Noble’s reputation for excellence often centers around the Wilson Reading SystemⓇ, because Noble Academy is one of only three WilsonⓇ Accredited Partners, and the only WilsonⓇ Accredited Partner - Best Practice Site in the Southeast region. Alums are proud of more than just their academic progress, though. In this episode, they talk about how extracurricular activities like sports and theater helped them grow as individuals, and contributed to the happiness they felt during the years when they attended.
Gayle Kolodny Cole:
Noble Academy has an outstanding reputation for teaching students to leverage their strengths and overcome academic challenges. In particular, with regard to our reading program, we are recognized as a Wilson® Accredited Partner, and the only one in the Southeast that is a Best Practice Site. Clearly, academics are a big reason people come here. But there is something else that our graduates mention a lot when I speak to them.
RYAN
The fact that Noble had extracurricular activities really helped me. I did cross country, I did soccer, I did tennis… without those experiences it wouldn’t have been as well rounded.
Competing on the cross country team I had a coach who was also my history teacher for three of my four years… (include more - I just couldn’t type it all) and so creating relationships with my peers and my coaches was one of my favorite memories.
My name is Ryan Taube and I came to Noble Academy in 8th grade and I stayed through my senior year of high school and I graduated in 2010.
COLBY:
So, at Noble, my graduating class was the winningest, graduating class for sports at Noble. We had a really good record in all the sports that we played. So everything from basketball, soccer, volleyball, cross country to golf, and to all the other sports at Noble, we had a lot of wins, and we were the winningest class of all of Noble's athletics history.
So, my name is Colby Pleasants. Is Colby like cheese, like Colby Jack cheese? I came to Noble in 7th grade and stayed all the way through graduation to 12th grade. I graduated in 2015.
So, it just to me, that was such a big deal because as an athlete, you wanna be the best you can. And I was so enjoyed that I got to be a part of that as the winningest class at Noble's athletics history. And my other thing is, winning 2 championships for Noble in basketball. That was pretty awesome. We won 1 my junior and sophomore year, I believe, and it was just a big deal. We got the recognition at the school. Everybody, you know, would come up to us and thank us for it. It just was a big deal for us winning the 2 championships, and, it felt great.
Gayle Kolodny Cole:
Ryan and Colby both found a lot of value in playing sports for Noble. It gave them confidence, and they made close friendships by being on teams. Theater also helped alums I talked to, in ways they remember fondly. Here is Colby Pleasants again:
COLBY:
I got to be in a big play for Noble, for the drama department. Had to take it for a class, and I enjoyed it.
I didn't think I would, but I enjoyed it. And I got to be in the play, Macbeth, which is a phenomenal play. I really feel like Shakespeare knew what he was doing when he made that play, and it was a great opportunity and a great time, and it really brought me out of my comfort zone. It brought me to be able to speak in public. You know, people say that you have stage fright. I did at first, but it went away when I did that play. And after that, I just had the utmost confidence in the world in myself. And it's the beauty of Noble, and it just helped a lot. I used to be very reclusive. Now I'm a social butterfly. So.
Gayle Kolodny Cole:
It is no accident that Noble students gain so much from things like drama and sports. Those opportunities are designed by the faculty, staff and administration, in order to create a well-rounded school experience. Retired English teacher Susan Hughes taught here for 29 years, starting when the school opened as Guilford Day School, and she knows as well as anyone that there is a lot to be learned beyond the four walls of a classroom.
SUSAN:
I think that the extracurriculars are very important no matter where you are. And we realized that. We also realized again that a lot of our kids, because of their own low self-esteem or experience in other settings don't join up for things a lot. So it's been a, always that's been a mission for Noble Academy to have things that kids would be interested in doing, that they could shine in doing. If there's the same things that other schools have, great. I mean, soccer, basketball, volleyball, you know, the standard things. But we also have a club system every year that the clubs are based on what the students have said they want a club to be. And the teachers love that. They don't want to come up with a club and have no students come or have students come and it just be miserable. So the process is to let the students say, could we have this club? I'd like this club. Kind of advocate for it because another thing that the school does, which is so valuable, is teach our students how to advocate.
JAYLON:
My name is Jaylon Smallwood.
I graduated from Noble in 2015, and we had a class of 15 students.
I found that because of the size of Noble and because of just how helpful and how welcome the students and teachers are, It was a great time to make friends and get to know people. I remember one time, like, at the school's, after school program, Knight’s Club. Me and my friend had the opportunity to talk to multiple friends and we just talk about random stuff like governments or video games or movies. And I felt so much relief from that because, like, the biggest fear is not in thinking that you won't have any friends, but coming somewhere and know that people are willing to be your friends and being able to be there for you.
Gayle Kolodny Cole:
I think I will let Ryan Taube, class of 2010, wrap up this episode for us. He went on to study special education himself, earning a Bachelor’s Degree from Greensboro College, and a Master’s of Arts in career counseling and placement. Today Ryan is a successful career counselor for Elon University.
RYAN:
Noble was really beneficial to me and really helped me grow both in the classroom and outside of the classroom.
Gayle Kolodny Cole:
As we wrap up this episode of the Blue and Gold Chat, I want to thank our alumni again, including
Jaylon Smallwood, Colby Pleasants, and Ryan Taube. I also want to thank retired English teacher Susan Hughes. You might hear their voices again in upcoming episodes, because this is part of an ongoing series about Noble Academy’s alums. If you once attended Noble, or know someone who did who would like to share their story, please let me know.
And a huge shoutout of gratitude to Efren Renteria, a current parent in our Middle School who produces this show.
Thanks to the whole GDS and Noble community.
We are proud to be Noble.
MUSIC