DID YOU KNOW?
Tacoma’s story spans more than two centuries from the time Captain George Vancouver anchored off Tacoma’s north shore in 1792.
In 1870, Tacoma’s natural deep-water port became an attraction that the Northern Pacific Railroad couldn’t pass up, when it made Tacoma a stop on its transcontinental line.
Old Tacoma and New Tacoma merged in 1884 and incorporated as Tacoma. By 1890, the population reached 36,000 people.
Tacoma is home to the Port of Tacoma, the seventh-largest container port in the United States, and it is within 20 miles of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and 36 miles of the city of Seattle.
Carie Olsen,
5th Grade
Carie Olsen teaches fifth grade. “I love to do projects with students that help them experience the real-life aspects of what we study,” she says. “The fifth grade archaeological dig is a chance to get dirty, practice scientific research processes, and experience how we learn about history.”
“The colonial simulation, in which groups of students simulate sailing across the ocean, landing in the New World, and building a colony, is always a favorite, as is of course the trip to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Washington DC. These chances to touch, see and feel what we study makes the material more relevant and understandable, and helps students make connections between what they already know, their life, and what they’re studying.”
Olsen joined the CWA faculty in 2000. She holds a bachelors degree and a masters degree in teaching, both from Smith College in Massachusetts. She was certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 2007. At Charles Wright she coaches the Math Olympiad team.
She enjoys the flexibility she has found as a teacher at Charles Wright. “We are truly free to capitalize on teachable moments in ways that enrich and expand our students’ learning. Each group of kids has its own personality and variety of learning styles, and we can address that in our teaching by slowing down or speeding up, or presenting lessons differently.”
Olsen volunteers with Safe Streets in her neighborhood, helps organize the National Night Out, and serves as a board member of the Wapato Co-Operative Pre-School. She is the mother of two boys she describes as beautiful, smart and creative. She finished the New York City marathon, and backpacking the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier and the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. She played rugby in college and for a local women’s team. She has a 25 pound cat, raises free-range chickens in her back yard, and notes that she eats ice cream as often as possible, preferably every night.
Visit her web page
“The colonial simulation, in which groups of students simulate sailing across the ocean, landing in the New World, and building a colony, is always a favorite, as is of course the trip to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Washington DC. These chances to touch, see and feel what we study makes the material more relevant and understandable, and helps students make connections between what they already know, their life, and what they’re studying.”
Olsen joined the CWA faculty in 2000. She holds a bachelors degree and a masters degree in teaching, both from Smith College in Massachusetts. She was certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 2007. At Charles Wright she coaches the Math Olympiad team.
She enjoys the flexibility she has found as a teacher at Charles Wright. “We are truly free to capitalize on teachable moments in ways that enrich and expand our students’ learning. Each group of kids has its own personality and variety of learning styles, and we can address that in our teaching by slowing down or speeding up, or presenting lessons differently.”
Olsen volunteers with Safe Streets in her neighborhood, helps organize the National Night Out, and serves as a board member of the Wapato Co-Operative Pre-School. She is the mother of two boys she describes as beautiful, smart and creative. She finished the New York City marathon, and backpacking the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier and the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. She played rugby in college and for a local women’s team. She has a 25 pound cat, raises free-range chickens in her back yard, and notes that she eats ice cream as often as possible, preferably every night.
Visit her web page
