Cantamus, our varsity high school choir, sings a wide variety of choral music. Small groups within Cantamus include "Men in Black," "Women of Cantamus," "Camerata," and "Cantamus Jazz." Our singers garner superior ratings at the Regional Solo and Ensemble Festival and often are placed in the Regional and All-State Choirs. The annual trip includes an Advanced Vocal Workshop in a state-of-the-art Disney recording studio. Entrance audition is required.

Contact: Dr. Edward Wolfe

Formed in 1936, the National Junior Classical League (NJCL) is an organization of junior high and senior high school students sponsored by the American Classical League. Composed of local and state/provincial chapters across the United States, Canada, and Australia, it is the largest Classical organization in the world today with over 50,000 members. Its purpose is to encourage an interest in and an appreciation of the language, literature and culture of ancient Greece and Rome and to impart an understanding of the debt of our own culture to that of Classical antiquity.

From the time of our founding, in 1996, Tempe Preparatory Academy has sponsored a chapter of the Junior Classical League. Since then, we have been active in the state and local activities, such as the Arizona State Convention, sponsoring a number of state officers of the Arizona Junior Classical League. In recent years, students from Tempe Preparatory Academy have also participated in the California and National Conventions. NJCL holds a national convention and the AZJCL a state convention where delegates have an opportunity to meet other Latin and Greek students and participate in academic, creative, and graphic arts contests, and athletic competitions.

All Latin and Greek students at Tempe Preparatory Academy are members of the National and Arizona Junior Classical Leagues. We have an active certamen (quiz-bowl) team, which meets every Friday morning at 8 a.m. to practice. Several events, such as the Tempe Preparatory Academy Certamen Invitational in the fall and the Arizona State Convention in the spring, will be announced over the course of the year. Don’t miss out on a chance to meet other Latin and Greek students from around the state.

Contact: Mrs. Lori Hickernell

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative, problem solving extra-curricular program offered at TPA for both Junior High and High School students. It was first developed in 1979 by Dr. Sam Micklus during an Industrial Design class at Rowan University in New Jersey to challenge his students & encourage creative problem-solving. Odyssey of the Mind involves teams who compete against other schools at regional, state, and international competitions. Competitive settings are available to allow teams to demonstrate their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Teams consist of up to 7 members who choose a problem from a list of five. These 5 problem types include 1) vehicle, 2) technical, 3) classics, 4) structure, & 5) theatrical. (A brief description of each problem is listed below.) By working in a team, participants learn teamwork, self-respect, the appreciation and understanding of others, and that a group is a more powerful thinking force than an individual. Teams who finish first or second in their division/problem advance on to the next level of competition.

Vehicle Problem: Teams design, build and operate vehicles of various sizes and with various power sources. Sometimes they drive the vehicles, and sometimes the vehicles perform tasks, such as overcoming obstacles or visiting other "countries" to retrieve artifacts.

Technical Problem: Teams make innovative contraptions and incorporate artistic elements into their solutions. They might be asked to write an original musical score to play on a "new" type of instrument, or to build a robot with human characteristics, or to perform tasks using a chain reaction of snapping mousetraps.

Classics Problem: The theme of this problem is based on the classical, from literature to architecture to art. Whether it's writing an additional chapter to Moby Dick or bringing paintings to life, it's always a terrific learning experience.

Structure Problem: Teams design and build structures, using only balsa wood and glue. They test them by supporting and holding as much weight as possible, sometimes more than a thousand pound! Teams usually present a skit as part of the Style presentation.

Theatrical Problem: In this problem, teams present performances that revolve around a specific theme and incorporate required elements. Past themes include "morphing" objects, animals that express human emotions, and originating folktales.

Interested in more information? Visit the websites for Odyssey of the Mind: www.TPAOM.org

Visit the state & intl. websites for Odyssey of the Mind:

www.azodyssey.org | www.odysseyofthemind.com

OM Overview

OM Introduction

OM TPA Contract

OM Volunteer Opportunities

OM FAQ's

 

Contact: Mrs. Tsikopoulos

Speech and Debate is an extracurricular activity where the student will learn skills varying from critical analysis through oral presentation and even acting. Speech and Debate covers a lot of ground and there is a good chance there will be something you will be interested in. Unlike other activities, Speech and Debate competes under the banner of the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA), the same association that regulates athletics. That means we compete against other Arizona schools (all except State at the 5A level, I might add), earn varsity letters, and win state championships. We have competition, camaraderie, and a lot of fun. We attend tournaments at valley schools, travel to out of town tournaments, and attend at least two national level competitions.

Ask anyone who’s been, the Harvard trip is a highlight of their TPA career. Our “Season” is primarily late October through spring break. If you do fall and spring sports, you can still do Speech and Debate. It’s even possible with a winter sport, if you’re a good with schedules. The downside of being an AIA activity is Speech and Debate is only open to high school students.

What are the events we do? First, let’s look at Debate. There are three types:

• Policy Debate – a team of two argue a national or international policy. The topic stays the same all year long, but the arguments evolve and even grow legs over the course of the year.
• Lincoln-Douglas – individuals debate each other on a topic that changes every two months. The topic is generally one of a quintessential nature of values.
• Public Forum – a team of two argue a topic fresh from today’s headlines. The topic changes every month.

What about speech? There are ten different events.

• Poetry – a selection of poetry is interpreted. Notice I use the word “interpreted”. That’s a whole different animal than just reading.
• Prose – a short story, or excerpt from literature is presented. It generally has characters and narration which the student presents to his or her listeners.
• Drama – a cutting from a play or literature, serious in nature. It can be a monologue or have multiple characters that the performer will bring to life. It is almost always character’s lines and not narration.
• Humor – the same as Drama, except humorous in nature.
• Duo Interp – a cutting from literature for two actors who cannot use any props, nor can they look at each other.
• Duo Acting – a cutting from a play for two actors with limited costuming and props.
• Expository – an original (the student writes it) speech designed to inform an audience. Visual aids are used.
• Original Oratory – an original speech designed to persuade an audience.
• Impromptu – a speech created “on the spot” by a student on a random topic.
• Extemporaneous – the student has 30 minutes to research a topic taken from the headlines and then present a 7 minute speech, complete with analysis and citations. Very challenging, but TPA has a history of being one of the best at this event.

As you can see, there are a lot of events to choose from. Whether you are an actor, ham, stand-up comic, future lawyer, policymaker or news junkie, it’s all here. In addition to these, the large valley tournaments offer Student Congress where competitors draft mock legislation varying from declaring “Star Trek” a religion, to tackling serious problems of the day. Students usually do 1 debate event and 2 speech events at each tournament. However, this is adjusted for individual students’ situations, abilities, schedules and other factors. We meet every Monday in room 402 at 3:15, starting on August 25th. We also have some summer activities planned.

Contact: Mr. Wolnisty

The premier string ensemble on campus, the group performs top quality music by master composers such as Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. Emphasis is upon excellent stylistic, ensemble performance. Varsity Strings performs throughout the year at a variety of elegant school functions. An annual trip includes an Advanced String Workshop in a state-of-the-art Disney recording studio. Entrance audition is required.

Contact: Mrs. Lenore Wilkison

Emphasis is upon string fundamentals, bowing, fingering, and tuning. Private lessons are recommended but not required. No entrance audition is required, although a placement audition will be administered early in the term. A recital performance is scheduled second semester.

Contact: Mrs. Lenore Wilkison

A small ensemble of brass and woodwind players. Emphasis is upon ensemble performance, technique, and beauty of tone. Wind players perform at various venues throughout the year, including the Renaissance Fair, drama productions, and other functions. No entrance audition required.

Contact: Ms. Elizabeth Hanson

Short-term commitment to intensive rehearsals and performance of acting and singing. Past performances have included complete works or scenes from works of Menotti, Bach, Mozart, Humperdinck, and Gilbert and Sullivan, fully-staged productions of "The Fantasticks" and "Fiddler on the Roof." This spring we plan to mount Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" Auditions are in January.

Contact: Nicky Pitman