Past editions of Bragging Rights
04.07
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April
30, 2006
Teacher Gets an A...
The District is proud to say that Sanford Jackson, Science Teacher at Taft Middle School, is our District Teacher of the Year. Jackson has been teaching for 13 years and the last 6 have been at Taft Middle School. Jackson feels that properly teaching each student helps bring about meaningful learning that will last for generations.
As OKCPS Teacher of
the Year, Jackson receives $2,000 and his school receives $700 to help
students continue the quality education they receive in Jackson’s classroom.
He also receives other donated gifts and will represent Oklahoma City Public
Schools at the state level when he competes for State Teacher of the Year
this fall.
April 30, 2006
Certified Healthy...
The District is proud of Buchanan Elementary and Fillmore Elementary, who reached the milestone of “certified” status in the Schools for Healthy Lifestyles (SHL) program. After much work and dedication to improving our students’ health and knowledge about health, Buchanan and Fillmore were honored at the Stars of Education banquet by State Superintendent Sandy Garrett, John Bozalis, SHL president and Wendy Jones, SHL executive director, with certificates proving their outstanding accomplishment.
April 26, 2006
Luck of the Irish...
Columbus Elementary's teacher, Oisin Fagan is Oklahoma Lightweight Boxing Champion and if that's not news enough Fagan, will have the opportunity to fight for the Lightweight Championship of Ireland in June. To fight for a national title is an outstanding achievement - we wish him the best of luck to him on the fight.
April
25, 2006
Color the World Drug Free…
Let’s all give a big
round of applause to Jalaun Parker, 5th grader at Ridgeview Elementary, for
winning first place with his Drug Awareness poster. Jalaun was honored at
the National Elks Convention held at the Biltmore Hotel. He received a Drug
Awareness basketball, a back pack full of goodies, his poster enlarged and
framed, a certificate and $100. Next year’s coloring book will include
Jalaun’s poster. He was given his awards by Gaylan Beuthien and Bud
Englebretson.
April 20, 2006
Drilling for Gold…
Northeast Academy JROTC hosted the annual Sooner Stakes Drill Competition. Participating schools included all high schools in the district with JROTC programs plus Guthrie and Millwood high schools. The competition events included competitive color guard, regulation drill with and without arms, exhibition drill with and without arms and individual drill down competition. A total of 44 teams competed. Trophies were awarded to the first, second and third place teams and individuals. The competition is always open to the public free of charge and friends and family are encouraged to attend.
April
19, 2006
On Guard...
The U.S. Grant High School Marine Corps JROTC competed in this years annual Sooner Stakes JROTC Drill Competition. They submitted four teams for the contest, two single-gender colorguards, one mixed-gender colorguard, one freestyle drill team with arms and six individuals for the individual drill down. U.S. Grant competed against tough competition from other OKCPS schools and more. Each team preformed very well. In the end, U.S. Grant took home three trophies, a first place in single-gender colorguard, first place in the individual drill down and third place in the freestyle drill with arms. U.S. Grant came out very proud knowing that they had won all together as a unit.
Also, the U.S.
Grant High School Marine Corps JROTC Colorguard had the honor of presenting
the National Colors at the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce’s
Educational Banquet. This was an event to show recognition for the hard work
of some of Oklahoma City Public School's best students. There were
representatives from several educational institutions
and businesses, which
included Metro Tech, Moore-Norman Tech, Oklahoma City Public Schools and
Carl’s Jr. With much anticipation, Jason White was the guest speaker. The Colorguard went on and performed very well with excellent discipline.
April 19, 2006
Mixing it Up...
Thousands of
students throughout the state of Oklahoma have explored diversity while
working on wonderfully creative collaborative art. These works of art were
on display at the Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at the Omniplex
in the 5th annual Respect Diversity Symbol Exhibit. All the art work in this
exhibit was inspired by multicultural units of study and were entered in the
Respect Diversity Art & Poetry Contest, launched with the help of Governor
and First Lady Kim Henry.
One of the contest winning entries is from Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School titled
“We Can See Diversity in the Sea.” This is a 3-dimensional interactive
art-piece that is a metaphor showing respect for different cultures. All 7th
grade teachers and students participated in this work of art that emphasizes
the importance of tolerance and acceptance. One of the awards for each
contest winning school is a gift card from Wal-Mart for art supplies.
April
19, 2006
Different Viewpoints…
Students from
Southeast High School attended the Multicultural Institute hosted by the
University of Central Oklahoma. Ulyses Norman entered the high school
student essay contest and was named one of four state-wide winners.
April 17, 2006
Of Good Character…
Classen School of Advanced Studies is proud of Sophomore Laura Nauman. The Character Training Institute honored Laura with the January 2006 Spotlight on Character award from MetroFamily Magazine sponsored by the Character First Project of Central Oklahoma. She was nominated for the award by Chandra Boyd of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art for her leadership capabilities, resourcefulness and insight. At a breakfast, Laura and other monthly winners of the Spotlight on Character awards were honored for displaying qualities consistent with the Character Training Institute's mission of helping communities reinforce character among their citizens.
More good news came when The Mathematical Association of America selected Classen School of Advanced Studies Math Teacher Marian C. Hall as a winner of the 2005 Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished Junior High School Mathematics Teaching. This award recognizes the excellence of those teachers who contribute to the success of the highest scoring teams on the annual American Mathematics Competitions 8.
Congratulations to the Classen School of Advanced Studies competitive speech team for taking 4th place sweepstakes at state speech contest at OU. In individual events the students performed outstandingly. Alyson Colin placed 5th in dramatic interpt; Leah Palmer placed 6th in prose; Michael Roselle and Anthony McPhearson placed 5th in humorous duets; Ruby Coyle and Alex Francisco placed 4th in dramatic duets; Chenise Nkanshi placed 4th in monologues; Alyson Colin placed 3rd in prose; Anthony McPhearson was State Runner-Up in humorous interpt; and Bethanie Hamilton was named State Champion in monologues.
April 17, 2006
Marching Forward…
The students at Columbus Elementary raised more than $4,000 to add to Kerr-McGee’s corporate donation to the annual March of Dimes Walk America fundraiser. Students were challenged to raise at least $5 by donating their allowance, performing extra chores and more. At this time teachers taught lessons that stressed the virtue of sacrificial giving. At a pep rally honoring the students’ efforts and contribution, Columbus Elementary presented a check to Kerr-McGee executives and the national ambassador family for the March of Dimes.
April
14, 2006
Southern Exposure…
Coolidge Elementary is busting at the seams with pride this year because Principal Sue Greenfield was selected as the Outstanding Administrator of the Year at the Annual Education Banquet sponsored by the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.
Equally proud is Westwood Elementary since 5th
grade teacher Dewayne Huff was selected as the Outstanding Teacher of the
Year at the same event.
April
13, 2006
Parent Success...
The Spencer community joined the Rogers Middle School
administration, the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City’s PEAK After
School Tutoring Program and its students for an evening of family fun.
Parents came out in record number to enjoy student presentations and to
gather information from more than 17 companies throughout the community and
the metropolitan area. Information regarding parent and student
relationships, mentoring and other important school information was discussed.
April
4, 2006
Native Pride...
Daniel T.
Trobare, a Comanche Indian attending Northwest Classen High School, has been
accepted into the Oklahoma Indian Student Honor Society. Daniel is the only
Native American student in the district to receive this award this year.
Daniel is a senior this year and has been the treasurer for the Northwest
Classen High School Native American Club, “The Native Knights,” for the past
two years. He maintains a 3.9 grade point average and is also involved in
the Northwest Classen Honor Society.
April 4, 2006
Trio of Greatness...
Congratulations to Rancho Village Elementary's Casey Wright, Elizabeth Rendon and Lisbeth Sanchez for winning $100 savings bonds for their posters "What I Like About America." The community service organization, SERTOMA, sponsored the event for 5th grade students.
April
4, 2006
Drawn In...
A Special "WooHoo"
goes to Coolidge Elementary's Brayan Alvarado because he won $100 for his
drawing in the Oklahoman CenTOONial contest. Brayan's drawing competed
against all other 5th grade entries in the Oklahoma City area.
April 4, 2006
Writing it Down…
Westwood Elementary principal, Dr. Jan Borelli, is one of ten elementary principals to serve on the national board of the Educational Advisors for the National Association of Elementary Principals. Borelli was selected to author the NAESP’s principal e-log. Visit her e-log at: http://web.naesp.org/convNews/elog.htm where she discusses the annual convention with pictures of OKCPS employees who attended the convention.
April 3, 2006
Great Start...
Capitol Hill High School's Academic Decathlon Team participated in the Federal Challenge. They were selected from a random drawing of first time participants as the winners of the Federal Challenge Novice Award. The team won $2,000 to enhance its economic curriculum from Citibank. Students who competed in the challenge were seniors Blake Chavez and Rayshawn Tempson and juniors Morgan Ward, Michael Stephens and Luis Miranda.
April 3, 2006
Parent Power...
Much praise is needed for the hard work and commitment the Prairie Queen Elementary PTA has given. They have continued to work to enhance the school's beauty. This year, four murals were erected in the school hallways thanks to the PTA. The murals are of schooners, children playing and an old one-room school house. It truly makes a nice welcome for all who enter.
April
3, 2006
A Night Out…
Roosevelt Middle School students and parents had a great time at their Parent Night event. There was free food, entertainment, drawings and community involvement. Families had the opportunity to learn about helping the education process at home and they also received information about available community services and resources such as educational, medical, financial, home ownership, legal services, immigration, gang intervention, fire prevention, recreational sports, taxes, mental health and counseling, domestic violence and family planning. All had a great time and learned a lot.
April 3, 2006
Grand Slam...
At the OKC All-City
Baseball Tournament Northeast/Classen won the Championship led by Head
Coach Jason Pickard; US Grant took second led by Head Coach Tommy Cornish
and Southeast won third led by Head Coach Tony Borum.
The All City Tourney Team consisted of the following district athletes:
John Marshall - Mike Pulliam and Andrew Hughes
Douglass - David Smith and Spencer Williams
Capitol Hill - Jesus Gallegas and Juan Almanza
Northwest Classen - Ernesto Gayton, Anthony Dunbar and Eric O'Conner
Southeast - Stephen Kemp, Cody Hargis and Jake Arthur
Grant - Mark Curtis, Alex Pando, Tommy Johnson and Juan Hernandez
Northeast/Classen - Nathan Settles, Tony Hernandez, Ryan McAdory, Emerson
Standard and Zac Stephens
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