Student Achievements
Elementary Schools
Marvin Lee's Harvest Hills Elementary School PEAK class created a website for the Oklahoma State Student Media Festival. The website won "best website" and second place overall in grades 3 through 5.
Also as part of the Oklahoma State Student Media Festival, Beth Bley's 1st-grade class at Overholser Elementary School won third place for a story they created about Oklahoma. Students turned their story into a movie, and the movie won the award. This award was given for the kindergarten through grade 3 category.
Lake Park Elementary received a $1,000 check from the National Education Association i(NEA) in early March as part of the NEA Read Across America Cat-a-Van Reading Tour. The money will be used to purchase books for the school library. The check was presented to the school at a special Read Across America assembly to honor Dr. Seuss and celebrate reading.
Middle Schools
The Hefner Middle School 7th-grade quiz bowl teams competed in the regional tournament in late February and came back with victories. Hefner Team II,consisting of Conrad Walcher, Tyler Watson, Austin Curtis, Charlotte Mitchell, Marquez Flowers, Jeran Kruta, Nathan Moelling and Magan Eissenstat, came in first place. Hefner Team I, consisting of Connor Hamilton, Tate Roberson, John Barritt, Lauren Long, Matt Leake, Cole Morris, Bekka Marstellar, Logan Carlile and Mitch Bayne, came in second place. Both teams qualified for the state tournament on Saturday, April 5, at the University of Oklahoma. The teams are coached by Ann Chesney and Barbara Fowler.
Not to be outdone, Hefner Middle School competed in the 8th grade Regional Quiz Bowl Tournament on March 6 at Brink Junior High in Moore. Ten teams from across the state battled it out for a place in the state competition. Hefner Team I captured first place and are on their way to the University of Oklahoma in April for the state tournament. Team members are Lucas Adams, Kedrin Daley, Steven Harsha, Nathan Miles, Jarod Harsha, Tyler Jakeway, Courtney King and Josh Burgess.
Congratulations to the 7th and 8th-grade Hefner PEAK students who participated in the Cougar Challenge Quiz Bowl Tournament at Highland East Jr. High in Moore on Feb. 28. All teams performed well. One 7th-grade team won the second place trophy and medals while another 7th-grade team won the third place trophy and medals. One 8th-grade team won the first place trophy and medals while another 8th-grade grade team won the third place trophy and medals.
Hefner Middle School’s Odyssey of the Mind team placed first on their problem at the recent regional in Yukon. The team will be competing at the state competition in April. Team members are Jeremy Allen, Jarod Harsha, Steve Harsha, Zach LeBoeuf, Andrew Maples and Cecil Wilber. Coaches are MaryGaye LeBoeuf, Kay Harsha, and Linda Kaspereit.
Mayfield Middle School and Putnam City High School each won in state Science Olympiad competition in early March. Both teams qualify for national competition in late May at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
High Schools
The Putnam City West Wrestling Team was named the State 5A Wrestling Academic Champion during the state wrestling tournament in late February. The team’s cumulative GPA of 3.579 was better than each of the other 31 teams in 5A.
Putnam City North High School’s Amy Kilby repeated as state champion in diving and Parris Schoppa finished third in state in the 50 freestyle. And like Putnam City West High School, Putnam City North was awarded the Academic Achievement Award by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association for a team grade point average of 3.25 or above.
Four Putnam City North band members performed in the prestigious Oklahoma All-State Band and Orchestra in Tulsa in January. Brendan Hill , David Humphries, Kayle Patatanian and David Highfield were selected for all-state honors from regional and final auditions in which more than 2,000 students statewide competed.
Members of Putnam City North’s band competed in the OSSAA district solo and ensemble contest at Southern Nazarene University. Students earned 146 individual medals in recognition of superior performances at the contest. Students earning superior ratings advance to the state solo and ensemble contest at Oklahoma State University in April.
Putnam City High School DECA students won several awards at the annual Career Development Conference in late February in Tulsa. Abby Peter won second place in Business Services Marketing; Sarah Butler finished in the top eight in Sports and Entertainment Marketing; Maggie Ivich and Cece O’Connor finished in the top eight in Business Law and Ethics; and Jill Kliewer and Kylie Jackson finished in the top eight in Buying and Merchandising. Elna Daniel, Callie Hirschler and Abby Peter brought home a Gold Level Award for Program of Work.
Putnam City High School cheerleader Chris Powell and the All-Star Cheer squad he is part of, the Oklahoma Twisters, was named grand champion at a competition in Minneapolis in late February. Chris also competed in individual competitions and won best cheerleader, best tumbler and best jumper out of more than 2,500 participants. He won an all-expenses paid trip to the World Cheerleading Championships in April in Orlando.
Several Putnam City High School students participated in University of Central Oklahoma’s Multicultural Institute in mid-March. Out of dozens of essay entries from high schools throughout the state, eight students’ essays were chosen as outstanding. Among the eight winning essays, two were from Putnam City High School. Cynthia Huynh earned an honorable mention for her essay, and Yen Tran took a first place award for her essay entitled “Multicultural Education: the Journey Continues.”