For the fifth year in a row our Tempe Preparatory Academy Speech & Debate team won the AIA 1/2/3A state title!

Competition was stiff this year from a newcomer, North Pointe Prep.  Perenial rival team River Valley barely made third place with North Pointe taking second.  This isn't a discredit to RVHS, but a credit to how well NPP became so quickly.  Veritas took 4th place.  Unfortunately for both Veritas and us, the events we are particularly good at, they are as well.  We'll blame a common curriculum! 

Team standouts were:   The debate team of Jack Gilloon and Briana Thorpe making it to semi-finals in Public Forum debate.  Not bad for a pair of freshmen only debating the second half of the year.Three out of four Lincoln-Douglas semi-finalists were from TPA:  Paxton Attridge, Kavin Tamizhmani and Pooja Ramesh.Alex Porter and Patricia Oliverio-Lauderdale taking first in Duo Interp Alex also winning poetry - his fifth state medal over his 4 year career!Pooja Ramesh took 3 first places (the 4th person in TPA history to do so) in all of her events: LD debate, Oratory and Extemporaneous.

TPA would like to honor three of the seniors on the team: Alex Porter, Pooja Ramesh and Sarah Wolnisty.  All three of them are among the best in the whole state.  They are currently ranked #3, #4 and #5 according to the National Forensic League point roster for the state of Arizona.  Two students from Brophy have the #1 and #2 spots.  These three are all NFL Academic All-Americans and Qunit-Ruby pin winners (over 1500 points.  Only 5 in all of TPA history have achieved that rank). Many of the records they set will stand for years to come. Their work ethic, sportsmanship and team spirit are something any coach, no matter what the activity, longs to see.  They are admired and respected across the state by coaches and competitors alike.  They do our Academy proud!

The TPA Faculty have compiled a Writing Style Guide.  This style guide provides an overview of the standards of writing and formatting at TPA as well as some suggested strategies for students endeavoring to improve their writing.  This guide should be used in conjunction with TPA’s grammar study series, Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, and the Little, Brown Handbook.  Generally, the format guidelines which appear in the subsequent pages follow those of the MLA (Modern Language Association) and Chicago style manuals, and absent any alternative instructions, students should prepare all written work according to the standards outlined in this guide.  Students should also be aware that individual teachers may require alternate formatting for specific assignments or may occasionally require the use of other style guides.   

During their years at TPA, students will be introduced to various types of writing styles through creative, narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive assignments, but the TPA curriculum has, as a primary focus, the analytical five-paragraph essay.  The writing program overall is organized according to the Trivium, the heart of liberal arts education, with mastery of Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric as the foremost goal.  Although all elements of good writing are addressed each year, the program is progressive according to the following:

I.  Grammatical precision is the focus of grades 6, 7, and 8

II.  Logical argumentation is the focus in grades 9 and 10

III.  Rhetorical style is the focus in grades 11 and 12

IV.  Senior Thesis

Please click here to download a full copy of the Style Guide. 

Congratulations to our 5 National Merit Semifinalists: Ryan Ashton, Tyrone DeSilva, Colton Durbin, Olivia Ortiz, and Alex Porter!

Congratulations to our National Hispanic Scholars: Colton Durbin, Margaret Golka, Olivia Ortiz, and Matthew Rines!

Congratulations to our National Merit Commended seniors: Paula Menefee, Matthew Rines, Pooja Ramesh, and Genevieve Smith!

Thank you to the TPA community supporters who cheered on our football team throughout our inaugural 2A season.  We ended the season with a win against Camp Verde, a 2A playoff team, 13-0.  We sincerely appreciate all those who bought T-shirts and Entertainment books. Congratulations to Eric Puma who sold 11 books, 4 in-person and 7 online.  He made $112 toward his senior trip.  In second place, Paige Horvath made $60 by selling 5 books in-person.  We still have a few coupon books and (L- XXL) T-shirts left.  You may contact info@knightime.org to have orders delivered in-person.

Seniors, please return unsold books and checks, however you may still sell books online until the end of December.  Go to https://sellersection.entertainment.com/sellerSection/ to register as a seller.  Include a personal message and your seller code.  The email is sent to your nationwide contacts. As such, they may order and credit your account directly.  Books ordered online will be shipped directly to the purchaser.

Hands On Greater Phoenix, 501(c)3 matches local volunteers with non-profits:
www.volunteerphoenix.org. Volunteer Match matches volunteers on a national level: www.volunteermatch.org.  Students looking for community service hours may reference these sites.

Jamba Juice sales continue at lunchtime on full-day Fridays!  16 ounce Jamba Juices are sold for $3 and do not have to be preordered.  Enjoy refreshing mid-day fruits and vitamins!  Flavors include Razzmatazz, Caribbean Passion and Strawberries Whirl, with some occasional new smoothie flavors!  Sales benefit TPA extracurricular music programs.