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School News - Tip Sheet - 12/5/2007

Memorial’s robotics team takes home trophies 

12/3/2007

Okay. Now it’s getting ridiculous.

Another competition results in yet another strong finish for the Tulsa Engineering Academy at Memorial’s Robotics Team. This time they competed at the Frontier Trails Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology Championship, held in Fort Smith, AR., earning second place honors in the applying the engineering design process and making a professional engineering presentation categories.

Memorial’s team also placed strongly in the robotics and most photogenic machine contests. The crown jewel of the team is “Inspiration,” a robot standing nearly two feet tall designed to assist astronauts unloading equipment.

Robotics is the science and technology of robots, including their design, manufacture, and application. The field requires a working knowledge of software, electronics and mechanics, as well as other practical applications. Students determine which materials, processes and specifications are needed to create the robot, drafting, assembling and testing it for accuracy and endurance.

 

Book Fair Blizzard  

12/5/2007

Brrrr! Bundle up! The forecasters say a Book Fair Blizzard is headed your way.

Lanier Elementary staffers are continuing this week with the book fair, aimed at teaching youngsters all about the joy literature can bring. It began on December 3 and runs until December 6. Parents are invited to attend a VIP luncheon that occurs on both the 5th and 6th. Parents can shop the book fair, enjoy fun activities and eat lunch with their child.

 

Santa's comin' to Hoover 

12/5/2007, 1 pm

Santa Claus is making a personal visit to Hoover Elementary, bringing Christmas cheer and presents to students in the preschool autism class.

The Tulsa Downtown Lions Club is sponsoring St. Nick’s appearance. It’s been a tradition for decades.

“The kids love it and get real excited,” said Kathy Davis, Hoover’s special education team leader. “Some of the kids are a little reluctant to sit on Santa’s lap, but others go right up to him.”

The Downtown Lions Club was established in 1916 with the express goal of serving the Tulsa area by assisting the visually and physically handicapped. In years past they have facilitated Santa’s visit to multi-handicapped and developmentally delayed classes, but this is the first year autistic students will get to see the man in the red suit.

 

Nimitz readies for academic competition 

12/6/2007, 3:45 p.m.

Students at Nimitz Middle School will be giving their brains a big-time workout the next couple days, with both an Academic Bowl Match and Spelling Bee coming up on the schedule.

The bowl is December 6 at 3:45 p.m. and features seventh and eighth graders. It comes two days after a similar match up at Fulton Teaching and Learning Academy. The bowls are in quiz show style formats and involve youngsters displaying their knowledge on a variety of topics. The Spelling Bee is on December 7th at 1:35 p.m.

 

Anderson Elementary gets healthy 

12/6/2007

A TPS elementary has been recognized for its implementation of a program aimed at keeping kids healthy and wise.

The idea behind Eat, Exercise, Excel! is to replace traditional recess by guaranteeing forty minutes of daily exercise and reducing discipline referrals. Marian Anderson Elementary thoroughly embraced the program and has now won an award from the Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition, lauding school staffers for making a significant change in improving the way they approach fitness and nutrition.

Anderson principal Brenda Anderson had been high on Eat, Exercise, Excel! since October, when it had only been in existence at the school for nine weeks.

“The kids and teachers both love lunch in the classroom and not only that our number of students transferring out has decreased in size as well,” she said at the time, adding that the school’s number of discipline referrals was plummeting.

The coalition hands out its annual awards Dec. 6 at the University of Central Oklahoma.

 

A Night With the Bard: Student Shakespeare Performance 

12/7/2007, 7pm

A series of scenes from classic Shakespeare is what “A Night with the Bard” is all about. Memorial High School students taking a course taught by Sommer Billings are required to perform in the event instead of taking a final written exam. And they take it seriously.

They’ve been working all semester on assorted plays, sonnets and monologues and on the evening of December 7 all their labor pays off. Folks attending the event will witness everything from the passion between Romeo and Juliet to the witches of Macbeth to the classic finale of Hamlet's death.

The public is welcome to attend the performance. Tickets are $3 in advance and $5 at the door. T-shirts are $15.

 

On the road again 

12/7/2007, 9 a.m.

A whirlwind day is on the horizon for members of Bell Elementary School’s student choir. Come Dec. 7 the singers, soaring harmonies and all, are hitting three different locations: Methodist Manor Nursing Home, Tulsa Promenade Mall and Tulsa International Airport. Expect to hear all the old chestnuts, including “Silent Night,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.”

 

Partners In Education Ceremony 

12/7/2007, 9:00 AM

Carver Middle School & First Baptist Church of North Tulsa will become Partners in Education at a ceremony to be held Friday, Dec. 7, 2007 @ 9:00 a.m. in the Carver auditorium.

 

Thoreau Open House 

12/12/2007, 9 a.m.

Thoreau Demonstration Academy —the middle school winning raves and high test scores with its innovative Microsociety program—is holding an open house for prospective parents and sixth grade students next week. Principal Tom Padalino will be conducting tours and explaining the school’s unique philosophy.

This week some area fifth graders are shadowing Thoreau sixth graders, checking out the school in advance of next week’s open house. Hoover Elementary student Meris Teague listened as Jessica Bollinger— a Hoover alum herself—explained the ropes.

“You have to work and stuff,” Jessica said, “but you get to shop and you have lots of friends. Everyone is really nice to you.”

“It seems really cool,” Meris concurred. “It’s fun to see.”

Thoreau is a research-based, brain compatible learning environment that houses sixth, seventh and eighth grade children from across the city of Tulsa. Admission is determined by a public random drawing from applications, and is uniformly distributed by geographic quadrant. The school is no stranger to recognition for academic excellence, being named the 2004-05 Tulsa Public Middle School “Exemplary School” of the year. Thoreau has an enrollment of 530 students. The Microsociety involves students creating a world of their own, complete with businesses, courts and a constitution.

Reservations for the tour are not necessary. It begins at 9 a.m. in the main office. Details will be available on how to register a child to spend a day at the school, just like Meris did with Jessica.

 

Immersion Program Meetings  

12/12/2007, 9:00

Immersion programs, where English-speaking children achieve fluency in another language before entering their teens, have been a major draw at TPS. A series of meetings in December and January are aimed at parents who wish to put their children through the program.

“We totally immerse them from day one in another language,” said Stacy Strow, principal at Eisenhower International School. “By the end of the fifth grade they are bilingual.”

Begun a quarter-century ago in the TPS system, the program is incredibly popular with parents. Eisenhower offers immersions in Spanish and French. Henry Zarrow International immerses students in Spanish. Both schools are holding meetings for interested parents. The meetings will feature multimedia presentations from the principals of both schools, as well as tours of both facilities. Eisenhower’s meetings are Dec. 12 at 9 a.m.; Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.; Jan. 8 at 9 a.m.; Jan. 16th at 9 a.m. and Jan. 25 at 9 a.m. Zarrow’s are Dec. 4 at 9 a.m.; Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.; Jan. 16 at 9 a.m. and Jan. 24 at 9 a.m.

Space is limited, so sign up today. Eisenhower's phone number is 746-9100 and Zarrow's is 925-1560.

 

Remington Holiday Gala 

12/13/2007, 8:30 a.m.

Remington Elementary School’s PTA is hosting a Holiday Gala for Remington students and their parents on December 13 at 8:30 am. Expect to see: A visit from Santa, Christmas carols, special recognition for Remington’s Star Students and yummy holiday bread and hot cider.

A professional photographer will be on hand to snap photos of students with St. Nick. Students and their siblings may have two 5X7 photos with Santa made for $5.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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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