The Top 10 Things from the Fall Semester

Northwest Academy’s 2021 fall semester has been full of significant and strange occurrences. However, there’s one event that stood out above the rest: the school’s return to full-time in-person school after more than a year online. Students engaged in all sorts of activities for the first time after a long hiatus, from sculpting and printmaking to singing and acting. The theater classes performed Our Town, students took the first field trips in many months and classmates returned to the familiar debates of English class. Students described feelings of connection and revitalization, and we were all reminded of the importance of real community. We’re not out of the woods yet, however. Covid restrictions still linger, especially in light of the Omicron variant, but coming back to downtown was a step towards the ever-shifting, intangible thing called normalcy.

Returning to in-person school brought a lot of good to our community, but it wasn’t the only thing going on. This fall, Northwest Academy purchased the Plaza and Tower buildings, as well as the row of restaurants along Jefferson Street between 12th and 13th, ensuring a permanent home for the school after 24 years of renting.

The Plaza building will continue to house classes, as will the first two floors of the Tower building. Northwest Academy will not occupy the top two floors of the Tower building–instead, the school plans to renovate the space and offer affordable leases to local nonprofits.

In his community-wide announcement, Head of School Chris Schuck said the school aims to “create an arts and education hub that will help to spark a resurgence of Portland’s downtown, while fueling visions of the city’s future.”

Below, the Pigeon Press staff reflects on the last few months, from this year’s Classic Chris Schuck Speech to heated bathroom disputes that enthralled and entertained us all. – Aaron Drummond

MSA Blues

Changing back to in-person learning after having online school for over a year was a big adjustment for many, an adjustment that was not made any easier by the switch from Google Classroom to MSA. Despite good intentions from the administration, MSA has challenged students with a host of problems. From multiple sign-in screens to random crashes, many students had a moment this semester when they were wishing they could go back to Google Classroom. For example, junior Grant Reiner once became so frustrated by MSA that he threw his computer.

“I was trying to turn [my assignment] in and it just kept reloading the page and then I got so p*ssed off that I threw my computer and it broke a little bit,” said Reiner. “I ended up having to turn in a physical copy because [MSA] just wouldn’t accept it.”

The problem of navigating a confusing platform was compounded by shipping delays that prevented students from getting their planners. Without planners there was really no easy place for students to organize all of their assignments, making it a tough semester for them to keep track of their homework.

Fortunately students all now have their planners, but there are no signs that the school is going to revert back to Google Classroom, so we’re all just going to have to learn to live with MSA.

If it was one thing the Northwest Academy student body was united on this semester, it was hatred for MSA. It was hard to find a single person, student or teacher, that had a favorable opinion of the platform. Senior Adam Fortmann encapsulated most people’s thoughts when he said: “It’s [expletive] awful. Please fix it. It sucks. I hate it.” – Jasper Selwood

Tyler’s Terrifying Taxidermy Terrier

A little Yorkshire Terrier snoozes in the window of Tyler Buswell’s office. It looks so peaceful there, curled up like nothing could hurt it. For a stuffed animal, it is quite realistic. Some even speculate that dog has been taxidermized.

A few days ago when I was shuffling past the office carrying a large box of miscellaneous costumes, something caught my eye. The little dog was there, as always, looking both cozy and happy. Then, its small belly rose and fell. It took a breath!

This adorable little abomination was breathing. Was something supernatural going on? No, merely some simple mechanics put to a very odd use. A small pump had been placed inside the dog, so it inflates and deflates like a balloon making the dog look as though it’s breathing.

The dog is a stage prop, not taxidermy, both a relieving and disappointing fact. The middle school tech theater class named it Garbage Truck, which, as Tyler put it, is an “honorable name for a creature truly at peace with their role in this world.” Garbage Truck serves its purpose, reminding passersby to remain quiet as they enter the Blue Box so as not to wake it. – Sam Noble-Kats

Our Town

Northwest Academy’s fall production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town marked the first in-person school performance in over a year following the transition to virtual learning. Actors expressed great relief and excitement to finally get back on-stage after performing over Zoom for so long. Compared to the somewhat expressionless theater experience on computers, in-person performances are far more involved, despite the inevitable challenges Covid restrictions bring.

“Project Theater feels more interactive, theatrical and fun than last year where we were behind our computer screens,” said sophomore Hinata Wright.

Safety Coordinator Sharon Weir made heroic efforts to keep in-person performances as safe as possible for the time being. Audience members were all vaccinated, all actors wore masks and the theater itself was only at half capacity. Safety measures didn’t come without challenges. Senior Jamie Mack said actors rehearsed with new, clear masks in order to preserve facial expressions whilst keeping the community safe. According to Mack, these masks smushed actors’ noses and had odd side gaps, keeping them from being protective. Overall, however, the production ran smoothly and safely for three weeks, hopefully representing a better future for Project Theater. – Keaton Marcus

A Harry Bathroom Encounter

On December 13th, a collection of printed photos of singer Taylor Swift graced a wall of a bathroom in the Plaza building. The shrine, in honor of the singer’s 32nd birthday, featured handwritten notes and extensive photography. That same day, anonymous sophomores taped up their own response, a similar shrine to the artist Harry Styles and other members of the former band One Direction.

This sparked a fierce competition, prompting someone to tear down the Styles additions and leave a few of the images crumpled on top of the metal storage in the bathroom. The destruction was accompanied by a note explaining their dissatisfaction with the recent additions to the display, calling it “extremely disrespectful.”

A Harry Styles fan responded to this action by printing out 27 additional photos and taping them up, along with an emotional note of their own, expressing frustration at the images’ removal. A few days later the majority of the original Taylor Swift photos were removed, presumably because it was no longer her birthday, and six photos of Harry Styles and his previous bandmates remained. This heated fan war was witnessed by any patron of the bathroom for the better half of a week, providing both entertainment and controversy. – Daisy Cody

Chris Schuck’s Elk Adventure

Chris Schuck is a man quite similar to the cherry blossom tree. The majority of the year, he is busy in his office, managing Northwest Academy and ensuring our collective success. He is ever-present and friendly, of course, but not center stage. However, much like the cherry tree, there is one time of year where Chris blossoms: the Northwest Academy welcoming speech.

It takes place on the first day of school, the first event of the day. The freshmen are terrified. The sophomores have no idea of the torturous year ahead of them. The juniors are neutral, the seniors are apathetic. The mood could not be more mixed. And yet, we all come together to enjoy the poetic ramblings of one Chris Schuck. Listening to his speech is like watching a weaver spin a tapestry. Speeches are always assigned outrageous metaphors that leave the audience chuckling, such as this year’s elk on the coast speech. The metaphor of choice compared the school to a herd of elk fleeing a high tide on the Oregon coast. The elk, through some sort of group consciousness, escape the tide. We are the elk, and the tide is the hardship we’ve persevered through, moving as one.

That is the beauty of a Chris Schuck speech. He takes some ridiculous metaphor and says it with such captivating words that everyone is enamored all the same. They are the poetic, silly blossoms of a man rarely in the spotlight. Capturing the essence of our school. And I wouldn’t have them any other way. – Asher Wolfsmith

The Curious Case of the Rotten Smell in P205

When it comes to mystery, one of the great conundrums of this school year has been the unholy stench plaguing P205. Kyle Wiggins, who teaches EH III, described the odor as “wet fur warmed up and mixed with mildew, but faint–almost teasing.”

Many students who occupy the classroom have also pointed out the foul smell. Junior Veronica Derner said, “It’s kinda hard enough to focus on the [stuff] we learn in English already, and add in an ungodly smell to that? Not fun.”

There’s mystery when it comes to the origin of the smell, but theories run abound. Grant Reiner, a junior, said, “It seems more biological than chemical, so my money is on ghosts.”

When asked about whether or not the stench has hindered his teaching, Wiggins said that he’s been unaffected. “I learned to teach around the odor,” he said. “I refused to let it scare me. The odor was tenacious but not formidable. Really, it inspired all of us in P205 to be our grittiest selves.”

Thankfully, the smell seems to have receded, at least for the time being. Still, we never know when it might return, as the origin of the aroma still remains a mystery. – Conor McGeady

Mandatory Hot New Fashion Trend

As if the scent of Purell and of cloth masks weren’t enough, Northwest Academy students and staff are now required to wear odd beak-like facial apparatuses on the school campus. The appearance of the KN95 face mask has been an eye-opener to students and teachers alike as the Omicron variant has rendered cloth masks insufficient. We must do more as a school to protect ourselves and our vision for the future.

Enlightened individuals have effected the abrupt change in style that our school has mandated, and protocol now demands that we must wear masks that mock the appearance of our mascot, the noble Angry Pigeon. Though it may seem the motive has to do with the emergence of the Omicron variant, this is not the case. This is the reawakening of Pigeon Pride. Perhaps in recovering the patriotic sense of duty for the school that everyone on campus must possess, or perhaps due to these unprecedented times, in lieu of wearing cloth and fabric face coverings, everyone must wear a KN95 face mask to school. – Shambhava Srikanth

A Break for Climate

On September 24, 2021, more than 2,000 Portland high school students left their classes to join a worldwide march for climate justice, many coming from Northwest Academy.

The protest followed an international youth movement for climate justice, largely pioneered by 19 year old Greta Thunberg and her organization Fridays For Future.

The march started at the Oregon Convention Center and slowly moved across the Steel Bridge past the Oregon Department of Transportation Headquarters, standing against a proposed highway expansion. Protesters moved towards City Hall, where they swarmed the street and the adjacent Terry Schrunk Plaza. They held signs such as “I DEMAND RENEWABLE ENERGY,” or “CLIMATE CHANGE IS SUS,” in reference to the popular game Among Us.

The event was organized by Sunrise Movement PDX, a branch of the larger Sunrise Movement, a youth organization dedicated to battling global climate change and creating millions of jobs through grassroots activism and large-scale protests.

At City Hall, protesters set out chairs for city officials, which remained unoccupied throughout the course of the protest.

Youth leaders spoke at the steps of City Hall, addressing the urgent need for renewable energy and sustainable food sources. Speakers urged city officials to halt the proposed highway expansion on Interstate 5 through the bottleneck in the Rose Quarter. Construction of the freeway has not yet begun, largely due to cost and health concerns. – Elliot Strom

Field Trips Are Alive!

After a long year at home, Northwest Academy students have taken three field trips this semester. These excursions have included a multi-grade trip to the Oregon Zoo and a visit to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s exhibit on comics and journalism. Classmates also participated in non-academic activities off campus, including a senior-freshman bonding trip to the Ground Kontrol arcade while the sophomore and junior classes took the PSAT.

Students who attended these field trips got to explore new environments, traveling as far as Eugene for a day trip. Over 40 students loaded into school buses and rode down to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. They had early access to the comics journalism exhibit, viewing it before it opened.

Field trips were an aspect of Northwest Academy’s educational model that were sorely missed during virtual school. They allow students to work in and explore new interactive environments. The school’s location gives the opportunity for teachers to broaden their teaching with visits to museum exhibits, lectures, films and theater or musical performances.

Covid precautions still present some limits for the time being. Overnight trips have been nearly impossible in most situation. The annual fall retreat was canceled for most grades, with the exception of an outdoors, distanced senior beach trip in August. Still, most field trips are a safe way for students to deepen their education. Students follow the same safety rules that are in effect on campus–they’re masked, distanced, and largely in grade cohorts. – Kamea Morita

Goths Invade NWA

Northwest Academy’s goth population has surged since September–even in such a small school, the ratio of goths to non-goths has grown. The return of in-person classes brought a release of excitement and personal expression, visible in our schoolwide attire.

Throughout the pandemic, students have expressed themselves to the best of their ability. Everyone has their own ideas and opinions on everything, and the opinions on goths are very mixed. Their culture is inviting to some but off-putting to others because of its extreme nature and dark attitude–an important aspect of being a goth is idolizing musicians or figures that may have controversial opinions. Adorned with black clothing, makeup and a love for post-punk music, goths have a special place in the Northwest Academy student body.

Maddox, a junior at NWA, has their own take on the influx of goths.

“I think we’ve seen such a big ‘goth resurgence’ so to speak because quarantine gave people the ability to develop their own sense of style, isolated from the normal pressures of social settings,” they said. “The isolation let people experiment with their identities more, giving them the opportunity to try out things they may have felt embarrassed of or been mocked for in public.”

It remains to be seen whether the trend will continue to spread or will die out, but for the time being Northwest Academy’s halls are full of black clothes and spiky hair. – Jack LaBar