The mission of Veritas Preparatory Academy is to cultivate the minds and hearts of students through the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty.
What does this mean for us, as a classical school? One consequence of our belief in the reality of truth, goodness, and beauty, is that our teachers hold up certain ideals and standards of excellence. This is well explained by Dr. Terrence O. Moore, in his essay that begins our Family Handbook. Here is an excerpt:
Upholding Standards
In addition to requiring students to know certain things, a classical education
also teaches young people judgment according to certain standards. To be "classical" means to uphold a standard of excellence. The classical works of Greece and Rome are not great simply because they are old. They are great because they employ harmonious language to depict remarkable human events and to explain
the transcendent ideals of human existence.
Each of the liberal arts has its own standard of correctness, logic, beauty, or importance. The study of a language offers the best example, especially since human beings live by communicating. Everyone can talk, and most everyone can read and write on a functional level. A classical education requires more than functional literacy, however. It teaches students high standards of grammar, precision in word choice, and eloquence. Throughout his education, the student will be exposed to the highest examples of eloquence attained by the greatest writers in the language.
"I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." Shakespeare
"These are the times that try men's souls." Paine
These sentences are entirely grammatical. They could just as easily be used to teach grammar as "I come to help Jane, not to hurt her." By preferring Shakespeare to an anonymous "See Jane" sentence, we teach three things rather than one. We teach grammar. We teach cultural literacy. We also teach beauty. Our purpose is to introduce students to the masters of the language so they will begin to emulate them.
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What Grading Means at Veritas
In the past few issues we have been examining the unique aspects and understanding of grading at Veritas. If you missed any of these articles, or would like to come back to them, click the links below to catch up!
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Drive Safely; Be Great-Hearted
Please use caution and drive slowly through the neighborhood streets around our school. Observe the speed limit, and be alert. This is of course for the safety of all. But it is also a witness to the type of culture our school represents.
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Click above or below to help us complete the set and fulfill our other teachers' wishes! Please check it out here.
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Athletic Field Day, November 3: Parent Volunteers Needed!
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Save the Date: Veritas Prep MS Spelling Bee, November 30
Middle-school students, see your Lit/Comp teacher to sign up and for more information on how to prepare!
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Upcoming Drills
Throughout the school year, Veritas Prep will be practicing emergency procedures through fire and lock-down drills. Our teachers take care to prepare their classes with the proper procedures, but if your child is particularly sensitive to these situations, please talk with them, and feel free to reach out to us with questions.
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Have photos you would like to share for use in the 2018 Veritas yearbook?
Follow the guide linked HERE for instructions on how to upload your photos. Be sure to use the highest image quality when uploading so that the photos will be able to be formatted in the yearbook.
Upload Code: Falcons
* No smartphone? No problem! Go to images.balfour.com to upload images from any Internet-connected computer.
Thank you!
All pictures are considered, but not all can be used.
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Early-Bird Yearbook Purchases Due October 6
Interested in purchasing a yearbook this year? Hurry--early bird pricing will end the last day of quarter 1, October 6th! Yearbooks are currently $35 each.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER TODAY!
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First High-School Coffeehouse of the Year, September 30!
Hosted by houses Joan of Arc and Charlemagne! Be sure to bring your friends, your musical talent, $5 for entry, and your appetite, since there will be waffles and coffee as always! Event takes place in the south courtyard area at 6:30pm.
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Friday, September 29
Early Release, 12:30 PM
Saturday, September 30
High-School Coffeehouse
See note above for more info.
Friday, October 6
Early Release, 12:30 PM
R&R
October 9 - 13
NO SCHOOL: Fall Break
Monday, October 16
School Resumes
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Sectio Discipulorum: Students' Section
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Student Accomplishments and Features
We love to recognize the good work our students do in the classroom and beyond. In future issues we will be featuring
- Student poems
- Student artwork
- Short essays
- Honors and recognitions
Teachers will be referring student poetry and artwork. If you would like to offer a submission, please send us a note here.
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October 25th, 2017 is PSAT Test day at Veritas!
On Wednesday, October 25th, all Veritas Prep students in grades 9-11 will take the PSAT/NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test), a practice college admissions test. Scores from the PSAT/NMSQT are never sent to colleges. However, for juniors, the scores are used to determine whether a student qualifies for the National Merit Scholarship program.
For freshmen and sophomores, the test is only practice and allows students to gain exposure and experience with standardized testing for college.
College Visit Season
College Visits are in full swing at Veritas Prep! A weekly schedule of all Veritas visits will be posted on the College Counseling bulletin board and at the Front Desk. You will also find posters on our bulletin board detailing each upcoming college visit.
Sophomore- through Senior-class
students should sign up in Naviance for visits they are interested in. Instruction on how to do so are listed
HERE
. For our college visit list as of 9.18.17 see the attachment
College Visits as of 9.18.17.xlsx
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Upcoming College Counseling Events - SAVE THE DATES!
Friday, September 22 - College 101 class
We will be covering College Entrance Exams during your regularly scheduled Physics class.
Saturday, September 30 - Great Hearts Barrett Honors Day (ASU - Tempe Campus)
Open to Great Hearts SENIORS ONLY with ONE PARENT
Session One
: 10:00 - 11:30 am (40 seniors can register) --- Information Session followed by a campus tour
Session Two:
1:00 - 2:30 pm (40 seniors can register) --- Information Session followed by a campus tour
Registration opened weeks ago and this may very well be sold out at this point.
Tuesday, October 3 -- Selective College Night
(Lund Center at VPA)
Open to Great Hearts 9th - 12th graders
,
7:00 to 8:30 pm
Three admission officers from highly selective colleges will present on different trends and topics in admissions for highly selective admissions.
Saturday, October 21 - Great Hearts College Symposium
Open to Great Hearts JUNIORS ONLY and ONE PARENT
Program details forthcoming. Will include workshops and a college fair with approximately 60 colleges in attendance.
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Courtesy of Grand Photography.
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Free Money for Our School!
Did you know that you can
double or even
triple your Community Investment and Tax Credit donations to Veritas Prep? Many companies will
match your donations to our school through their Corporate Gift Matching Programs.
Simply click on this link, type the name of your employer in the "Matching Gifts" tab, and hit submit to find out if your company offers a Corporate Matching Gifts Program. If your company does have a Matching Gifts program, please submit the appropriate paperwork to your Human Resources department. Please contact Sarah Marbach at smarbach@veritasprepacademy.org or 602-396-0276 with any questions.
Having your gift matched is an easy way to increase the impact of your donations to Veritas Prep without any additional cost to you. And your support will provide our faculty and students with the resources they need to learn and thrive. Thank you!
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