September_2014 - Tempe Preparatory Academy

Vol. V No. 1 - Wed., Sept. 17, 2014
DE EQUITIBUS
See what
other TPA
students
did this
summer.
Page 4
INSIDE
Football team
sets sights on
winning season.
Page 6
Challenging programs enriched summer for TPA students
By Rachel Neglia
This summer, many TPA students participated in stimulating summer programs.
They successfully navigated the rough
waters of rigorous application processes
with the help of Mrs. Moffitt and other
magnanimous faculty, and a few shared
their intriguing experiences.
Summer programs can enhance the
enjoyment of similar curricular classes
when students get back to school. Claire
Newfeld, a senior, attended the Stanford
Summer Humanities Institute. Over the
course of the program, Claire read two
books — one by Friedrich Nietzsche and
one by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. She met
with a discussion section daily to explore
the literature. At the end of the program,
Claire wrote an essay crystalizing the
themes that were examined. “The program expanded my mind into areas that I
hadn’t really thought about before,” Claire
says. “I’ve been able to bring that new,
open mind to the texts that we’re reading
in Humane Letters this year.” Along with
the academic benefits of the program,
Claire explains that one of her favorite
aspects was “meeting people from all over
the world. A lot of international students
came, and my roommate was even from
New Delhi, India. It was great gaining
different perspectives and learning about
other cultures.”
Renzo Viccina, a senior, was accepted to
the Carnegie Mellon Summer Academy for
Math and Science. Over the six-week program, Renzo took classes and participated
in projects. “This experience definitely
helped me strengthen my calculus skills,
and introduced me to new concepts that
I’m going to learn this year in Calculus
II, so I’ll be better prepared,” says Renzo.
“I also took a physics course that helped
with my overall physics knowledge.” Renzo
also took interest in engineering courses.
“My favorite aspect was that I got to take
computer programming courses, and got
to learn a new computer language
called Python.” Summer programs
like the ones offered by Carnegie
Mellon University allow students
to explore their extracurricular
interests, and, in doing so, bolster
their curricular knowledge with
real-world applications.
Great summer programs exist locally, as well. Jacob Massie, a
sophomore this year, attended the
Summer Transportation Institute at
the ASU polytechnic campus. Jacob
learned about transportation infrastructure. “We went to ADOT (the
Arizona Department of Transportation), Sky Harbor, Valley Metro, fire
stations, and Phoenix Department
of Transportation,” he says. One
aspect that Jacob appreciated was
the college dorm atmosphere that
he stayed in for the week. “It was a
good example of how to live the college life,” he points out.
Chris Moffitt works on some artwork in China. For
Chris Moffitt, a junior, was accept- more summer-program stories, go to
ed into the National Security Lanwww.deequitibus.com
guage Initiative for Youth, which is
sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Chris spent six weeks in the Sichuan of information, get a teacher recommendation, and also get many medical examinaprovince of China with a host family and
tions.” A small amount of work went a
studied Mandarin and Chinese culture.
long way.
“The goal of this program,” Chris says, “is
Chris’s favorite memories of the program
to teach youth what the U.S. Government
were
the “times spent on my Chinese
considers to be the critical languages by
family’s roof garden talking, eating food,
sending them abroad to study… I think
playing games, and singing songs with my
I grew both intellectually and personally
Chinese friends and family. I was able to
through this program. I learned a ton
grow really close with my friends in China
about Chinese culture, and my Mandarin
and I think with the country as a whole.”
language proficiency was definitely greatly
Clearly, summer programs enhance
improved.”
students’ intellects and resumes, and proIt’s no surprise that such a prestigious
vide life experiences, often for very little
program has a rigorous application promoney. Mrs. Moffitt stresses that students
cess, but fortunately, Chris got through
should take advantage of many of the free
it. “The application process was quite
extensive, but I survived it through spread- programs that exist. There are summer experiences for all interests, so contact Mrs.
ing out the work over time. I had to write
Moffitt for more information.
three or four 300-word essays, fill out lots
2
More photos, stories at www.deequitibus.com
Here’s what you’ll find at www.deequitibus.com:
•More sports photos
•Feature story on
TPA student who
built his own
powered bike
•An article that takes you
inside the Teen Court and
explains how you can get
involved
•Did you enjoy reading about students’ interesting summer programs on Page 1? There’s
more! Read about additional fascinating summer programs at www.deequitibus.com and
find out how you can participate.
•Read the best poetry authored by Tempe Prep students
•Delve into the archives and see who was making news in past editions
•Stay current with breaking news before it appears in the print edition
De Equitibus
www.DeEquitibus.com
Co-Editors in Chief
Claire Newfeld, Rachel Neglia
DeEquitibus.com Editor
Rachel Neglia
Sports Editor
Emma Moriarty
Features Editor
Chris Moffitt
Education Editor
Billie Nagy
Staff Writers
Sarah Faulkner, Nina Lin, Sarah
Buchert, Emily Gregg, Sammy Nagy,
Yegor Zenkov, Erin Guiney, Daniela
Ledesma, Ahlias Jones, Clara Moffitt,
Waley Lin
Advisor
Bob Schuster
bschuster@tempeprep.org
The De Equitibus staff meets every Friday
morning at 7:30 in Room 404.
Anyone interested in
participating is invited to attend.
Published by and for
Tempe Preparatory
Academies
Tempe, Arizona
Pick up your 2014
yearbook supplement
By Billie Nagy
We all know that the yearbook is a
great way to remember all of the past
events of a busy year. It includes all
of last year’s spring events, such as
Senior Graduation, 8th grade promotion, Prom, the school play, and sports
pictures.
Co-editor Anne Fisher said that the
supplement was necessary because
“The yearbook was due before any of
the fourth quarter events took place.”
Co-editor Rachel Matsumoto added,
“The supplement will most likely happen again in the future,” so be on the
lookout.
Remember, next time you pass the
office, make sure to pick up this supplement addition to your 2013-14 yearbook.
Also, orders are being taken for the
2014-15 yearbook, which also will
include the year-end supplement. The
pre-order price — $40 — is the same as
last year’s price.
Headmaster launches effort to bring sixth
graders up to TPA’s high standards
By Claire Newfeld
Every public school and school district
in Arizona is evaluated for the A-F Letter
Grade Accountability System and receives
a score of A-F based on the abilities of
the students in reading, language arts,
and mathematics. To assign these scores,
the Arizona Department of Education
evaluates schools’ AIMS Scores (among
other factors) and compares them to other
schools around the state. The system,
according to the Arizona Department of
Education website, is “designed to place
equal value on current year achievement
and longitudinal academic growth, specifically the growth of all students as well as a
school’s lowest achieving students.”
Tempe Prep has been a highly reputable
school since its inception. With highlymotivated students, an outstanding curriculum that spawned the Great Hearts
school system, and passionate educators,
Tempe Preparatory Academy has received A’s every year for its entire 18-year
existence. However, after two consecutive years of receiving A’s, the relatively
new Tempe Preparatory Junior Academy
received a B score for the 2013-14 academic school year. This resulted from the
sixth grade receiving a C grade, while
eighth graders performed consistently with
the high school students and earned an
A, which averaged to an overall B grade
for the junior high. The root of the issue,
according to the score report, is the math
scores.
Dr. David Baum, new headmaster, knows
that this assessment is not consistent with
the school’s abilities. He says that the score
“has got to become an A, because that’s an
accurate representation of what we are.” He
has already begun to institute his plans to
remedy this issue. He plans to target sixth
grade math education specifically, by using
tests at the beginning of the year to discern
which students need a bit of extra help
and developing an extensive math tutoring
program to address students’ shortcomings. The school will then use various assessments throughout the year to monitor
student progress.
What contributed to the B grade TPJA
received? Dr. Baum explains: “We have a
surprise package every sixth grade … if
their preparation isn’t what we’d like it to
be, they probably won’t be able to perform
on standardized tests.” As the eighth grade
received an A, TPJA is obviously doing its
job to prepare students for high school.
“We’ve taken a long view,” says Dr. Baum,
“but we haven’t taken it seriously from
Day 1.” The new math programs he plans
to institute will hopefully boost sixth
grade math levels up to par with Tempe
Prep. Of course, both TPA and TPJA are
still incredible institutions academically,
athletically, and in so many more ways that
the Department of Education can’t slap a
score on.
3
Tempe Prep welcomes nine new teachers
Mrs. Swingle, the new language arts teacher for sixth grade, loves literature and has
taught sixth grade before. She
came to TPA from teaching at
ASU. “I missed being with and
teaching sixth graders,” says
Mrs. Swingle. She is mesmerized by the beauty and power
of words.
Mrs. Swingle has always known about
Tempe Prep. She sent her own children
here and has always been committed to the
school. “I just love the Socratic dialogue
here at TPA,” Mrs. Swingle eagerly explains. It is obvious how much she enjoys
hearing her students’ thoughts and questions about the text. She is delighted to be
part of Tempe Prep and to bring the world
of literature into her students’ minds.
—Clara Moffitt
Mrs. Vorst, the new sixth grade Social
Studies teacher, has been on Tempe Prep
grounds since before it was a
campus! She went to church
in what is now our Zelman
Center. When Mrs. Vorst was
5, she moved to Okinawa, Japan. Years later, she came back
to Arizona to earn her bachelor’s degree
in journalism at ASU. She taught first,
second, and third grade English in Japan
for three years. She also taught ninth and
tenth grade religious studies. We should
thank Mr. Lambros and Mrs. Tripoli for
introducing Mrs. Vorst to TPA. She fell
in love with the emphasis on the Great
Books in class discussion. She is captivated
by history and has loved it all her life. She
feels it is important for children to know
history to understand the world around
them. Welcome to Tempe Prep, Mrs. Vorst!
—Clara Moffitt
One of the many amazing new teachers this year is Mr. Halter. He drives a
motorcycle to work. You can’t
top that, now can you? Mr.
Halter teaches one section of
eighth grade Earth Science,
and all sections of Science
for sixth grade. He hopes to
accomplish much this year. “I have always
liked studying the natural world; the stars,
the weather, and rocks. I hope to give my
students this same love of learning,” he
said. Mr. Halter also commented that one
of the reasons he came to teach here is that
Tempe Prep is one of the best schools in
the state. (He couldn’t be more correct. We
are brilliant, yes?)
—Emily Gregg
Another amazing teacher for junior high
is Mr. Kelly. Although he does not drive a
motorcycle to work, he is very smart, and
almost has his Ph.D. in the Hebrew Bible
(whoa). Mr. Kelly teaches two sections of
eighth grade American History, and will
be teaching tenth grade Humane Letters later in the year.
“Education is important for
creating an informed and productive society,” he says. “I plan
to provide my students with an
exceptional education, unlike
one of my teachers from my childhood.”
When asked why he likes Tempe Prep, Mr.
Kelly said, “I like that people don’t have to
be rich to experience a challenge. And it is
within walking distance of my home.” Such
great reasons! Welcome to Tempe Prep!
—Emily Gregg
Mr. Bernreuter is one of the newest additions to the TPA faculty, and has replaced
Mr. McCluskey in teaching
Physics I and II classes. He
has an infectious enthusiasm
for the subject, and this shows
through his resume; he has
taken part in many projects
regarding physics and the
environment. Mr. Bernreuter’s interest in
physics developed at the undergraduate
level: “When I was 18 years old, after my
stint as a rest area attendant, I packed up
my car and drove to Tucson to attend the
University of Arizona. At first I was not
sure what to major in, but after my first semester Physics class I decided on that.” He
received his master’s degree in Earth Resource Engineering from Columbia University’s Henry Krumb School of Mines.
“I am enjoying the good natured spirit of
students, faculty and staff,” Mr. Bernreuter
details of his experience so far, “We all
must keep seeking that Truth, Beauty and
Goodness.” Welcome, Mr. Bernreuter!
—Rachel Neglia
Mrs. Mathur, who teaches both seventh
and ninth grade life science and biology
classes, was born in the city of Ajmer,
in northern India. Later, she
received her master’s degree in
biochemistry from the University of Ajmer, after which she
began teaching in a professor’s
position. Approximately ten
years ago, Mrs. Mathur moved to Arizona,
where she taught as a private tutor to students ranging from sixth to twelfth grade.
Now teaching junior high and high school
classes for the first time, she hopes that
the experience will be as much a chance
for her to learn as for the students she is
teaching. “Everyone is a student,” she said,
and hopes that this year she will be able
to communicate the new and occasionally difficult concepts she hopes to teach
while simultaneously keeping the students
engaged and excited.
—Sammy Nagy
Mr. Thorpe graduated from TPA in 2006.
When asked why he wanted to come back
to TPA and teach, he said, “I
love teaching teenagers, and
working here seemed like a
great opportunity to keep doing that.” He teaches Latin and
ninth grade Humane Letters,
and is enjoying his experience so far. He is
skilled in languages, having studied Russian and Latin, and he “loves reading a lot
of the literary foundations in the original
language.” Mr. Thorpe taught at Veritas before coming to TPA, and he said, “I really
like the TPA campus. It feels natural. I like
the open air. It has character, rather than a
big, soulless building.”
Over the summer, Mr. Thorpe went on a
5,000-mile road trip with his fiancé and
he loves the outdoors. He plays the piano
and rock climbs in his spare time. He is an
excellent addition to TPA’s faculty.
—Sarah Faulkner
Miss White graduated from
TPA in 2006. This is her first
year teaching. “I knew that
TPA was an environment that I
was familiar with, a curriculum
that I would know the proper
tone of, and a campus I would be comfortable at.” She said, “Teaching is the hardest
thing of my entire life, but it’s rewarding.
I went into teaching because I wanted to
keep doing art. I thought that being an art
teacher I would be able to keep doing art
and with people every day.” In school, Miss
White’s favorite subject was Latin, but she
studied French, and also liked Humane
Letters. She enjoyed getting into schisms in
class over the books. She likes to do table
top gaming, specifically Dungeons and
Dragons, and she enjoys calligraphy. She is
a thrilling addition to TPA’s staff.
—Sarah Faulkner
Mrs. Horn is a new sixth
grade Math and Homeroom
teacher. She was born in
Orange, California. She moved
to Arizona in 1993 and went
to ASU for college because she
thought that it was a great institution, and
wanted a change from California. After
college she married Mike Horn. They had
two children named Casey, who is now 11,
and Allison, who is now 7. She taught in
Vista Grande, New Mexico, for two years
and at Ward Traditional Academy for
five years. She has a miniature Schnauzer,
named Charley, as a pet. She wants to travel to Europe someday. She likes to watch
baseball and play tennis. This summer she
went to Colorado and California.
She likes to teach kids because she likes
their eagerness and energy. She is a really
amazing teacher!
—Waley Lin
4
TPA families enjoyed variety of summer outings
By Nina Lin
From summer programs to trips abroad,
community service to hanging with
friends, the students and teachers at TPA
had very exciting summers!
James Atkinson, 6A
My family and I traveled to a lot of places
over the summer. I went hiking in northwest Arizona. I visited the Indian ruins
and Havasupai where we went hiking and
camping. I also went to Mason Camp at
Christopher Creek. My favorite moment
was seeing the pine tree house.
Monserrat
Larios, 6C
I went to
Mexico to
visit my
family. We
went on a
boat ride at
the lake for
my dad’s
birthday, and we also went to Flagstaff. I
went to Guanajuato, Mexico where I saw a
wide green land and a huge pyramid called
Guachimontones.
Bree Van Dahm, 6B
I went with my family to Alaska where
we saw glaciers. I also went dog riding in
Canada.
Gloria Grama, 6B
My family and I went to the National
Monument in Washington, D.C., in front
of the Lincoln Memorial. We also went to
the World War II Memorial and museums.
It was exciting to see it up close.
Sierra Smith, 6B
I went to Disneyland with my family. I
had so much fun there. We had an amazing time going on all the rides together.
This is one of my favorite vacations! My
favorite ride was Toy Story Mania. The
most memorable moment there was my
grandma going on The Tower of Terror
and loving it!
Natsuki Saballos, 7A
I went to Camp Geronimo, a scout camp,
in Payson with my friends. I had a lot of
fun and I played lots of video games. The
most memorable thing was being with my
family.
Preston Smith, 7C
I went on a three-week tour with the
Phoenix Boys’ Choir. It was an excellent
opportunity to see the northwest of our
country. We went to Utah and got to ride
the Alpine slide. Then we went through
Idaho and finally Oregon. That’s where we
sang at Piccfest where choirs from outside
the country sing together.
Gabriella Troglia, 7A
I went to Colorado and Mexico with my
cousins. My favorite memory is when my
cousins and I went to the beach and ran
around. It was special because I hardly see
them.
Ashleigh Duplissis, 7B
I went to Maine and had a blast! We went
there to celebrate my birthday and to see
my family. I can’t wait to go back!
Anna Moriarty, 7A
I went to Montana to celebrate my birthday. We ate a lot of food.
Lily Welter, 7A
Over this summer, I went on a Disney
cruise and celebrated my birthday. And I
went to the mall a million times with my
friend, Anna.
Mitchell Rines, 8C
I went to TPA Junior High Football Camp
where we practiced extensively to win
games this year. One of my favorite moments there is when one of the football
players “accidentally” ripped off the coach’s
sleeve and he said, “My wife doesn’t let me
wear sleeveless shirts.”
Sammy Nagy, 9C
I traveled to Paris and
went sightseeing. I went
to the U of A engineering camp. I learned
how to design with
CAD (computer aideddesign) and used it to
make cool creations.
That was the bomb!
Cameron Pickard, 9B; Ahmad Jones, 9A;
Trevor Kerber, 9B
We went to Santa Monica Beach. Then we
went Universal
Studios where
we rode on the
ride called The
Mummy. We love
that ride. It was
fast and scary at
the same time.
Later, we went to
the Hollywood
Boulevard where
we saw many
buildings and a lot of scenery.
Alayna Issacs, 10A
I went to horse camp where cowboy
campers had rodeos. My horse, Disco, had
been doing very well when we came to the
goat tying event. During the event, I was
fast jogging with my horse and fell off my
horse and then face planted on my face ...
ow. I got bruises on my knee and scraped
my hand. Luckily, I got up and finished the
event in second place.
Emily Cleveland, 11C
I went to my parents’ school, The Awaking
Seed School. I interned with 1-year-olds.
I have interned there for the past seven
years! I help the teachers with everyday
tasks including washing tables, helping
kids, reading books to them, etc. It’s a really fun way to get volunteering hours.
Bronson Stephens, 11B
I worked at Boy Scout Camp Geronimo
at the climbing tower. I also got to rappel
into a river. Then I went to Minnesota for a
week to see my mom.
Nina Lin, 11A
I went to the Phoenix Zoo for the first
time. My younger
brother, Waley, took
about 300 photos of
the animals because
he wanted to make
a photo album. My
favorite moment was seeing the elephant.
It was too far away to take a picture, but I
took a photo with an actual size elephant!
Noah Lewis, 11C
A lot of family came down from the East.
I went to Colorado Springs to visit my
grandmother. I spent my rest of summer in
the Air Force Academy.
Quinn Collins, 11B
I was a teacher’s assistant for a week for
sixth and seventh grade Math at TPA.
Then I went to San Diego to do an engineering camp for three weeks.
Connor Will, 11B
I went to San Diego, CA, and drove to the
coast of California, watching movies endlessly.
Anne Fischer, 12C
I went to Arizona Girls State, a program
for junior girls. We practice running the
government for one week. I was the City
Counselor, City Candidate Woman, and
City Supreme Court. I also did the Constitution Academy and The Bill of Rights
Academy Programs where we learned
history and literature just like in Humane
Letters.
Yegor Zenkov, 12B
I went to Russia to visit my grandmother.
She owns a “Dacha” (a cabin that has a
farm in the backyard). I also went to visit
my cousins and other family members
there.
Teachers
Dr. Cardoso
My family went
to Mexico City,
Querétaro, San Juan
del Rio, Teatihuacan
(ancient pre-Hispanic city), etc. The last
place is my favorite
place. It’s a place
where there is a huge city about 2000 years
old and a big pyramid.
Mrs. Tobin
I went to Kauai, Hawaii, for a couple of
weeks. I went hiking, swimming, and
snorkeling in Alakai Swamp, which is the
best thing I’ve ever done during summer.
I went to Montana and then went home to
Arizona.
Bigger Cantamus preparing to make beautiful music
By Daniela Ladesma
“Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So....” If you’ve
been hearing these notes sung
with piano accompaniment
from the Zelman Center on
Tuesday and Thursday mornings, it’s most likely because
Cantamus has begun another
year!
This year marks a significant
milestone in Cantamus’s history. First, with a total of 48
members, it is the largest choir
that Dr. Wolfe has ever directed
in all his years of leading the
program. Additionally, it is the
first year that Dr. Wolfe made
the decision to not hold the
“traditional” audition where
a student performs a solo onstage in the
Zelman Center in front of the choir, but
rather to just execute a range check.
When I sat down to discuss this with Dr.
Wolfe, he explained to me that while he
understands the benefits of having the audition, he had come up with an alternative
that would serve as an ongoing investment
for the year: part checks. “Part checks,” Dr.
Wolfe explained, “will ensure the memorization of songs, and make students ac-
countable for learning their music.” These
part checks will be occurring every week
and confirm that students have learned
their repertoire and are able to sing the
correct pitches and rhythms.
Junior Erin Guiney believes that “part
checks are a great addition to Cantamus,
and will increase the motivation that
members have to do well.” Junior Nasrynn Chowdhury agrees, saying that “they
will be an effective way to check that all
Cantamus participants know their parts.”
5
Ultimately, Cantamus requires great commitment from its members as they will be
tackling difficult repertoire pieces this year,
and Dr. Wolfe believes there is “a sense of
high morale among the Cantamus community arising out of these part checks.
Together, we hope to make some beautiful
music this year as a choir.”
The first Cantamus concert will be a Performing Arts Fundraiser, taking place on
Nov. 22. Good luck, Cantamus! Here’s to
another great year!
New a cappella group working hard ahead of competition
By Erin Guiney
A cappella has Pitch Perfect to thank for
its integration into the mainstream. The
2012 musical comedy follows an all-female
a cappella group’s journey to the ICCAs,
or International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. Though this movie was
fictional, the ICCAs aren’t.
In fact, nine TPA students have put
together their own a cappella group, with
plans to compete in the high-school level
ICCAs. PJ Carmody, the group’s primary
tenor and one of the founding members,
said that he decided to join because “My
friends and I love to sing. What better way
to display our talents than to create an a
cappella group — a group that uses only
our voices as instruments?”
The currently unnamed group, made up
of sophomores and juniors, has their first
official performance in November, during
the Performing Arts Fundraising Concert.
“I am delighted that students have taken
the initiative to learn and perform beautiful a cappella music!” Dr. Wolfe says. “I
look forward to hearing them.”
The group mixes modern pop songs with
songs that were popular in the 60s and 70s,
and are currently working on one of their
audition mashups, which includes Set Fire
To the Rain by Adele, and Danny Boy, an
Irish folk song that was sung by Cantamus
last year. To enter the competition, they
need to send in a 9-15 minute audition
tape of their mashups, and then the judges
will select the top a cappella groups in Arizona to advance to the regional competition in early January. The group’s goal is to
make it to the final round, where they will
be competing with the top 10 high school a
cappella groups in the nation. The ICHSA
Finals will be held on April 17 in New York
City.
Nasrynn Chowdhury, another of the
group’s founding members, says, “I’ve
always loved singing and when Erin told
me that the Pitch Perfect competition
was real and that if you were in the top,
you’d be able to perform in New York, I
was ecstatic. This sounds really nerdy, but
there’s this tingly feeling you get when
you’re singing in perfect harmonies with
your friends.”
Currently, the a cappella group practices
every Tuesday and Thursday after school,
and occasionally during high school lunch.
Any high school tenor or bass is welcome
to audition for the group. Talk to Nasrynn
Chowdhury for information or come by
the Spanish room after school.
6
Knights on a roll after tough season opener
By Emma Moriarty
On Aug. 29, the TPA varsity football team
played their very first game of the season.
The first kick-off of this game not only
began the new season, but also evoked a
strong sense of optimism among all of the
team members. To quote Cameron Burgin,
“This season is going to be our season! We
have an amazing team with great talent
and equally amazing coaches that will help
us all make it as far as we can go.”
So far, the team has been following this
prediction quite well. Though the start
may have been a little bit rocky, with a loss
to Yuma, the Knights have prevailed and
have won the last two games, which took
place on Sept. 5 and Sept. 12.
The season started off with a game
against the highest-ranked team in all of
Division V, Yuma Catholic. Although it
was a tough loss, 56-27, the team did not
let it deter them and continue to train hard
and practice diligently.
On Sept. 5, Tempe Prep played against
the Show Low team and won 30-22.
Through great strength and perseverance,
TPA made a 23-point comeback after the
halftime break and proceeded to improve
the season record making it 1-1.
The following week’s win was a bit more
difficult to achieve, for during the game
Christian Gaylor was injured when an opposing defender landed on his neck after a
fall. Christian had also hit his head earlier
during a kick-off but continued playing.
After he was rushed off to the hospital,
the team was greatly motivated to win the
game for him and did just that.
Northwest Christian was the first to
score during the first quarter when they
Zach Brittain dives into the end zone during the season opener with Yuma Catholic.
More photos at www.deequitibus.com
made a field goal, making the score 0-3.
Though with only a few seconds of the
quarter left, Zach Brittain blocked another
field-goal attempt which therefore put the
Knights in the lead with a score of 6-3.
With one minute left in the game, Tempe
Prep scored on a 3-yard run which left us
with the winning score of 19-18.
Coach Brittain told us on Sunday that
“[Christian] got home from the hospital last night and all the tests he had to
undergo seem to suggest that there is no
Jake Hartzler runs the ball back more than 80 yards for the
touchdown on a kickoff return against Yuma Catholic.
serious permanent damage and he should
make a full recovery and be back playing
for the Knights soon.”
Especially with the results from the last
two games, all of the team members have
the same positive outlook as Cameron
Burgin. Gabe LeBaeu says, “This year’s
team is our best team ever. We lost two key
running-backs, but have some great stepups. I can tell that this season will be one
of our best so far!”
Dan Hiser moves the ball in heavy traffic during the Yuma game.
Swimmers perfect strokes as they gain speed
By Emma Moriarty
HEY, let’s go jump into freezing cold
water before the sun rises every morning!!! —No one ever. Well maybe not no
one. Maria Zello, a proud member of the
Tempe Prep High School swim team, says
that she joined swim because “I love getting up early every morning and jumping
into water for fun! Also my friend Rebekah
Smaw is doing it too.”
Jacob Massie had a similar answer, as he
stated, “I joined swim because Maria Zello
is also on the team.” While Rebekah Smaw
said, “I decided to join the swim team
because Jacob Massie is doing it.” Practices
must be fun with this swimming trio!
PJ Carmody, on the other hand, joined
swim “for the experience of swimming
competitively and how this particular
sport is very engaging and difficult, but
builds your endurance. It is one of the best
sports to help you stay fit and healthy.”
The team’s endurance surely showed
off on Thursday, Sept. 9, when the boys’
team got 72 points in their first meet and
the girls earned a total of 101. Each team
member has a few strokes and distances
that they specially practice and compete in
during the meets.
Maria Zello’s favorite stroke is the butterfly — slang “fly,” she says. “I love swimming butterfly because of the elegant way
it is portrayed and how it makes you look
as you swim down the lane.”
Jacob Massie says, “I like breaststroke because it makes me look like a frog!” There
is a wise piece of advice we can conclude
from this message: everything is more fun
when you look like a frog.
The season has just begun, and many
people are looking forward to various
things about the season to come. Gaby
Urias says, “I am looking forward to
improving my overall time and swimming
my best at all of the meets we will compete in.” Rebekah Smaw shares the same
positive attitude, as she states, “I am really
looking forward to the state meet. I know I
will have improved a lot by then, and I will
also beat Massie.” Jacob Massie responds,
“I am excited for the meets. I am confident
I will be the best and maybe even better
than Rebekah.” Confidence is key, especially in such a difficult and grueling sport.
Jeffrey Snoddy shares that he is anticipating the division 2 state qualification round,
and is shooting to win the 100 butterfly.
Finally, the team members were asked to
share their favorite memories or favorite parts of being on the swim team. PJ
Katherine Riffle surges through the water
in the butterfly leg of the medley relay.
7
Jeffrey Snoddy powers through the breaststroke leg of the medley relay. More photos
at www.deequitibus.com
Carmody recalls, “One time right before
a meet began I accidently jumped into
the pool a few seconds before we started
swimming and everyone had to stop and
go back to their positions and wait for me
to get out. It was pretty embarrassing, but
also pretty hilarious!” It is great to hear
others’ stories so that when one messes up,
they do not feel as unaccomplished and
may even have the chance to laugh.
Jeffrey says that one of his favorite parts
of swim is the “Friday breakfast burritos”
which the whole team enjoys together on
the last day of the swim week. Through
difficult workouts, funny memories, and
delicious food, the swim team has bonded
and grown to be proud TPA champions no
matter what stroke, time, or number they
place.
Junior High football team working hard to pull off solid season
By Ahlias Jones
This is the third year that TPA has had a
Junior High football team and this season
should be better than most. The last two
seasons have not been the best, but Coach
Chris Kartchner says that we have a
fantastic chance for a great season. Along
with what Coach Kartchner said, Cannon
Dayvion Sumpter runs the ball.
Kartchner, first string quarterback and
cornerback, and Andrew Milek, tailback,
both agree that we are a better team then
we were last year. This year is Coach Kartchner’s second year coaching the Junior
High football team, and before him it was
Coach Waite.
On Saturday, Sept. 6, the JH football team
Photo by Ahlias Jones
played Joy Christian at Scottsdale Christian. Although they lost the game 22-8, the
game was not a waste of time. During the
first quarter Dayvion Sumpter made the
first touchdown of the season, and Travis
Lee stopped the other team from catching
passes. Now let’s not forget the team quarterback, Cannon Kartchner, who played
for the whole game, along with many other
players as well. The next game is on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m., versus Pusch Ridge
at Arizona Lutheran Academy.
Coach Kartchner told me he began
coaching at TPA so he could be a part of
the TPA community. I asked Cannon why
he played football and he told me he plays
because he enjoys the sport… and its fun. I
also asked Andrew why he joined the football team and he said because it’s fun and
he likes to be with the teammates. All of
their answers are different, yet they all are
good answers. That is why they are such an
amazing team, and why they have a great
chance of winning more games this season.
8
Boys State
Congressional Award medals go to 3 students
provides taste
of politics
By Yegor Zenkov
Last summer, Hanley Carter
and I were nominated to go to
Boys State. After dropping our
bags off at the NAU dorms, we
were each assigned to a city and
a political party. Twenty people
were grouped into each city,
and three cites would make up
a county.
The next few days passed in
a blur of assemblies and city
meetings until the political
platforms were set up and elections were set to begin. Boys
State elections run from local
to state, meaning that the fire
marshal, police chief and mayor for each city were chosen on
the first day, county positions
would open up during the next
few days, and so on. Elections
were happening constantly,
allowing anyone to jump in and
run for a position. This proved
extremely valuable because it
gave me a feel for what works
and what doesn’t.
I was set on becoming a
Supreme Court Justice. When
I lost two elections in a row,
I had to rethink my entire
campaign strategy. I went on to
get the most votes for Supreme
Court Justice, but I know I
couldn’t have gotten any support without learning from my
initial losses.
As illuminating as the campaign was, the most enjoyable
part of the whole experience
was actually serving in the positions that we had worked so
hard to earn. You didn’t have to
be elected to high office to have
a full experience at Boys State.
The program taught me that
every place in government is
created equal, with every position as impactful as the next.
Thankfully, in between all of
the governing, prosecuting, and
campaigning, we were given
just enough time to get to know
our city and our counselors,
who were absolutely spectacular. Boys State turned out to be
an eye-opening experience, and
I hope that more of our students will choose to experience
what we did.
From left: Jacob Massie, Congresswoman Sinema, Sophia Toomb and Rachel Matsumoto
By Yegor Zenkov
TPA students Rachel Matsumoto, Sophia
Toomb, and Jacob Massie each were presented
a Congressional Award medal by U.S. Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema at a ceremony
on the Tempe Prep campus. Rachel, a senior,
was awarded the Silver Medal for serving
more than 200 hours with community service
organizations like Family Promise, a shelter
for homeless families. She also completed 100
hours of personal development and physical fitness. Her takeaway was that “working
together as part of a team is a valuable lesson.”
Sophia and Jacob each completed 100 community service hours and 50 hours of fitness and
personal development, and both planned an
overnight expedition.
Changes in administration are intended
to sharpen curriculum and dress code
By Sarah Buchert
This year we have some changes in the TPA
administration. Mr. Veenstra, who was interim
headmaster last year, is now provost to the headmaster, which means he will now be overseeing
the teaching instruction at TPA. The provost
position has been around for over two years,
beginning when the 400 building was being
renovated, and the junior high was temporarily moved to the Meyer campus. At the Meyer
campus, Mr. Bergez took on the role of provost,
as he took charge of the campus whenever our
previous headmaster, Mr. Halman, was unavailable. “Essentially, this is how the role has
continued,” said Mr. Veenstra, “but presently, it
is starting to focus more on education.” Despite
the responsibilities provost entails, Mr. Veenstra
still teaches Greek 1 and Greek 2.
Mr. Atkinson has taken up the new position of
assistant provost and helps Mr. Veenstra in the
oversight of the curriculum and instruction. It
is beneficial to the students because it gives the
teachers more support in delivering the material
and knowing what the curriculum is, said Mr.
Atkinson. He teaches a full schedule and when
he is not teaching, he spends his time assisting Mr. Veenstra. Mr. Veenstra, Dr. Baum, and
Mr. Atkinson look at different elements of the
curriculum to see if it is being delivered well. “It
is not just content and what books or what material we are covering,” says Mr. Atkinson, “but
also the pedigree of how it is being delivered.”
Humane letters has been going through a slow
change in the books each grade reads. Ninth
through eleventh grade is now historical and
twelfth grade is a capstone.
Last year Mr. Keating was dean of students
for only junior high and Mr. Atkinson was the
dean of students for high school. This year Mr.
Keating has stepped up and taken on the role of
dean of students for junior high and high school
students. With the change in leadership for dean
of students, changes to the dress code have been
made and implemented. Over the summer Mr.
Atkinson, Mr. Veenstra, and Mr. Keating refined
the dress code and took out some ambiguous language. “The real changes that you are
going to see,” said Mr. Keating, “are during the
winter months. We have hammered out exactly
the types of outerwear that are acceptable on
campus during the cold months. It is going to
be quite a shock.” When the winter months do
arrive, a teacher or Mr. Keating will remind each
class of the changes. Being dean of students for
all of TPA impacts his teaching schedule; he now
teaches what he originally loved as a teacher,
mathematics, to two sections of eighth grade.
Mr. Keating tells us that, “the dean of students
position is going to mostly be run the same way
as last year. So unless you get in trouble you will
never know the changes.”