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School News - Tip Sheet - 10/21/2009

TPS to Expand Police Staffing, Outreach 

10/23/2009

Tulsa Public Schools is beefing up its police force after receiving a $500,000 grant from the US Department of Justice. The money will be used to hire four new full-time sworn officers for three years, fund additional training for law enforcement personnel and purchase giveaway items for community outreach events.

The grant is distributed by the COPS Safe Schools program. The DOJ reports these grants help state and local agencies with delinquency prevention, community planning and development, school safety resources and technology development.

 

Edison Students Selected to Attend Literary Conference 

10/24/2009

Remember the names of these five Edison students: Margaret Aguwa, Chelsey Gay, Matthew Lawson, Krystal (Tobe) Shea and Samantha Wright. They may soon adorn the covers and jackets of publications sitting on your bookshelf. The quintet is students in a creative writing course taught by Paul Stevenson, Edison Preparatory School curriculum specialist, and they have been invited to attend the Nimrod Conference at the University of Tulsa Saturday, October 24.

The conference draws both professional writers and students from around the country. The Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry has been published for more than 50 years and is recognized as one of the leading journals of its kind.

 

Magnet Fair Showcases Educational Opportunities 

10/24/2009, 12 p.m.

Tulsa Public Schools is gearing up to present a magnet school fair showcasing the stunning array of opportunities available to parents and their children. The fair is Saturday, October 24 at Woodland Hills Mall from 12-4 p.m. and features district personnel and students enrolled in magnets answering questions and demonstrating the unique activities these schools have to offer. Materials will be distributed explaining the various opportunities as well as procedures for enrolling or transferring to a magnet school of choice.

more information on TPS magnet schools

 

McClure Celebrates a Half Century 

10/25/2009, 1 p.m.

Students and staffers at McClure Elementary School are gearing up to mark the school’s golden anniversary this month. All of McClure’s former students and faculty are invited to attend and bring with them historically-significant items representative of the school’s rich history. The anniversary coincides with a just-completed major renovation.

“We have a new library and six new classrooms that we’ll be dedicating,” said Susan Baston, McClure’s principal. “It’s been quite exciting to move into a library that is four times the size of our old library.”

Opened in 1959, McClure is the namesake of H.O. McClure, a former member of the district’s school board and president of a life insurance company. Born in 1865, McClure died in 1955.

 

Clinton Middle School Hosts Mayoral Debate 

10/26/2009, 6:30 p.m

The candidates for the office of Tulsa mayor square off in a debate on Monday, October 26 at Clinton Middle School.

The forum is sponsored by the Tulsa County News and the League of Women Voters, with a league representative serving as moderator. Each candidate will be allowed a three-minute opening and closing statement. Questions for the candidates must be submitted in writing prior to the debate.

Tom Adelson and Dewey Bartlett are vying to fill the seat vacated by incumbent Kathy Taylor. The election is November 10.

Shelly Holman, Clinton’s principal, said the forum serves multiple educational purposes.

“We want students to be aware of their civic duty to vote and we hope that by hosting this forum we can showcase our brand new school and stress the importance of voting,” said Holman.

The forum runs from 6:30-8 p.m.

 

High-Tech Mobile Lab Coming to Tulsa Public Schools 

10/26/2009

The Dynamic Mobile Skills Lab contains just about everything a student interested in a long and lucrative career in the manufacturing industry needs and it’s coming to five district schools. Permanently housed at Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City, the lab contains cool stuff including a 3D prototype printer, pass-through laser, plasma torch, welding unit, drill press and CAD design software.

While there has been much press given to the flow of tech jobs overseas, most of the highest-paying positions remain in America. Northeastern Oklahoma is especially strong.

“When you combine the aerospace, oilfield related and regular manufacturing jobs there are more positions and a higher average salary in this region than in the healthcare industry,” said Harold Helton, TPS director of college and career readiness.

The lab is coming to the following middle schools: Cleveland (October 26), Foster (October 27), Wilson (0ctober 28), Lewis and Clark (October 29) and Hamilton (October 30). It’s free, available to the public and will be open during regular hours.

View photos of the lab at Wilson Middle School

 

Booker T Washington Performs ‘The Little Shop of Horrors’ 

10/29/2009

It’s been a B-movie featuring Jack Nicholson, a major Hollywood production, an off-Broadway musical performed internationally and even an animated TV series but The Little Shop of Horrors hasn’t yet received the Booker T. Washington High School treatment. That changes when the BTW Jazz Band & Hornet Musical Theatre launch five productions of the classic black comedy.

The dates are Wednesday, October 28 (10 a.m. and 7 p.m.), Thursday, October 29 (10 a.m. and 7 p.m.) and Friday, October 30 (7 p.m.). The early performances on school days are for invited guests and students with $5 tickets benefiting the school’s drama department.

First filmed in 1960, The Little Shop of Horrors tells the story of a carnivorous plant and its befuddled owner. A 1982 stage production proved to be a massive success, generating interest in the film and leading to a short-lived series on broadcast television.

 

Continuation School Holds Ribbon Cutting 

11/2/2009, 1 p.m.

The Tulsa Public Schools mission of providing every student with the means to graduate receives another boost with Continuation School, a user-friendly educational institution more closely resembling a call center or office pool than a school house.

With 30 slots each for morning and afternoon classes, the school is operated in collaboration with some of the region’s social service agencies including the Tulsa County Juvenile Board and the Oklahoma Juvenile Authority. “Continuation School is designed to make graduation possible for even the most challenged and struggling students,” said Phil Garland, the district’s lead principal for Schools of Innovation. “We use individualized lesson plans and attend to a child’s reading level and math skills. These are used to create an instruction plan tailored to fit state standards.”

Since it’s computerized, the instruction plan can be accelerated to speed up the graduation process. The school is located in the Fontana Shopping Center, 4968 South Memorial. There is a ribbon cutting for the school on November 2, at 1 p.m. The media and public are invited to attend.

 

Clinton Middle Grand Opening 

11/14/2009, 10 a.m.

The new Clinton Middle School has been the talk of the district since it began educating students this fall and now the public is invited to check out the new digs. Clinton students and staffers are holding an official grand opening /open house on Saturday, November 14 and everyone is invited to attend. Clinton’s Partners in Education are contributing to the festivities and supplying hot dogs and cookies. The old Clinton Middle School served Tulsa students since 1938.

The new location features wireless networks, tech classrooms, a state-of-the-art auditorium and an eco-friendly building thermal system.

 

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