Message from Mr. Patterson
Hello Spartans,
BHS Student Activities has been very busy this year planning a wide variety of events for the students and staff. The year kicked off with the Back to School Bash, followed the next day by the beginning of the year pep rally. At the pep rally, freshman and new teachers were welcomed to Bixby High School and introduced to a Bixby tradition, “The Interlude” dance.
The next event on the calendar was the Fall Ball at the Renaissance hotel. The dance was a huge success with a record number of attendees for a Bixby dance. This was quickly followed up by a spirited homecoming week which included dress up days, hall decorating, the parade, pep rally, and coronation. Additionally, the grades competed in a peanut butter and jelly drive for the Bixby Outreach Center, collecting over 1000 jars. The seniors won the competition and homecoming week
Another event was a cancer awareness week where students could honor anyone they know that has had any type of cancer. Individuals’ names were written on a leaf and placed on an “honor tree”. The week ended with a “pink out” at the football game. For Halloween, students were able to trick or treat different offices between classes at the high school. Candy was supplied by the student activities office and there were ten locations to visit on campus.
Currently, leadership students are selling raffle tickets to win Raising Canes chicken for a year. All the money raised will go to Oklahoma Make A Wish. The winner will be announced during the football game vs Jenks. Furthermore, leadership students are planning different ways to honor veterans on staff, the week of Veterans Day. Lastly, students can now visit the Student Activities office on their birthday and pick a “treasure” out of a treasure chest. It is has been fun to see students come in on their birthday and pick out a “present”. We look forward to planning more exciting event for the students throughout the remainder of the
school year.
Dewayne Patterson
15 Questions to Replace ‘How Was School Today?’
These questions will help you draw out important information from your kids.
October 27, 2016
How many times have you asked your child, “How was school today?” and been frustrated by the lack of response? As a parent, I’m guilty of asking my son this question all the time, even though I usually don’t get much in return.
Sometimes (to be honest), I haven’t had the energy for a real conversation. Other times, I just can’t think of what to ask. As a teacher, I have often wished that kids would share stories of the awesome things we were doing with their parents, but I couldn’t figure out how to make that happen.
Now that my son is in middle school—where communication from teachers is less than it was when he was in elementary school and more stuff is happening at school that I need to be aware of—I’ve identified a list of questions that draw out important information. I wish that when I was in the classroom I’d been able to offer this list to parents so that they could hear about what we were doing in our class.
THE QUESTIONS
With slight wording modifications, these questions can work with children of all ages:
- Tell me about a moment today when you felt excited about what you were learning.
- Tell me about a moment in class when you felt confused.
- Think about what you learned and did in school today. What’s something you’d like to know more about? What’s a question you have that came from your learning today?
- Were there any moments today when you felt worried? When you felt scared?
- Were there any times today when you felt disrespected by anyone? Tell me about those moments.
- Were there times today when you felt that one of your classmates demonstrated care for you?
- Were there any moments today when you felt proud of yourself?
- Tell me about a conversation you had with a classmate or friend that you enjoyed.
- What was challenging about your day?
- What do you appreciate about your day?
- What did you learn about yourself today?
- Is there anything that you’d like to talk about that I might be able to help you figure out?
- Is there anything you’re worried about?
- What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
- Is there a question you wish I’d ask you about your day?
TIPS FOR ASKING QUESTIONS
How and when we ask these questions makes a big difference in the information we receive from our kids. First, you don’t want to ask all of these questions on the same day. You might ask one or two. After a while, you’ll figure out which ones elicit the most meaningful responses. You’ll want to ask during a time when you have the ability to focus so that your child feels they have your full attention. With my child—and in my household—dinner and driving in the car are optimal times for these conversations.
Now these conversations have become routine. My son knows that when we drive to school I’ll ask him what he’s looking forward to, if there’s anything he’s worried about, and if there’s anything he wants to talk about with me that I might be able to help him figure out.
MORE SUGGESTIONS
The following can help your conversations be positive and powerful:
- Don’t interrupt. This is a good rule for any conversation, but especially if you want to get a lot of information out of a kid.
- Ask for more. Simply say, “I’d love to hear more about that...” Or, “Can you expand on that a little?”
- Ask about feelings. After a child describes an experience, ask, “How did you feel in that moment? What did you notice about your feelings?”
- Validate feelings. Whatever your kid feels is normal and okay. Let them know that. Feelings are okay. Tell them this.
- Tell them it’s not okay for teachers or kids to be unkind or mean. If they tell you a story about a teacher who yelled or disrespected them (regardless of what they said or did) let them know that it’s not okay for an adult to treat them that way. Same goes for how they are treated by other children.
- Thank them for sharing with you. Always appreciate their honesty and willingness to share the highlights and bright spots, as well as the difficult moments. This will fuel their confidence in telling you more.
AP Exam Sign-up Deadline - 11/4
The link below provides all of the needed information about signing up for AP Exams for the May 2023 sessions.
https://www.smore.com/9nx2t
Here is a breakdown of the process:
1. Students register for the course on College Board (using the Join Code for the class)
2. Their registration for the exam will be changed to Undecided until...
3. They go to MySchoolBucks and pay for their exam(s)
4. Once their payment has cleared MySchoolBucks their exam will be changed to Yes (by Dr. Jenkins) and will be purchased!
Be Well
Tulsa Tech Forums - 11/15 & 11/16
Representatives from Tulsa Technology Center will be sharing information regarding enrollment for next year. They will also discuss the wide variety of programs they have to offer juniors and seniors. TTC will be presenting this information in all sophomore English classes on Nov. 15th and all 11th grade English classes on Nov. 16th. Students are welcome to sign up to visit with our Tulsa Tech advisor, Mandy Flanary, on Tuesdays in the counseling office throughout the school year.
Senior ICAP and PFL Assistance - 11/17
November Events At A Glance
- Picture Retakes
- Parent Teacher Conferences - 4:30-7:30
November 3rd:
- Football vs. Jenks @ 7:00
November 4th:
- AP Exam Sign Up Deadline
- Early Release Day
November 7th & 8th:
- Choir All District
November 9th:
- Career Talks
November 11th:
- Veterans Day
- Early Release Day
November 15 & 16th:
- Tulsa Tech Forums
November 18th:
- Early Release Day
November 21st - 25th:
- Thanksgiving Break
