This has been a great week. It has been busy, but good things happened around the GCA community. These kinds of weeks infuse us with energy and allow us to see the potential good in every situation. Many thanks to the people who organized and participated in the GPS Fun Run and Multicultural Lunch. The Multicultural Lunch will be an annual event. Here are pictures of the Multicultural Event.

We are looking forward to Armageddon. We need a few more parent volunteers on Thursday. Please use this Armageddon Volunteer Link to sign up to spend time with a great group of people.

Here are links to two excellent STEAM summer camps offered by ASU Poly.

https://steamlabs.education/events/

No tutoring this weekend. The State Latin Convention is coming to GCA this weekend.

If you know a student who needs additional help in classes, have them fill out the form below to find a tutor. Also, if you have any questions, please email the club President oavollan@gilbertschools.net.

Link to Form: https://forms.gle/3dD4BiDJna1nXyQq6

Private Tutoring

Ben Ash is a GCA Alumni who is looking to help students for a fee. Ben has experience tutoring GCA students while he was a student and is now looking to use that experience to help current GCA students. If you are interested in Ben’s services and want more information please email him.

Congratulations to all the orchestra students on a fantastic concert this past Tuesday. Every group played the best they ever had, and everything ran very smoothly.

The choir concert is coming up on MONDAY, MARCH 6th! Students should report to the MJHS auditorium in their concert uniform at 6 pm. The concert begins at 7 pm. Good luck to all of our Spartan choirs!

Congratulations to the 7th-grade band on their SUPERIOR rating and the 8th-grade band on their EXCELLENT rating at their assessment performance last week. We are proud of your hard work to earn these ratings!

Congratulations to our three band students who will be participating in the 7th grade All-State Band this Saturday, 3/4. They will perform at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale at 5:30 pm that day. Tickets are $5. Come support these wonderful musicians!

Good luck to our Symphonic Strings, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Sinfonia Orchestra, as they all complete their annual assessment performances early next week.

HAWAII UPDATES: All permission and medical forms were sent home this week. Please get those filled out and returned ASAP. They are due no later than next Friday, March 10th, at 11:30 am. Bus/Chaperone lists, flight information, and the rooming list are now available in the Hawaii Google Drive folder. The updated itinerary will be in this folder very soon, as well. Be sure to get our brief rehearsal and meeting (and medication drop off) into your calendars for Wednesday, March 22nd, from 3 to 5 pm at GCA. Please email your music teacher with any further questions. Twenty days until we depart!

Please congratulate the following students for their hard work at the AIA Division 2 State Speech and Debate Tournament last weekend.

Michelle Hein (GCA) -- Semifinalist Impromptu Speaking

So proud of the whole team for their hard work this season! On to National Qualifiers and Nationals!

Jr. High Tournaments begin next week.

High School Baseball is off to a 4-1 start. Noah Scilley pitched a shutout and had both RBIs, including the first out-of-the-park homerun at Spartan Stadium Tuesday night.

Both baseball and tennis had their first losses last night. However, we are looking forward to great spring seasons for GCA sports.

Pier O’Brien, pier.obrien@gilbertschools.net A-L

Kathy Diggs, kathleen.diggs@gilbertschools.net M-Z

Preparing for the ACT - Apr 4, 2023

To be held on GCA’s campus at 7:30am for all juniors. All juniors are registered and paid for by the district. See some of the resources that you can go to get your student help with preparing for the ACT.

• Khan Academy/College Board Partner offers FREE SAT PREP

http://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat

• Kaplan’s Prep http://www.kaptest.com/College/School-Programs/index.html

• Princeton Review http://www.princetonreview.com/ or contact 480-968-

• Sylvan Learning http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/form_get_started_b.cfm

• Tutor Doctor Test Preparation Program - http://www.thephoenixtutors.com/kjohannsen/Test-Prep-page

• ZAPS Learning Company www.zaps.com or call toll free- 877-927-8378

• 36 By Design https://36bydesign.com/

2023 NACAC College Fairs - Virtual Only for Phoenix

NACAC’s upcoming series of Virtual College Fairs kicks off on Feb. 19! We are excited to support these events, which allow students and families to connect with college representatives, learn about the admissions process, and discover financial aid and scholarship opportunities. These sessions support all students, including seniors who may still be weighing their college options.

The upcoming NACAC Spring events are scheduled for the following dates:

• Virtual Fair: Register at the links below

• Sunday, Mar. 19

• Sunday, Apr. 23

Junior Service Learning College Application Lessons are now complete. Junior one-on-one conferences begin next week with the counseling Department.

Please ask your junior student about the lessons and what they learned.

The Lessons:

Lesson 1 - Academic Resume (assigned homework)

Lesson 2 - Personal Essay (assigned homework)

Lesson 3 - College Application Process (next steps, deadlines, transcripts)

Lesson 4 - How to fill out the Common Application and Why

Lesson 5 - Scholarships and Where to Find Them

Lesson 6 - FAFSA - Why and When to Apply

The Counseling Department will review these lessons at the beginning of senior year.

FAFSA Opened on Oct. 1, 2022

Tips for filling out the form: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out

Most colleges will ask for the FAFSA to be filled out.

https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

Here is an example of what many schools do to make paying for college more affordable. It is a Grants, Not Loans, movement. https://www.princeton.edu/admission-aid/affordable-all

THRIVE

A Resource for most things High School and applying to College. Some things are slightly different for GCA as we do things differently from the rest of the district. One example is that GCA does not offer Dual Enrollment courses, IB (International Baccalaureate Program), or CTE (Career and Technical Education) courses. Check the site out when you have questions. This is also a resource for scholarships.

FREE Junior ACT College Entrance Exam takes place on GCA’s campus for all GCA Juniors. Your student is registered and must only appear for the exam Apr 4, 2023 at 7:30 am.

If you are concerned about your child’s mental health or need family support, please don’t hesitate to contact me at nicoleta.alfaro@gilbertschools.net.

Dan Hood Ed.D.

Principal

Gilbert Classical Academy