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School News - Tip Sheet - 2/27/2008

SURPRISE! TPS Employees Earn Bonus Pay 

2/27/2008

Employees at nine TPS schools received surprise cash bonuses after showing the greatest improvement in the District's accountability plan.

The Foundation for Tulsa Schools (FTS) awarded $250 to each and every employee at Mark Twain, Skelly, Marshall, Anderson and Springdale elementary schools; Thoreau Demonstration Academy, Foster and Byrd middle schools; and Edison Preparatory High School. Teachers, custodians, administrators and other staffers were stunned by the check presentations during the rallies they believed were "staff meetings."

Dr. Michael Zolkoski and members of the Tulsa Board of Education made the surprise presentations on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

This is the seventh school year that FTS has awarded the employee bonuses. This year's nine winning schools each earned their first-ever FTS incentive bonuses, for a total of about $128,000.

Congratulations to the staffs and students at:

• Anderson Elementary
• Mark Twain Elementary
• Marshall Elementary
• Skelly Elementary
• Springdale Elementary
• Byrd Middle
• Foster Middle
• Thoreau Demonstration Academy
• Edison Preparatory High School

Tulsa Public Schools is PROUD of you!

 

Hale’s Physics Teams Rockets to Engineering Championship 

2/27/2008

Nathan Hale High School’s physics class successfully defended their title at this year’s Oklahoma State University — Tulsa Engineering Design Challenge by building a rocket boat.

That’s right. A rocket boat.

For those us without IQs in the quadruple digits, physics teacher John Hinkle says that a rocket boat is “not cutting out a piece of Styrofoam, and gluing a rocket to it, but much more… calculating the angle at which downward thrust and the forward thrust are equal uses a bit of trigonometry.”

Hinkle says a working knowledge of calculus is also necessary to determine the correct drag and ensure that the burn time of the rockets covers one-half the total distance.

Confused? That’s why you’re not a physics major. But Hinkle’s students sure figured it out and they nabbed the championship in the challenge’s open category with an average time of four meters a second. The team isn’t a stranger to winning. They earned championships in 2005 and last year.

 

Nimitz Teacher Scores Grant 

2/27/2008

A grant application written by an eighth-grade teacher has netted Nimitz Middle School a $2,000 award.

The Teach Award comes from the Best Buy Company and is offered to help integrate technology into the classroom. Science teacher Joe Myers authored the application in conjunction with a National Science Foundation grant through the University of Oklahoma— Tulsa. Myers also credits Dr. Hazem Refai.

“I am grateful to the support of Dr. Refai at OU-Tulsa for his guidance in writing and implementing a new curriculum based on technology which enhances our science program at Nimitz,” he said.

The main technology is Vernier Sensors which enable the students to collect real-time data on temperature, motion, pH, conductivity of materials, and heart rate. The dollar amount of the primary grant was $5,000.

 

East Central Science Teacher Selected As Local Liaison 

2/28/2008

East Central science teacher Becky Edmonsond is heading to Washington, D.C. as a representative of all Tulsa teachers participating in the SEEDBED project. SEEDBED —the acronym stands for Stimulating Enthusiasm, Exploration, and Discovery through Biotechnology Education — is designed to stimulate a pipeline of biotechnology students to Tulsa Community College, leading to highly skilled biotech professionals in northeastern Oklahoma. SEEDBED comes from a $384,581 grant from the National Science Foundation to TCC. The grant expires August 31, 2009.

The SEEDBED conference Edmonsond is attending in the nation’s capitol takes place at the Carnegie Academy for Science Education on February 28.

 

Bust That Test Rally 

2/28/2008, 1 p.m.

The McLain High School for Science and Technology’s drum line is coming to William Penn Elementary School next week, snared for the purpose of drumming up a bit of enthusiasm for upcoming tests.

The theme is “Bust That Test,” and this isn’t the fist time McLain musicians have helped their younger counterparts. A similar rally last year yielded such positive results educators decided to give it another go. This the fourth year for the testing rally.

Penn library specialist Victoria Ellington said her charges “have been working hard preparing for the test.” She also says that Penn’s teacher have a “little surprise” in store for the drum line, but she coyly isn’t telling what it is.

 

Longtime TPS Employee Retires 

2/29/2008, 3 p.m.

An integral part of Bryant Elementary —and TPS as a whole —is leaving. After 34 years in the district and 19 at Bryant, Beverly Moore is retiring.

“I have so many passions that I want to explore while I’m still young enough,” says the 1969 Booker T. Washington graduate and grandmother of eight.

Moore worked as a counselor at Bryant and while she won’t be there anymore, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: she now wants to work with area churches to help at-risk youth. As for her lengthy tenure at TPS, Moore wouldn’t change a thing.

“”I’ve really enjoyed the position I’ve been in,” she says. “I think I was able to work with the community and help things move forward.”

Her co-workers obviously appreciate her service. They’re inviting TPS employees to attend a reception on Moore’s behalf at Bryant on February 9 at 3 p.m.

 

Remington Celebrates Read Across America 

3/3/2008, 8:30 a.m.

Remington Elementary is marking Read Across America with a series of innovative literacy programs.

On Monday, March 3, students select and take home the book of their choice. Remington administrators say this is the second of three book giveaways the school is conducting during the year. They day has also been set aside to honor children’s author Dr. Seuss and events include a nursery rhyme play performed by pre-K students and the second grade class’ puppet project. Lunch that day is, you guessed it, green eggs and ham.

 

Dr. Seuss Family Literacy Night 

3/3/2008, 5:30 p.m.

What’s your favorite Dr. Seuss book? “Green Eggs and Ham”? Maybe it’s the “Cat in the Hat”? Books authored by the legendary Theodor Seuss Geisel receive prominent play when McKinley Elementary School holds Dr. Seuss Family Literacy Night on March 3.

Eight reading stations full of Dr. Seuss books are being set up around McKinley’s campus. Students and their families —parents are encouraged to attend—will stroll around the school, stopping at the stations and reading the books together. Visitors receive a bingo-type card that’s marked off at each station. Once the cards are full it’s off to the cafeteria for ice cream and cake.

During his lifetime Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 children's books. Many of his books have been adapted into short animated programs and have been around longer than you might think. “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” for example, was originally published in 1937.

 

Memorial Golf Fundraiser 

3/8/2008, 11:30

A fundraiser for Memorial High School’s golf program is set for Saturday, March 8.

The price tag for the four-person scramble runs $160 a team and $40 a head. Sponsoring a hole is $100. Sponsoring a hole and a team runs you $250.

Officials say proceeds from the event will help defray the cost of equipment, camps and travel for the school’s boys and girls gold teams. The scramble is at the White Hawk Golf Course in Bixby.

 

Hale Hosts Impulse Control Seminar 

3/13/2008, 7 p.m.

Poor impulse control has been associated with everything from social problems to school failure, from addiction to crime. An upcoming seminar at Hale High School examines the problem.

“STOP and THINK: Teaching Children Impulse Control,” is for parents, teachers, school counselors, social workers and mental health professionals who are interested in learning more about gender and developmental aspects of impulse control along the most recent research on effective interventions. A description of some specific cognitive-behavioral techniques will be presented. Games, role-plays, videos and worksheets will be presented. Hand-outs will also be available. The seminar is Thursday, March 13, at 7 p.m. The featured speaker is Tonia Caselman, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma’s School of Social Work.

The cost is $20 per person, $10 for students. Contact Rachel Long at sswaok@yahoo.com for more information. The seminar is sponsored by the School Social Work Association of Oklahoma.

 

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.

 

Booker T. Grads Return For Concert 

3/28/2008, 1:30 p.m.

See—you can go home again, at least if your one of the six Booker T. Washington graduates coming back to Tulsa to perform a series of concerts this month.

The students are members of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Vesper Choir and they’ve already had some prestigious gigs, including a concert at the Vatican. On March 28 at 1:30 p.m. they’ll be performing at BTW. Other venues during their Tulsa visit include the Metropolitan Baptist Church and St. Andrew Baptist Church.

The choir performs a varied program of classical choral repertoire, spirituals, choral jazz, commercial music, music of popular appeal and gospel selections.

The former BTW students are: Jamaal Dyer, Brandy Gildon, Akela Leach, Skylar Scott and Robert Washington from the Class of 2004 and Janitha Lawson from the Class of 2007.

 

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.

 

Booker T Students Make Team Oklahoma 

6/6/2008

Dylan Hames and Onkur Sen have their summer plans already set.

At least for a couple of days in June that is.

The two Booker T. Washington students have earned positions on the six-member academic quiz team that will represent the state of Oklahoma at the Panasonic Academic Challenge to be held at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Hames is a senior and Sen is a sophomore. Their trip to the Sunshine State comes after the duo took part in a three- hour competition against students from Oklahoma in the areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and humanities to earn the right to be a part of Team Oklahoma this year. The Panasonic Academic Challenge runs from June 6 through June 11.

 

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