We understand there’s a lot of information to take in, so we’ve organized everything here to make it as easy and convenient as possible for you.

Meet the Archway Veritas Leadership Team led by our Headmaster, Mrs. Megan Opitz!

Mrs. Christine Gandy, Assistant Headmaster | Dr. Daniel Atwood, Dean of Students
Mrs. Erin Thorn, Dean of Academics & Culture | Mrs. Erin Kinkel, Teacher Coach
Mrs. Ami Hosack, Director of Operations | Ms. Del Duca, Office Manager
Mrs. Mandi Canter, Family Giving Officer | Mrs. Mary O’Connor, Office Assistant
Miss Susan Mandy, Office Assistant

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, April 30th; 5:30 pm: New Family Orientation
During this event, parents and guardians will have the chance to learn more about Archway Veritas. Headmaster, Mrs. Opitz and Assistant Headmaster, Mrs. Gandy will lead a discussion on a variety of topics, including our classical liberal arts education, school philosophy, the Love & Logic discipline approach, homework and grading practices, logistics, and our school’s culture.

Please note, this event is designed for parents and guardians.

Saturday, May 3rd; 9:00 – 10:00 am: Kindergarten Meet & Greet
This is an Open House style event – an opportunity to meet the Kindergarten teachers, tour the classrooms, play on the playground and connect with other incoming Kindergarten families.

The Archway Veritas Parent Service Organization (AVPSO) will also be on campus. The AVPSO will have information on school events and volunteer opportunities. They will also be selling used uniforms and spirit wear!

Monday, July 28th:
Parents will receive an email form their child’s homeroom teacher on or before July 28th to let you know which classroom they are in. The school will not post rosters on the front doors of the school.

 Monday, August 4th: Back to School Bash at Altitude
Feel free to attend any time between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, Archway Veritas teachers will attend to meet their new classroom families during the following windows:
Kindergarten–10:00 am-11:30 pm | 1st Grade–10:30 am-12:00 pm
2nd Grade–11:00 am-12:30 pm | 3rd Grade–11:30 pm-1:00 pm
4th Grade–12:00 pm-1:30 pm | 5th Grade–12:30 pm-2:00 pm

Tuesday, August 5th; 4:00 pm: New Student Orientation
All 1st – 5th grade new students are required to attend, along with at least one parent/guardian. Faculty will help students gain familiarity with the campus. During this time, parents will get early access to the gymnasium to learn about social events and community building, sign up to volunteer, order yearbooks, and purchase spirit wear through the Archway Veritas Parent Service Organization (AVPSO) beginning at 4:00 pm. Families will be reunited at 4:20 and proceed to their classroom to meet their homeroom teacher, find their desks, and receive their textbooks before Back to School Night begins for returning families at 4:30 pm.

Tuesday, August 5th; 4:30 pm: Back to School Night
The evening is an open house format for students and families. We highly recommend that families allot 1 hour for the event. Families will enter through the gymnasium on the south side of the building beginning at 4:30 pm.

Families will have an opportunity to learn about social events and community building, sign up to volunteer, order yearbooks, and purchase used uniforms and spirit wear through the Archway Veritas Parent Service Organization (AVPSO).

Students will meet their homeroom teacher, find their desks, and receive their textbooks.

Uniforms

Why uniforms?
Research consistently shows that students who wear uniforms perform better academically and behaviorally than those who do not. While the specific uniform itself may not matter, the meaning behind it does. Wearing a uniform signifies a student’s connection to a larger community, emphasizing that their identity is shaped by their role within it.

We have partnered with Lands’ End as our school uniform provider! Great Hearts believes Lands’ End offers the best combination of quality, convenience, and variety for our school community. Attached, you will find the “Perfect Fit” document, which outlines several methods for determining the correct fit for your child.

For information on approved backpacks, shoes, and socks please view:

Click here to be redirected to the New Family presentation

Consumable Books

Your child’s class will utilize workbooks and/or classic works of literature during the upcoming school year. Parents are encouraged to purchase these materials so that their students will be able to write in them and develop their own impressive library of classics over the course of their academic career with Great Hearts. If the cost of these consumable materials presents a financial hardship for your family, please contact the school for assistance.

So that all students use the text aligned with the class and curriculum, parents must purchase texts with the exact ISBN provided. Each grade level book list below provides a link to each individual book through Amazon and other vendors.

Kindergarten Consumable Literature Book List

First Grade Consumable Literature Book List

Second Grade Consumable Literature Book List

Third Grade Consumable Literature Book List

Fourth Grade Consumable Literature Book List

Fifth Grade Consumable Literature Book List

*Clicking the links above will download the document to your computer*

 

Edukit/School Supplies

Archway Veritas offers the EduKit program as a convenient option for families to order school supplies. These kits are custom-made for our school and contain exactly what students need to start the year off right! If you choose to purchase supplies separately, you can access the school supply lists by following the link here.
EduKit is the preferred option. Order by June 11th for the best pricing and FREE shipping.

Communication Channels

Headmaster Newsletter – Sent every Friday at noon, includes grade-level/class newsletters
Archway Veritas Parent Service Organization – Sent every other Thursday
MTK (Membership Toolkit) – Sign-up to volunteer, spirit wear purchases, school directory
Homeroom Parent – Reach out to your homeroom parent and ask to be a part of the class text chain

Configio – Parent Payment Portal

Archway Veritas uses Configio for all club, yearbooks, Kindergarten tuition, and school event registrations.
Note: Each Great Hearts school has its own registration portal. If you have students at multiple schools, you’ll need a separate account for each. We recommend one account per household per school.

Creating Your Account

  1. Go to the portal and fill in the form:
    • Username/Email: Use your email address for easy login.
    • Email: Enter the email where you’d like to receive event updates (only one per household account).
    • Password: Create a memorable password. Use the “Forgot” option if needed.
    • First Name: You can enter one or both parents’ names.
    • Last Name: Use your own last name, even if it differs from your student’s (you’ll add students later).
    • GH Employee? If applicable, select the relevant option at the bottom.
  2. Click “Create Account”, then enter your name and home address to complete setup. Click “Save as Account Address.”

Adding Students (Participants)

You must add your student(s) before registering for any club or event:

  • Log in and hover over the “Account” menu (do not click).
  • Highlight “Settings”, then click “Participants.”
  • Click “Add New Participant.”

Note: Once a participant is added, they cannot be deleted—only edited.

Volunteering

All parents and guardians of students currently enrolled at Archway Veritas are members of the school’s Parent Service Organization. We are a community of parent volunteers that provides a support system to enrich our students’ academic experience. We volunteer our time in service, facilitate communication, and administer social activities to benefit and support the faculty and administration that are working to provide the best educational experience for our children.

We have partnered with Raptor Technologies to screen our volunteers and guests on campus. The safety of our students, faculty, and staff are of the utmost importance at Archway Veritas. Please complete and submit a volunteer application.
All volunteers must be Raptor cleared. The approval process is done annually and should take approximately 10 minutes. You should receive an answer within 48 hours. The cost is $5.00.  All volunteers must be approved through this process, with no exceptions. Please note, when selecting the school, the system will not separate Archway and Prep.
Do NOT do this until July.

Part of a successful school experience is the support that families can provide each other.  We hope you take advantage of the family events planned for this year.

Stay Connected: Membership Tool Kit
The Membership Tool Kit portal will give you access to the school directory so that you can plan activities for your kid(s) or call another parent to get a copy of your child’s forgotten homework. To create an MTK account, please visit the link above, click Login, and click the Create Account button under New User.

Volunteer Opportunities:
Volunteering time is one of the best ways to connect with other parents and to learn more about the inner workings of the school and its events. To see what volunteer opportunities, you would like to sign up for, please follow the link here.

Events:
Click here for a brief overview of the major events sponsored by the PSO and the school.

Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart! ~ Elizabeth Andrew

We ask that each family commit to a minimum of 3 volunteer hours per semester so that our community will remain united and vibrant – and so that we can support the school and faculty.

Volunteer Opportunities: Lunch Room Server, Homeroom Parent, Field trip Chaperones, Classroom Celebrations, Library, Book Fair, Community Events, and much more!

Traffic Flow

Drop-Off
Earliest drop-off is 7:45am, when faculty supervision begins on the playground and in the cafeteria. Exceptions: Sunrise Club at 7:15am & Veritas Prep siblings at 7:30am

*Do not drop students off earlier unless part of the above groups.

Students arriving after 8:14am must be walked in by a guardian and signed in for a tardy pass—no unaccompanied entries after this time.

Absences
Call the school at 602-489-7341 to report absences. You may also email the teacher, but be sure to include: attendance@archwayveritas.org to ensure proper documentation.

Pick-Up
Dismissal times: Wednesdays: 1:30pm | Half-Days: 12:00pm | Regular Days: 3:15pm

Please be patient as routines settle in. Use your car placard (more information coming soon) for a smooth and safe pick-up process—this helps staff identify and match students to vehicles efficiently.

Traffic Flow Map

Family Giving

Our academy flourishes because of parent philanthropy. Every gift to Community Investment and each Tax Credit designation supports a private school caliber education in a public-school setting. All funds from these campaigns stay at Archway Veritas and directly benefit your child’s education.

ARCHWAY VERITAS COMMUNITY INVESTMENT

Your gift to Community Investment helps to cover the gap between what it costs to deliver the education that your children deserve and what we receive from public funding. This includes:

  • Two teachers in every classroom
  • Art, music, foreign language, and physical education on a daily basis.

The funding gap is $2000, and we ask each family to contribute $1,500 per student, per year (or $125 per student, per month). Every family’s participation, at any level, is vital to supporting our teachers and the educational priorities of Archway Veritas.

ARCHWAY VERITAS TAX CREDIT

The Arizona Public School Tax Credit (Statute 43-1089.01) allows all Arizona taxpayers to contribute to the public school of their choice and receive a dollar-for-dollar credit on their state income tax liability. We use Tax Credit contributions to:

  • Bring Ballet Arizona and Phoenix Symphony to perform for our scholars 8 times a year
  • Pay for fun (and educational) field trips
  • Keep after-school club fees low

Married couples can contribute $400 and single filers can contribute $200. Whatever you contribute you receive back from the Arizona Department of Revenue as either an increase in your refund or a reduction in your overall tax liability once you file your return.
Ask a grandparent or family friend to help our school by donating.

CORPORATE MATCHING OPPORTUNITIES

Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees.

Please connect with Mandi Canter (mcanter@archwayveritas.org), our Family Giving Officer, before June 1st to confirm your 25-26 giving intentions. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ARCHWAY VERITAS!

For more information or to set up monthly giving, please follow the link HERE.

Health Office

Our mission is to support students in developing healthy physical, mental, and emotional habits for lifelong wellness. We serve every scholar with respect, compassion, and care.

The health office supports students with medical needs, acute illness, or urgent situations. It is not a clinic and cannot diagnose or provide treatment plans. Please speak with your child about when it’s appropriate to visit the health office.

ALL medications must be brought on campus by the parent and given to the health office with the completed medication consent form.

Parents should inform the Health Office of any changes in their child’s health, including:

  • New diagnoses or medications
  • Hospitalizations, surgeries, or injuries
  • Communicable diseases in the student or family

Please see the nurse or visit our website to complete forms on allergy, asthma, migraine, seizure, or diabetic action plans.

Clubs

We are gathering a multitude of club offerings for the upcoming school year. Please keep an eye out for information in the Headmaster Newsletter in July, for a list of club offerings for the first semester.
Club registration for Semester 1 will open on Saturday, August 2nd at 9 AM and close on Thursday, August 7th (end of day). Most clubs will start during the first full week of school, beginning on August 11th.

Hours of Operations

School Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Fridays; 8:15 am – 3:15 pm
Wednesday; 8:15 am – 1:30 pm
Half-Day; 8:15 am – 12:00 pm

Office Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Fridays; 7:45 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday; 7:45 am – 4:00 pm
Half-Day; 7:45 am – 12:30 pm

Stay Connected

The printable school year calendar can be found on our website by following the link here. Don’t forget to read our Headmaster Newsletters for important information! You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram!