Weekly Blast 11.01.24

Hello Parents,

My 3^rd grade daughter recently memorized a favorite poem of mine from my literature teaching days. It is the titled, “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The last stanza speaks of something so true and beautiful about life:

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

Trials, testing, and suffering can bring forth goodness. It is not the case that we wish, hope, or pray for difficult times, but in retrospect, we can look back upon them and see grace. We can see that indeed good can come from difficulty, just as the blacksmith uses fire and pounding to bring forth that which is beautiful, useful, and good.

I find comfort in knowing my daughter has memorized a poem that teaches of the richness and realities in life, even if she cannot understand the principle now. It will be a guide to help in the future. So too, our children will learn so much good through various difficulties. Our goal is to remind them of the lessons from the blacksmith, not by working tirelessly to eliminate every difficulty that comes their way but to strategically guide them to discover what must be learned.

With gratitude,

Mr. Navarrette

Headmaster

Field Day Dress Code

We are looking forward to field day next Wednesday November 6th.

Shirts:

• Glendale Prep issued, unaltered House t-shirt
  • Must be school issued
  • Shirts cannot be tied or cut
• Non-GP outerwear is allowed. It can be any color, but logos may not be larger than the palm of the hand.

Pants/shorts:

• Athletic pants, leggings, yoga pants, or sweatpants/joggers
• Athletic shorts must be either mid-thigh or be worn over other pants/shorts reaching to at least mid-thigh
  • No spandex shorts allowed, unless worn under athletic shorts
• Athletic footwear is required

Footwear for athletic practices and field days should be athletic in nature: no sandals, open-toed, or platform shoes. Hats and sunscreen may be appropriate if the students will be in the sun.

Semester 1 Final Exams

As you know, the final week of Quarter 2 is devoted to Semester 1 Final Exams.  So that your students might best prepare, we would like to offer several tips to employ throughout this quarter.  It is also extremely important to communicate the final exam schedule and attendance policy for the week of conferences.

Semester 1 Final Exam Preparation Tips

• Make corrections to graded tests and attend tutoring to review corrections with the teacher throughout the quarter.
• Save all returned tests to study from in preparation for final exams.
• Check in with each teacher on a regular basis and ask specific questions.
• Utilize the free account offerings at Quizlet.com to build study materials and review in preparation for each test OR begin making index card flash cards to prepare for Q2 tests and keep them to use again for finals.  If utilized, Quizlet will then combine any selected materials to better prepare for final exams.

Final Exam Week Schedule

Final Exam Attendance

Final exams are a culmination of the material students have learned through the entirety of the first semester and account for 10% of a student’s final semester grade in each course.  Please schedule appointments and vacations outside of the final exam testing window.

Students who miss a final exam due to illness with a doctor’s note will make up any missed final exams according to the following schedule. Unexcused absences or illness without a doctor’s note will result in the score of a zero for any missed final exam.

*Additional arrangements will be made with the Dean of Academics for any students who miss more than 4 Final Exams due to illness with a doctor’s note.

Parking Lot Sale

Come support your Senior Class! If you love a good sale or thrifting, come shop the student parking lot sale tomorrow, November 2nd. All funds go towards individual student’s senior trip costs. Sale will be open from 7am-noon!

Griffin Players

The Griffin Players present Mary Poppins!

Join us to see Mary Poppins come to life on the GP stage on TONIGHT November 1st at 7 pm and November 2nd at 2 pm & 7 pm! Tickets are available on the GP payment portal or cash only at the door. Student tickets are $10 and adult tickets are $15. It’s going to be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! You don’t want to miss it!

Athletics

“Good luck to both the boys and girls cross country teams as they will compete on Saturday for the AIA state championship at Cave Creek Golf Course. The boys run at 12:45 and the girls run at 1:35. Spectator information can be found at AIAonline.org.

Winter sports begin next week (November 4^th-November 8^th). Below are the tryout times for each sport. These days are for next week:

• High School Boys Basketball
  • Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 5:15-7:15 in the gym.
• High School Girls Basketball
  • Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 3:15-5:15 in the gym.
• High School Boys Soccer
  • Monday and Tuesday from 3:30-5:00, Wednesday from 12:45-2:15 on the field.
• High School Girls Soccer
  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 6:30-8:00 on the field.
• Middle School Boys Soccer
  • Tuesday and Friday from 5:00-6:30, Wednesday from 4:00-5:30 on the field.
• Middle School Girls Soccer
  • Monday and Thursday from 5:00-6:30, Wednesday from 2:30-4:00 on the field.
• Middle School Tennis
  • Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 4:00-5:30 at Sunrise Mountain High School.
• Middle School Baseball
  • Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 4:00-6:00 at Paseo Highlands Park.
• Middle School Softball
  • Tuesday and Wednesday from 3:30-5:00 at the GP batting cages.

Contact information for coaches along with additional information is available on the athletics website (greatheartsglendaleathletics.org)”