Canyon Families,

It's hard to believe we are already into October. Before we know it, the first grading quarter will be over. September was a busy month! Between athletics, club carnival, welcome back dance and many other activities, there was a lot going on. October looks to be even busier as we will see the first performances from some of our Performing Arts groups as well as PSAT/SAT testing day along with Homecoming Week. Please read below to see the highlights from September as well as a preview of just some of the things that will be happening in October. In a monthly newsletter, I can only cover just a few of the great things that are happening and new events often get added to the calendar after I send this out. We have an online daily bulletin that you can view and is updated daily. The link is below.

Brent McKee
Principal

We held our annual Back to School Night on Wednesday, September 18th. Parents had the opportunity to follow their students schedule, meet their student's teachers and hear about all of the exciting things that will be happening in their student's classes this year.

On Friday, September 13th, Canyon students had the opportunity to attend our first dance of the year. Although it's known as the Welcome Back Dance, our students call it WARP. Dressed in bright neon colors, over 1100 students attended the three hour dance sponsored by our ASB. In addition to dancing, students could also have their face painted, play video games and enjoy a full beverage service. I think it is safe to say that all who attended had a great time!

Our Annual Club Carnival was held over two days at lunch, Thursday, September 26th and Friday, September 27th. This year students had over 120 clubs to choose from! We have clubs that are just for fun such as the 52 Card Club, Game Development Club and the Food Tasting Club. Others are about service such as Key Club, Trade Toys and Helping the Homeless Club. There are also clubs that celebrate the diversity of Canyon High School and focus on cultures and religions.

We also have educational clubs. One of the educational clubs that is new this year is the MedEd Club. They are dedicated to providing accessible education and resources for high school students aspiring to careers in medicine, with a special focus on supporting underfunded communities. They organize monthly zoom sessions with medical professionals and pre-med students from top universities, and publish student-written articles on their blog.

Regardless of your student's interest, there is a club for them! This is a great way for students to get connected to CHS. It is not too late for students to join a club. To get information on the many clubs available, they can go to the student center.

During lunch over the week of September 16th, the ASB held a Spike Ball Tournament. Both teachers and students enjoyed the friendly competition.

It is no secret that Canyon High School has a lot of very talented students. Especially when it comes to academics. This year is no exception as we've already had several recognized nationally for their achievements.

Congratulations to Rohan Hassain and Alexandr Kim! They have been recognized by as Semi-Finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. In addition, we had seven other students who were recognized as Commended Students in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. They are Claire Elliott, Seena Esteanch, Coleman Jarvi, David Paterson, Vijay Reddy, Gavin Rubalcava and Caden Yun. These students are being recognized for their performance on the PSAT last year. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THESE STUDENTS FOR THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENT!

We recently had a student do something that is extremely difficult to do. CONGRATULATIONS to Jacob Sheff who achieved a perfect score of 36 on his ACT! Only about .25% of the students who take this test achieve a perfect score.

AP registration is open. You have until November 1st to register and pay without occuring a late fee. Please make sure that you do the two-step process:

Two Steps: Register and Pay for AP Exams:

• 1. Now! Students register on the College Board website for their exams

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/access-your-ap-resources/join-your-class-online

• 2. Now! Students can pay for exams on the Total Registration “The Store” at www.TotalRegistration.net/AP/052267

***CHS will no longer accept payments at the student center***

If you have further questions, please reach out to your AP teacher

Our Fall Sports Seasons are well underway and by the end of this week, all will be participating in league contests. As usual, some of our teams are having amazing seasons and are looking forward to long runs in the CIF playoffs.

The Canyon GIRLS VARSITY FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM is off to a 9 - 2 start! Last Wednesday, they beat Villa Park by a score of 33-13. They are a fun team to watch play and are on track to win a league championship and receive a high seed in the CIF playoffs.

After making it to the CIF Championship a year ago, the Canyon BOYS VARSITY WATER POLO TEAM is having another great season. They currently have a record of 12-2 and are riding a 9 game winning streak.

The Canyon Cross Country Teams are also off to a great start. At the League Preview Meet, the GIRLS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY TEAM finished 1st in the 15 Team Conference. They are currently ranked 8th in CIF Division 2. The BOYS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY TEAM also had a strong performance at the League Preview Meet finishing 1st in the Crestview League and 2nd in the Conference.

Coming off of their CIF Semi Finals run a year ago, the Canyon GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAM is currently 12- 7 and in 3rd place in League. Their wins include an exciting 3-1 win over Villa Park.

Our other fall sports teams include Boys Football, Girls Tennis and Girls Golf. They are all having solid seasons as well as they head into league play.

For all the athletic schedules, please visit the Canyon Athletic Website

To Purchase Tickets for Varsity Football and Volleyball Games, please use the link below:

https://gofan.co/app/school/CA18766

The Canyon Regiment, which includes our Marching Band and Color Guard has been very busy this fall. They have been preparing hard for their upcoming competitions as well as performing at halftime of the Canyon Varsity Football Games. Under the direction of Mr. Michael Whang, they put on an outstanding performance at the home football game vs. Sunny Hills. The theme for the game was USA and they performed a halftime show that paid tribute to all of our military service members who were in the audience.

Our talented drama department under the leadership of Mr. David Blum will be performing their fall musical "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" during the last week of October. The play will be performed over four nights starting Tuesday, October 29th and ending Friday, November 1st. All shows start at 7:00 PM and are in the MPR.

Canyon High School is proud to honor one teacher and one classified member each month as Employees of the Month. The Teacher of the Month for September as selected by the students, is Mr. Ted Gaulin. This is Mr. Gaulin's 12th year at Canyon High School. He teaches AP Econ, Econ and History of the Americas. He has always been a popular teacher amongst our students so this honor is well deserving and well overdue. Our Classified Employee of the Month, as selected by our staff, is Mr. Nik Batricevich. Nik is the Boy's PE Attendant. Nik also serves as the Equipment Manager for the Football team and is at every Boy's Varsity Football game during the season. Nik is beginning his 5th year at Canyon. CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF THESE OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEES!

The Career Center, located next to the Counseling Office is a great place for students to obtain information about colleges and careers. During the school year, the Career Center will organize many different activities for students including hosting representatives from different colleges and universities. On September, 17th, we hosted the U.S. Army. They brought two semi trucks that students could tour and learn about the different technology that the Army uses. It was very informational for any student who was able to walk through and not just those interested in the military. If your student ever has any questions regarding colleges, college reps visiting campus etc., have them visit the Career Center and see Ms. Gina Grammas who is our Career Tech.

The next PTSA meeting of the year is this Thursday, October 3rd, at 9:00 AM in the CHS Library. All are welcome! Not a member yet? It only costs $15 to join! Please click the link below for more information.

Every morning at 7:30 AM, we offer Math Tutoring in Room 139. Mr. Joe Svoboda is available to help any student who is having trouble with Math. No appointment is necessary. This is a great opportunity for those who can't get help outside of school to come before school and get help with Math. Due to Faculty meetings, there is no tutoring on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month.

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY TUTORING

The National Honor Society has tutoring in Room 101 from 3:30 to 4:30 Tuesday through Thursday.

What do you do if you need to pick your student up early? Who do you contact if your student is sick or you need to clear an absence? For answers to these questions and more, please click on the link below.

Wednesday, October 2nd: Homecoming Pep Rally in the Gym @ 7:00 PM

Thursday, October 3rd: PTSA Meeting in the CHS Library at 9:00 AM

Friday, October 4th: Homecoming Football Game at Fred Kelly Stadium @ 7:00 PM

Saturday, October 5th: Homecoming Dance at Canyon HS @ 7:00 PM

Monday, October 7th: CHS Foundation Meeting in Room 114 @ 7:00 PM

Thursday, October 10th: SAT for 12th Graders @ 8:00 AM

Friday, October 11th: PSAT for 11th Graders @ 8:00 AM

Tuesday, October 15th: CHS Choir Show

Wednesday, October 16th: End of 1st Quarter, MINIMUM DAY SCHEDULE

Thursday, October 17th: Red Cross Blood Drive in the MPR

Friday, October 18th: 9th Grade Orientation in the Gym @ 8:30 AM

Tuesday, October 29th thru Friday, November 1st: Fall Play in the MPR @ 7:00 PM

To View more events at CHS, the Canyon Master Calendar Please Click Below

https://www.canyonhighschool.org/resources/mastercalendar