Weekly Blast 11.15.24

Hello Parents,

I thought it might be a good reminder for you to consider the message I brought last night to prospective Archway Parents. It was the Archway Info Night, and so I stood before mainly parents whose children are Kindergarten age. Here is what I shared with future members of our community-

“Good Evening,

There is a likelihood that you are here tonight and the last thing you might be thinking about is middle school and high school, but I do want to provide some perspective. At our beginning year assembly in August, I spoke to 670 middle school and high school students along with 70 plus teachers and staff about the different between dreams and vision.

• Dreams are fantastical and often lead to passivity, where we wait for something to take place rather than pressing on ahead.
• Vision is realistic, forces the mind to never lose sight of the goal, there is activity involved.

We live in a world where people have lofty dreams, chasing fantasy with their eyes closed. They lack vision.

What do you envision for your child? What do you envision for your son or daughter when he or she is in middle school and high school?

Many parents have practical vision- I want them to do well, earn high grades, so they get into college; they go to college, so they find a good/well-paying job; then they get to spend money, and then they get old, sick and die.

That is not the good life…that is a faulty or limited vision. It is not a fulfilling vision or one that has eternity in mind.

Humans need meaning and purpose. The goal of education is to learn. The foundation students receive at Archway Glendale followed by their years at Glendale Prep exposes them to seek out Truth, consider Goodness, and behold Beauty…with one goal in mind- they become young men and women who souls cling to truth with their whole hearts, they become truly good because they have years of contemplating and discussing what is good with their peers and guided trusted adults; finally, but most importantly, they learn to love others—love, the greatest of all virtues, of which there is nothing of greater beauty.

You might be considering Archway Glendale because you heard it is academically rigorous; it is. It is buttoned up and operates efficiently; it certainly does. Maybe it is near your house; even better.

But please consider our mission- to cultivate the minds and hearts of students in the pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty…if this is what you want, you are already one of us, and we are so blessed to have you join our community in the future. Thank you.”

Enjoy the weekend,

Mr. Navarrette

Headmaster

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.

Family Giving

6th and 11th Grade Field Trips

11^th Grade: Attention Juniors! You have the honor of attending Southwest Shakespeare Company to see A Christmas Carol on Friday, November 22^nd. You MUST wear your school uniform, even though it is spirit day. If you are not in uniform, you will not be permitted to attend. Please bring a sack lunch with disposable containers/bags as well as a disposable water bottle.

6^th Grade: On Friday, December 6^th, 6^th graders will venture to Lake Pleasant Reginal Park. You MUST wear your school uniform, even though it is spirit day, tennis shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty are encouraged. If you are not in uniform, you will not be permitted to attend. Please bring a sack lunch with disposable containers/bags as well as a disposable water bottle.

Robotics

This Saturday, the two Glendale Prep Robotics Teams, Unscheduled Disassembly and Metal Masters, will be taking part in their first competition of the season at Gilbert Christian High School between 10 am and 4 pm.  The event consists of matches where two alliances of two robots each will compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge game “Into the Deep”, performing many tasks to score points in 2.5 minute matches.  Come out to support the teams.  The event is free and open to the public.  The matches will be streamed live from this YouTube channel.  Contact Mr. Roper with any questions: broper@glendaleprep.org.

Culture

Last week we began our St. Mary’s holiday food drive. The food drive will go until November 20th. This is a competition between the Houses to see which House can bring in the most food. Now is a great time to empty out those cabinets. The most needed items are peanut butter, canned vegetables and fruit, canned soup, canned protein, rice and beans, cereal, and pasta. Contact Mr. Hayward if you have any questions.

With the colder weather finally here, it’s a perfect time to buy GP spirit wear for our Friday spirit days. Remember that any outerwear with a hood or exterior pockets cannot be worn in the classroom. The link to purchase these items is located here. https://www.gpapo.org/shop/

Save the date for this year’s Epic Cycle! The event will start on November 22nd at 7pm and will end at 7am on November 23rd. Purchase your ticket today on the payment portal! Contact Mrs. Mure or Mr. Hayward if you have any questions.  

College Counseling

November College Rep Visits: All visits are held during lunch and lyceum in Room 706. 9th-12th grade students interested in learning more about these schools are invited to attend. Our upcoming visits are:

• Arizona State University – W. P. Carey School of Business: Tuesday, November 26th, 2024 – 12:15pm – 1:00pm

The Great Hearts College Symposium is an excellent way for Great Hearts families of 10^th and 11^th grade students to explore and interact with multiple colleges in a single event. Admissions representatives will give presentations on essay writing, financial aid, and more on Saturday, March 1st, from 3:15 pm to 6:00 pm. We strongly encourage all 10^th and 11^th grade students attend the Symposium.

This event is held at Scottsdale Preparatory Academy (16537 N. 92nd St., Scottsdale, AZ 85260) and to register, please go to StriveFair.com where you will receive a personalized barcode for entry. All students must wear school uniforms when attending this symposium.

Community College Application Workshop Tuesday, December 10, 2024 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM in Room 706:

This workshop is for students interested in submitting applications to one or more community colleges and who would like application support. Please, RSVP on the College Counseling Bulletin Board.

Athletics

Winter Sports Participation Fee

As rosters are finalized, participation links have been sent out or will be sent out by coaches.  Before a student receives a jersey, they will need to complete the participation fee payment. Links are on the website and below.

https://glendaleprep.configio.com/pd/1943/2024-25-high-school-winter-sports

https://glendaleprep.configio.com/pd/1948/2024-25-middle-school-winter-sports

Game Schedules, Practice Schedules, and Events

The athletics website (https://greatheartsglendaleathletics.org) will have the most up to date information regarding all things schedules (games and practices).

Middle school games will start the week of December 2nd and will be released next week.

High school games begin the week of November 18^th