.
His day-to-day job is to cover the ten council members who represent San Jose residents and the Mayor, Matt Mahan. With that comes reporting on homelessness and housing crises, which has become his editorial “beat.”
Only a few years into his career, he still loves the art of journalism. Although he had dreams that most budding journalists do, like writing for the New York Times or the Washington Post, Gabe has come to appreciate the nature of local reporting and being that voice for those in the community that he lives and works in.
“The daily news environment is super fast-paced, and it has taught me how to formulate stories quickly and talk to all sorts of people–politicians, advocates, and everyday community members.”
“The adrenaline of a good story is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before–I love it. When you have a good scoop, and you’re trying to get the story out, it’s just an amazing rush. It doesn’t happen often, but I cherish those moments when it does,” said Gabe.
Gabe likens being a journalist to “being enrolled in free school.”
“I get to meet and talk to a lot of different types of people. I learn so many interesting things just in conversation with folks. One day, I’m speaking with a professor who has spent decades steeped in housing laws in California, and the next, I’m speaking to a researcher who is running clinical trials on psychedelics.”
One of the major perks of having a creative career is the abundance of freelance work, which SAAS alumni Lauren Larson ’08 has masterfully navigated. Lauren attended SAAS for Middle and Upper School, and having watched a parent with a successful career as a writer, she knew that was always an option. “I have always liked to write,” recalls Lauren. “My father was also a writer, so I had it in the back of my head that it would be a great job to have.”
Like Allie, Lauren recalls American Studies as a catalyst for her greater development as a writer. “During American Studies, I started to feel like I transformed from a creative writer to being skilled at building an argument with my writing and pulling those threads together in an interesting way. I know that my passion for writing clicked in high school and in American Studies in particular.”
By the time she was studying at the University of Chicago, Lauren felt well prepared. “The lessons from American Studies were similar to the ones I took in college–it made the assignments feel easier because they were familiar to me.”
She graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Anthropology and Slavic Languages and Literature,
moved back to Seattle to work for an internet marketing company in the Smith Tower, and decided to head back to the Windy City to get a graduate degree in Journalism.
“That was enough momentum to get me going, and I got an internship at Chicago Magazine,” said Lauren. “Then I moved to New York and got hired on at
GQ Magazine. I started out at the baby level as an editorial assistant, which was a mix of administrative work and transcription. I had to be super aggressive about grabbing any little assignment.”
Over the five years of her time at GQ, Lauren got more and more stories, covering stories from lifestyle to entertainment,
like Saturday Night Live recaps or updates on people in the industry. “The interviews just started getting bigger and bigger, and then all of a sudden, I’m doing a cover story. Then it becomes your life.”
Lauren had a big, big A-List celebrity as her first cover piece—no pressure…
“My first cover story was Chris Hemsworth,” Lauren smiles. “I was too nervous even to be starstruck. I just wanted a good story. But my bread and butter now is celebrity profiles. I really enjoy doing them–it hasn’t stopped feeling super cool.”
Lauren has met and interviewed many a-listers, one of whom was her personal hero, Joan Cusack. “My favorite piece was on Joan Cusack, who I just idolize. The story was about how she owns a tchotchke shop in Chicago with weird little items. I’ve never aligned with someone so much. I recommend meeting your heroes if Joan Cusack is your hero,” laughs Lauren.
She recently relocated to Austin, Texas, where she still freelance writes for GQ Magazine, but she also has picked up work with Texas Monthly, which is just slightly different from the glitz and glam celebrity features.
“I write a lot about livestock,” smiles Lauren. “Just fun and silly livestock stories about miniature
cows and how goats are being used in urban settings. I wrote a big story for them about feral hogs last year.”
Freelancing offers variety and so much personal freedom: working when you feel like it or when inspiration strikes–you can also pick and choose which assignments you accept.
“I was always interested in freelancing. I think there are wonderful staff writer jobs, but I don’t think writing brains work that way. For some staff writing positions, it’s covering one beat every day, and [for creatives, that can be tough]. I have a cadence where sometimes it’s intense, and sometimes I will have a week off. Financially, there are surprises, which is a huge downside. There’s really no true stability,” explains Lauren.
Lauren recently felt the pangs of those financial uncertainties, especially during the recent SAG writer’s strike. “I couldn’t get any work because celebrities couldn’t give interviews. I lost about $20,000 in income during that time. You have to be prepared financially for those types of challenges.”
But with a little preparation and an understanding that those tough times are just part of the gig, Lauren wouldn’t have it any other way. “The day-to-day of freelancing is unrivaled. I get to head out, drive around Texas, talk to people, or fly to LA and engage with cool and charismatic characters,” smiles Lauren. “It’s not too bad.”
Tsion Holman (Grade 11), Piper Morris (Grade 11), Bella Fritz (Grade 10), Cooper Ayers (Grade 11), and team co-captain Cole Pepin (Grade 12, not pictured) reviewing notes just before beginning their opening argument during a scrimmage in January 2024.
On April 17th, 2023, upon arrival to the Temple De Hirsch Sinai, Rabbi Daniel Weiner and his colleagues were confronted by antisemitic graffiti spray-painted on the remaining west wall of the original synagogue at 15th and Union.
Temple De Hirsch was founded in 1899 and has been a cornerstone for the Puget Sound Jewish community, Seattle interfaith community, and the Seattle community at large. In fact, Seattle Academy started at Temple De Hirsch in 1983, and the support and partnership between the two organizations has been invaluable.
SAAS continues to lease and use Temple De Hirsch buildings and grounds every day, including the outdoor area that was vandalized. What was once hateful graffiti will now live as a beautiful piece of art created specifically with communitybuilding in mind.
In a poignant response to the vandalism that defaced the Temple on April 17, 2023, SAAS partnered with the Temple on a project of reclamation and unity. In a heartfelt letter to Head of School, Rob Phillips, Rabbi Weiner expressed the desire to transform the vandalized spot into a symbol of re-sanctification. In his letter, he said, “We are eager to invite young artists to craft murals that remake the space as much as they affirm our hopes that the next generation of leaders will bring a new consciousness to our world,” the Rabbi said.
The call to action extended beyond SAAS, reaching out to the Bush School and the Wing Luke Museum. Both schools agreed to commence the project at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, and collaborative planning ensued, involving teachers from SAAS and Bush, as well as the Wing Luke Museum deputy director. While international events have been at the front of everyone’s hearts and minds, the teams regrouped in November, setting a new timeline for completing the mural by December 1st.
On December 1st, 2023, SAAS and Bush contributed studentdesigned and painted images, with the Wing Luke Museum slated to bring in a professional mural artist to harmonize the murals through cohesive design elements. SAAS teachers leading the project included Ray Mack, Judy Temes, and Zoe Campbell, with support from the Facilities Team and the Visual & Media Department.
This endeavor builds on SAAS’ tradition of using murals for healing, exemplified by a July 2020 project inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The mural-painting initiative involved several SAAS students and art faculty to come together and create something beautiful amidst adversity. Reflecting on the endeavor, Lucy Waggoner ’20 said, “[we wanted to] create something that boldly says [to all]: ‘You are supported.’ Things are far from perfect, but [we believe] we can move towards something better.”
And that same sentiment rings true today with the goal of creating art to foster optimism for a better future. These mural projects underscore SAAS’s commitment to leveraging collective public art as a powerful social expression and change tool.
Rabbi Daniel Weiner said, “In the aftermath of an act of profane vandalism to Temple’s sacred space, this mural is a powerful and tangible act of reconsecration and partnership, inspiring all of us to work to create a world worthy of the talents and spirits of the young people who craft it.”
“In the aftermath of an act of profane vandalism to Temple’s sacred space, this mural is a powerful and tangible act of reconsecration and partnership, inspiring all of us to work to create a world worthy of the talents and spirits of the young people who craft it.”
“My independent study this year initially involved plastic research, but I wanted a more achievable focus. I decided to survey different schools to understand their waste production. I was curious about the differences between public and private schools, especially regarding funding and its impact on waste. Many private schools, despite ample funding, lacked reusable items. I conducted surveys at SAAS, Northwest, Bishop Blanchet, and Bush. I physically went to these schools, noting the types of disposable plates, cups, and bowls students used. This allowed me to gather average values for plastic and compost waste volume, considering both student-contributed and schoolprovided waste. Comparing these figures across schools was
quite enlightening. For instance, Northwest, a highly sustainable school, generated almost zero plastic and compostable waste compared to SAAS, which had a higher average.”
“I worked with Bold Reuse, a company that takes your dirty dishes off campus and washes them and prepared a plan to present to Todd Johnson, the Chief Operating Officer at SAAS, to start using more sustainable lunch items in the Middle School. Todd approved a plan for the Middle School and I obtained rebate funding from Seattle Public Utilities, around $1000. I had to present my case, including a costbenefit analysis, comparing the expenses of implementing a reusable plan versus continuing with disposables. It’s a bit complex, but we’re looking at a more sustainable option. The estimated cost for continuing
with disposables until the end of the year is $11,651, while the estimated cost for implementing the Bold Reuse plan is around $12,559. However, factoring in the $1,000 rebate funding, the net cost is approximately $889. It’s a bit more, but considering the long-term sustainability and the upcoming new building at SAAS, it’s a worthy investment. Todd Johnson has been super receptive, and I think that SAAS could benefit from more focus on sustainability. The plastic study made me realize there’s room for improvement in our community’s sustainability. I’ve always been passionate about plastics. The plastic crisis is such a pervasive issue, but it doesn’t have simple solutions. There are scientific and also social aspects so that it can be addressed from many different angles.”
Last fall, Francesca Rosati ’15 took her Intermediate Visual Arts class to the Seattle University campus to draw ‘en plein air’ with the goal of creating a 180-degree view of what they could see. Below are some of the final projects.
In 2017, Joe Puggelli, the former Seattle Academy Head of School, approached Allen Stein, an English teacher at SAAS, and proposed the idea of initiating a wrestling program. Given Joe’s background as a wrestler, a shared connection emerged with Allen, who was a decorated wrestler in high school and at the collegiate level at the Naval Academy.
“I was initially approached about starting the wrestling program at SAAS during an interview with Joe Puggelli,” explained Allen. “With my background as a wrestling coach, Joe expressed genuine interest in having me spearhead this endeavor at SAAS.”
Allen decided to give it a shot. There was nothing to lose–if anything, it would be a massive addition to the Seattle Academy winter sports program, which only offered basketball as an athletic option at the time.
“The school boasted an array of offerings, but its sole winter athletic program was basketball. Recognizing the need for a different sporting avenue, I saw wrestling as an excellent alternative for students who weren’t into basketball,” said Allen.
A group of students expressed interest, so Allen called upon his brother, Hank Stein, for assistance. Allen and Hank rented a U-Haul and spent a
weekend driving around, picking up the necessary equipment to get started. They struck gold with a salvaged mat that another school was discarding and wrestling shoes for about 20 students.
Initially, the program originated as a club sport in the Middle School, gradually gaining popularity and eventually evolving into a varsity-level sport in the Upper School. Its inaugural year as a varsity sport saw ten athletes, two of whom were girls. During that notable year, Kelson Chen ’19, a senior in his debut year of wrestling, became the team’s first participant in the state competition.
Allen didn’t do it alone; he recruited his brother Hank to assist and Martin Brakke to step in as the girls team head coach. Both Hank and Martin had experience with wrestling, and Martin used to coach a team back in Maryland in his early days of teaching. As the program has grown, the coaches recruited assistant coaches and volunteers to keep up with the number of wrestlers.
“In the second season, we ballooned significantly with over 20 kids and completed the season just before the COVID lockdown,” explained Martin. “During the 2020-2021 season, we did not compete because of restrictions, but we had spring open mat practice on the Middle School rooftop, so we were outdoors,” explained Martin.
Following that year, Hank accepted an Environmental Science teaching role at SAAS and took over the program as
Allen and his wife moved to San Francisco. Now, it was the other Stein brother’s turn to step into the Head Coach role: this is when, according to Allen, the program really took off.
“During that time, I was enthusiastic about coaching and had an unwavering passion, yet I’ll admit I was somewhat disorganized,” Allen said. “The real strides in evolving the program into what it is today
came after my departure when my brother, Hank, took the reins.”
Allen explains that where he lacked the organizational skills to get the ball rolling fully, Hank had tenfold. “Hank possessed remarkable organizational skills, implemented structured systems for the team, and recruited a dedicated team of assistants and volunteers. Unlike my approach of teaching moves spontaneously, Hank
methodically crafted a systemic teaching approach.”
“We are already seeing the fruits of his labors, producing multiple state qualifiers ranked athletes, and culminating in SAAS winning the league tournament a few seasons back. His achievements were duly recognized when he earned league coach of the year,” said Allen.
In a short amount of time, the program has seen many successes, including winning the aforementioned league championship for both boys and girls in the 2021-2022 school year. From the team’s inception in 2018, surviving a season off during the pandemic and still having both teams win championships is massive.
“I’m thrilled about where the program is now. Our girls team will be in the double digits, and the boys team is the largest it has ever been, with around 40 guys and 14 girls. It’s exciting to see more kids choosing wrestling as their winter sport,” said Hank.
Wrestling is unlike any sport; it’s incredibly inclusive and has an individual element.
“When you’re on the mat, there is no one
to blame but yourself. Your team is there to help you train, realize your potential, and find ways to work harder and smarter than you ever knew possible, but in the end, it’s only you and your opponent out there,” said Martin.
And that comes with a certain pressure–especially if you are trying the sport out for the first time. “It’s tough when you first start wrestling,” explained Jackson David (Grade 12).
“Losing is way more daunting, and you take it more personally since all eyes are on you. You know you have to perform, and there’s a lot of pressure. But it gets better as you start to wrestle more and participate in more matches.”
Jackson has been on the wrestling squad since the beginning, starting with Allen and Hank when it was a Middle School club program. He says he has learned a lot through the sport.
For some, the individual nature of the sport is a welcomed challenge.
“I love that in wrestling, every success or failure
depends on you and the work you put in,” said Nat Shephard (Grade 11), who has been on the SAAS wrestling team for two years. “I feel like that allows it to be one of the most fulfilling activities one can partake in.”
Allen shared a similar sentiment: “Every participant, no matter their talent, faces numerous setbacks
when starting out. It’s an individual sport, leaving no room for excuses or blame-shifting–each athlete must confront their successes and failures independently.”
But even as the athletes face those challenges alone, the team is always there to back you up.
“Dual Meets can be scary, but the community is supportive. Your team cheers you on, which drowns out your worries,” said Audrey Draper (Grade 11). “Once you’re on the mat, adrenaline kicks in, and it becomes a fight-or-flight situation.”
Audrey joined wrestling because her older brother, Owen Draper ’22, encouraged her to participate.
“My older brother was a heavyweight on the team,” explained Audrey. “He joined his freshman year and found a
community in wrestling. He told me, ‘You’re wrestling,’ so I joined the club in 7th grade but didn’t always attend. Then I rejoined my freshman year and kept returning because I loved it!”
Saniyah McKinney (Grade 10) had a similar situation and joined as a freshman because her cousin, Kya Lee ’23, was the girls team captain in the 2022-2023 school year.
“I wrestled as a kid for two years for the Wolfpack in Spanaway, but last year, my cousin Kya Lee, inspired me to continue her legacy,” said Saniyah.
Saniyah is a bit of an exception; many wrestlers who have joined over the years have no prior experience. For Audrey, the sport took some time to click.
“For the first year and a half that I wrestled, it was just kind of something I would do, but my heart wasn’t in it. But then this switch happened, and I was like, ‘Oh wait, I actually love this,” said Audrey.
Hank explained a similar thing: The first year is about learning technique and how to do the moves correctly, and by the second year, it’s about perfecting the moves and having them become second nature.
“Most of our athletes join our team with zero prior experience. Give the coaches four years of hard work and dedication, and you’ll be surprised by the results: sure, many athletes find success, but most importantly, they gain fitness, confidence, humility, maturity, a sense of belonging, and a fearlessness for new challenges,” said Martin.
That dedication is something that Audrey has given, and she has seen the benefit, especially stepping in as a co-captain this year.
“I’ve tried other sports, but wrestling is unlike anything else. It’s a sport where you put in what you get out. As a girl, it empowers me. It boosts my confidence and body image,” said Audrey.
my stress into wrestling. It’s tiring and challenging, but it provides me with an outlet. I’m getting the mental and physical benefits, and I’m getting stronger. I’m building stamina and muscle, and I really enjoy that.”
The inclusivity of the sport makes it an attractive option for students of all shapes and sizes–it really is a come-as-you-are sport.
“Wrestling is an inclusive sport; anyone can do it, regardless of size,” explained Hank. It’s a challenging sport that teaches resilience, dealing with frustration, and the joy of winning through hard work. It’s not about being a certain size or height.”
“That inclusivity is one of its greatest attributes,” agreed Allen. “It caters to athletes across a spectrum of sizes, with weight divisions spanning from 106 to 285 pounds. Its diversity allows students of various sizes and builds the chance to excel in a varsity sport.”
The students are ready just a couple of weeks into the season, and many of them have set goals for the trimester ahead.
Hank tries to make the wrestling experience holistic–it’s not just about the physical and athletic aspects; he also wants the students to learn to keep their mental game sharp.
“This season, we’re bringing in Sarah Smith to talk to the wrestlers about the psychology of sports to transition from practice to competition more smoothly,” said Hank. Sarah is a psychology and math teacher at SAAS.
Jayna shared that that mental aspect is something she can sometimes struggle with. Her goal is to go to state this year–she knows physically she is capable, but the mental needs to be dialed in.
“There’s a huge mental part of wrestling, especially when it comes to competition. I’m definitely one of those wrestlers who struggle with the mental piece of competition,” said Jayna. “I’ll be really good in practice, but as soon as I’m in a match, I start second-guessing myself, which compromises my performance.”
Jayna, a senior and the other co-captain of the girls team, similarly shared, “I can channel
“I’m super excited for the upcoming season. Our girls team is growing, and seeing more people getting into it is exciting. Wrestling has given me a love for the sport and a sense of community–I want others to experience that,” said Audrey.
Jayna said the first psychology lesson with Sarah was about flow and visualizations. “To get to state this year, I need to work on my mental game. I must treat my opponent like I’m wrestling a friend and practicing. Only they are not my friend, and there’s a timer involved,” she laughed.
Jayna isn’t the only one with her sights on state. “We have a twotime returning state participant, Jackson, and I hope he makes a significant jump this season.
Jared Friedberg (Grade 11) put a lot of work in the offseason, and I’m excited for his progress. Second-year wrestlers often find success as they shift from learning moves to refining them,” said Hank.
As Hank plans to work with students to get them to achieve their goals for this season, his brother Allen now experiences the wrestling program from afar, still feeling immense pride in the program and seeing its transformation.
“Wrestling wasn’t just a sport to me–it was a transformative force. As a shy, small kid who faced bullying, wrestling became my sanctuary. This profound impact is precisely why introducing wrestling to SAAS students meant so much to me,” said Allen. “It was about providing a platform for pride and accomplishment, a chance for every individual to experience that incredible feeling of winning, in whatever form that comes in.”
Co-captain Jayna Fink (Grade 12)
The headlines these past few years keep bringing to mind the story of “Chicken Little” – the folk tale, not the Disney movie –where Chicken Little gets hit on the head by an acorn, reaches the conclusion that “the sky is falling,” and immediately begins convincing her friends that the sky is about to come drop onto their heads.
In some ways, I can relate to Chicken Little. Over the last four years, there have been times when I’ve found myself wondering, “Maybe the sky is falling?” The future continues to raise tough questions, from the upcoming election to global conflicts and from climate change to the as-yet little-understood implications of technological changes on economies, communities, and human development.
The Chicken Little story teaches us a few lessons: “Take a second, reflect, think, and don’t just react.” If Chicken Little had taken that approach, perhaps she might have at least noticed the acorn, but she didn’t, and her friends who joined her in the “Sky is Falling Campaign” to raise the alarm over the falling sky were blind to the real danger to the hens: a hungry and resourceful fox.
I’m struck by how often I’ve come across a similar dynamic in communities, especially in education. There is a dangerous tendency in our society to fixate on challenges to the point of paralysis. An honest assessment of problems is productive and necessary, but wringing is not. When we give in to the Chicken Little response, we rob our students of hope, power,
and agency. That’s the greater danger. That’s the fox. While the problems in the world are real and growing, our students have power and potential that needs to be fed, celebrated, and activated. Now more than ever, kids need to have their power and agency affirmed, strengthened, and galvanized.
As an educator, I have the incredibly good fortune to witness the power and potential of a generation with the energy, skills, and mindset to tackle the very real problems we face as communities. You can literally feel that energy and power when you walk through the halls at SAAS.
That same power and potential are evident in the lives and stories of our alumni, who are
applying a determined agility, a belief in the power of community, and a determination not to let the sky fall or the fox succeed.
On May 5th at the SAAS Summit, we’ll bring many alumni together with our students to focus their energy, power, and potential on “Civic Engagement and Social Entrepreneurship.”
The theme of the event is
“The Work Won’t Wait: Forging Coalitions for Positive Change.” The Summit will spotlight leaders who are using their entrepreneurial and collaborative skills across private, public, and non-profit sectors as catalysts for effective action in the face of difficult problems.
Fortunately for SAAS and the broader community, there are many stories of SAAS alumni and students doing just that. The list of SAAS alumni who are hoping to attend and present at the May Summit is long and growing. It stands as encouraging evidence that at SAAS, we are not producing a generation of Chicken Littles:
Gabby Borenstein ’18, before graduating from Tufts in 2022, was an intern at the World Affairs Council, the Massachusetts Superior Court, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. As a full-time student, double majoring in political science and economics at Tufts, Gabby was also a coxswain on the crew team. Gabby is now working as a legislative correspondent for Senator Maria Cantwell, supporting the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Matt Fulle ’13 graduated from Northwestern in 2017 and is a Senior Associate at the Obama Presidential Center, where much of his work is centered on education access and reform. In his work, Matt has drawn on his SAAS experience to provide meaningful educational access to students across the country. He’s been a guest faculty member at Loyola of Chicago, the University of Illinois, and helped found Northwestern’s Advocacy Corps, a six-month community organizing training program.
Nanda Prabhakar ’95 graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1999 and serves as the founding Executive Director of The Opportunity Project in New York City. The Opportunity Project focuses on youth development, empowerment, and well-being – a continuation of the work that Nanda has been doing since graduating from SAAS nearly 30 years ago. Nanda has worked as a counselor and social worker, overseen alternatives to incarceration for juveniles in Brooklyn, and as Senior Vice President of Program Operations at the Mission Society of NYC.
Yurij Rudensky ’03 graduated from Yale in 2007 and is the Senior Counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Yurij’s work focuses on “advancing fair and equitable representation through litigation, policy reform, and research.” Yurij’s experiences span serving as an adjunct professor at NYU to working in Seattle on the Economic Justice Project and the Housing Justice Projects, and clerking for Justices in the Washington State and US District Courts.
Gabby Borenstein ’18 Matt Fulle ’13
Sam Schimmell ’18 graduated from Stanford in 2022. His experiences span working for Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, presenting at the Aspen Ideas Festival, and advocating for indigenous food sovereignty and subsistence rights, economic development, and mental health. Sam was the inaugural recipient of the Autumn Apok Ridley Award, given by the Alaska Native Heritage Center in recognition of his love for Indigenous culture and ways of life and his work in sharing Native values.
Sherika (Brooks) Shnider ’08 graduated from George Washington University in 2012 and the University of Maryland School of Law in 2019. She is currently the Managing Attorney at the Center for Children’s Law and Policy, where she leads the Center’s Stop Solitary for Kids campaign, provides technical assistance to jurisdictions engaged in juvenile probation transformation, and works on other key projects focused on implementing alternatives to incarceration and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in the
youth legal system. Sherika is also an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland School of Law where she teaches Juvenile Justice: Youth in the System, a course she developed to help students understand the complexities of the criminal and youth legal systems and the farreaching implications for all those involved.
So, is the sky falling? Is the fox going to win? Not if Gabby, Matt, Nanda, Yurij, Sam, and Sherika have anything to say about it.
Do they agree that the real world is full of real problems? Absolutely. They know as well as anybody because they’re in the middle of building cohesive communities where there is separation, providing access where there are obstacles, and bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to old problems in need of new solutions.
And because they’re in the middle of leading meaningful change, they understand how crucial it is that we validate the
resolve, capacity, and ingenuity of their generation of leaders.
Now is a time to build inclusive democracy, feed the fire of hope for our students, and equip them with the skills to adapt, innovate, and lead.
At the SAAS Summit in May, our alumni will be joined by a full house of current students who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Because they know that the Work Won’t Wait.
For more information on how to attend the SAAS Summit in May, please visit seattleacademysummit.org
Yurij Rudensky ’03 Sam Schimmell ’18
Achijah playing in the 2009 State Championship game.
Achijah Berry ’10, seAttle Academy’s Middle school deAn of student Life, has been to the GirLs Varsity socCer state Championships five times in various stages of her adolesCent, adult, and professional life.
It was almost a self-fulfilling prophecy when, as an eighth grader, she stood on the sidelines in University Place, Washington, and watched the SAAS Girls Varsity soccer team nab the state championship title for the first time in the school’s history.
“Fun fact! I was at that first state championship game in 2005,” Achijah smiles. “That very first year the girls team won state–I was in eighth grade, but my brother was a senior at SAAS. I remember we got to get out of school early and everything. It was a whole deal.”
That moment was when Achijah knew she wanted to be on that team. Witnessing that first historic win was a core memory and a theme that would continue throughout her high school career as a player, again as an Assistant Coach, and now, as the current Girls Varsity Soccer Head Coach.
The next year, Achijah walked in as a ninth grader onto the SAAS campus and made the Girls Varsity Soccer team. During her freshman and sophomore years, the girls team participated in some parts of the state championship. Still, it wasn’t until her junior and senior years that they actually
won, back to back, that coveted state championship title.
Sports just came naturally to Achijah. She served as a fouryear starter in soccer, and played a crucial role in securing a win for the girls’ 4x400m relay and contributed to an overall second place track team finish in 2010. She was a three-sport athlete, winning championships in both track and field and also played in the state tournament for basketball.
When trying to pick a college, Achijah was a heavily recruited athlete in multiple sports but eventually chose the University of Oregon, where she was a four-year starter on the women’s soccer team. For the years she wasn’t a Cardinal, she played as a Duck and had an outstanding career; in her senior year, she stepped in as co-captain of the team and played the most minutes of any player, 1,739 minutes to be exact.
Achijah with (left to right) Lanise Laube ’10, Sierra Keeler ’10 and Lindsey Vandergrift ’12 ahead of the 2009 girls soccer season featured in ESPN Rise magazine.
She graduated from the UO with a Family and Human Services degree and returned to Seattle and SAAS, where she was hired as the Middle School Dean of Student Life. She started coaching in the Middle School and would help in the Upper School.
“It wasn’t until 2019 that I started as an assistant coach for the Girls Varsity Soccer team
with my good friend Brooks. We are family friends and went to school together, so coaching together was so much fun,” she said.
The two were able to pull out another state championship victory while Achijah was assisting Brooks, making this her third SAAS championship win both as a player and as a coach–and maybe four if you
count her being a part of the first win as an eager fan.
Brooks left as the Head Coach in 2021, but Achijah still helped out with the team when Craig Tomlinson stepped in as Head Coach and developed strong relationships with the girls on the current varsity team.
Over the last 30 years at SAAS, there were only three head
coaches before Achijah: current Head of School, Rob Phillips, coached the team from 1993 to 2016, followed by, as mentioned above, alumnus (and Achijah’s family friend) Brooks Hopp ’08 from 2017 to 2020, and then finally, Craig Tomlinson from 2021 to 2023, a 20-year faculty member and former Seattle Sounders player who also coached with Rob and Brooks. Brad Evans, another former
Sounders player, joined to assist Craig in 2021.
In a letter from the SAAS Athletics Department in June of 2023, it was announced to the community that Craig Tomlinson would be focusing on other SAAS projects, and Achijah Berry would be appointed as a co-Head Coach, along with Brad Evans.
The letter added, “Over the years, this program has benefited from a high degree of continuity in the coaching staff, with Head and Assistant Coaches who integrated a deep commitment to the studentathletes, the SAAS academic program, and the sport itself.”
Achijah was excited, but she found herself feeling incredibly nervous and intimidated.
“It was such a strange experience for me because I haven’t really pictured myself as the Head Coach,” explained Achijah. “If you give me something to do, I will do it. As a player, I can be directed in one way or another, and I’ll do it.”
“I can be the hype and bring the energy, but the idea of being the lead of everything was a bit intimidating! I am so much more of a doer, but over time, I enjoyed not being in the background. We had a great balance with the other coaches, and we would play off each other’s strengths and challenges, but yeah–I was definitely intimidated at first,” Achijah smiled.
Achijah grew quickly into the position, finding her groove with coaching and being that leader who gets a group of students to succeed. “I enjoyed teaching the kids in my own way. I kind of had to lean on my coaches a little bit and do things that I thought would work well while prioritizing connecting with the kids.”
If you are lucky enough to know Achijah, you know that prioritizing connection is what she’s all about–she walks the walk, bringing a genuine caring demeanor and positive and infectious
energy wherever she goes. She also brings the history of formerly being in the girls’ shoes (or should we say cleats?) to the table.
“[I felt a mix of pride and pressure]. Maybe it’s because I’m an alum, but I have so much history, love, and excitement for the program. Sometimes the tricky thing about working at SAAS and having attended SAAS is balancing what is happening before you and what the experience is for current students.”
“I had to pick and choose times to reference certain things and not make everything about when I was playing back in the day and when Rob was the coach. I kind of found myself doing that at the beginning of the season but realized that it didn’t really matter and that I needed to focus on this group,” she said.
So that’s what she did, especially since she had a nice rapport with girls, knowing some of them as early as the sixth grade, the beginning of their SAAS chapter.
“It was nice to come on this year and have some pre-existing friendships with the girls,” said Achijah. “Some I’ve known since their sixth-grade year, but it was nice to spend time with them and get to see them as a team. The most important part for me was, how will they come together as teammates and people, and what will they do with this skill and talent?”
Achijah wanted to emphasize that those relationships with teammates extend beyond the playing field and high school.
They need to be nurtured to create a connection on the field.
“There’s so much more that goes with making sure you’re connecting with your teammates like these are the people you’re with every day for three months. You guys don’t have to be best friends. It’s just that you can’t do all these great, big things without some sort of connection.”
“Yes, we are doing cool things and winning games, but there’s so much more here. You’ll see these people at lunch or spend time with them outside the field. These are some of the people you will stay in contact with for the rest of your lives. I
tried encouraging them to make the most of the moment and not take things for granted,” explained Achijah.
She made a deliberate effort to customize various elements for the girls, establishing trust and continually nurturing that connection so they felt confident entrusting her to lead them to success.
“In sports, it’s just like school, we can’t really ask the students to do hard things that are uncomfortable and scary if they don’t feel safe. You have to make sure that they feel like you’re on their team and that you believe in them. You have to be there for them to put it all out
there and kind of establish some trust first before you can go a little harder on them.”
“It was a balance of calling out little positive reinforcements in practice and games, and sometimes you just have to stop everything and raise your voice a little bit and look around and be like, “What’s going on? We’re getting ready for this game, and no one’s talking to each other, why are you so quiet?’”
“Sometimes you have to put into perspective that you can have all the ingredients in the pot, but you have to do things to doctor it up and make the meal that you need. You can’t snap your finger when the game starts, and
the whistle blows, and you’re ready to go. That’s why we have a warmup, you can’t lollygag through practice and then expect when the game comes that you’ll be ready to go.”
Achijah knew she had all of the proverbial ingredients in the pot: an excellent Girls Varsity team, great coaches and help, and the right synergy to clinch that state championship spot. She could see it and knew the girls were hungry to get there. They just kept doing what they needed to do: they showed up, and they kept winning.
“I always have the outlook that teams can do well and go far,” said Achijah. The team did both of those things; they did the best and went the farthest, winning the WIAA State Championship and beating out Klahowya in a 2-1 victory on November 19th, 2023. That marked the sixth win in SAAS girls soccer history, and Achijah’s fourth win not as a player or Assistant Coach but as the Head Coach.
The state final occurred at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma, Washington, a place where Achijah had been before. “It was majorly nostalgic. I was joking with Hillary O’Dougherty that I had been to that stadium before with Rob and Erin Aitchison, a fellow SAAS alum and current Associate Athletic Director, for track state championships, and the week leading up to it,
I was like, ‘This is a sign… I’ve won a state championship here before,’” laughed Achijah.
“At the state championship, I had my coaches in the bleachers watching the game. It was so cool, having Erin, Rob, my teachers, and my friends watching–it was a full circle moment.”
“Erin was the first person I saw after the big win, and I just ran up to her and gave her the biggest hug just thinking about all of the moments. There’s just so many things! So many memories from sports, you just… hold them somewhere,” Achijah said, pointing to her heart.
She continued, “With Erin and Rob, they were my coaches all four years with track and soccer. Just pivotal people during that time for me. So it’s a cool moment that they were both there, and being able to share that with them as a coach myself and a player is pretty cool.”
Now, being on the other side of the season that seemed a bit intimidating at first, Achijah has more perspective on the pressure she felt during the season.
“I was feeling the pressure, you know, as an alum and as the Head Coach. Like, what’s going to happen, and how will people react if it’s a disappointment?
But working here and being with the kids, it’s not really about the wins and losses, it’s like being in the classroom–seeing all this growth and development from kids is a rewarding feeling.”
“All of the things we did leading up to that big moment, all of that hard work, the rainy days, the cold days, the days you have a lot of stuff to do after practice, [it paid off],” she said.
Achijah has played a key role in securing over half of Seattle Academy’s soccer state championship wins, leaving a unique and special legacy. However, when all is said and done, her true aim is to foster an environment where folks can come together, emphasizing community and building meaningful relationships.
“At the end of the day, I wanted to focus on building friendships and connections and make sure that regardless of the result of the state championship, playing soccer was a place they wanted to be because of the people they were with,” Achijah said. “I think by the end of the season, it’s something that all the girls took with them regardless of all the big wins.”
2023 Girls State Champions
In November, SAAS invited the grandparent community of current SAAS students on to campus for a breakfast and visit. A group of grandparents and 6th grade students chat before heading out on a campus tour.
Photo of “Santa Cruz” a hill on Mars taken by NASA’s Perseverance Rover in 2021.
That’s the challenge Jason Vasquez’s 7th Grade Science and Design Thinking class took on in the “Mars Initiative Project.” The task: use the elements learned from Newton’s Laws to craft a rocket that could safely travel to and land on Mars.
It all kicked off learning about Newton’s first law: objects in motion will continue to do so unless acted upon by an outside force. Before starting with rocket ships, the students needed to grasp velocity and inertia. The best way to do so, Jason thought, was with Hot Wheels.
“Who doesn’t love Matchbox race cars? The kids came in and were like, ‘Oh! We’re using Matchbox Cars?! Let’s go!’ They automatically bought into it,” said Jason.
What would it look like to get to Mars?
With the framework of Newton’s first law in mind, the concept was to explore bodily injuries in car accidents. Two “outside forces” were simulated - a hard crash with a book and a soft crash with a piece of paper.
“For the cars, they crafted a little playdough person and put it on the car and would let the car crash on the track. They focused on what happened to the ‘body’ and how it applies to crash test
dummies that are currently used in real life,” said Jason. And that’s where a social justice aspect comes in. Jason shared with the class a video about Swedish scientist Astrid Linder, who created the first “to-scale” female-size test dummy. They learned that car crash test dummies are modeled only with the male body in mind–the “female” body used in tests is the size of a 12-year-old girl. The video highlighted the gender bias
in crash test simulations, leaving the students with a newfound awareness of the issue.
“The students said, ‘That’s not cool–my mother is more susceptible to bodily injury because of something that a big corporation is doing,’” explained Jason.
“That’s why we bring the social justice part into science to bring light to those issues,” he said.
“The real-world application and context to all of these laws is a crucial part of the student’s learning.”
The lessons over the trimester weren’t confined to one law. Jason linked all three of Newton’s Laws to the grander plan - the “Mars Initiative.”
“The bigger application of these lessons is for ‘Mars Initiative,’ and it’s using all three of the laws to learn how to take off from Earth and land safely on Mars,” said Jason.
The students grappled with gravitational force, opposing forces, and the energy needed for space travel. Designing rockets meant considering the challenges of launching from Earth, navigating space, and landing on the tricky Martian surface.
“Scientists call landing into Mars’ atmosphere the Seven Minutes of Terror,” Jason explained. The students confronted the complexities of deceleration and stopping in a thin atmosphere hurtling towards them at high speeds.
Building on lessons about Newton’s other laws, the students explored force, mass, and acceleration. The laws became the guiding principles shaping their understanding of forces in space.
Roan McNae, a student in Jason’s class, summed up his learning, “After learning about Newton’s Law and inertia, I wanted to design my rocket to be as small as possible. It would only fit one person and one person’s amount of food and other items.”
Lionel Huffman, another 7th grader, shared their enthusiasm for merging arts and science. “I get to combine arts and science and draw out my ideas,” said Lionel, emphasizing the practical approach that blends creativity with scientific understanding. “I designed my rocket to be practical, something that would actually work and look authentic.”
Ultimately, the lessons promise a generation tuned in to the scientific complexities of space exploration. And who knows? Maybe someone from Jason’s Science 7 class will contribute to the design of the next Marsbound rocket. Watch out, Elon Musk! The next wave of space explorers could be from SAAS!
Students gather for Block Party, an event organized and performed by Music Production students. Upper Schoolers compose original work and showcase their songs during Community Time. Block Party coincides with finals week, making it a welcome break and fun activity for kids during a busy and sometimes challenging week.
SAAS SNAPSHOT: #SAASPride
In summer 2023, Seattle Academy broke ground on what will become the future Home of the Upper School. The new building is on 12th Avenue between Spring and Union and will feature 38 new learning spaces, a total of 100,000 square feet of interior space, and 11,000 square feet of outdoor courtyard space.
Basketball is a pretty big deal at Seattle Academy, and for the longest time, it was the go-to winter sport until the addition of wrestling a few years back. The significance of the program is underscored by the annual winter event known as Winter Hoopla. This on-campus basketball event brings together Middle and Upper School teams, competing against counterparts from other schools in a thrilling, fast-paced, and competitive evening. Alumni and fans gather to witness and celebrate this winter-trimester sport.
The latest edition of Winter Hoopla in December of 2023 showcased all kinds of talent across the board, especially the formidable strength of the Middle School Boys Red Team. The team’s remarkable scoring power was particularly noteworthy, drawing attention largely from their coach, Nate Abbott ’16. Nate, a current faculty member and SAAS alum, is also a former basketball player who dedicated all six years of his time at the school to the sport.
“I have never coached a Middle School team with this much talent,” said Nate. “The amount they already know about basketball far exceeds where I was at that age.”
Nate joined SAAS in the 7th grade and has played many different positions over his basketball career. After leaving SAAS, Nate stayed on as a basketball coach and was eventually hired on as a SAAS faculty in 2020 as a 6th Grade Coordinator and a PE Teacher.
“The basketball program was one of the many places I felt at home at SAAS. SAAS offers a lot of different things, but basketball was the one for me.” When Nate was on the varsity team in high school, he was coached by Shaun Burl, who Nate credits with turning the basketball program into what it is today.
“The first year Shaun coached varsity was my junior year, and he helped us shift what SAAS basketball had been to what it is now—the real ideas of brotherhood and challenging each other at a high level, regardless of what division we played in. We pushed each other to be the best versions of ourselves, both on and off the court,” said Nate.
Nate tries to embody that while coaching the Middle School Boys Red Team. Growing that brotherhood and emphasizing the familial aspect of the team is helped by the fact that his assistant coach is Nate’s brother, Samuel Taylor Abbott.
“I want to emphasize that they are a team. When the roles are reversed, and you’re on the bench, and your brothers are out there going as hard as they can, how are you supporting them?
Everyone’s progress is just as important as any other player’s and deserves to be celebrated.”
But there is something about that Red Team. They are just that good. “Their ability on the court is well beyond their years, making it both challenging and very fun to coach. Many of them have also played together for two years now, which [helps them develop together].”
“I don’t have to teach many of these kids how to dribble, shoot, or any of the basics. I want to support them in their understanding of how to play this game at a high level. They all have dreams and ideas of playing at a higher level after Middle School, whether on varsity in high school, overseas, or in the NBA.”
And it’s not just the Red Team specifically. Nate says he has already recognized outstanding talent as early as 6th grade. “I think SAAS has a lot of Middle School talent, specifically in the 6th grade. I don’t see that level of talent dropping.”
Some of the Middle School
Boys Red Team students play basketball outside of school on Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams or in other leagues, literally
eating, breathing, and sleeping basketball.
It’s a busy day for these students between school, homework, and multiple practices, but from Nate’s perspective, those kids really want to be there. “They have a drive and determination to be at the gym. All the time, whether practice ended five minutes ago, they’re saying, ‘Just one more shot!’ They are hungry to be there.”
And all that practice has paid off. “What’s been really impressive to me is how many points they can score at this age. They can put the ball in the bucket, unlike any other team I’ve seen.”
Not only is it in the sheer talent and scoring ability that is rare for the age of these young athletes, but it’s also in their belief in themselves. “It can be really hard as a young person to believe in yourself, but they have so much belief in their ability every time they step out onto the court, that it makes my job a lot easier. I don’t have to prop them up with my belief in them–they already know what they are capable of.”
Since reporting on this piece, the Middle School Boys Red Team had an undefeated streak to start the season. As most of the players on the team have been playing together for a couple of years, they have a collective goal to be better than last year.
“Last season, they ran into a few losses that they weren’t so proud of, so I think their goal this year was not to lose a single game, which so far, so good,” Nate smiled.
With coaching, Nate just wants to be able to pass the great memories he has of the program down to the kids and watch them grow both in the sport and in character.
“Many of these kids play so much basketball outside of school that it’s not necessarily the skills I need them to develop. It’s how to be a person, be a young man, and engage with people. If we can do that for the next generation of kids, then we’re already starting at a higher
level. That’s the goal, that’s the longevity of the program.”
Beyond the excitement of the amazing scoring ability and his pride in watching them succeed, Nate focuses on building that familial feel. It is at the foundation of everything he does while coaching.
“It doesn’t matter to me that [an individual player] scored 40 points if you didn’t make your teammate better today. As they get older and play at higher levels, it becomes so much less about who can score, and it becomes so much more about who can do all the other things.”
“You win together, you lose together, everything happens together. When my kids are off the court, they matter to me just as much as when they’re on the court. The whole team learns that collective success is far more important than the individual.”
Students in Melanie Zahn’s Upper School Entomology class sampling different bugs and insects during their entomophagy demonstration. Over the eight courses, prepared and served by Melanie and other members of the science department, the students tried ants, larvae, crickets, and culminated in a dish of Giant Water Beetles.
When you attend a play or musical at Seattle Academy, you’re in for a treat. The stage always radiates with talent, showmanship, and captivating music; amidst the on-stage brilliance, what you might not see right away is the product of countless hours invested by the dedicated behind-thescenes stage crew.
Not only does this meticulous crew work tirelessly throughout each trimester, but what sets this program apart is that it’s entirely student-led. The stage crew is not just a casual endeavor– these students have turned it into a well-oiled machine. They have a “phone a friend” relationship with Ed Hoffman, a SAAS Performing Arts faculty member who helps build and design the sets on stage, but otherwise, they’re perfectly independent.
Noah Sarkowsky ’17 as Production Stage Manager (left) with Ed Hoffman adjusting rigging on the catwalk in 2015 (right).
Sienna Steifel (Grade 12)
Photo by Colson Struss ’23
Carmen Oldham ’19 designing costumes for Animal Farm in 2018.
“The stage management crew is student-led and fed,” explained Ed. “They support themselves. They self-delegate tasks, and they’ve learned how to take on different roles.”
The stage crew origins trace back to alumnus Noah Sarkowsky ’17, who instigated the evolution from a tech theater class into an after-school, student-led program. Outside of school, Noah was involved with stage crews at different theaters around town, and he wanted to implement something more organized at SAAS. Thus, the after-school stage crew program was born.
Stage crew serves as an avenue for students less inclined towards
performing arts to fulfill their required art credits. This closeknit group passes down their expertise through word of mouth, creating a legacy of knowledge within the tight circle.
“They apprentice each other, and the underclassmen step up as upperclassmen graduate. They are accountable, and they care, and they are motivated and standard-driven and want to do a good job. They take a lot of pride in doing what they do,” said Ed.
The stage crew meets every day to work their magic. Initially, it wasn’t for credit, but because of the work they’ve continuously produced over the years, it evolved to count towards a class credit.
For Sienna Stiefel (12th grade), this was precisely why she joined the stage crew. “I needed to find an after-school activity as well as an art credit, so I decided to do theater, but I didn’t want to be on stage. I ended up loving the stage crew. I fell in love with the people. My closest friends are all from that program, and it’s just a blast.”
Sienna joined when she was a sophomore, initially filling in where needed. She realized she was drawn to the props as she progressed through the program and was Props Manager by her junior year. “I was in charge of the props and ensuring they were all sorted at any time.
Students in Stage Crew adjusting lights, pulling costumes, and looking for props for “The Good Doctor,” 2024.
I knew where every single prop was, I had made specific lists of where different props needed to be. I needed to know what was happening in the show to organize everything properly.”
As Sienna takes a step back from stage crew in her senior year, she has imparted her wisdom on how to manage the props onto the grades that follow her.
From the dazzling lights to the orchestrated sounds, precise cues, intricate costuming, and meticulous prop work – the show comes alive through the efforts of the stage crew. Remove these backstage heroes, and the show would grind to a halt.
“They are present for every rehearsal; they help with sound, light, tech, and the scenery. It’s a super important skill that many of these kids can take to any future job. The habits, the routines, and the skills to produce shows–it’s a skill that will always come in handy,” said Fred Strong, SAAS’ Administrative Leadership Specialist. While the actors are learning their lines and blocking their routes around the stage, so is the crew. Stage Managers are present and involved every step of the way.
“Our Stage Managers, who are typically seniors, are the people who call the show. They know the play through and through;
they’ve seen it in rehearsals, they’ve read it a million times, called out lines, and even had to stand in for actors on stage at random times,” said Ed.
“They are involved from the beginning. They help with auditions, weekly schedules, creating newsletters, and scheduling. They do production stage management and rehearsal reports. It’s brilliant, brilliant stuff, consistently,” gushed Ed.
And then, the costumes! For the fall musical, “The Prom,” it was a myriad of fashions, including prom dresses, work outfits, street style, and lots and lots of color.
“For costuming, we do all of the measurements of the cast members and pull the costumes, hair, wigs, and work on makeup. We organize the fittings, help with quick changes, and make sure that everything in that department is running smoothly,” said Ana Sieler (Grade 11).
“During the fall musical, we had 15 quick changes, and 10 of them happened in the same minute at the end of the show. It was from everyday outfits to prom dresses, suits, tennis shoes, and strappy heels. It was a stressful, stressful two minutes,” laughed Ana. “I’m proud of how we managed to get through that.”
present and available for any type of potential hiccups that could happen during showtime. “It’s constantly making sure that all of the costumes are in the right place at the right time. We need to be available for all runthroughs and be flexible to step in where needed. Sometimes buttons pop off, and I need to hand sew or fix a broken seam, and every day it’s different,” said Ana.
Besides the props and costuming, there is the technical nature of running the soundboards, designing the light show, and knowing the specific cues for each.
“Then we have our more technical people. Lightboard operators sit with the Stage Manager and learn the script and the calls of the show. It’s a cool way to be involved and behind the scenes and kind of controlling things in a sort of unseen way. It’s being part of a team and a community, and you’re going through the same things together,” said Ed.
The Production Stage Managers also oversee the entire production, which helps the students build leadership skills.
It’s not just quick changes and pulling costumes, it’s about being
“I have learned many things while on Stage Crew, both about myself and the theater,” said Harry Curtis (Grade 12). “I have learned that I really enjoy being part of a team that is all working
toward a common goal. I have also gained many skills, so much so that I wrote my college common app essay about it. The skill I wrote about specifically was how to be assertive and be a leader, which I had to learn while being the Production Stage Manager. Along with these skills, I have gained a greater respect for the theater, and how everyone must work together to make the show go well, or else it could all crumble apart.”
That teamwork and a job well done inevitably turn into comradery.
“I have really enjoyed the community and comradery aspects of the stage crew, as the majority of my friends do theater
in one form or another. I like being in the background while helping the actors put on the best show they can,” said Harry.
“It’s fun because you’re creating a world; you’re working together to transport people emotionally,” smiled Ed. “It’s exciting because every play is a version that has never been done before. It’s their own version,” said Ed.
SAAS SNAPSHOT: Retreats
7th graders in Amanda McCarther’s Rhetoric class gave TED Talk-style presentations on a subject they were interested in while practicing the three rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos and logos.
New Varsity members Neel Gowda and Sid Shirodkar (both Grade 9) participate in an in-class debate in preparation for an upcoming tournament hosted by Seattle University.
SAAS SNAPSHOT: Music
Members of the class of 2024 racing go-karts during the senior class retreat in December. The retreat featured some fun play with classmates, but also dedicated time to encourage the seniors to begin reflecting on their time at SAAS and their upcoming Senior Yukon Trip.
SEATTLE ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
1201 E. Union St, Seattle, WA 98122
www.seattleacademy.org
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