FBRA Blog

Student Livestreaming Through the Pandemic

By Elizabeth Douglas / June 18, 2021 / Comments Off on Student Livestreaming Through the Pandemic

Jen Horschman, FBRA Girls Director   Giving students the opportunity to speak, perform, and present in front of others is an important aspect of FBRA’s program. This COVID year propelled creative solutions for students to exhibit what they have learned through video recording and live streaming. While not quite the same as “in person” events, […]

Read More

Alumni Update – Connor Schulz

By Elizabeth Douglas / June 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Alumni Update – Connor Schulz

“I didn’t realize that I was going to have to crawl through holes in the mud that were so small that we had to push our packs through ahead of us.” — Connor Schulz describing his sixth grade experience in Worley’s Cave A short conversation is all that is needed to realize that 2014 FBRA […]

Read More

Overnight Canoe Trips at FBRA

By Elizabeth Douglas / June 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Overnight Canoe Trips at FBRA

Andrew Holcombe, FBRA Boys Director   For my final “Thoughts from the Director” I would like to take a moment to talk about a part of the FBRA program that is near and dear to my heart:  our overnight self-support canoe trips.  We have just completed three of these at the boys school along different […]

Read More

Thoughts from Will, March 2021

By Will Yeiser / March 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Thoughts from Will, March 2021

Will Yeiser, Executive Director   The recent warm weather has been a welcome reminder that spring is just around the corner.  After a long, dark, and cold winter exacerbated by the isolation and the daily stress of trying to manage family and work under the “COVID clouds,” a short burst of sunshine and sixty-degree weather […]

Read More

Girls Campus Update – March 2021

By Elizabeth Douglas / March 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Girls Campus Update – March 2021

Jen Horshman, FBRA Girls Program Director   We believe powerful learning and growth happens when our middle school students engage in regular outdoor programming. Our students gain important foundational skills and values that are transferable to the academic classroom and other life endeavors. These student outcomes happen only because of the talent and commitment our […]

Read More

Development Update – March 2021

By John Douglas / March 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Development Update – March 2021

John Douglas, Director of Development   It’s hard to imagine that the 2020-2021 is shaping up to be a phenomenal year for the Development Department at FBRA. Thanks to the generosity of our amazing families and supporters, the Salamander Fund has crested $90,000 this year, surpassing our goal by $15,000. We had no idea what […]

Read More

Ski Season 2021

By Elizabeth Douglas / March 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Ski Season 2021

While skiing is a lot of fun, our primary goal in the FBRA ski program is for students to grow in ability and confidence as skiers by providing specific skill instruction and practice time. In order to provide appropriate instruction at every level, each year our staff members attend a one to two day ski […]

Read More

Curriculum Discussion: Natalie Sayre & David Byers

By Elizabeth Douglas / March 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Curriculum Discussion: Natalie Sayre & David Byers

Jack Pitfield, Director of Marketing & Technology The list of responsibilities and skills of any one teacher at the French Broad River Academy is long: some of our teachers hold advanced outdoor skills, many of our teachers are Spanish speakers, and all have a wilderness medicine certification.  It is not uncommon to see the school’s […]

Read More

COVID Update – March 2021

By John Douglas / March 17, 2021 / Comments Off on COVID Update – March 2021

John Douglas, Director of Development Had I known four years ago that my job at FBRA would include monitoring people’s health, reading medical studies in JAMA, and communicating with healthcare professionals, parents, and staff on a daily basis surrounding testing, quarantines, and vaccinations for a deadly virus, I probably would have passed. However, as stressful […]

Read More

Community Meetings

By Elizabeth Douglas / March 17, 2021 / Comments Off on Community Meetings

Jen Horshman, FBRA Girls Program Director Looking at the political landscape in the United States, most anyone would agree that there is a lot of discord and a large dose of ineffective communication. If only politicians had learned how to resolve issues and problems in Community Meetings at FBRA. Community Meetings are part of our […]

Read More