The Caepe School Continues to Expand
Personal Trainer, Sports Team and Art Studio Latest Additions
The Caepe School in Anthem was founded in 2008 by Tamara and Darren Lee.
The Caepe School, Anthem's only private, non-denominational K-8 school, continues to grow at an exceptional rate, adding a third suite to their building and kicking off their membership in the Mountain Valley Athletic League.
Currently, The Caepe School resides in two suites at 42212 North 41st Drive with The Caepe Preschool in a neighboring suite. The newly acquired corner suite is on the north side of the preschool, giving The Caepe School four of the five consecutive suites.
"The extra suite is a much needed addition to our campus," said Tamara Lee, Head of School. "With the increase in enrollment, we are simply growing out of our old space."
The Caepe School's seventh and eighth graders will be the first to move into the new suite, where they will get their daily dose of culture. Dawn Schiano Kirchner, a new Anthem resident and artist, shares the space with The Caepe School. By day, children will be busy with reading, writing and arithmetic; by night, the space will be transformed into an art gallery open to the public.
Kirchner will also be teaching Introduction to Studio to all of The Caepe School's students. She has been an artist for the last 20 years and has a Masters of Fine Arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Students will be exploring their artistic potential through drafting, art history, and even critiquing various forms of art.
Improving their students mental culture is not the only way The Caepe School will be using its new space; they will also be bettering their students physical health. A personal trainer will use the back section of the suite as a gym. The trainer will work with students during school hours, and also offer training sessions to the public after school and on the weekends.
"One of the benefits of a private school is that we are able to offer our students various programming," said Lee. "The additional art and physical fitness curriculums add value to our students educations, and we expect our new sports program to do the same."
The Caepe School's membership in the Mountain Valley Athletic League became official in August, and the students played their inaugural games at the end of September. There was a boy' flag football game and a girl's volleyball game at 4:00 p.m. on September 25 at Pardes Jewish Day School's campus. Students and faculty alike anticipated the start of their first season for weeks.
"I love to see others grow in sports and to reach the maximum potential they have in all aspects of life, said flag football coach Terry Donatto, So I am really excited about the great opportunity I have to work with the students at The Caepe School."
Membership in the Mountain Valley Athletic League came sooner than expected, which created an immediate need for a mascot. "We wanted to include our students in the process of picking a mascot," said Darren Lee, Dean of Students, "We wanted to give them ownership."
Each student and faculty member was able to draw their version of The Caepe School's mascot, then all the students voted on their favorite. The winner: The Caepe Cougars!
The Caepe School will also begin a community-wide Triathlon Training Club, focused on cycling, running and swimming. The club will be run by Chris Wylie, The Caepe School's physical education teacher. Training will be provided for all ages and ability levels.
"We feel sports can be a very important part of school; it creates unity and helps to teach discipline," said Darren Lee. "We expect to have an incredible first athletic year, with more athletic programming to come in the future."