Student Achievements
Sharif Soliman, a 4th-grader at Coronado Heights Elementary School, was the Region 15 Pee Wee Spelling Bee runner-up and competed in the State Pee Wee Spelling Bee.
Putnam City West High School junior Jonathan Wilbanks has been elected president of Oklahoma DECA for the 2006-2007 school year.
Putnam City West High School senior Alli Ward is the state winner of the Poetry Outloud National Recitation Contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. Ward performed Beauty by Tony Hoagland, Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll and She Walks In Beauty by George Gordan, Lord Byron. As the state winner, Ward received $200 and a ticket to the national finals in Washington, D.C., in May to compete for a $20,000 scholarship. By virtue of Ward's win at the state level, Putnam City West will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry books.
Putnam City West High School student Jimmy Freeman received first place at the Business Professionals of America Spring Leadership Conference in Medical Office Procedures. Freeman, Putnam City West’s BPA president this year, received a plaque and $100.
Two teams from Putnam City West participated in the First Biotech Rode at Oklahoma City Community College in late March. One team participated in the Pro Category and had to solve a mystery using DNA from Egyptian mummies to determine the identity of an unknown mummy. They placed second in the competition, missing a tie for first place by only half a point. The students took second and fourth places in a micropipette skills test and received Harkins Theater $25 gift cards, t-shirts and lab coats. Two students also competed in the Amateur Category and had to solve a mystery about the age and origin of a mummy using dye patterns. They missed first place by just one point.
Claudia Williamson, a junior at Putnam City High School, won the Miss Black Oklahoma City title in early March. She will compete in the Miss Black Oklahoma Pageant in June.
Twelve Putnam City High School students were selected to attend this year’s Multicultural Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma. Special congratulations goes to the students who wrote award-winning essays on the importance of multicultural education in the 21st century:
Essay Grand Prize Winners
Tram Cao
Michelle Borror
Essay Honorable Mention
Sarai De Leon
Gin Mey TanWong
Teresa Santos
Each year 350 or more students apply for the prestigious Fleming Scholar Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. On Saturday, March 25, Putnam City North's Anna McGeachy was one of the 25 top applicants to be granted a personal interview by a selection committee of scientists at OMRF. McGeachy was matched with a mentor and will be one of the three students from Oklahoma County to work alongside a scientist/scholar at OMRF this summer, attend weekly seminars with the scientists, write a scientific paper summarizing her project, and have her paper published. Greg Medders of Putnam City North was also one of the 25 applicants to be interviewed, and is now waiting as an alternate to see if an additional scientist-mentor can be found to work with.
Congratulations to the 8th-grade Hefner Middle School Quiz Bowl teams for their recent accomplishments at the regional tournament in Midwest City. Two teams from Hefner competed in the competition and received honors. Hefner Team 1 placed third and Hefner Team 2 placed fourth. Hefner Team 1 advanced to the state competition in late April at the University of Oklahoma. Congratulations to the following Hefner students for an outstanding performance:
Hefner Team 1
- Logan Metcalf-Kelly
- Cameron Steele
- Tyler Davis
- Drew Tolle
- Kevin Jackson
Hefner Team 2
- John Hollrah
- Tripp Walcher
- Trey Witzel
- Justin Lubbers
- Tyler Hayes
- Gavin Wicker
- Alex Mutz