Dear Parents:
I look forward to seeing all of you at the CHAPTown Love fundraiser on Thursday, April 24th from 5:30-8:30 at Downside Risk in Scottsdale. This is a chance to gather together as a community to support Chaparral. All funds from CHAPTS are used directly for our school, students, and staff. With your assistance, this year alone, CHAPTS has provided $25,000 for staff development, funded extra hours for attendance and library aides, purchased magazine subscriptions for departments, bought class sets of novels for English classes and updated AP study guides for Calculus, and spent thousands of dollars on security cameras installed both inside and on the perimeter of our campus (more about that later in this letter!). There will be live music and a silent auction, along with food and fun. I hope you can join us for a great evening for Chaparral. Bring your friends, too!
The newly refurbished weight room is now open for business! A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the grand opening. Thank you to Friends of the Firebirds who worked hard to raise funds for this project, to the AZ Sports and Tourism Authority for the grant, and to our coaches for contributing funds. Check out the awesome Firebird painted by Chap seniors Nick Erickson and Molly Gildersleeve on the wall of the cardio room.
We are almost halfway through the 4th quarter of this school year and our activities and athletic competitions are in full swing. Seniors are looking forward to graduation, which is good, but we continue to remind them they must pass classes; to pass classes they need to come to school. "Miss 10, Do It Again," is a reality. You can help us by emphasizing this at home, as well. Graduation information meetings for parents of seniors will be held April 28 and 29 at 5 pm in the cafeteria. You need to attend only one of those two meetings. Graduation tickets will be available at both of those meetings and in the bookstore beginning May 1.
"A Night in Black and White Prom" is this Saturday, April 12 from 8-11 pm at Sandra Day O'Conner Courthouse in Phoenix. We ask that students arrive at the Courthouse by 9 pm. I have explained to our students on Firebird Word that the Courthouse has its own security staff; we will also have our security and Officer Bingham and two other SPD officers. The Courthouse security has informed us that if a student is identified as being under the influence or in possession, he/she will be turned over to Phoenix PD. The SUSD Code of Conduct also has consequences for seniors which include the loss of Senior Breakfast and parent chaperoning/transporting to and from ASU's Wells Fargo Arena for the graduation ceremony. Please speak with your teen to ensure he/she follows the rules so that we all can have an enjoyable time at the Prom. Many thanks to the junior class officers and their sponsors, Mrs. Moshofsky and Madame Moore for their hours and hours of hard work.
We had a very fun spring sports assembly. The assembly opened with a rousing rendition of our national anthem sung by Conner, followed by a heartfelt speech from Lindsay encouraging students to "Spread the Word to End the Word." A school-wide effort to focus on respect, sponsored by Best Buddies, is ongoing. The assembly started and ended on a positive note...well, the teachers could have won the dodgeball match against the student team, but not this year. Maybe next year!
Dr. Peterson will visit Chaparral on Wed., April 9 from 2-4 in our office conference room. He will be back the following week, April 16 from 6-8 pm in our library. You are welcome to come by to ask questions/make suggestions/comments.
Unitown representatives organized the showing of the documentary "Bully," following spring break. They wrote questions for discussions in each class and provided ideas to eliminate bullying on all levels, including cyberbullying. The feedback was outstandingly positive from students and staff. We will follow up with an assembly for our frosh, led by notMykid, about bullying. This is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8th after frosh take the Stanford 10 test.
Choir will present their pop concert on April 24,; performing arts will perform "Take Her, She's Mine," April 30-May 2; band concert on May 6, and orchestra concert on May 8.
So far, Class of 2014 seniors have received acceptance letters to almost 100 colleges and universities across the United States. Check with Mrs. Tammy Anderson, Career Center Coordinator, for updated information about colleges and scholarship information.
Congratulations to Mrs. SueAnn Spahr, chosen as Chaparral's Teacher of the Year for Charros. Ali Gilliland and Eric Peskin were named as Outstanding Seniors for Charros. They will be recognized for their accomplishments at the end of April. Congratulations!
Congratulations to our orchestra who earned a silver rating (top 20% of groups nationwide) at the Forum Festival in Anaheim, CA. The cello section also received the award for Outstanding Musicianship. Congratulations to orchestra members and Dr. Harrah.
Congratulations to Heidi Artigue and Anita Ramaswamy who qualified for the national Speech and Debate finals in public forum debate. The national contest is in June in Kansas City. Congratulations to the girls and their coach, Mrs. Andreatos.
Congratulations to Robotics who just returned from their competition in Las Vegas. Our team made an excellent showing in the FRC Las Vegas Regional, placing into the second round of the Semi-finals. Chaparral, Saguaro, and Arcadia were all in attendance and supported each other throughout the competition. Congratulations to team members and their coach, Mr. Jordan, and to Ms. Palatucci for accompanying the group as a chaperone.
Congratulations to those selected to represent Chaparral at Girls State and Boys State in June. Girls State delegates are Nina Kravetz, Anita Ramaswamy, Ellie Dries with alternates Sarah Rimza, Megan Mann and Olivia Hamilton. Boys State delegates are Preston Wiley, Cameron McAllilster, Arshan Barzani with alternate Andrew Stachel.
Congratulations to the 2014 Scholastic Writing Awards winners. We have an outstanding number of young authors!
Gold Key works - Vy Doan, Tal Eitan, Nick Adams
Silver Key works - Max Bartlett, Darci Botsch, Tori Cejka, Alex Elbert, Emily Horton, Connor Jennison, Evelyn Karis, Jordyn Ochsser, Maci Segal
Honorable Mentions - Max Bartlett, Nate Brooks, Natalie Cravens, Julia Liang. Thank you to Mrs. Marsh, Mr. Hammond, and Mr. Davis for encouraging their students to enter this contest.
Congratulations to Dr. Mary Harrah, Chaparral Orchestra and Russian teacher. Dr. Harrah was selected to participate in the Fulbright-Hayes Workshops in Moscow, Russia, in June. Congratulations to Mrs. Chris Marsh, English teacher, who was one of two SUSD teachers selected to participate in the national Teacher Leadership Initiative. Mrs. Marsh was one of 150 teachers chosen for a pilot program to develop a new generation of leaders within the teaching profession. Congratulations to Mrs. Twyla Preising, APUSH and American History Honors teacher, who was chosen as President-Elect for Arizona Alpha Delta Kappa, International Sorority for Women Educators. She will serve on the state board and be an ambassador for the state of AZ and vocal proponent of education and teachers. Congratulations to Science teachers Mrs. Ann Hammersly and Mrs. Jenn MacColl who just returned from the National Science Teachers Convention in Boston; both teachers were selected to give scientific presentations at this national convention. Congratulations to Science teacher Mrs. Angie Berk who completed a three-week course in science teaching method called modeling instruction at ASU. Eight of our teachers, Mrs. Kitty Beder, Mrs. Lori Jordan, Mrs. Chris Marsh, Mr. Scott Hammond, Mrs. Andrea Danis, Mr. David Gonzales, Mrs. Carolyn Herring, and Mr. Jason Speirs attended the 31st Annual Effective Schools conference in March. They will share what they have learned with our faculty.
These are just a few examples of the continued educational and leadership opportunities Chaparral teachers accomplish, in addition to their daily teaching assignments. They work hard to continue to be prepared to do the best for our students.
And speaking of security cameras which CHAPTS and you so generously provided: many of you probably heard of the two thefts on our campus within a week. After school was dismissed for the day, not during the school day as reported by the AZ Republic, a man entered a locker room and stole cell phones, watches and cash from unlocked lockers. He was caught on video by our security cameras. Officer Bingham sent the video photo out to police departments Valley-wide and heard back quickly that this same alleged thief had been arrested for similar crimes in their city. He returned to Chaparral a few days later, and again, identified by security cameras, police were able to arrest the alleged thief and recover some stolen items. Another incident involving thefts from district trucks was solved when security cameras caught their images, and once forwarded to police departments, these alleged thieves were arrested and our equipment was returned, including Mrs. Spahr's pink drill! So thank you, thank you, for the security cameras!
I am thankful for your continued support and trust and for allowing us to educate and be a part of your child's life. Check our website for updated information. Please call or email me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Gayle Holland
Principal, Chaparral High School
480-484-6500
gholland@susd.org
A+ School of Excellence Award
