OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

We have almost made it through the first quarter of the 2025-26 school year already! As we look back on September, there were many reasons to celebrate our students success. As we look ahead to October, there will be plenty of more opportunities for our students to enjoy Canyon and showcase their talents. For some of the highlights of this past month as well as some information on upcoming events, please read through the October Newsletter.

AP registration is open, for more information and to register, please click on the attachment below.

On Friday, September 12th, the ASB held its first Pep Rally of the Year. These rallies are great events that our students really enjoy. At the Fall Pep Rally, our Fall Sports Teams were celebrated and our amazing Dance, Song and Cheer teams performed. It was also the first class competitions of the year. Our rallies are fun events that get many students involved and are a fun way to end the week. We have a total of five planned for this year.

On Friday, September 19th Canyon High School held its annual Welcome Back Dance (aka WARP). Almost 1200 students attended the dance and had a great time! In addition to dancing, there were arcade games, face painting and a photo station for students to enjoy. Students also had a plenty of cold drinks available to help keep them refreshed on what was a hot evening.

Canyon High School offers students the opportunity to get connected through over 80 clubs! Last week on Wednesday (Sept. 24) and Thursday (Sept. 25) we held our annual Club Carnival at lunch. Students had the opportunity to obtain information on all of the various clubs. Below are some pictures as well as a short video that was done by our Film Ed Department that recap the event. If your student wanted to join a club that we don't have, encourage them to start the club themselves! For information on clubs or how to start one, they can go to the Student Center.

Homecoming Week 2025 is next week. The theme for this year's Homecoming is RIO CARNIVAL based on the popular Disney Movie Rio. The highlights of the week are the Pep Rally on Wednesday, October 8th at 7:00 PM, the Football Game vs. Irvine on Thursday, October 9th at 7:00 PM and the Dance on Saturday, October 11th at 7:00 PM. The LAST DAY TO BUY DANCE TICKETS IS OCTOBER 9th. The game will also include an exciting halftime show where we will announce the Homecoming Queen. As part of the homecoming week activities, we will be announcing during nutrition one day that week our new Mascot that will replace the Comanche starting in July of 2026.

Canyon High School has once again been recognized by Newsweek U.S. News and World Report as one of the Best Schools in the Country! This is a reflection of the great culture we have developed here at Canyon. This achievement wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for our STAFF, PARENTS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS and most importantly, our AMAZING STUDENTS who contribute daily to making this a GREAT SCHOOL!

Do you have a senior student who is overwhelmed by the College Application Process? Then you may want to have them take advantage of the following workshops being organized and provided by our amazing Canyon Counselors.

Tuesday, October 21: UC Personal Insight Questions Workshop

Thursday, October 23: Cal State Application Workshop

Tuesday, October 28 - Thursday, October 30: Application Support provide by CHS Counselors

All workshops take place during lunch and in the Canyon Counseling Center located between the 300 and 400 buildings.

For more information on deadlines etc., visit the Senior Corner by clicking on the link below.

Are you the parent of a current 9th grade student and are feeling a little anxious as your student transitions into high school? Do you have questions about what the next four years will look like academically? Then I would encourage you to attend the Frosh Parent Night this Thursday, October 2nd at 6:00 PM in the library. Our counselors will be presenting information that will help you help your student transition into high school

Canyon High School has one of the BEST Career Technical Educational (CTE) programs in the county. Students who complete two courses in the same pathway (area of study) receive the designation as Pathway Completer. Below is some information on one of our best pathways (Film Ed) as well as the recent success of one of our Engineering Pathway Completers.

Canyon High School has an Award Winning Film Ed Program under the direction of Mr. Alex Graham. He has had several students who have gone on to work in Hollywood and on various video projects. Last year, two of his former students were very close to having a commercial they made for Doritos run during the Super Bowl. One of the classes that helps prepare students for careers after high school is our weekly broadcast. Students produce a weekly show that highlights the activities going on at Canyon as well as some short entertaining segments. Below is a link to one of our most recent broadcasts if you would like to view it. There is probably a good chance that if you look close enough, you will see your student in one of the featured stories which include WARP, Athletics and Senior Back Packs.

Kian Castaneda, a CHS 2025 Graduate, recently won 1st Place in the Paradigm Challenge. His reward was a $25,000 scholarship. An Engineering CTE Pathway Completer, he used that knowledged to invent a product to help people with gout as well as Senior Citizens to have a better quality of life. In addition to the scholarship, Kian will also receive financial sponsorship to take his product to the next level in patent and development. CONGRATULATIONS TO KIAN.

Our Fall Sports Teams are about half way through the season. All of our teams our doing a great job and as of today, all have a good chance to make the playoffs depending on how they do in league. We have three teams to highlight for this newsletter that are not just having good seasons, but are having great seasons.

The Canyon Girls Flag Football team is having an Amazing Season! Coming off of a run to the CIF Semi Finals a year ago and losing several good players to graduation, some might have thought it would be difficult to duplicate that success this year. However, this years team appears to be better than ever. They are currently ranked #6 in Orange County with a record of 15-1! They are poised to win another League Championship and make another deep run in the CIF Playoffs once again.

Anytime a team is having success, individual honors are sure to follow. Thanks to the great season her team is having, our Girls Flag Football Head Coach Rebekah Anderson was recently named the Los Angeles Chargers’ (Week 4) OC High School Flag Coach of the Week! She will be honored at the November 30th game between the Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders. She has also received a $1,000 grant for her team. CONGRATULATIONS COACH ANDERSON!

The Canyon Boys Water Polo Team is having another great season. They are currently 12-5 overall, 1-0 in league and on pace to once again qualify for CIF Playoffs. They have two big home games coming up in October. On October 7th they host Esperanza and on October 21st they host Villa Park. Game times are at 4:00 and the boys would love to have a huge crowd there supporting them.

Canyon has a great IB Program! In addition to taking IB classes, our IB students are very active on campus outside the classroom. This includes publishing a monthly newsletter. Please click on the link below to read the October IB Newsletter and catch up on all of the great things they have been doing.

It is no secret that Canyon High School has some of the brightest and best students in the nation! This year we may have set an all time school record for students being recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. These students are being recognized based on their performance on the PSAT/NMSQT from last year.

We have 5 SEMI-FINALISTS! They will now await to hear if they are considered a finalist and hopefully eventually a winner which would include scholarship money. CONGRATULATIONS to Victoria Bui, Katelyn C. Gooneratne, Kieran LeMaster-Farrimond, Marc Rosu and Matthew Song.

We also had 9 students who were recognized as Commended Students. CONGRATULATIONS to Jibril Dadabhoy, Adriana Eickhoff, Julia Ettipio, Bailey Jeng, Anish Kalluri, Ella Kim, Anderson Parke, Jonathan Thomas and Sree Vadlamudi.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THESE STUDENTS ON THEIR OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT!

Congratulations to Jacob Scheff, a member of the Canyon Graduating Class of 2025. Jacob was recently named a 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholar—one of the nation’s highest honors for graduating seniors! Out of thousands of nominees nationwide, Jacob is among just 161 students selected for this prestigious recognition. His achievement showcases the excellence, talent, and dedication of our Canyon High School students

The choir program has their first concert of the year coming up on Tuesday, October 14th at 7:00 pm in the MPR. The concert is called "Why We Sing" and includes Classica, Gospel, and Musical Theatre pieces about the joy of singing and the community created through music making. Tickets are available at the door and cost $15 for adults and $5 for students/children.

The Canyon Regiment will start their Fall Show season in mid October, where they will perform in several competitions with their show theme being, "Spanish Rhapsody." The Canyon Symphony and String Orchestras will also have their first performance on Wednesday, Oct 22 in the Canyon MPR at 7:00 PM. If you can't make one of these shows, then come out to a home varsity football game where these talented students perform at every halftime.

Does your student enjoy art, music and dance or have an interest in writing, producing films and taking photos? Each year, over 300,000 students in Pre-K through Grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student-selected theme. This 50+ year-old program known as Reflections is sponsored by PTA's around the country. Its goal is to help students explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas. Allowing them to develop artistic literacy, increase confidence, love for learning and creativity. Plus providing them an opportunity to be recognition for their talents not only locally, but potentially statewide and nationally. Canyon PTSA is proud to once again sponsor the Reflections Contest to Canyon Students. It is open to ALL Canyon students from grades 9th - 12th. This year's theme is I Belong. Offering six categories for students to use to express their thoughts on this year's theme. Deadline to enter is Friday, October 17th. Use the link below to have your student enter. Any questions, please contact our Reflections chairperson, Hao Hong, at Reflections@CanyonhsPTSA.com. Good luck to all our entries!

Back by popular demand! PTSA is proud to be hosting a FREE Workshop to Canyon students and their families. Join us Tuesday, October 14th at 6:30pm as we host a Family Workshop focused on Financial Literacy! This is the perfect opportunity for students to learn the basics about credit, savings and get some tips from our special guest speaker! This workshop is FREE and no sign ups are necessary! Come spend an hour with your student, as they gain some value knowledge to help build a foundation for future financial success!

Canyon High School is committed to providing a Safe School Environment for all of our students. We have six counselors, two school psychologists, four administrators and five campus security who are here to help support and keep our students safe. We also have an amazing staff of over 120 teachers and classified staff who are also here to support students. If your student ever feels unsafe or has a concern, please encourage them to talk to someone here on campus. Our Administrators doors are always open to students.

In addition to a great support staff, some of the things that we do to keep students safe are:

• Hold four lockdown drills per year
• Hold two earthquake drills per year
• Hold two evacuation drills per year
• All visitors are required to enter through the main office and check in and check out

In the event of a potential threat to our students, we could go into lockdown which means no one enters and no one leaves. Everyone is locked in a room. If a threat is less imminent but has potential such as police activity in a nearby neighborhood, we would go into shelter in place. Students are kept in the classroom and doors locked but students can leave if necessary.

Want to know more about how we keep students safe? Then I would encourage you to attend the November PTSA Meeting on Thursday, November 6 when Assistant Principal Mr. Hammond will do a presentation on Safety Procedures at Canyon High School.

Want to know how to keep your students safe on Social Media? There are two upcoming opportunities for you to obtain that information. The Anaheim Hills Elementary PTSA is having a Virtual Meeting on Cyber Safety that is open to Canyon Parents. The meeting is this Thursday, October 2nd. For those of you who prefer in person, OUSD is having an in person meeting on Tuesday, October 7th at 6:00 PM at the District Office. For more information, click on the attachments below.

Every morning at 7:30 AM, we offer Math Tutoring in Room 139. Mr. Joe Svoboda is available to help any student who is having trouble with Math. No appointment is necessary. This is a great opportunity for those who can't get help outside of school to come before school and get help with Math. Due to Faculty meetings, there is no tutoring on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month.

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY TUTORING

The National Honor Society has tutoring from 3:30 to 4:30 Tuesday through Thursday in room 101.

Thursday, October 2: PTSA MEETING at 9:00 AM in the Canyon Library

Thursday, October 2: FROSH PARENT NIGHT at 6:00 PM in the Canyon Library

Wednesday, October 8: HOMECOMING PEP RALLY at 7:00 PM in the Canyon Gym

Thursday, October 9: HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME vs. Irvine at 7:00 PM at Fred Kelly Stadium

Saturday, October 11: HOMECOMING DANCE at 7:00 PM in the Canyon Quad

Tuesday, October 14: CHOIR CONCERT at 7:00 PM in the MPR

Tuesday, October 14: PTSA FINANCIAL LITERACY WORKSHOP at 6:30 PM in the Library

Wednesday, October 15: MINIMUM DAY - END OF 1ST QUARTER

Monday, October 20: RED RIBBON WEEK

Wednesday, October 22: INSTRUMENTAL CONCERT at 7:00 PM in the MPR

Thursday, October 23: BLOOD DRIVE in MPR from 8:30 to 2:00

To View more events at CHS, the Canyon Master Calendar Please Click Below

https://www.canyonhighschool.org/resources/mastercalendar

For all the athletic schedules, please visit the Canyon Athletic Website

To Purchase Tickets for Varsity Football and Volleyball Games, please use the link below:

https://gofan.co/app/school/CA18766

The Canyon High School Website is a great source of information. Please click on the link below to visit it.