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CA Model UN at MUNCH

Upper School

CA MUN earns Best Small Delegation at MUNCH

February 25, 2020

CA’s Model United Nations students had an outstanding performance at the UNC Model United Nations Conference, this past weekend. All of our students were either new to MUN or participating in a committee with brand new requirements and challenges. Cary Academy came home with several gavels and awards, including the Best Small Delegation Award, a first for the school. Ms. Barlaz expressed “special thanks to Addie Esposito (’20) for her stellar leadership!”

  • Addie Esposito: Outstanding Delegate, Jasmine Revolution Crisis Committee
  • Natasha Sachar (’22): Best Delegate, UN High Commission on Refugees
  • Julia Young (’22): Verbal Commendation, UN Office of Drugs and Crime
  • Claire Ferris (’21) and Loren Troan (’20): UN Conference on Trade and Development
  • Emma Esposito (’23) and Teja Wasudev (’23): International Maritime Organization

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CA Curious

The Privilege of Play

Strategic Planning is Underway

Magazine of CA

Summer School

Library from quad

Upper School

CA’s SciOly teams are headed to States

February 3, 2020

Competing at Southeast Raleigh High School on February 1, Cary Academy’s Science Olympiad teams received the Spirit Award for the 2nd year running. Students demonstrated our community values of respect, integrity and compassion throughout the day and this was noted by several event leaders and other coaches.



As a team, JV had a solid 4th place finish with several event medalists. Varsity also finished 4th which earned CA a bid to the state tournament at NCSU on April 24-25! 

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Community

Taking PPE to the Next Level

CA Curious

Community Vignettes

Upper School

CA’s Conrad Hall recognized as ‘Outstanding Educator’ by University of Chicago

Ethics Bowl win

Upper School

CA’s Ethics Bowl team crowned State champs

January 27, 2020

We feel a sense of moral obligation to say CONGRATULATIONS to CA’s ethics bowl team, for winning the 2020 North Carolina High School Ethics Bowl, held on Saturday, at UNC’s Parr Center for Ethics, selected on 15 of 18 ballots.

Defeating NC School of Science and Mathematics in the final round, the team will compete April 17-19 at the National High School Ethics Bowl, which will be held, pragmatically, at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Cary Academy’s ethics bowl team, founded by faculty members Robert Coven and Richard Pellicciotta in 2018, is definitely on the right track.

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Middle School

Ubuntu inspires students to think about themselves and their communities

Community

#GoPack: Elayne Courts makes masks regardless of Wolfpack affiliation

CA Curious

I’ve Been to the Mountains, ISEEN It All

JV robotics

Upper School

JV robotics teams overcome challenges at qualifying tournament

January 23, 2020

Please join me in celebrating the JV Robotics teams who competed this past Saturday. FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team 5270 consisting of Casey Cervenka ’21, Ethan Chou ’22, Alex Dietrich ’22, Alekh Palakurthi ’22, Casey Powell ’22, Price Taylor ’22, and Vinith Upadhya ’22 started the morning furiously trying to downsize their robot as it wasn’t within specifications. They missed their first (of five) matches because of this, but never hung their heads nor grumbled, instead working hard to fix it to play in their final four matches. Because of their enthusiasm, graciousness, and grit, they received the Motivate Award at day’s end.

I also tip my hat to them for their leadership and grace in helping and cheering on the freshmen team FTC 12010, made up of Harrison Coman ’23, Andrew Epperson ’23, Rohen Giralt ’23, Brennan Hugo ’23, Vikram Kommareddi ’23, Jay Sihm ’23, Rhoda Yakowenko ’21, and Leo Yu ’21. Attending their first tournament ever, they made quite an impact, at one point holding a #3 ranking of the 26 teams in attendance. They were selected to be on the second-seeded alliance, and in the semi-finals, their alliance beat the third alliance in three matches to reach the finals. In the finals, they were matched against a formidable number 1 seed. Good driving, teamwork, and coolness under pressure combined with a couple of mistakes by their opponents lead to our alliance besting the first seed, again in matches. Congratulations to 12010 for winning their first-ever tournament! And another kudos to 5270 for leading the way.

The teams will compete again when Cary Academy hosts their next tournament. Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 8, from 10:45am-5:00pm so you can come cheer on Team Q (5270) and the ChargerBots (12010) as they look to qualify for the state tournament.

by Betsy MacDonald – US Design, Programming, and Robotics

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Athletics

Varsity baseball finishes the second undefeated regular season in program history

CA Curious

The Work Ahead

Middle School

MS celebrates Earth Day in a big way

SciOly at Duke

Upper School

Strong showing for Science Olympiad team at Duke

January 21, 2020

On Saturday, January 18, twenty-five Cary Academy students competed at the Second Annual Duke Invitational for Science Olympiad. CA’s team competed with 33 top schools from North Carolina, Virginia, and New York. The competition consisted of 24 events covering biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, computer science, engineering, and general problem-solving.

Despite being shorthanded due to flu, the varsity team took 17th place, overall; junior varsity placed 31st amongst stiff competition. Han Zhang ’21 and Eric Wang ’20 came in 4th, overall, in the Fossils category.

Upper School science teacher MaLi Bennet reflects, “we had fun, learned more things, and even ran into some alums! Hopefully, everyone will be healthy for our regional tournament on February 1!”

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CA Curious

French Fries

Latest News

MS Science Olympiad Team Finishes in Top 10 at States

CA Curious

From hallways to homes: Re-imagining community-building at CA

CERT and SAR with K9 officer

Upper School

CERT and SAR clubs visit Raleigh Police Department

January 14, 2020

Did you know that most K-9 handlers are multilingual, working with canine officers who respond to commands in foreign languages?

Just before winter break, members of CA’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and SAR (Search and Rescue) clubs met with members of the Raleigh Police Department’s Special Operations Division at Dix Park. There, they learned about the specialized roles that K-9 and SWAT officers play in serving the community and the training officers in those units receive.

Director of Safety and Security, Jeff Wacenske, accompanied CA’s CERT and SAR clubs on December 19, 2019 for presentations from the RPD’s Selective Enforcement Unit and K-9 units. Captain J.A. Taylor of RPD’s Special Operations Division assisted in coordinating and conducting the presentations.

SEU’s Officer Hogan showed the students what equipment is routinely carried in a SWAT officer’s patrol vehicle and shared what a typical day is like for SWAT. He also discussed the “not-so-typical” specialty requests they receive, including: serving drug search warrants, dignitary protection, barricaded subjects, high-risk arrest warrant service.

The K-9 unit’s Sergeant Hoyle explained how extensive the training of a K-9 is and how RPD goes about acquiring a K-9. Demonstrations were held on how a K-9 conducts an article search and person search. Sergeant Hoyle also shared that part of the K-9 training includes protecting the handler, in the event that the police officer is being assaulted. He revealed that, in most cases, the commands a handler gives to their K-9 are in a foreign language.

In both instances, students had the opportunity for a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of crisis and emergency response careers.

CA’s CERT program trains students to prepare for emergencies in their communities. CERT students also help with non-emergency projects that improve the safety of the community.

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6th

First MS Community Day of the Year

Art

CA Junior’s one-act plays earn accolades

CA Curious

Making the connection (from a safe distance)

Library from quad

Upper School

CA Speech and Debate stands tall at Yale

September 19, 2019

CA Speech and Debate had one of its best showings ever at the 27th annual Yale University Invitational Tournament, with four students placing in the top 10 of their respective events.

Congratulations to:

  • Casey Powell for reaching the Semifinal round of JV Lincoln Douglas (Top 4)
  • Allie Chandler for reaching the Quarterfinal of JV Lincoln Douglas (Top 8)
  • Natasha Sachar for getting Double-Octos in JV Lincoln Douglas
  • Colin Zhu for getting 9th in Parliamentary “Debate”
  • Alex Lim for reaching the Semifinal round of Humorous Interp (9th)
  • Bayla Sheshadri for reaching the Semifinal round in Original Oratory (14th)
  • Ritvik Nalamothu for getting Semifinal in Congress
  • Will Aarons in Parlimentary Debate (4th)

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Middle School

Ubuntu inspires students to think about themselves and their communities

Athletics

Senior Night: Varsity Boys’ Track and Field

CA Curious

There’s a Crackle in the Air

Upper School

US Club Fair invites students to discover new passions

August 28, 2019

Upper School students gathered in the quad on Monday for their annual club fair. Over twenty student-led clubs and organizations were present, each one encouraging fellow students to pursue a long-held passion, or perhaps even discover a new one.

“Most clubs are almost entirely conducted by the students,” says director of experiential learning Michael McElreath. “The faculty supports them, of course, but the clubs don’t exist without the student’s passion and drive. Since we put more emphasis on student leadership, campus involvement has flourished, and the joy and creativity fostered by the kids in their respective clubs definitely has a spillover effect into other aspects of their lives on campus. For many students, the clubs are a way to find their ‘niches’ at Cary Academy.”

In accordance with Cary Academy’s dedication to fostering a diverse level of interests in its student body, the club fair displayed a wide range of subjects, from competitive robotics to step team to indoor track.

“I joined the step team in ninth grade, and I’ve had such an amazing experience,” says Oyinlola Iowal ’20. “In fact, I met my best friend through step.”

Many clubs even seek to combine many interests into a single, immersive learning experience, such as the World-building Club, which challenges students to create their own fictional worlds, complete with unique atmospheres, societies, and political systems.

“World-building blends elements from a variety of subjects, including physics, language, biology, political science, and even astronomy,” says Sam Dietrich ’20. “Even you if you don’t have an interest in writing fiction, there’s something for everyone.”

In addition to providing a wealth of creative outlets, Cary Academy’s clubs also seek to foster a sense of community amongst every demographic of its students, such as the African-American Affinity Group, a club that seeks to unify Cary Academy’s black student population.

“It’s an honor to be a part of one of the oldest clubs at Cary Academy,” says the club’s president, Mesha Mumford ’20. “We promote interdisciplinary discussion on a wide variety of current issues that affect our community, all while uplifting one another.”

No matter the focus of the club, each student organization adds its own unique flavor to life at Cary Academy.

“There’s a lot of diversity in what we do,” says John Kesler ’20, a member of the robotics team. “I program, others build, but we’re all equally important, and none of us can succeed without the other.”

written by Communications Intern Caroline Diorio. 

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Athletics

Senior Nights: Varsity Baseball

Faculty Reflections

Faculty Conversations: Social and Emotional Health

Community

Campaign for Cary Academy

Eric Wang '20

Upper School

CA student finishes Future Health Professionals competition atop worldwide rankings

June 24, 2019

The 2019 International Leadership Conference (ILC) of HOSA-Future Health Professionals (formerly Health Occupations Students of America) was held June 19-22 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Cary Academy had two students who qualified to represent North Carolina at the conference after placing in the Top 3 in the state at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) in Charlotte in March: Liya Chen (Class of 2019), who placed 3rd at the SLC in Pharmacology and Eric Wang (Class of 2020) who placed 1st in Epidemiology.

At the conclusion of the 2019 ILC, Eric Wang was awarded 1st place in Epidemiology of all secondary students worldwide!  This is a phenomenal accomplishment and a HOSA first for Cary Academy!

According to HOSA advisor, Troy Weaver, Liya invested tremendous preparation for her competitive exam and will now take her knowledge to UNC-Chapel Hill, where she was admitted to their competitive pharmacy program!

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CA Curious

Reflections on AsEA

Faculty Reflections

Connecting the Dots

CA Curious

Community Vignettes