ASA News as of Wednesday, February 22, 2012
ASA This Week - Wednesday, February 22, 2012
ASA Student in Spotlight Youth Theatre
Spotlight Youth Theatre proudly presents James & the Giant Peach performing February 24 to March 11, 2012. Kayla Stillman (5th grade) plays several roles in this show, but her favorite one is the Shark on wheels. To purchase tickets and show times, please see www.spotlightyouththeatre.org. Congratulations Kayla!
Grammar Bowl Regional Qualifiers
Arizona School for the Arts had 7 students from eighth and ninth grade who qualified for the Arizona Grammar Bowl Regionals: Hannah Baker, Scott Fitsimones, Allison George, Matthew Kaplan, Cory Miller, Kyler Van Horn, and Sienna Willis.
This is a great achievement for these students and a testament to their hard work and dedication. To qualify for Regionals, students were required to earn a final score of 90 percent or higher on 20 online lessons and an extensive mastery test. The average time to complete the lessons and test was 15-20 hours. The Regional contest for our students was an online test held at ASA Tuesday, February 21. The top-scoring contestants will advance to the Semi-Finals at the Arizona State Capital. Current ASA 10th grader, Alexis Larios, won the state-wide competition last year. Congratulations and good luck to those grammar-buffs!
Poetry Out Loud School Finalist
After numerous amazing and awe-inspiring poetry performances from our 9th-12th grade students in the ASA Poetry Out Loud contest, the following students earned the top scores: 3rd place: Elise Daniells, 2nd place: Eleanor Lewis, 1st place: Matthew Kaplan. Matthew Kaplan will go on to represent ASA at the Central Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition on March 10th. Finalists from this round go on to the Arizona POL State Finals on March 29th. Good luck Matthew!
Note From Head of School
Leah Fregulia Roberts, Head of School/CEO
In the ASA community, we have many committed parents who volunteer their time and creative talents to help the school in myriad ways. This week, I want to recognize and thank one of our less visible volunteers who seems to always be in the background at our concerts and events. ASA parent Susan Heller is a photographer and artist in the valley specializing in landscape photography. Most recently however, she has been donating her time to expanding ASA's photo gallery. We now have some beautiful new photographs to update our website and use in our school collateral. Of course, creative students mean creative parents standing beside them, and we will continue to share with the community the many ways our parents contribute to the school.
Many thanks to Susan for the many volunteer hours she has given, and for sharing her artistry with ASA!
ASA Summer Arts Institute
ASA is pleased to offer all students the chance to further develop their artistic skills during our June Summer Arts Institute! Students will work with ASA faculty and artists to enhance existing skills, develop new skills and explore art in unique and exciting ways. There is limited enrollment for each summer program and registration is flexible for your summer needs - sign up for one week or all three! Repeat courses will provide different content each week for those students who want to continue the work. Classes must reach a minimum of 10 students per class in order to remain active. Registration is available online. Please email all questions and inquiries to summer@goasa.org.
All courses are one week in length, from 9am - 3:30pm Monday through Friday. Before and after camp hours will be available for a fee. Please sign up for this option when you register.
* Performance or sharing for friends and family each Friday at 3pm
* Attached are the classes in a downloadable PDF. Please review each course description for grade levels accepted and/or pre-requisites.
To sign up: Please go to the home page of the ASA website and click on the "Quick Link" for the Summer Arts Institute. Go to the bottom of the page and select the class(es) for your student. Payment is due at the time of enrollment.
You can also enroll in the school office if you need to pay by cash or check only. Ask for a Summer Arts Enrollment Form and pay at the time of enrollment. Registration and fees must be provided together. We look forward to spending a creative summer with you at ASA!
Summer Arts Coordinator • summer@goasa.org
ASA Summer Arts Institute Classes
CALLING ALL DIRTY CARS!! - PROM FUNDRAISER
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH The Class of 2013 is holding a car wash in the North parking lot of ASA. The event begins at 8am and ends at 1pm. Please bring us your vehicles to clean for you and help support the ASA Junior/Senior Prom
ASA Percussion Ensemble to Perform at Classical Revolution on March 2
As part of ASA's partnership with the Phoenix Chorale, the ASA Percussion Ensemble will be performing in the Classical Revolution Phoestival at Trinity Cathedral as part of First Friday. The percussion ensemble, along with other classical music groups from Arizona will be performing in various location on the Trinity campus. The performances begin at 6:30 pm. Click on the link below for more information.
Excellent Volunteer Opportunity for ASA Parents
It is time once again for our quarterly Phone-A-Thon at ASA. We are seeking ASA parent volunteers to meet in ASA Main at 6pm on Thursday, March 1st. In order for these Phone-A-Thons to be successful we need as many volunteers as possible.
Sign up to volunteer today! It is a fun, non-intimidating experience. In fact, many parents on the receiving end of prior Phone-A-Thon calls expressed that they appreciated hearing from a fellow parent. Parents who volunteer for Phone-A-Thons have a huge and positive impact, raising funds and awareness in a very short amount of time.
Please know that by actively participating with ASA fundraisers, attending performances and volunteering you are strengthening the ASA community. Let's all be "3 for 3!"
Contact Lisa Grannis to sign-up to volunteer for the upcoming Phone-A-Thon. March 1st is quickly approaching and we need your support! We are counting on you!
Lisa Grannis • lisagrannis@cox.net
Half-Day, Hat Day, Leap Day! Wednesday 2/29
Half-Day, Hat Day is back! Celebrate Leap Year 2012 by encouraging your student to come to school wearing a hat on Wednesday, February 29th. They can even mix things up by making their own creation to wear that day!
Students that donate one dollar ($1) will receive a bracelet indicating "hat privileges" for the rest of the day. Parent volunteers will be collecting money and distributing these bracelets outside of ASA Main, McDowell North, and the Church Courtyard before school that morning at 7:15 a.m.
This is a fun way for students to help raise funds for ASA and this time all money raised goes directly to the student commons area in the new corner lot!
Half-day, Hat Day is sure to be a great time for all! If you would like to be one of the parent volunteers for this event please contact Tina Valentine. Volunteers are requested to assist from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. that morning.
Tina Valentine, Development Associate • 602.257.1444 ext. 120 • tvalentine@goasa.org
ASA Welcomes New Development Associate
We are excited to welcome Tina Valentine to our ASA family as the new Development Associate. Tina joins us from Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, WA where she served as Capital Campaign Assistant. Tina brings a wealth of development and alumni relations experience to ASA and we are pleased to have her join our team.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PLAYING PERCUSSION NEXT YEAR?
Any student interested in enrolling in Foundations 1 Percussion for the 2012-2013 school must complete a skill assessment before being enrolled in the class. The sign up sheet for the skill assessment is located on the door of Ms. Guzman's room in the MS wing of the church (room 20). Skill assessments will be held at lunch during the week of Feb. 21st-24th. Foundations 1 Percussion is open to students entering 7th-9th grade. Questions? Contact Ms. Guzman
Ms. Guzman • guzman@goasa.org
Download Percussion Information Sheet Here
WHO NEEDS "MICKEY D'S"?
Forget the morning drive thru. The Class of 2013 is selling breakfast items in North parking lot in the mornings between 7:15 and 7:40. Minute Maid, Capri Sun, Yoo-hoo, and Pop Tarts all $1. Nutri-Grain, Special K breakfast bars, and granola bars $.50 or 2 for $1. Help support the ASA Junior/Senior Prom.
Parents of Ballet Corp Intensive
On Thursday, February 23, students in Ballet Corps Intensive will will be having their regular ballet class in the ASA ballet studios. They will report to the east ballet studio at the end of lunch for attendance.
They will not be taking the bus to SBAZ. Please make arrangements to pick up your students at ASA on Feb 23 at 3 PM.
Save The Date! Friday, April 20, 2012
"Spring Fusion" a combination of our Annual Carnival and the Grand Opening of our new facilities at the ASA will be Friday, April 20, 2012 from 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Festivities include a concert with local Jazz vocalist, Dennis Rowland, performing with our own ASA Jazz Band. Mayor Greg Stanton will be on hand to mark the opening of our new building and corner development. Carnival games, food and fun can be had by all. Stay tuned for further details.
Theatre Class Placement Auditions
Theatre Arts courses are created to provide students a sequence of classes that will build upon skills learned each year. Students of Theatre Arts are expected to take each course in sequence to maximize their training and understanding of the craft. Interested students will be required to audition for admittance into GLEE Musical Theatre, Advanced Ensemble and 8th grade admittance into the high school Acting I course for the 2012-2013 school year.
Students interested in auditioning for any or all of these courses must sign up for an audition time on the sign up sheet located at the Theatre Arts callboard in McDowell North. Students should arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled audition and should not plan any conflicts that would cause them to leave the audition space early. Students are expected to stay at auditions until they are released by the instructor. For more information including what to expect and prepare, please see the attached document.
Please contact Beck if you have any questions about Acting I or Advanced Ensemble auditions: beck@goasa.org
Please contact Mr. Yatso if you have any questions about GLEE auditions: yatso@goasa.org
Beck • beck@goasa.org
Download Audition Information Here
Staff & Student Directories 2011-2012
For the families that pre-ordered directories, they were distributed to their students before winter break. If you did not pre-order a directory but would like one, please contact Mrs. Rusticus in the office. Directories are $5; checks can be made payable to ASAPC.
We would like to extend a big thank you to Phoenix Print Co & the Horvath family for publishing the directories free of charge. Also, thank you to Julie Henson for donating her time & talents for the directory design. Thank you all.
If you have any questions or comments, you can contact Annette Videla.
Annette Videla • annev@mac.com
SAT prep courses now enrolling
Courses begin the week of March 19th. 2 courses to choose from - Monday/Wednesday 4:30-6:30 or Saturday 12;30-4:30.
Linda Edgar • 602-795-6312 • ledgar@cox.net
ALUMNI SAVE THE DATE!!
You are invited to reconnect with Arizona School for the Arts and former students, parents, and colleagues at a unique reunion on April 20th, 2012 at 4pm on the ASA Campus. We will be hosting a 1 hour reception for our alumni prior to the Spring Fusion event celebrating the opening of our new campus. Please RSVP to Leah with your name, email address, and a two to three sentence update about where you are and what you are doing now. We will be enticing our alumni home by announcing who of their former teachers will be present at the event. Even if you are out of state and cannot attend, please send an update if you would like to be included. We will compile the responses to share, and students will have to attend the event to receive your updates!
Leah Fregulia Roberts • lfroberts@goasa.org
Girls Have IT Day!
Girls Have IT Day! is an event for middle school girls to become engaged in hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) activities hosted by Xavier students in over 20 clubs on campus.
73% of girls who attend Girls Have IT Day tell us that they are motivated to work harder in school as a result. 67% tell us they learned what an engineer does and they didn't know before attending.
This year, the event is scheduled on the last Friday of ASA's spring break (Friday, March 16, 2012 from 1-3pm), but ASA girls are still encouraged to attend. Click the link below to register, and contact Ms. Davey (davey@goasa.org) or the organizers listed below for more information.
Hosted by Xavier College Preparatory and Arizona State University. The event is FREE and open to all middle school girls. Since the event falls during ASA's spring break, parents will have to transport their daughters, and the girls will have to be chaperoned by either their parent or a friend's parent.
Ms. Davey • davey@goasa.org
