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School News - Tip Sheet - 3/5/2008

Jackson Elem. Chills with New Cooler 

2/27/2008

Jackson Elementary is the winner of a free milk merchandiser cooler for taking part in the Strive for 35º Cold Milk Temperature program and entering results online.

Schools throughout the state recorded both milk and cooler temperatures and entered them into a survey. Providing the results also entered the school into the drawing for the milk cooler.

“The survey is a way of raising schools’ awareness of their milk storage practices, and to help them enhance their techniques to keep milk cold, and in turn, delicious,” said Cricket Scott, SNS, School Nutrition Program Manager for Midwest Dairy Association. “Serving milk ice-cold is how children like it best, and it helps them get their three servings of dairy they need each day for stronger bones and overall good health.”

Dairy checkoff research shows milk tastes best when it is served between 35ºF and 40ºF, and keeping milk cold ensures the safety and freshness of milk. Getting schools to track this information and making milk as appealing as possible for kids is part of the checkoff’s strategy to grow milk sales.

Valued over $1,200, the milk merchandiser is a refrigerated commercial cooler that provides an eye-catching tool to make milk “cool” and motivate students to choose it. In addition the new equipment will keep milk cold, storing it at the optimum temperature at which it should be served (between 35 and 40 degrees F°).

Although the national Cold Milk Survey drawing is over, school nutrition professionals are still encouraged to use the Survey and Cold Milk Fact Sheet to evaluate and record their schools’ milk and cooler temperatures. They can visit www.NutritionExplorations.org to download the tools and record their results.

 

Engineering Team Wins Again 

3/3/2008

Memorial High School’s engineering and robotics team has nabbed another prize, recently winning the Chairman’s Award at the F.I.R.S.T. competition in St. Louis. FIRST means: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

Snaring the award means Memorial’s team qualifies for the nationals in Atlanta next month. The team also won safety awards during the F.I.R.S.T. competition, including Best Pit Design. Engineering Academy Director Lane Matheson received the Woody Flowers Award, entitling her to special recognition during the upcoming finals. Flowers is a professor of mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of the Game and Kit Design Committee for the FIRST Robotics competition.

According to their website, the FIRST competition is “an exciting, multinational competition that teams professionals and high-school students to solve an engineering design problem in an intense and competitive way.”

 

Memorial Hires Hagebusch as Football Coach 

3/5/2008

Memorial High School’s interim football coach Matt Hagebusch has been offered and accepted the head coaching job.

Despite Memorial’s 1-9 record last season, Hagebusch sees cause for optimism.

“We’ve laid the groundwork these past few years by getting kids with character,” Hagebusch said. “When you get kids that you can count on to do the right thing—both athletically and academically—that translates into wins and losses.”

Hagebusch knows a little something about combining brain and brawn. In addition to coaching the football and powerlifting teams at Memorial he teaches physics, biology, anatomy and physiology.

Hagebusch has intricate knowledge of the Chargers. He’s been the interim coach since December of 2007 and also worked with the team as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator and coached defensive ends, outside linebackers and the secondary.

Before signing on at Memorial Hagebusch was the football coach at Sequoyah and Chelsea high schools. He’s a 2002 graduate of Northeastern State University.

 

Booker T. Teacher Nominated for Prestigious Educational Award  

3/5/2008

Booker T. Washington physics teacher Susan Bigge is one of the state finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the highest recognition that a kindergarten through 12th-grade mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States.

Bigge, a native of England that’s been teaching at Booker T since 2000, says being nominated “is wonderful. It’s nice to be recognized.”

In addition to lauding outstanding teaching in mathematics or science, the program provides teachers with an opportunity to build lasting partnerships with colleagues across the nation. Officials say this growing network of award-winning teachers serves as a vital resource for improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and keeping America globally competitive.

Bigge receives a host of prizes if she wins, including a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation, a paid trip for two to Washington, D.C., to attend a weeklong series of recognition events and professional development opportunities and a citation signed by the President of the United States.

Bigge is no stranger to honors. A few years back she was one of only fifty teachers to receive the Siemens Foundation’s 2006-07 Award for Advanced Placement, which recognizes teachers for their commitment to the AP program.

 

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.

 

Grandparents Day at Robertson 

3/13/2008, 10:50am

Grandma and grandpa are more than welcome to come to Robertson Elementary next week as the school marks its own version of Grandparents Day. Grandparents are encouraged to reserve a space ahead of time and come to Robertson to enjoy a yummy meal of chowder and cinnamon rolls with the little ones.

The impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade, a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide. In 1978 it was decided that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day. Robertson and some other schools observe Grandparents Day during a different month because September is a hectic time for teachers and students (and grandparents get to have two days!).

 

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.

 

Kids Cooking Contest 

3/14/2008, 2:30

Mini Julia Childs and Rachel Rays square off March 14 at Webster High School in a cooking contest sponsored by Tulsa Public Schools’ Child Nutrition Office. The contest began in January when third, fourth and fifth graders submitted recipes to be judged on the following criteria: health, simplicity and fun.

Over 300 recipes were submitted and out of those ten have been selected to participate in the cooking contest. The students will actually be preparing and serving their culinary specialties. Judges will determine a winner after considering ease of preparation, healthy ingredients and presentation. All ten finalists will receive a medal, apron, polo shirt and backpack full of neat stuff to take home.

The ten recipes will later be compiled into a cookbook for parents, students and staff.

The cook-off takes place at 2:30 p.m. on March 14 at Webster High School.

 

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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