December Review

In the month of November there were multiple events. First the high school volleyball girls team made it to state and sadly lost their first game. It was their first appearance in 16 years. The next event was a pep rally held by student council for the start of basketball season. The school grouped up in their grades and participated in some very competitive games. It was a very memorable hour well spent. A couple days later on the 16th, student council held a volleyball tournament fundraiser for the community. 8 teams participated, the team Spike League took first place, High Altitude took second place, and Pop Up Blockers took third place. This whole month of November the art classes have been participating in an ornament to Washington D.C contest. Madelinsky Anthony and Gema Torres Maldonado left on December 2nd to head to Washington D.C to represent our school and the ornaments that were sent. When they come back we hope to see many pictures and fun stories about their week in D.C. The Thursday before Thanksgiving break students were sad to hear there was no annual Turkey Trot due to the very snowy weather. However, there was still a feast prepared by culinary students and kitchen staff. It was a success for sure! On Thursday afternoon, the Native American Dancers danced for the whole school in the gym. We had multiple students and community members dancing some of those students were Craig Wadsworth, Keinan and Elinina Nanacasia, Cayli Miles, Anlylian Moquino, Savannah and Jasmine Longhoma, Zachary Lucapa, Caitlyn Jensen, Maria and Xavier Dugi, and Caius Kenedy. They also had many elementary students participate. It was fun to watch and appreciate the month of November, Native American Heritage Month. In conclusion, the month of November was busy but was enjoyable. Now we must welcome the month of December, start to listen to Christmas songs, and prepare for Christmas joy.

October Review

We had a very busy and productive month of October here at the Grand Canyon School.

Starting with Astronomy night held at the school on October 3rd organized by Ms. Alvarez and Mr. Pearce. The community came to experience the spectacular views of the universe. The Middle School Halloween dance was held on October 17th in Ms. Alvarez’s class room located in room 501. This event was a fundraiser for the Class of 2024. Everyone had a ghoulish time! Fall break was the week of October 7^th which gave us time to regroup. We were able to spend time with our families and most of all, sleep in! When we returned from fall break on Monday October 14th it was time to celebrate Indigenous People's Day. As a school, we came together to honor past and present native communities. This is a rich culture here at the Grand Canyon and I’m thankful it is respectfully honored. We recognized our High School seniors in their last home soccer game against Rancho Solano Prep from Scottsdale, AZ on October 19^th. Seven seniors were acknowledged for their longevity and contribution to the team. It was a great win 7-2. It meant a lot to have our families and friends watching and cheering us on. We finished the night off with an annual bonfire which provided food, fun, laughter, and music sponsored by the Grand Canyon Booster Club. Parent Teacher Conferences that was held on October 23^rd. This was a great opportunity to meet the new teachers and feel more connected to the school. It was College fair time again in Flagstaff. On October 24^th we had 45 students that traveled to Flagstaff. This is a great opportunity for students and parents to gather a lot of information from a number of colleges, universities and military services in one place. Five High School volleyball seniors were honored before their last home game on October 26^th. The Lady Phantoms played against the Mogollon Mustangs. The seniors were presented with gifts, posters and flowers and joined on the court with their family members. Shortly after the volleyball game we went over to the annual Halloween carnival held in the school MPR. This event is a longstanding tradition here at the Grand Canyon that the community looks forward to. This was the spookiest fun-filled fundraiser of the year for the High School Student Council, Classes, Clubs and local organizations. The elementary students attended the annual Halloween costume parade on October 31st. Each class walked through the middle and high school classrooms to show off their costumes. After the parade, the students returned to their classrooms for a spooktacular good time.

Students Strike for Climate

Another event that occurred during the month of September was the climate strike on Friday, September 20, 2019, when millions of youth all over the world struck for climate action. The protest began on Friday in Australia. 300,000 young people in Melbourne, Sydney skipped school and took to the streets to protest climate change, along with students from 150 other countries. The marches demanded clean energy instead of using fossil fuels curbing from deforestation, protecting the world’s oceans, and embracing sustainable agriculture. Germany planned up to 500 different events to mark this strike. The country felt they must finalize the new climate protection package during a meeting on Friday.

The strikes were planned mostly by teenagers themselves. New York and Boston public schools granted permission to students to skip school to support the strikes. Many students even got a doctor’s notes that allowed them to miss school due to the climate strike crisis. Surprisingly, there are a few students at the age of 16 or even younger that are becoming climate activists. Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, Mari Copeny, Artemisa Xakriabá, and Ridhima Pandey are only a few of the students that are speaking out towards the enviroment. Thunberg and Xakriabá focusses on climate crisis, Peltier and Copeny are advocating on protecting water, and Pandey is working on reducing the pollutents in our enviroment.

For more information on these young ladies please visit: https://www.fastcompany.com/90409156/if-greta-thunberg-inspires-you-youll-love-these-5-teen-climate-activists-too

Grand Canyon had its own tiny bit of climate change activism with its annual Walk to School Day on September 5th. Even bused-in students had the option to meet their classmates and teachers at the clinic and walk the greenway to school!

School Of Rock, August, 2019

School of Rock is a week-long extracurricular experience that includes learning how to play an instrument. It’s a fun activity to do while you are in middle and high school. Grand Canyon’s School of Rock participation and performance was during the last week of August. Some middle and high school students joined the band for a performance for the school and at the Shrine of Ages. The students stayed after school for three days and somehow, some way, managed to put it all together for a performance on the fourth day. Some students played instruments and some did vocals. Steve and Joe were our teachers and showed us how to play the songs we chose to perform. The songs we sang were “All Star,” “So What,” and some other ones. They are good teachers, and I’m glad to say that they know how to put a show together.