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School News - Tip Sheet - 11/7/2007

Students named National Merit Semifinalists. 

11/7/2007

Five TPS students have been selected by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalists.

Three students at Booker T. Washington High School received the honor: William J. Chyan, Carl J. Engle-Laird and Meredith Nelson. Michael J. Martell, a student at Thomas Edison High School, has also been tapped as a semifinalist along with Catherine Roberts of the Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences.

The award is an academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a privately funded, not-for-profit group. Begun in 1955, the program sees 1.4 million entrants annually. Only about 50,000 students qualify for recognition. Two-thirds of those qualified receive Letters of Commendation. The rest become semifinalists, with 94 percent of that number going on to become finalists. Over half of the finalists receive scholarships.

 

Dr. Zolkoski Sings with Elementary Students 

11/8/2007, 10:00 a.m.

Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Zolkoski belts out a few tunes accompanied by a trio of second-grade classes.

As part of celebrations commemorating Okalahoma’s Centennial, Dr. Z and a few guitar-slinging side kicks are singing a collection of campfire and western-themed songs. The performance takes place in the school’s music room, which is decked out in an “Oklahoma motif,” according to second-grade teacher Nancy Davis. Check out the replica of a covered wagon and students and staffers dressed for the occasion in cowboy hats and bandannas.

 

Peary PTA honored with proclamation 

11/8/2007, 6 p.m.

Recognizing their contributions to the school and the community, Tulsa City councilman Bill Martinson is honoring the Robert E. Peary PTA with a proclamation at the council’s weekly meeting. Peary is a PK-5 elementary school located at 10818 E. 17th Street. The school’s enrollment is 307 students. Their website is: www.tulsaschools.org/schools/peary/

 

McKinley students pay homage to Tulsa veterans 

11/9/2007

Students at McKinley Elementary School are honoring area veterans with a flag-holding demonstration and gift giving event.

It takes place at the school on Nov. 9 and features a presentation on the history of the American flag. Maxine Mackey and Sharon Ruston of American Legion Post 1—at the age of 88 the oldest continuously operating post in the country—plan on attending the event. Mackey and Ruston will be joined by junior auxiliary members in a flag-holding demonstration.

McKinley second and third graders will serenade the audience in a rendition of “We are Proud of our Veterans.” The students have been pooling their money to pay for modest gifts for the veterans, and those gifts will be presented during the event.

Formerly Armistice Day, Veterans Day was a federal legal holiday observed on the fourth Monday in October during the mid-1970s. It reverted to Nov. 11 in 1978.

Tulsa officials recently estimated there are 36,000 veterans and active personnel in the city.

 

TPS DISTRICT-WIDE WELLNESS FAIR 

11/9/2007, 1:00 p.m.

A health fair with something for everyone is slated for Nov. 9. Running from 1p.m. till 5p.m., the fair is jointly sponsored by Tulsa Public Schools Health Services, the OSU Center for Health Sciences and the Oklahoma Blood Institute. Services offered run the wellness gamut: free screenings and assessments for vision, hearing and blood pressure are coupled with foot exams, osteopathic manipulation, breast health seminars and info about massage therapy. Diabetics can check out a cooking demonstration at 3:30 p.m., carbon dioxide analysis is available to smokers looking to kick the habit and prostate cancer screening is offered to men that provide a blood sample. As if that wasn’t enough there’s also hand grip strength testing, a blood drive and testing for cholesterol and sickle cell anemia.

The fair takes place at the TPS Service Center. This is the second year for the fair and it comes with a $15 fee. Call Health Services at 746-6364/65 for more information.

 

Developing a Chess Club & Tournament Play 

11/14/2007, 2:00 PM

You’re move!

Robert Yerton is a jack of all trades, working as an examiner for the Tulsa Police Department, a children’s minister and as an avid chess player. Yerton is now offering his services to educators, providing a professional development opportunity for teachers to help start Chess Clubs at their schools. Check out Robert's seminar at Disney on Nov. 14.

 

Houston celebrates centennial 

11/15/2007, 9 a.m.

A day’s worth of celebrations take place at Houston Elementary when students, faculty, TPS administrators and municipal officials gather to mark Oklahoma’s centennial.

The day begins at 9:00 a.m. with an all-school assembly featuring an area Boy Scouts pack and a vocal performance by Houston students. Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor will deliver the keynote speech, followed by remarks from TPS Superintendent Michael Zolkoski and Area I Superintendent Verna Ruffin. Other community leaders are slated to appear.

Will Hill, an area American Indian perform fluent in several Native languages, will perform following the morning assembly. Hill is part of a duo of performers dubbed “Mahenwahdose,” (“the real thing” in the Creek language) and will dazzle the crowd with a lesson in Native American culture. Other performances in the afternoon touch on cowboys, musicians and the Buffalo Soldiers.

Houston students have been preparing for the centennial, reading up on Oklahoma lore and studying history under the tutelage of Social Studies teacher James Williams.

 

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