Knightly Update January 12, 2025

Good morning. We had a fantastic first week back, and it’s been wonderful to see our students and staff back on campus and heading into the new semester with enthusiasm and energy! I have no doubt it will be a great semester.

A big congratulations and best of luck to our school's Spiritline as they prepare to compete at the state championships this week! Their hard work and dedication have prepared them well for this year’s competition, and I’m excited to see how they perform. We’re cheering you on every step of the way! Be sure to check this week’s update for the competition dates. Good luck at state!

As mentioned in last week's update, we will begin holding presentations with underclassmen through their English classes to guide them through the course registration process for the upcoming school year. We encourage families to discuss students' interests and goals at home to help them make informed decisions. Later this month and into February, counselors will meet individually with students to review their course selections, discuss future aspirations, and answer any questions. Please remember that our master schedule is built around student course requests, so it’s important for students to select courses they are truly interested in taking.

Thank you for your continued support. I'm looking forward to another extraordinary week featuring our Play Like A Girl soccer game and spiritline competing at state! Please contact me if you have any questions. Enjoy your week.

Rob Bickes

Principal

Site events listed in bold.

Monday, January 13

• Free Dress Day - $2 participation fee

• Class of 2026 Registration Presentations, ACPHS Auditorium

• 4:00 - JV Girls Soccer @ Westwood HS

• 4:00 - JV Boys Soccer vs Westwood HS, ACPHS Dr. Fred DePrez Athletic Stadium

• 6:00 - Varsity Girls Soccer @ Westwood HS

• 6:00 - Varsity Boys Soccer vs Westwood HS, ACPHS Dr. Fred DePrez Athletic Stadium

Tuesday, January 14

• Class of 2027 Registration Presentations, ACPHS Auditorium

• 2:30 - Prep PTO Meeting, ACPHS College & Career Center

• 4:00 - Boys & Girls Wrestling, Multi-Meet, ACPHS Main Gym

Wednesday, January 15

• 7:30-10:30 AM - Club Pictures (Day 1)

• 1:00 - Varsity Girls Soccer vs Horizon HS (Play Like A Girl), ACPHS Dr. Fred DePrez Athletic Stadium

• 3:00 - JV Girls Soccer vs Horizon HS, ACPHS Dr. Fred DePrez Athletic Stadium

• 4:00- JV Boys Soccer @ Horizon HS

• 4:00 - Fr/So Girls Basketball @ Ironwood HS

• 4:00 - Fr/So Boys Basketball vs Ironwood HS, ACPHS Main Gym

• 5:30 - JV Girls Basketball @ Ironwood HS

• 5:30 - JV Boys Basketball vs Ironwood HS, ACPHS Main Gym

• 6:00 - Varsity Boys Soccer @ Horizon HS

• 7:00 - Varsity Girls Basketball @ Ironwood HS

• 7:00 - Varsity Boys Basketball vs Ironwood HS, ACPHS Main Gym

Thursday, January 16

• 10:00-4:30 - District 5 DECA Conference, ACPHS Main & Auxiliary Gym

• 2:10 - ACP Pom @ AIA State Spiritline Competition, Arizona Veteran's Memorial Coliseum

• 4:10 - ACP Jazz @ AIA State Spiritline Competition, Arizona Veteran's Memorial Coliseum

Friday, January 17

• Class of 2028 Registration Presentations, ACPHS Auditorium

• 9:25 AM - ACP Cheer @ AIA State Spiritline Competition, Arizona Veteran's Memorial Coliseum

• 4:00 - Fr/So Girls Basketball @ Campo Verde HS

• 4:00 - Fr/So Boys Basketball vs Campo Verde HS, ACPHS Main Gym

• 5:30 - JV Girls Basketball @ Campo Verde HS

• 5:30 - JV Boys Basketball vs Campo Verde HS, ACPHS Main Gym

• 7:00 - Varsity Girls Basketball @ Campo Verde HS

• 7:00 - Varsity Boys Basketball vs Campo Verde HS, ACPHS Main Gym

Saturday, January 18

• ACP Cheer, Pom & Jazz @ AIA State Spiritline Competition (Final Rounds), Arizona Veteran's Memorial Coliseum

• 8:00 AM - Wrestling @ Verrado Tournament, Verrado HS

**********

Event Recap - Week of January 6

Monday, January 6

• 8:00 - Varsity Girls Basketball LOST vs Notre Dame Prep, 42-47

Tuesday, January 7

• 4:00 - JV Girls Soccer TIED vs Williams Field HS, 0-0

• 5:00 - JV Boys Soccer LOST @ Williams Field HS, 2-4

• 6:00 - Varsity Girls Soccer WON vs Williams Field HS, 1-0

• 7:00 - Varsity Boys Soccer WON @ Williams Field HS, 3-0

Wednesday, January 8

• 4:00 - Girls Wrestling WON vs Horizon HS

• 4:00 - Girls Wrestling WON vs North Canyon HS

• 4:00 - Boys Wrestling WON vs Horizon HS

• 4:00 - Boys Wrestling WON vs North Canyon HS

Thursday, January 9

• 4:00 - Fr/So Boys Basketball WON @ Chaparral HS, 44-34

• 4:00 - Varsity Girls Soccer WON @ Mountain Pointe, 10-0

• 5:30 - JV Boys Basketball LOST @ Chaparral HS, 55-73

• 5:30 - JV Girls Basketball WON vs Chaparral HS, 49-33

• 6:00 - Varsity Boys Soccer WON vs Mountain Pointe HS, 9-0

• 7:00 - Varsity Boys Basketball LOST @ Chaparral HS, 80-85

• 7:00 - Varsity Girls Basketball WON vs Chaparral HS, 57-41

Friday, January 10

• 3:00 - Fr/So Boys Soccer TIED @ Hamilton HS, 0-0

Saturday, January 11

• 8:00 AM - Boys Wrestling @ Central Arizona Classic, Poston Butte HS

• 8:00 AM - Academic Decathlon PLACED 3rd @ AcDec East Valley Invitational

Sunday, January 12

• 8:00 AM - Speech & Debate @ ASU Hugh Downs Speech & Debate Tournament, Arizona State University

Do you know an ACP student, staff member, alumni, or family that deserves to be recognized? Email Mr. Bickes with the information so we can share the amazing news with our school community. Go Knights!

More than 80 high-achieving Arizona high-school seniors seeking the Flinn Scholarship have been named Semifinalists, advancing to an interview later this month.

The 80 Flinn Scholarship Semifinalists were selected from over 1,000 applications received from Arizona’s urban, rural, and tribal communities for the merit-based scholarship.

The Flinn Scholarship includes funding for tuition, housing, meals, and study abroad—a value of more than $130,000. About 20 Arizona high-school seniors are selected each year and attend the Honors colleges of the state’s three public universities.

The Flinn Scholars Class of 2025 will be announced in April. We are extremely proud to announce that three members of our senior class have been announced as a Flinn Scholarship Semifinalist this year. Congratulations to Tara Hojjati, Divya Natarajan, and Jishnu Nayak! Best of luck to each of you as you prepare for your interview. Congratulations and good luck!

Several ACP middle and high school students and their families ended last semester volunteering their time at ACP’s 3rd Annual St. Mary’s Foodbank Volunteer Event on December 10th. 100+ Knights came together to pack 2,808 food boxes in 2 hours!!! Their efforts helped feed 2,808 local families this holiday season. Thank you all that participated for your hard work and generous hearts!

Ansley Hendricsen ('28) is a member of a group of high school students who have joined the Student Visionaries Program for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The goal of Ashley's group is to raise $100,000 to support critical research while supporting patients and families who are experiencing blood cancers. What a wonderful goal and purpose. If you'd like to learn more or consider donating to this cause, please see the attached PDF. Great work, Ansley.

Karis Wales and Michael Younce, freshmen at ACP High School, have achieved a remarkable milestone recently by receiving official classification of 501(c)3 nonprofit status with the formation of their public charity, [www.knotsfornicu.com]Knots for NICU. These classmates, business partners, and friends have worked tirelessly over the last three years to turn this school club community outreach into an expanding altruistic professional endeavor.

The pair are designated as Youth Officers for their foundation, where Karis Wales serves as the official Founder and President, and Michael Younce serves as Knots for NICU's Vice President. These budding entrepreneurs support two club chapters within CUSD, organize community outreach events -- from hospital donations to volunteer events at local nursing homes -- and operate their new company, balancing duties such as reporting to their own Board of Directors with formulating club chapter expansion plans for the future.

Knots for NICU is a student-led initiative that provides opportunities for CUSD students to develop leadership skills, engage in community service, and make a tangible difference in the lives of others. Supported by club advisors Mrs. Oelschlager (ACP HS) and Ms. Prestwich (Basha HS), along with their Knots for NICU club chapter student officers at both schools, Karis and Michael are eager to foster club growth throughout Chandler Unified School District and beyond. Join us in congratulating them on this outstanding milestone achievement!

Over the weekend, our campus hosted the ACP Academic Decathlon Winter Invitational. It was an opportunity for our Knights to shine, not only in the competition itself, but also through our amazing staff, students, parents, and PTO moms who served as judges, proctors, and volunteers. Congratulations to our team on placing 3rd overall and to our individual medal winners!

Honors division

• Brad Wu - 1st place OVERALL; 1st Music, 1st Art, 1st Econ, 2nd Math, 1st Language & Literature, 1st Social Science, 1st Science, 3rd Essay
• Zahara Khan - 3rd Art
• Dylan Bagley - 5th Language and Literature; 2nd Science
• Siyaa Poddar - 3rd Essay (tie), 1st Speech
• Sai Anirudh Teegapuram - 5th Art; 2nd Math (tie), 3rd Science
• David Rundus - 4th Language & Literature
• Elizabeth Ye - 3rd Essay (tie)
• Khushi Ahir - 3rd Essay (tie)
• Iden Praveen - 5th Essay

Scholastic Division

• Allyson Gerard - 5th OVERALL; 2nd Art; 5th Music; 5th Language & Literature; 5th Science; 1st Essay; 3rd Interview; 3rd Speech
• Avinash Bathula - 4th Science; 5th Essay

Varsity Division

• Meg Krajekian - 3rt Art; 5th Music
• Arjun Mehta - 4th Economics

One of the tenets of The Prep Way is 'excellence' and we are always working to be better tomorrow than we are today, but we cannot do that without hearing your voice. If you have any thoughts or ideas that can help us make our school even better, please share by clicking on the suggestion box image or button below. Comments that are not made in a professional way will not be considered or addressed. Thank you for sharing your ideas so we can continue being one of the best high school's in the nation, while maintaining our promise to always strive for the impossible and be extraordinary.

Our counseling department is very excited to announce that Mrs. Linda Bigelow has become a member of our school's counseling team. We are thrilled to have Mrs. Bigelow join our counseling department and know our students will benefit from her work. Mrs. Bigelow has been a part of our school as registrar at ACP Middle School, and as an administrative assistant at ACP High. She looks forward to taking on her new role and working with students on her caseload. With Mrs. Bigelow's move to counseling, the counseling department's alpha split has shifted. Please make note of the following counseling changes:

Last Name - Counselor

A-Deg - Mr. Jayme Dixon

Deh-Joo - Mrs. Margot O'Donnall

Jep-M - Mrs. Linda Bigelow

N-Sev - Ms. Rachel O'Brien

Sew-Z - Ms. Amy Steele

As a reminder, students who need to speak with their counselor must scan the QR code to coordinate an appointment. Once all information has been submitted via the form, the assigned counselor will call for the student to discuss their questions. Thank you.

Current Sophomores and Juniors interested in applying to ACP's National Honor Society for the 2025-2026 school year, please attend an informational meeting on 2/3/25 during advisory. The meeting will be held in the Performing Arts Center.

Students who are currently an NHS member NEED NOT attend nor reapply for the upcoming year!

If you have any questions, please reach out to our NHS Sponsor, Mrs. Fernandez, fernandez.melinda@cusd80.com

Join us for dinner and help ACP DECA raise funds to compete at state. Must show flyer or mention ACP DECA at time of purchase.

Student Ticket Information:

• Students may buy $2 tickets starting tomorrow before school. Tickets will be sold before school on 1/13, and 1/14 and during lunch on 1/13.
• Tickets will be sold in the hallway between the Library and the D building.
• Students who purchase tickets will be excused from 5th hour on Wednesday.
• It is their responsibility to make up any work.

Join us for a powerful and informative presentation with Amy Kathleen Lee, an award-winning mental health advocate, speaker, and suicide intervention specialist. Amy will take us beneath the surface of the youth mental health crisis to explore the real issues driving young people to consider ending their lives.

This presentation is designed for parents and educators to:

• Learn to recognize and validate emotional pain using three life-saving messages struggling young people need to hear.
• Discover the power of confidently initiating mental health conversations as a solution to this crisis.
• Gain real-life insights that turn talk into actionable steps to save lives.

By the end of this session, attendees will have a new perspective on the crisis, actionable tools to help, and the confidence to bridge the gap between isolation and connection for our youth.

Title: Beneath the Surface: The Pain Killing Our Kids

Location: The Hope Institute of CUSD (In-person and Virtual)

Date/Time:1/15/2025 at 6pm-7:30pm

Virtual Link: Here

Register for the event here

About Amy Kathleen Lee

Amy’s journey of overcoming suicide and living with bipolar II and PTSD has inspired thousands of young people and parents. With over a decade of experience, she is committed to equipping parents and educators with tools to make a meaningful impact in this fight. Amy’s passion is rooted in her own lived experience of navigating her teen daughter’s suicide attempt, and she reminds us that hope and love can heal even the deepest wounds.

This event is a must-attend for anyone invested in reversing the heartbreaking trend of youth suicide. Please consider sharing this invitation with your network to help spread awareness and support.

The 2025 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest, an essay and video contest for high school students, is now accepting entries. The federal courts in Arizona are participating in this contest by selecting three finalists in both the essay and video competitions. These finalists will receive prizes of $1,500, $750, and $500 and advance to the final level of the contest at the Ninth Circuit to compete for additional prizes of $3,000, $1,700, and $1,000 and a trip to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in August 2025. At the conference, students will participate in a special program and have an opportunity to meet a Supreme Court Justice, federal judges, and attorneys. Prize money, travel and accommodations, and other contest costs are funded through attorney admission fees collected by the courts for educational programs benefiting the bar and community. The entry deadline is March 7, 2025.

The theme of the contest is “When Duty Calls: Why Exercising the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship is Important to Me.” Students are asked to consider the rights and responsibilities of being a U.S. citizen and explore how those rights and responsibilities affect them. The rules, instructions, judging criteria, past entries, and research materials are available at https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/civicscontest and additional information is provided in the attached PDF. Good luck!

Students, join us for an exciting journey into your future. Discover amazing careers & professions. ALL students welcome. At B4T you will be able to connect with employers, explore job opportunities, and discover career colleges & trade schools.

When: Thursday, March 6, 2025

Time: 6-8PM

Where: Perry High School

Counseling and Social Services / CUSD Build 4 Tomorrow Expo

Are you a high school senior or young adult (ages 17–24) ready to develop leadership skills, connect with your community, and unlock new opportunities? Consider LEAD Chandler Youth Leadership Program. Click on the link to learn more. LEAD Chandler Youth Leadership Program | City of Chandler

An amazing opportunity for students aged 15-21 to participate in the 2025 Arizona Young Artists’ Competition is now available. This annual event allows young performers to showcase their talents in Acting, Classical Voice, Musical Theatre, and Dance, with finalists competing for a $1,500 scholarship in their category. There’s also an audience-voted People’s Choice Award. More information and registration links can be found at https://herbergertheater.org/ayac/.

Since 1958, the Chandler Service Club (CSC) has been committed to supporting education as a means of building healthy families. CSC offers scholarships to Chandler residents, both high school seniors and adults pursuing college or trade school education. The Helen Pernell and Jewell Lewis Community Scholarships are intended to assist deserving Chandler residents who demonstrate strong character, potential, and financial need.

For detailed information about eligibility, please visit their website. Applications and supporting documents can be submitted online at https://chandlerserviceclub.org/scholarships, or hard copies can be emailed to scholarship.csc@gmail.com.

• Jewell Lewis Scholarship: For high school seniors
• Helen Pernell Scholarship: For adults continuing or starting college or trade education

The application deadline is March 15, 2025. Thank you.

Arizona State University Laboratory for Energy And Power Solutions is excited to host a one day in-person scenario-based military resiliency design competition! This competition is open to students currently enrolled in grades 9 - 12 (public, private or homeschool) students. Read below for more details!

In this competition, teams will be responsible for ensuring the continuity of operations to critical base activities in the event of an emergency at Camp Sentinel Naval Station, a fictional island military installation inspired by real U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps bases. Teams will prepare several documents and deliverables exploring the resiliency of the base and responding to a selected emergency.

What you’ll do:

• Conduct a Risk Assessment on Camp Sentinel Navel Station’s infrastructure
• Create a Contingency Plan
• Design a Solution
• Submit your project for review and present your project to the competition attendees

What you can win:

• Three projects will be selected as winners of the competition. Each member of the winning teams will be awarded $2,000!
• These funds will be paid out directly to the winning students to be used at the educational institution of their choice.

Who can participate:

• Be enrolled in grades 9 to 12 (public, private, homeschool).
• Registration is open to the first 30 teams. A team consists of 3-4 students with an accompanying adult.
• Completed and signed permission forms.

Find out more here: Military Infrastructure Resiliency Design Competition

The Military Infrastructure Resiliency Design Competition is hosted by the Laboratory for Energy and Power Solutions (LEAPS) at Arizona State University and sponsored by the Office of Naval Research STEM program. Submissions require permission forms which detail the use of submission data for reporting and publication. Students under 18 years of age will also require parental consent. Please reach out to us with any questions: asuleaps@asu.edu

The Chandler Education Foundation (CEF) IMPACT Chandler program offers CUSD high school students a unique opportunity to stand out in college applications, gain professional skills, and even win a scholarship! Last year alone, CEF awarded $111,000 in scholarships to IMPACT students in recognition of their service and achievements.

High school students can register at any time through Infinite Campus but must complete the requirements by the end of Spring Break in their senior year to qualify.

Read here for 8 reasons why your student should participate in this valuable program and how to register: https://tinyurl.com/c3t7stum

If you have any questions, please contact CEF at info@chandleredfoundation.org.

CUSD is proud to offer the Seal of Personal Finance, Seal of Civics Literacy, Seal of Arts Proficiency and Seal of Biliteracy to all high school students. Each seal has unique requirements and different application windows. Students must complete all requirements successfully within their high school years to qualify. Students interested in applying for any of the seals should visit the Diploma Seals website for more information. Freshmen – Juniors are encouraged to complete an Intent to participate form.

Please be aware of the following application windows for each Diploma Seal. Seniors are encouraged to apply if they have met or will be meeting all requirements this year. Visit the district website for additional information for each Seal.

• Seal of Personal Finance – September 1 – May 23
  
• Seal of Civics Literacy – September 1 – May 23
• Seal of Arts Proficiency – December 1 – March 28

No late applications will be received after these dates.

ACP students provide a tremendous amount of service hours throughout their high school career. The method for inputting and tracking one's service hours has changed this year. All students will now input their service hours through Infinite Campus. The attached document shares the steps students will need to take to input their hours. It is very important that students record any service provided over the course of their entire high school career. They may need to input this information when applying for scholarships, to colleges, internships, employment, or other opportunities during and after high school. Please make sure to enter your service hours via the method share in the attached document. If you have any questions, please see contact the office. Thank you.

Procedures for driving on campus are below and can be downloaded for your convenience. These procedures are to be followed by all families that drop off and/or pick-up their child, and for students that choose to drive their personal vehicle to school and park in the student parking lot. Staff will be posted along the route to ensure procedures are followed appropriately.

1. Parent/guardian vehicles must use the ingress east of the Visitor Parking Lot entrance on Brooks Farm Rd. and form two lanes (if driving west on Brooks Farm, please engage your turn signal if turning right onto campus)
2. ACP Traffic should only enter the neighborhood from Gilbert Road and Brooks Farm Road (from the west): and Mustang Road and Chandler Heights (from the south).
3. Do not enter the neighborhood from Lindsay Rd.
4. Student vehicles must enter the campus via the ingress east of the JV softball field on Brooks Farm Rd.; Families may also drop off via this ingress (follow security directions if using this entrance)
5. There is NO entrance to the campus from Gilbert Rd.
6. Students may be dropped off/picked up along the sidewalks east of the auditorium and D building, south of the administrative building, and west of the B building and gymnasium.
7. Parent vehicles in the left lane that have dropped off or picked up their child along the south side of the administrative building may exit the campus via the visitor parking lot exit.
8. Parent/guardians in the right lane will exit the campus via the stadium traffic light turning north or south onto Gilbert Rd.
9. Entrance to the campus via the visitor parking lot is closed from 6:45-7:30 AM and from 2:00-2:45 daily.
10. DO NOT DROP OFF OR PICK UP YOUR CHILD IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS NEAR OR AROUND THE CAMPUS.
11. Do not loiter or "hang out" in the yards, driveways, or general property of residential households.
12. Empathy for our residential neighbors is appreciated.

For your convenience, this year's yearbook may be purchased online at jostensyearbooks.com (type in "Arizona College Prep High School") or you can simply click on the button below to go directly to our school's webpage. Yearbook packages include:

• Yearbook Cost: $84.00. This price will increase throughout the year.
• Signature package: An additional $18.00. This includes a yearbook, enhanced personalization, autograph pens, and autograph pages. Additional accessories available for purchase.
• Personalized yearbook cost: An additional $7.50 that includes your child’s name embossed on the cover. You can purchase icons to add to the embossed cover for $4.00 each with a maximum amount of four icons. Additional accessories available for purchase.

Prices will increase throughout the year, and there are a limited number of yearbooks for sale, so be sure to purchase yours today! Yearbooks are available to purchase until February 28th. Arizona College Prep High School has received the National Yearbook Program of Excellence Award the past five consecutive school years.

If you have any questions click here to email Mrs. Patterson.

If you are able to make your tax contributions early in the year, your donation would be greatly appreciated and give us a jump start on some of our essential extracurricular activities. We have set a goal to collect approximately $50.00 per family for a total of $57,500.00 and hope that you will be willing to help us meet our goal. Thank you for supporting your child and our school!

Tax Credit Basics…

A tax credit donation is a full refund, not a deduction. Contributions eligible for a tax credit are donated directly to schools, not to the state or school district. To participate or learn more, follow the link listed below to donate online or you can complete the enclosed form and submit your contribution at your convenience.

http://www.cusd80.com/taxcredit

Arizona Law ARS 43-1089.01 enables taxpayers a tax credit contribution of up to $400.00 per year if filing status is “Married, filing Joint Return;” $200.00 per calendar year if filing status is “Single of Head of Household;” and $200 per calendar year if filing status is “Married filing separate returns.” These contributions fund extracurricular activities in public schools and greatly impact our school community and our students.

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Don't forget to check with teams and clubs for the latest link to their Facebook sites.

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School Hours

School Day Begins: 7:20 (gates close at 7:30)

School Day Ends: 2:25

Office Hours: 7:00-3:30

School Address:

4477 S. Gilbert Rd., Chandler, AZ 85249

Phone Numbers:

Administration: 480-424-8700

Attendance: 480-424-8703

Fax: 480-224-9268

Find us on the web: www.cusd80.com/acphs