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School News - Tip Sheet - 12/19/2007

 

12/19/2007, 9:30 a.m.

Students and staffers at Greeley Elementary are honoring two area businesses that donated time, money and equipment to education.

Greeley Principal Peggy Owens said Capital One Auto Finance, a company that has only been in Tulsa a little more than a year, has already adopted her school through the Partners in Education program. Greeley administrators say the business gave the school a “nice size monetary donation.” Also helping out is Academy Sports & Outdoors. The sporting goods store donated new bicycles to Greeley students.

Capitol One and Academy Sports will be recognized before Greeley’s winter program on Dec. 19.

 

Winter Sing-A-Long 

12/19/2007, 1 p.m.

Get ready to use the ‘ole vocal cords as William Penn Elementary conducts its annual Winter Sing-A-Long on December 19. The students will lead attendees in an hour of tunes, all under the theme of "T'was the Night before Christmas." The program is being held to give students an opportunity to celebrate the holiday season with their parents while showcasing their talent.

There’s also going to be a drawing at the end of the program for $25 and $50 gift certificates. Participants must be present to win. The gift certificates were donated by Air Products and Dodge Chrysler Jeep of Tulsa, two of William Penn’s school adopters.

 

Greeley’s Winter Wonderland 

12/19/2007, 9:30 a.m.

Greeley Elementary School has a winter extravaganza planned with a decidedly Southeastern Asian touch.

Students and teachers at the school are combining music, food and an environmental message. Kindergarten teacher Flora McClary says her pupils plan on performing music with instruments they constructed out of garbage! The idea is to dovetail the concert with a lesson on the importance of recycling. The food is Filipino cuisine, including Pancit (a stir-fried noodle dish), egg rolls and fried rice.

 

Lanier's Winter Program 

12/20/2007, 1:15 p.m.

Youngsters at Lanier Elementary are staging a Winter Program on Thursday, December 20th at 1:15 p.m. in the school’s gym.

The musical extravaganza features third, fourth and fifth graders performing a variety of holiday-themed songs while playing Orff instruments. The Orff-Approach is a developmental approach to music education for children. It was developed by the German composer Carl Orff (1895-1982), while he was music director of a school of dance and music known as the Günther-Schule, in Munich. He collaborated extensively with Gunild Keetman to fully develop the philosophy. The term “schulwerk” is the German term for schooling or school work, in this regard in the area of music.

 

Kidz with Karz  

12/22/2007, 2 p.m.

Students at Edison Preparatory Middle School are wholly embracing the season of giving, brightening up the day for ill children.

Members of Edison’s Technology Student Association are going to St. Francis Hospital this weekend to deliver hand-made and brightly-painted toy cars to youngsters in the pediatrics unit. The program is the brainchild of Edison teacher Ken Classen and has been dubbed “Karz for Kidz.”

Classen says Edison students are “fired up” about Karz for Kidz, adding that there’s more to the story.

“We have sold tickets for donations to purchase not only a Kar for a Kid but all money will be given to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation,” Classen said. “We are going to deliver the Karz to local hospitals and get pictures of the Kidz with Karz to give back to the donor with a thank you note.”

 

Edison’s Moore scores jazz award 

1/19/2008, 11 a.m.

Talk about music running in the genes! Jama Lou Moore, middle school band teacher at Edison, has been named the International Association of Jazz Educators jazz band director of the year for the state of Oklahoma. The award comes as Jama’s son, David, is hailed as the college jazz player of the year for his work with the trumpet.

“I am very surprised and honored by this award and it's wonderful to be sharing with my son,” Jama said.

Jama and David will both be presented with plaques during the All-State Jazz Concert on January 19th at the Crown Plaza Hotel in downtown Tulsa.

The International Association for Jazz Education is a non-profit voluntary organization that distributes student scholarships through its approved festivals program.

 

TPS Students to March in MLK Parade 

1/21/2008, 10 a.m.

TPS will be well represented during a large parade in January honoring the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

A massive marching band made up of 90 students from Alcott, Anderson and Whitman elementary schools is slated to participate. It’s happening, in part, thanks to a cable TV station.

“Alcott, Anderson, and Whitman’s band programs are made possible by a grant from the VH1 Save the Music Foundation,” said TPS Music Curriculum Specialist Paige Godfrey. “VH1 has granted over $750,000 worth of instruments to Tulsa Public Schools for instrumental music programs such as band, orchestra, piano labs, guitar labs, and even mariachi.”

Godfrey said Rogers and Central high schools and Madison, a middle school, are also be taking part.

Officials credit Tom Claiborne, a TPS music teacher, for his work in bringing together the talents of students at Alcott, Anderson and Whitman.

“He’s taken the initiative to do such a large task," said Alcott principal Julian Wilson. “It takes a lot of patience to coordinate with three schools.”

Claiborne said third, fourth and fifth grade students comprise the band. The parade they’ll be taking part in kicks off January 21 at 10 a.m. Marching starts at Pine and Cincinnati, proceeds east on Pine to Greenwood then south on Greenwood through the Greenwood business district. The theme of the parade is: "Dr. King's Dream: Wake Up and Work It Out!"

 

Circle the State with Song 

1/26/2008

Students at Hoover Elementary school will be well-represented during an upcoming choral festival sponsored by the Oklahoma Music Educators Association.

“Circle the State with Song” will be performed January 26 at the Jenks Performing Arts Center. Songs in the repertoire include “Laudamus Te” by Antonio Vivaldi, “Windy Nights” by Mark Patterson and “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burnin’ " by Greg Gilpin.

According to the OMEA’s website, the goal of the festival is to provide an opportunity for exceptional music students to work with guest choral clinicians on challenging music for an exciting choral experience with other students.

The Edison students picked for the festival are: Holden Dempsey, Melanie Gault, Jonathan Harris, Lauren Lawson, Eva Roush, Haleigh Caine, Jacquelyne Carter, Chelsea Zuniga, Brianna Gomez, Alison Sturgeon, Montre Hishaw and Tamber Walls.

 

Kids, Kows, and More  

3/13/2008, 9:15 a.m.

TPS third and fourth graders are invited to participate in a program that gives a hands on agricultural experience.

“Kids, Kows and More” is sponsored by the Tulsa County OSU Extension Service, Southwest Dairy Association and the Texas Extension Service. An expo on March 13 in Tulsa provides up-close and personal experiences for students, parents and teachers from the area.

The exhibits and demonstrations include dairy, cotton, beef, swine, wheat, sheep and wool. Students attending the expo are encouraged to write an essay called, “What I learned about agriculture on my field trip to Kids, Kows, and More.” Essays are evaluated on agriculture knowledge, originality, creativity and mechanics —including grammar, organization, and punctuation. The winning student will receive a $100 savings bond and the class will receive an ice cream party. For more information, contact the Tulsa County OSU Extension Center at 746-3709.

 

Art Ambassadors on the Move 

4/9/2008

Beth Howard, art teacher at Mark Twain Elementary and mentor of the Art Ambassadors, continues to blaze a trail of creativity. Her workshop proposal has been picked for next year’s 19th Annual National Service-Learning Conference, Youth for a Change.

The conference is billed as the largest gathering of youths and practitioners involved in the service-learning movement. The 2007 conference drew attendees from across the United States and 19 other countries. The event provides access to new ideas and networking opportunities, with more than 200 workshops and countless opportunities for informal meetings.

The conference runs from April 9-12 in Minneapolis. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and urban educator Pedro Noguera are delivering the keynote addresses.

Howard is used to awards. In 2006 she was named the Oklahoma Elementary Art Teacher of the Year. She mentors the Art Ambassadors, an organization of students attempting to bridge the gap between school and community with art that beautifies and teaches us all to give back.

 

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