When we were first considering Bridgedale for our son Gunnar, we were a bit hesitant. We were excited about the hockey training, and at the time Gunnar played for the Mission. So it made sense to go to Seven Bridges every day for school and have all of his hockey practices in the same building.

But we were concerned about the academics. Gunnar has a late birthday and Bridgedale did not have a 5th grade class at the time. And that meant that Gunnar had to skip 5th and go directly into Bridgedale's 6th grade.

Gunnar excelled academically.

We thought he would be behind or struggle, but with the help of the teachers and staff, including the after-school study hall, Gunnar didn't miss a beat. Mrs. Di Pauli in particular was so wonderful for Gunnar and had such a huge impact on him. And so he ended up doing extremely well in all of his classes. Bridgedale guided him to the level that he needed to be academically.  

Last year, my wife and I realized that the learning environment at our son Finn's school was less than ideal. He was getting by as a 6th grader, but nothing we or the school tried was helping him to excel. 

We prayed 7th grade would be better but once the new school year started, we knew it would be the same as before ... or worse. 

Finn was not thriving and we knew he could do better. 

It was agonizing for us. We knew we had to do something.

We already knew about Bridgedale.

Being a hockey family, we'd heard about Bridgedale Academy and so we arranged for Finn to do a shadow day there. 

It was early 2016 and we weren't happy with our son Anthony's school. Something was missing and, like for a lot of boys, Anthony just wasn't thriving like we knew he could. 

He was really passionate about hockey, and so he was very excited when we told him we were going to Bridgedale Academy's Open House.  

It was all so positive. We were able to talk to a number of Bridgedale student-alumni parents. We were very impressed by what they said about Bridgedale's classical academic curriculum.

And of course we loved that Anthony would be able to improve his hockey skills by being on the ice every day.  

We knew this would be a good investment after he shadowed at Bridgedale and loved it.

He started Bridgedale in the third trimester of fifth grade and by the following fall we saw significant progress in him both wanting to push himself at school and to challenge himself on the ice to become a stronger and more skilled player.

How do you explain a generational player like Wayne Gretzky?

The first time I saw Wayne Gretzky play hockey was at the old Chicago Stadium. He was 18 years old at the time.

I remember thinking how his approach to playing the game was so "unusual."

Unusual ... and unusually good. 

Even then he was so unbelievably creative. It was as if he'd learned the game on another planet.

He seemed to be the very definition of "thinking outside the box."

Sixteen (16) Bridgedale Academy parents contributed their time and ideas to the exercise, as did most of Bridgedale's teaching staff.

The purpose of the exercise was to determine not only what made Bridgedale unique, but also what we could possibly do to make the Bridgedale Experience even better.

Amy Holsinger of Project Enroll, who conducted the exercise, concluded there was “a general sense of satisfaction and happiness expressed by” the Bridgedale parents, noting there was an “absolute confidence that the school is delivering on a number of promises.” 

Among these promises delivered were “a solid Classical education, exceptional teachers, attentive staff members, the knowledge that their sons are happy and highly challenged, and a high-quality hockey experience.”

Amy said that what “resonated” for her was that Bridgedale is not just a “hockey school” and that “leadership, tenacity, ownership, accountability and a collaborative spirit are just a few of the many benefits young men will receive from a Bridgedale Academy education.”

I have been thinking about Bridgedale and all of our friends there that helped Ryan achieve a goal of his. I wanted to send you a very big THANK YOU!

Ryan loves Culver. He is in exactly the right place.

He is so happy and thriving thanks to your guidance, help and grooming.

It's so nice that he still gets to see (Bridgedale English teacher) Mrs. Kuhl (also a Culver mom) occasionally. He loves to see a friendly “Mom” face when away!  Thank you for being so good to him.

I thought you might enjoy a picture of our guy celebrating and honoring Culver's 2018 Graduates!! 

Ryan (on the left in this photo) has his military game-face on and so he doesn’t have a smile.

But I can assure you he has so much pride and happiness being the stoic Culver cadet.

(And Mrs. Kuhl, congratulations to you, your husband and of course your 2018 Culver graduate son!)

AWESOME JOB BRIDGEDALE!!!

Here he is on his horse!!  

Thank you again for everything you do!

This is a heartfelt thank you.  The confidence and happiness Ryan has had at Culver and while at Bridgedale have transformed him.

I will never forget what you and the teachers have done for him. You are a part of who he is today!