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The Roaring Writing Club More than 60 students at Lake Park Elementary School area taking part in the school’s new writing club, which meets after school on Wednesdays. Janis Cramer, the co-director of the Oklahoma Writing Project, directs the club and teaches students with the assistance of Lake Park teachers.
Events
An Affair of the Art It's an evening of great art and great fun for all. The community is invited to view outstanding art in a variety of mediums and visit with artists from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, at the opening reception of the Putnam City Visual Arts Educators Art Show.
Run in Putnam City's First-ever Cancer Classic Take part in the Putnam City Cancer Classic, a 5k race and 1-mile fun run on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 15, at Stars and Stripes Park on Portland Avenue just south of Lake Hefner. The 5k race takes off at 9 a.m., while the 1-mile fun run begins at 10 a.m. All runners and walkers receive a Putnam City Cancer Classic T-shirt for participating, and two people, the overall male and female winners in the 5k race, will receive a Nintendo Wii Fit™ game as a prize.
Famed Jazz Ensemble to Perform for Free at Putnam City High The United States Air Force band unit known as the “Airmen of Note” will perform their distinctive mix of contemporary big band sounds and swing era classics at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, in the auditorium at Putnam City High School. Order your free tickets!
Main News
Team Nets Honor Putnam City North's volleyball team won the state academic championship in mid-October.
Orchestra Honors Forty-seven district students were selected for the North Central Honors Orchestra after auditions in mid-October.
Students Recognized as AP Scholars Seventy-nine students from Putnam City high schools earned the designation of AP Scholar from the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on college-level Advanced Placement Program exams taken last spring.
Student Achievements Putnam City students are top spellers and artists.
Staff Accomplishments Teachers are tops in their fields.
Online Art Museum See November's exhibit in Putnam City's online art museum.
National Teacher Hall of Fame Accepting Nominations The National Teachers Hall of Fame is seeking nominations of exceptional career teachers with 20 or more years experience for recognition in 2009. Nomination packets must be postmarked by January 2, 2009. The announcement of the 2009 inductees will be made in April 2009. Questions? Call the Hall of Fame at 1-800-96-TEACH or visit www.nthf.org
Foundation Seeking Nominations for Outstanding Students, Educators The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, a non-profit organization that recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools, is seeking nominations for its 2009 Academic All-State Scholarships and Medal for Excellence Awards. Nomination deadlines are later this month.
Teacher Features
 Randy Utt, James L. Dennis Elementary School Randy Utt is a believer in lifelong learning, both for students and for herself. A teacher for 25 years, Utt is known sharing her love of learning by building a strong rapport with her students.
 Crystal Briscoe, Apollo Elementary School Crystal Briscoe thought about being a school counselor, but once she tried classroom teaching she knew it was what she wanted to do. Read her thoughts on what makes teaching such a joy.
Debbie Shirley, Windsor Hills Elementary School Debbie Shirley says teaching is a calling. Read her thoughts on her 21-year teaching career and how she helps students grow socially, academically and emotionally.
 Nancy Summers, Northridge Elementary School Nancy Summers tell her students she will do everything in her power to make them successful. Read how she builds relationships with students and encourages them toward success.
Especially for Parents
Election Scheduled for Two Seats on Putnam City Board of Education Voters in two parts of the Putnam City school district will vote for school board members on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. The filing period for candidates for the two board seats opens at 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 1, and closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
Avoid the Flu Reminders of things that you can do to avoid the flu.
The Prints of Putnam City The district’s graphic arts department runs more than 7 million copies every year on its two high-speed copiers and three presses. The department’s staff of three works on a wide variety of projects, including school newsletters, student handbooks, PTA directories, lunch menus, graduation programs, forms and more. The department also has the capability to spiral-bind books and fold, collate and hole- punch jobs.
Putnam City Foundation Receives Award for Best Program Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence president Steve Holton (right) and Local Education Foundation Outreach chair Suzanne Thompson (left) presented the 2008 Outstanding Program Award for Local Education Foundations to Putnam City Public Schools Foundation executive director Caroline Gist (second from left) and vice chair Lisa Taylor in late October. The award honored the Putnam City foundation for its sponsorship of the Challenge Day, a character development program. The Putnam City Public Schools Foundation was one of four organizations that received a $1,000 cash prize and award recognizing innovative programs sponsored or administered by Oklahoma public school foundations.
Send Us Your News When you have news to share in Putnam City Now, please send information to slindley@putnamcityschools.org |
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Debating the Issues 5th-grade PEAK students at Northridge Elementary School researched presidential candidate backgrounds and positions in order to hold debates in advance of election day. Debates were also held before or on election day at Putnam City North High School and Cooper Middle School. Most schools held mock elections on Nov. 4th.
Readers Theater 3rd-grade students at Will Rogers Elementary School performed Town Mouse and Country Mouse from Aesop's Fables to an audience of appreciative parents at the school’s open house and literacy night in late October. Readers Theater is a dramatic presentation of a written work in which readers read from a script with no need for memorization, blocking or special lighting. The focus is on reading the text with expressive voices and inflection and gestures, which helps make the text meaningful and fun for the students.
A Present Parent If you’re looking for Shelly Bensinger, one of the first places to look is in Western Oaks Middle School. Bensinger is the school’s PTSA president, a safety committee member, a concession stand worker and much more. Read her beliefs about how and why parents can be helpful to schools.
Volunteer Deluxe Last school year Mindy Fuzzell was at Wiley Post Elementary School every week to work with a student. That’s just one activity in more than a decade of volunteering in many Putnam City schools. Read her thoughts about the value of volunteering in schools.
Mayfield Mover Erin Butler is not only the PTSA president at Mayfield Middle School. She’s also a regular volunteer in the building. She says we owe to our children – to all children – the best we can give them.
Donuts for Dads More than 90 fathers attended the recent “Donuts for Dads” event at Tulakes Elementary School. The school hosts the event to express appreciation to involved dads and let them know the importance of their involvement in the healthy development and achievement of students. Putnam City elementary schools commonly hold Donuts for Dads and other special programs that draw mothers and fathers into schools.
Robot Juggernaut A team of Western Oaks Middle School 8th-grade students took fourth place in the OKBEST Robotic Competition in mid-October, finishing ahead of 14 high school teams and every middle school team that took part. Fourteen Western Oaks students took part in research, design and construction of the robot. This is the third year in a row that a Western Oaks team has finished in fourth place or higher in the competition.
Training to do a Heart Good Elaine Burnett, a teacher’s assistant at Hefner Middle School, is one of more than 150 district employees who receive CPR training each year. The instruction is offered by school nurses and Health Coordinator Georgene Westendorf to teachers, teacher's assistants, nurses, health aides, coaches, occupational and physical therapists and others. State law requires that one certified and one non-certified employee from each building be trained in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.
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