JUNE NEWSLETTER

Canyon Families,

As we finish up a great year, we haven't slowed down. This newsletter recaps a lot of great things that happened in May! There isn't a lot going on the next two weeks as we prepare for the end of school and our 2026 Graduation Ceremony on June 11.

To our SENIOR PARENTS, this is an emotional time filled with excitement, sadness and pride. As someone who went through this last year as a parent, my best advice is take time to enjoy graduation week and embrace everything that comes with it. I am sure there is lot to do as you prepare, but I hope you make time to just enjoy your senior student.

To our RETURNING PARENTS, I hope you enjoy your students enjoy their summer break. Please look at the very bottom of the newsletter for important dates that include TCOB dates in August. To our CLASS OF 2027 PARENTS, you will find information about Senior Pictures in this newsletter.

On behalf of our staff, I want to close by thanking you for allowing us the opportunity to work with your student. It has been a great year! We wish our Seniors the best as they go into the next chapter of their lives and we look forward to seeing our 9th, 10th and 11th graders returning next year.

Have a Great Summer!

Brent McKee
Principal

Congratulations to Canyon French Teacher Mrs. Frederique Boyle and 5 of her AMAZING students. Canyon had 5 students receive medals in the National French Language Contest (Grand Concours). In French 1, Claire Wright received a Silver Medal and Moneta Wang a Bronze Medal. In French 2, Yoobin Cha received a Gold Medal (2nd year in a row) and Preston Nguyen received a Gold Medal (2nd year in a row). Skyler Phung received a Silver Medal. Three more students received Honorable Mention. They were Fabrizio Diaz Mota and Ziyana Kassam (French 2) and Athene Wang (French 3).

This is the third year that Canyon High School French students competed in Le Grand Concours National French Contest. Le Grand Concours is a competition involving students from all 50 States and abroad. It is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French, and more than 45,000 students compete each year by taking audio, grammar, and vocabulary tests.

Please click on the attachment below to view the April IB Newsletter and learn about all of the great things happening in the IB Program.

What has been a Canyon tradition since the 1990's continued this past week when we held our annual Physics Boat Races. Physics students were tasked to create a boat using only cardboard, pvc pipe and duct tape that could transport at least one person across the pool and back. Students were able to chose the design and decoration of their boat. Extra credit was given to those students who could convince a teacher to ride in the boat with them. Some were very successful at going to the other side and back. Others were very successful at going directly to the bottom of the pool. Regardless of whether the boats floated or sank, a good time was had by all who attended.

Our Counseling Department celebrated Mental Health Week in May. The goal is to bring awareness to the importance of Mental Health and provide strategies that help promote good Mental Health. During the week, our counselors had lunch time activities that involved games and activities. They also gave away free T-shirts that had been designed by one of our students. Thank you to the Counselors for working hard to create a special week. The photo to the right has all the designs that were submitted for the T-Shirt Contest.

On Saturday, May 9th, our 11th and 12th grade students and their guests had the opportunity to enjoy an amazing Prom. The theme was "Masquerade" and it was held at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center. In addition to dancing, there were plenty of games to play and good food to eat. It was a great event and maybe one of the best Proms ever.

We are thrilled to share some incredible news from our very own Canyon High School film program! Several of our talented student filmmakers have been recognized at the 2026 Orange County Youth Choice Awards, headlined by a spectacular 1st place win for Susan Braun in the Suicide Prevention category, alongside a wave of official nominations for her peers.

The awards are part of the statewide Directing Change Film Challenge, an initiative that blends cinematic arts with health proficiency, empowering young people to become advocates for wellness. Led by Film Teacher Alex Graham, these creative students are being celebrated by our district and local community for their incredible ability to use film to educate peers on recognizing warning signs, supporting friends in distress, and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health as well as tackling issues about substance abuse.

Suicide Prevention Category

• 🏆 1st Place Winner: Light at the End of the Tunnel – Susan Braun

• Official Nominee: Your Thoughts Aren’t Alone – Ana-Shekar Dadashzadeh

• Official Nominee: Directing Change PSA – Vivian Steiner, Sydney Wong, Brooklyn Kumsakul, Mackenzie McCarthy, and Annavie Dang

Substance Use Prevention Category

• Official Nominee: I didn’t know it would make things worse – Winston Harman

The Directing Change Film Challenge serves as a reminder of the incredible talent, empathy, and advocacy fostered within our district schools. Canyon High School and our local community extend a huge congratulations to Susan and all of the nominees for their dedication and artistry.

Congratulations to Kaelyn Rivas, Lindsey Trinh and Phoebe Hanfei Mai. Their art work was selected to be on display at the Laguna Festival of Arts. July 7 through September 3. To be a part of this unique exhibit, Orange County teachers submitted artworks from all grade levels, with 100 pieces selected to be showcased at OCARTS4All in Crystal Court. Subsequently, Laguna Festival of Arts handpicked 10 pieces from each grade level, culled from the initial 100, to feature in their prestigious summer exhibit. CONGRATULATIONS to these 3 artists!

On Monday, May 18th, Canyon High School held its annual Athletic Awards Night. During the program, many of our amazing athletes and teams were recognized for the great seasons they had this past school year. A special congratulations to Tessa Fortenbaugh, Caroline Hicks and Aiden Dunn who were named Athletes of the Year!

As part of the program, 3 more student athletes signed letters of intent to bring our total for the year to 23 student athletes who will continue their career at the collegiate level. Congratulations to:

• Braden Earle, Grand Canyon University, Lacrosse
• Elizabeth Steward, Point Loma Nazarene University, Dance
• Sophia Walker, Chapman University, Cheer

CONGRATULATIONS to our Boy's Track 4 x 400 Relay Team! They qualified for the State Tournament with a 6th place finish at Masters on May 23rd. The team is made up of the following runners: Joshua Vu, Ryan Lathiya, Desmond Jackson and Ryder Patterson. The ran a time of 3:18:04, a new school record! They will compete in the State Meet over the weekend of May 29th and 30th.

On Friday, May 1, the Orange Unified School District held it's annual Special Olympics for students with disabilities at Fred Kelly Stadium. As usual, it was an outstanding event where everyone left feeling like a winner. Congratulations to our student athletes who competed and a thank you to our student volunteers who helped support this event.

CONGRATULATIONS to Justin Duff! Justin was one of four golfers from the North Hills League to qualify for the CIF Regional Individual Tournament at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach. He competed against 131 other players and finished in a tie for 12th place. He then moved on to the CIF Individual Championship at River Ridge GC in Oxnard. There he finished in a tie for 38th out of 122 players.

Also, CONGRATULATIONS to the Boy's Golf Team! They competed in the Division 4 Team Championship at Sterling Hills GC in Camarillo and came in 8th out of 22 teams.

Our Varsity Boys Baseball Team won two exciting C.I.F. games to advance to the CIF Quarterfinals. They defeated Valencia 5-4 and Upland by a score of 4-1 before losing a tough one to Glendora 4-3.

I realize we haven't even had the graduation for Class of 2026 but this message is for our Seniors to Be, also known as the Class of 2027! To have your picture in the yearbook next year, you need to schedule a session with PSS Imaging. We encourage you to do this over the summer. To schedule, please scan the QR Code to the right and select "Schedule Session".

For additional information regarding senior sessions, contact us by e-mail at pssimaging@msn.com or by phone at (714) 630-7785.

It is time to start cleaning out lockers and returning books.

SENIORS: MONDAY, JUNE 1 & TUESDAY, JUNE 2

JUNIORS: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3 & THURSDAY, JUNE 4

SOPHOMORES: FRIDAY, JUNE 5 & MONDAY, JUNE 8

FRESHMEN: TUESDAY, JUNE 9 & WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10

ALL CHECKED OUT ITEMS TO STUDENTS MUST BE RETURNED TO THE LIBRARY BY THURS., JUNE 11TH

CONGRATULATIONS to Ziyana Kassam who won the National Award of Merit in the National PTA Reflections Contest in the Photography category for her photo titled "Light of Connection".

Graduation is one week away! Starting Monday, June 2nd, seniors can turn in their clearance cards and pick up 6 graduation tickets. Next week will be Senior Activities with the week ending on Thursday night, June 11th at 7:00 PM with our Graduation Ceremony. Attached below is a letter with more information.

Students wanting 6 extra graduation tickets can pick them up after Cap and Gown Distribution on Monday, June 8th. Students need to bring a note signed by parents requesting extra tickets and how many. Any student who brings a note requesting tickets will receive up to 6 extra tickets. If they can't pick them up after cap and gown, the student can pick up the extra any time that week before Thursday at noon.

On Monday, May 4th, we celebrated our Seniors and their college choices for next year. Seniors were asked to wear their college t-shirt and we got them out of class for nutrition 10 minutes early. They were able to put a sticker (or draw) that represented their college for next year and then sign their name to it. We had music, donuts and a back drop for picture. The banner will hang on the 200 building for the remainder of the year before being placed outside of our AVID Classroom.

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

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.

The American Chemical Society Club offers tutoring sessions across all levels including Regular, Honors, and AP Chemistry.

Tutoring sessions are held every Tuesday and Wednesday from 2:00–4:00 PM. On even days, tutoring will take place in Ms. Nguyen’s room (129), and on odd days, it will be held in Mr. Brierly’s room (134).

GRADUATION - Thursday, June 11, 7:00 PM at Fred Kelly Stadium

SUMMER VACATION - Friday, June 12 to Tuesday, August 18

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS 2027- Starts at 8:00 AM -Times by Alpha to Be Announced Later

• Monday, August 10 - SENIORS (Times to Be Announced)
• Tuesday, August 11 - JUNIORS
• Wednesday, August 12 - SOPHOMORES
• Thursday, August 13 - FRESHMAN

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR 2026-27 - August 19

For up to date information during the month, you can check out the Canyon HS Website or click on the Daily Bulletin which has up to date announcements on what is happening at CHS.