October 31, 2006

What a Knock Out...

Columbus Elementary Physical Education teacher and Irish boxing champ Oisin Fagan is adding another award to his list of accomplishments. The newly named Light-Welterweight Champion of Ireland is being named as this year’s Young Alum at the University of Science and Arts. The award is given each year to an alum chosen by nomination as one of USAO's "best and brightest."

In 2004, he was named the Lightweight Champion of Oklahoma. In 2006, he returned home for a run at his national title – and won it. This summer he was named the Light-Welterweight Champion of Ireland.

 

October 30, 2006

That Tops It...

Stonegate School of Advanced Studies had great success with their Red Ribbon Week. Students wore stickers with the slogan "Put a Cap on Drugs." Each student was invited to create a hat depicting the fight against drugs and they had a good time creating those hats.
 

October 30, 2006

Back to the Future...

The Friends of Northwest Classen High School Foundation, a group of alumni and involved citizens, recently held a charity golf tournament to raise money to help school staff purchase much needed equipment and materials to benefit the students. Grants totaling $36,000 were awarded to 14 teachers and the principal. Former Oklahoma City Mayors and NW Classen High School alumni Kirk Humphreys and Ron Norick helped present the awards and both participated in the golf tournament held in September at Twin Hills Golf & Country Club. The Foundation saved some of the proceeds to start an endowment so that this grant program may continue in the future.

October 30, 2006

It's the Great Pumpkin...

Capitol Hill Elementary's Pre-kindergarten classes celebrated fall with their first Playground Pumpkin Patch Day. This event was made possible by the generous donation of an assortment of 90 pumpkins from Under the Sun Nursery and Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. The playground Pumpkin Patch was created and organized by the teaching teams of Cherry Mays, Silvia Smith, Ernestine James, Frances Cole and Kathy Duncan to provide the children with a hands-on experience to reinforce the week’s theme. Several parent volunteers joined in the day’s festivities, making the day a huge success. The day’s activities included hayrides, face painting, outdoor play, and of course choosing and painting a pumpkin to take home. The day ended with the viewing of the film Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden written and directed by George Levenson. Both the children and the adults enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

October 27, 2006

Cleaning Up...

A special thank you to the members of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation and the Phillip Morris Company who gave their time working hard to clean-up and beautify the campus of Jackson Middle School. Thanks to the volunteers' hard work the students are proud of their school environment.
 

October 24, 2006

That's a Wrap...

Congratulation to the Vice-President of the Capitol Hill High School Film Club, Andrew Grimes, for his appearance on Channel 5 news. Andrew was covering the gubernatorial debate between Governor Brad Henry and Congressman Ernest Istook at UCO in Edmond. He was given a prime front row seat, which was an excellent vantage point for the spirited debate. Afterwards, Andrew was interviewed by anchorman Tyler Suiters of KOCO for several minutes and a small portion of the interview aired during the newscast.

October 17, 2006

Parents Paving the Way...

PTO Today, announced that Wilson School for Arts Integration was named the winner of the Outstanding Focus on Involvement category in the Parent Group of the Year search. Wilson's School PTA runs the school’s sports programs, an unusual undertaking for a parent group. The school’s 10 soccer and 10 baseball teams are all run by parents, as are the basketball teams. The PTA builds on the interest in the sports programs to get parents more connected to the academics and other activities at the school. The result is broad-based involvement that spans gender, ethnic and socio-economic differences. The PTO Today Parent Group of the Year search, now in its sixth year, is sponsored by Educational Products Inc., and honors the parent groups that best represent the great work being done by parent groups throughout America.

October 17, 2006

Standing Room Only...

Northwest Classen High School's drama team of Two Rooms comprising of the talents of Ryan Pruitt, Olivia Glenn-Allen, Kelly Maples and Ryan Hylton, and the crew, Alanna Lortenz, Parker Cunningham, Isaiah Trujillo, Garrett Cox, Amanda Dixon, Megan Williams, Molly McCabe, Kendall Turtle and Robert Marti won second place in the OSSAA Regional One-Act Play contest. This win qualifies them for the state Contest. Congratulations also goes to Olivia Glenn-Allen, Kelly Maples and Ryan Hylton for receiving All-Star Cast Awards for their outstanding performances.

October 16, 2006

That's Drama...

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Classen School of Advanced Studies' Les Liasions Dangereuses for winning first place at the Regional One Act Play Competition and qualifying to go to the State Competition. Also, congratulations to Ruby Coyle, JR Atkinson, Alex Francisco and Jeff Moody for being named to the All Star Cast. Classen SAS was recognized for Outstanding Technical Achievement in a One-Act play.

October 13, 2006

Today's Teachers...

USA TODAY named 20 winners to its ninth All-USA Teacher Team, honoring them as representatives of all outstanding teaching in our nation’s schools. The 2006 All-USA Teacher Team includes 19 individuals and a team of two (21 teachers in total) in grades K-12. The District is proud of the teaching team of Sandra L. Bennett and Gene L. Williams from Emerson High School for being named to this prestigious team. USA TODAY’s All-USA Teacher Team honors individuals and instructional teams throughout the country. Team members will receive trophies and share $2,500 with their schools, with each teacher receiving $500. All are honored in the nation's newspaper as representatives of outstanding teachers.

October 12, 2006

Nothing Tricky About It...

Capitol Hill Elementary students had a great time at their first Trick or Read Night. Students moved from room to room listening to Halloween stories and enjoying sweet treats.

October 9, 2006

Dancing With the Stars...

The Life Change Ballroom program has brought excitement to Eugene Field Elementary. It was launched in the 5th grade classes this year, students are learning the Cha-Cha-Cha, the Swing, the Rumba, the Foxtrot and the Salsa. This program is at eight other schools and teams from each school will compete in December for the title of "2006 Life Change Ballroom Champions." This program teaches young children teamwork, sportsmanship, social awareness, confidence, self-esteem, goal-setting, the value of hard work, manners, etiquette, trust and mutual respect.

October 6, 2006

Look it Up...

As part of their annual projects, the Oklahoma Rotary Club #29 handed out a brand-new dictionary to every third grade student in the District. The group of business leaders and professionals conduct several community-based projects every year. Rotary members handed out the dictionaries personally at Edgemere Elementary.

October 5, 2006

Right On Target...

Eugene Field Elementary today announced a partnership with Target for sponsorship of its reading incentive programs. Eugene Field works diligently with the PTA to provide incentives for the students to increase the awareness of the importance of reading daily. Target is making this initiative possible through a monetary donation which will provide incentives for reading programs throughout the school year. Target is also providing the priceless use of their team members as volunteers for these programs. This sponsorship is part of the ongoing support Target provides to local communities throughout the country.

October 5, 2006

Who Let The Dogs Out...

The WATCH D.O.G.S. Across America program at Eugene Field Elementary's focus is to prevent violence in schools by using a positive influence of fathers and father-figures. Eugene Field began the 2006-2007 WATCH D.O.G.S program with a Donuts with Dads breakfast. Krispy Kreme donated 15 dozen doughnuts, Starbucks donated coffee and Buy 4 Less donated eight gallons of orange juice for the event. This year, 44 fathers signed up to be WATCH D.O.G.S. during the school year. Each father will volunteer at the school at least once during the year. Julio Gonzalez is the “Top D.O.G.” at Eugene Field and has been extremely helpful in contacting other fathers at Eugene Field to become a visible presence within the school.

 

October 2, 2006

It's a Miracle...

The National Honor Roll announced that Judith Miller-Miracle was accepted as a member of NHR's Outstanding American Teachers for 2005-06. Outstanding American Teachers recognizes educators who have made a difference in their communities. Miller-Miracle teaches American History at Webster Middle School.