Weekly Blast 1.17.2020

• Jan 20 – No School/MLK Day
• Jan 24 – Headmaster Coffee
• Jan 24 – 7th & 8th Grade Dance
• Jan 31/Feb 1 – Griffin Players Performance
• Feb 4 – Spring Sports Info Meeting
• Feb 7 – Early Release 12:05 p.m.
• Feb 11 – 9th Grade Field Trip
• Feb 15 – High School Winter Dance
• Feb 17 – No School/President’s Day
• Feb 21 – Middle School Epic Cycle
• Feb 25 – National Latin/Greek Exams
• Feb 27 – Galileo Testing 6th, 7th, & 8th

1. A Note From Headmaster ^[1]
2. First Semester Evaluations ^[2]
3. Headmaster Coffee ^[3]
4. 7th & 8th Grade Dance ^[4]
5. Semester 2 Tutoring Schedule ^[5]
6. GP Robotics Team ^[6]
7. Griffin Players ^[7]
8. Science Fair ^[8]
9. PSO Corner ^[9]
10. GP Athletics ^[10]
11. Great Hearts Teacher Career Fair ^[11]
12. Community Investment ^[12]
13. College Counseling ^[13]

Hello Parents,

I wanted to update you on a new addition to our school this year, as well as remind you of a vital organization that serves our community.

First, we introduced a “House” system this school year with the goal of helping students get to know other students across the grades. The goal is not merely time to hang out, while that is fitting and necessary at times, but to grow together through friendly competition as well as share designated time to talk about relevant and meaningful topics. It has been a learning experience as we have worked through ways to have our student leaders (11^th and 12^th graders) find ways to be personally invested in building those relationships. We do, reflect, and then find ways to improve. Our House meeting today designated time for a faculty member along with 11^th and 12^th grade students to share about one of the following- Stress, Friendships, Difficult Conversations, Integrity, and Culture.

Secondly, I want to remind you about the blessing our PSO (Parent Service Organization) is for our school. Their influence and care often go unnoticed because we might forget all they do. They run our lunch program, oversee our uniform exchange, coordinate faculty lunches, help run and promote community events such as Homecoming and Night of the Griffin and even bring faculty bagels and cream cheese every Friday. Scores of you serve in our PSO. Thank you so much for giving of your time, energy, and money to serve our students and teachers; a special thanks to our PSO president- Debbie Ayer. Please consider serving on our PSO in some way; we have so much fun together.

Sincerely,
Mr. Navarrette

First Semester Evaluations
Parents, the PowerSchool Portal for grades and evaluations is open. You can simply click here and login using the User ID and Password ^[14] you created. If you cannot remember your User ID or Password, it will allow you to make a new one. We find clicking “Teacher Comments” on the left side on a laptop/desktop is the best place to view and print teachers’ comments along with their grades. If you have difficulty logging in, Mrs. Hayakawa is available and happy to assist at shayakawa@glendaleprep.org ^[15].

You can print and/or digitally save your child’s evaluation for your own future reference. You will have access to view grades and narratives until January 24th. 

Headmaster Coffee
On Friday, January 24th from 10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Mr. Navarrette welcomes you to join him for coffee, small group discussion, and classroom observations. What makes Glendale Prep such a wonderful community is parent support and commitment to the Academy’s ideals. This is a time to hear from Mr. Navarrette about upcoming events, as well as understand more about specific aspects of school culture. He would also like to discuss any questions you may have about the school. Most importantly, the hope is that this time will provide an opportunity for you to get to know other parents and share your common experiences. Given the timing and space, we are limited to seven parents. Click here to RSVP ^[16]. Please check-in at the front office.

7th & 8th Grade Dance
Attention 7^th and 8^th Graders! Get ready to dress up and walk the red carpet as you make your way into the middle school dance. The evening of Friday, January 24th will be full of snacks, music, dancing, and fun. The dance will be held from 6:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; students will not be admitted after 6:15 p.m. Parents can pay the $15 entrance fee and sign digital permission on the online payment portal ^[17] until January 23^rd.  The entrance fee at the door will be $20 and students must bring a signed permission slip (which can be found at the bottom of the informational flyer). For questions about gentlemen’s attire, please email Mr. Withers (zwithers@glendaleprep.org ^[18]). For questions about ladies’ attire, please email Mrs. LeTrent (kletrent@glendaleprep.org ^[19]).

Semester 2 Tutoring Schedule
We encourage students to take advantage of tutoring that is offered by our wonderful GP teachers. Please see the updated Semester 2 Tutoring Schedule here ^[20].

Glendale Prep Robotics Team
This weekend the Glendale Prep Robotics Team, Griffin Robotics, competed in their final tournament.  Two students drove the robot during the matches, Alessandro Marcolini controlling an arm and a hand and Alex Burton controlling the motion of the robot.  The team finished 6^th out of 24 teams during the qualifying matches and made it into the semi-finals, being the captain of one of the four alliances to compete in elimination matches.  While the team didn’t make it to the finals, the team was awarded the Rockwell Collins Aerospace Innovate Award, which highlights effective and ingenious interworking between a part of the robot, sensors, and code to perform a task.  Specifically, Evan Vo wrote code that automatically moved the arm between 2 precise positions to make picking up and delivering blocks more consistent.  The team will begin switching into postseason practice and begin recruitment and training for the next season.  Any students going into 7^th through 12^th grade next year are welcome to talk to Mr. Roper and receive an interest form.

The following is a link to one of the matches (about 3 minutes long): https://youtu.be/ad4DwStVoiE?t=15793 ^[21]

Griffin Players Performance
The Griffin Players present the Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary. Enter the world of two Jewish families as they go into hiding in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands and witness Anne’s struggles and triumphs as she comes of age in the most difficult of circumstances. Come join us on Jan. 31st or Feb. 1st at 7:30 p.m. in the GP gym. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and are available here on the GP Payment Portal ^[22] or with cash or check at the door.

Science Fair
Is your student looking for an excuse to sit in the desert and dig in the dirt for interesting rocks?
Is your student looking for an excuse to mix two chemicals just to see what would happen?
Is your student looking for an excuse to build a model trebuchet and fling things?

Glendale Prep is hosting its second annual Science Fair on Saturday, April 4th. It is open to all Glendale Prep students, with a middle school division and a high school division. The science fair will be held on the Glendale Campus from 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.  Dr. Ustach will be available every other Thursday from 3:20 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. to assist your student with any experiments or ideas. Please click here for specific information regarding requirements ^[23].

Contact Dr. Ustach at custach@glendaleprep. ^[24]org ^[25] for questions and guidance.

PSO Corner
LUNCH ORDERS: Ordering is now available for February hot lunches and closes January 24^th.  Please order online at https://greathearts.boonli.com/ ^[26].

NIGHT OF THE GRIFFINS – HELP NEEDED: Night of the Griffin is only 6 weeks away! The PSO needs assistance with this annual event that brings GP Families together in a fun-filled evening designed for everyone! Pre-event help, prize donations, monetary donations, and volunteers are needed. Please sign up at the following sites:  Planning and Pre-Event Help ^[27] and Donations and Volunteers ^[28].

This event is our main PSO Fundraiser for the year. It funds the check we give back to GP each year and is the main resource for all the programs the PSO runs and supports throughout the year. We have a few people that work tirelessly for months reaching out, writing letters and canvassing businesses, but we need more help. What we are hoping is that if you have your own business or sell products, you be willing to donate a few items. It can be services, products, etc. You may know friends and family with a business that could donate items. These will be loaded on to the bidding site and their business would be advertised there too. You may have received some wonderful Christmas gifts you don’t want (they, of course, need to be new items) and maybe you could put a gift basket together? Over the years we have had many varieties for example:

Jewelry, Essential Oils, Mary Kay, Avon, Arbonne, Candles
Gift Cards (Restaurants, Spas, Ice Cream, Massages, Airlines, etc.)
Games, Electrical Devices, Bikes, Children’s Toys, Birthday Parties
Pet supplies, Attraction Tickets, Photography Services
Themed Baskets (Harkins, Lake Pleasant, Hurricane Harbor, Summertime, Make-up, Golf, etc.)
Cash Donations (we can buy items or make baskets for you)

We need to get items collected and put on the bidding system by February 15th at the latest. We also have a 501 c letter we can forward you too, for tax exemption (where applicable). Thank you for reading this and your partnership.

If you have any questions or ideas, please reach out to Nickie Kennedy at 623-703-4802, Kim Greathouse at 623-734-7929, or Debbie Ayer at 623-628-9815.

GP Athletics

• Spring Sports Informational Night will be Tuesday, February 4th at 5:30 p.m. Register your child at registermyathlete.com ^[29] to play Spring Sports. Spring Sports include Tennis (HS/MS), Baseball (HS), Softball (HS), Track and Field (MS/HS), Basketball (MS), Swim (MS). *We are looking to offer open training days for interested HS Swim and Golf athletes; we will NOT have “teams” this year. More information to come.
• Follow Glendale Prep Athletics @gpathleticdept on Instagram and Glendale Prep Athletics on Facebook.

Great Hearts Teacher Career Fair
Dear Great Hearts Families,

The 2^nd annual Great Hearts Arizona Teacher Career Fair is just around the corner, and we need your help to spread the word! Representatives from all Arizona academies, Special Education, the Athletics Department, Athenaeum, and Human Resources will be present at the fair. This is a great chance for interested candidates to meet with school representatives and learn more about opportunities available for the 2020-21 school year. Please reach out to friends and family you believe would be valuable additions to one of our academies and invite them to attend this event. Please contact awilcox@greatheartsamerica.org ^[30] with any questions. Thank you!

Registration through Eventbrite ^[31] is requested.
When: January 22^nd, 2020 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: Veritas Prep Gymnasium, 3102 N 56^th St, Phoenix, AZ 85018

With Gratitude,
The Talent Team

Community Investment
At the end of Glendale Prep, seniors face one final test of their character: the research, writing, and defense of their year-long senior thesis projects. This challenge is the culmination of a Great Hearts education and calls on students to put it all together: to creatively develop their own thoughts in an original paper, to put all of their self-discipline and perseverance to work on an independent academic project that takes months to complete, and to summon their courage for the final hour-long oral examination in front of a panel of teachers and an audience of friends and family.

Like everything that happens at our school, the Senior Thesis program is a remarkable partnership between students and teachers.

The quality of education delivered at our school is only possible with your generous support of our Community Investment campaign. We are honored to publicly recognize those families and friends who have contributed to the Community Investment campaign.

College Counseling

• Current 7th – 9^th Graders: ASU Barrett Summer Scholars Program will have an informational meeting on Tuesday, January 21st at 6:30 p.m. in the Archway Glendale MPR. This summer program is for gifted, honors, and talented Arizona students.
• Sophomores and Juniors: The Jesuit Excellence Tour Program will be on our campus Wednesday, February 5th. We highly recommend ALL students plan on staying at school until 4:00 p.m. that day to take advantage of the opportunity to interact with college admission representatives from 13 different universities.
• Juniors and Parents: You should have received the first monthly installment of our Newsletter via email this week. If you did not receive it, please let College Counseling know.