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School News - Tip Sheet - 10/7/2009

TPS on a Roll: Kendall-Whittier Teacher is Early Childhood Educator of the Year 

9/29/2009

Jill Davis, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Kendall-Whittier Elementary School, is the 2009-2010 Oklahoma Early Childhood Educator of the Year. The award is given by the Early Childhood Association of Oklahoma.

“Tulsa Public Schools is on a roll,” said association president Susan Illgen. “First you have (Brian Grimm) as Teacher of the Year and now Jill is Oklahoma Early Childhood Educator of the Year. This is another highlight showing the good things that are going on with the district.”

Davis is nationally board certified, a graduate of Northeastern State University and a former top five candidate for TPS Teacher of the Year.

Davis recently offered her thoughts on teaching and its rewards.

“When you’re an early childhood teacher you have to have a lot of energy, but it’s the only job I know of where you get paid for playing with Play-Doh and having fun with little kids,” she said.

“The early years are the most important years and what teachers do every day in the classroom builds the foundation for all other learning,” said Illgen. “Our winner this year exemplifies early childhood education’s finest: she has a playful and exciting classroom, engages families and the community to be a part of their teaching, and shares her expertise with other professionals.”

A state selection committee of early childhood experts representing higher education, mental health fields, public school and child care selected the winner. Davis will receive $1000 in gifts from the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Foundation, the Early Childhood Association of Oklahoma and the University of Central Oklahoma.

 

Taste of North Tulsa  

10/8/2009, 5:30 p.m.

It’s called a “Taste of North Tulsa,” and by taste we mean checking out promising academic opportunities, meeting experts in healthy choices and sampling nutritious cuisine from area restaurants.

Taking place at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, at McLain High School, “Taste of North Tulsa” features multiple booths and exhibits. Organizations attending include the OU School of Community Medicine, Morton Comprehensive Health Services, the North Tulsa Economic Development Initiative and American Heart Association. Entertainment includes live music.

Register online at tulsa.ou.edu/wtshc/ no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 1, call 918-588-1900, ext. 3221, or e-mail seberle@ihcrc.org

 

Grant Will Increase Safety at Tulsa Public Schools 

10/8/2009

Tulsa Public Schools has received a grant of nearly a half a million dollars to provide students, teachers and staff with a safe learning and working environment. The $437,740 Secure Our Schools grant will enhance the community policing strategies of the district’s Campus Police Department and help further develop existing relationships between TPS and other law enforcement agencies in the region.

TPS will utilize the grant in the following ways:

• Purchase and install building access security systems in 18 school sites, including doors that automatically lock, card reader access devices and live video feed systems

• Hire additional administrative staff for campus police including a communication specialist and administrative clerk

• Contract with a crisis management consultant to assist the district and community first responders in organizing and implementing a system of full-scale emergency exercises in collaboration with the district's Readiness and Emergency Management grant program

 

Central Play Sweeps Competition 

10/12/2009

A one-act play produced by Central High School’s Fine and Performing Arts department has nabbed first place at a regional competition.

Written by Aaron Levy, "Pizza with Shrimp on Top" tells the story of a high-school senior coming to realize the beauty of life and friendship.

Central’s production received top honors at the Regional One Act Play competition in Oologah. Central also dominated the competition’s award ceremony, winning Best Tech and All Star Cast honors for an ensemble including Bubba Gafford, James Scott and Sarah Wheaton.

Central’s production of the play next enters statewide competition on Thursday, October 22.

 

Mayoral Debate 

10/13/2009, 10 a.m.

The Tulsa Retired Educators Association is sponsoring a mayoral debate between Tom Adelson and Dewey Bartlett. The two candidates will be allowed to speak for ten minutes and then take audience questions. All district employees have been invited to attend. Roy Lewis is a representative of the Tulsa Retired Educators Association and he can reached at 747-1415.

 

HelmZar Community Day 

10/15/2009

If you haven’t ever been there, perhaps you have at least seen it from the roadside—a behemoth with ropes, pulleys, levers. The HelmZar Challenge Course has been popular with children and adults for years, offering games, problem-solving activities and good, old-fashioned climbing. Now HelmZar is holding a Community Day on October 15, a chance to check out what the course has to offer. Community Day is open to middle school children on up, although individual under the age of 21 must be accompanied by an adult. Pre-register by October 8 to attend. Call 595-2875 for more information. The cost is $20 a person.

 

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.

 

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