PHS Parent Newsletter

Email: sandersj@purcellps.org
Website: https://www.purcellps.org/o/phs
Location: 2020 North Green Avenue, Purcell, OK, USA
Phone: 405-442-0099
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purcellhs
Twitter: @purcellhsdrgns

Internships, Transition Programs, and Advisory Support Post-High School Success

It's hard to believe we are already well past the halfway point of the 23-24 school year. Our seniors begin to look ahead (if they weren't already!) to end-of-school milestone events as they wrap up their high school career. We look forward to celebrating their achievements culminating with graduation on May 17. For our underclassmen, they will begin planning for the next academic year. Students will meet in their English classes with Ms. Feroli to prepare for pre-enrollment in March.

The pre-enrollment process will begin March 7 with an advisory session in which we will preview next year's course offerings, changes in curriculum, new courses and programs, and extracurricular opportunities at PHS. Students will return to advisory on March 27 and select courses for the 24-25 school year. This is an opportunity for students to think and plan for their future. Are they planning to attend college? Will they opt for Career Tech ? Are they interested in joining the military? What type of work internship will they choose during their junior and seniors years? These questions are all critical for the successful transition from high school to college or career readiness.

Schools are increasing their focus on transition programs to help students successfully navigate the jump from high school to work or college. This is an important and often difficult transition for students. We are emphasizing our school internship program to better support this time for our students. The purpose of a work internship in high school is for students to gain a glimpse of the world of work. Students experience the workplace and gain a better understanding of the inner workings of a job or career that might interest them. On the other hand they may discover through an internship that a particular job or career may not be a good fit.

Internships, Advisory programs, and our school-to-work transition programs are all designed to better support our students once they leave the relative safety and security of high school. We want our students to know they will have our support and help even after they graduate. The best support we can provide is to help them achieve their goals and dreams. Living in America does truly present our students with limitless opportunities. ALL of our students have the potential to achieve great success. Our job is to help them discover their strengths and interests and support their growth as not only students, but as people.

--Jason

Always feel free to call or text me if you have questions or concerns.

cell: 918-873-0354

email: sandersj@purcellps.org

Congratulations to our PHS Academic Team for Qualifying for the OSSAA State Academic Bowl January 27th at Rose State College. I've linked the bracket below. Congratulations to our students and Coach Jasmine Quinonez

Congratulations Kenzie Hay: PHS Staff Member of the Month! Kenzie is a Special Education and Math teacher at PHS. She is also the special education department chair. Kenzie is always positive and friendly with everyone she encounters. She is a true advocate for her students and a leader in our school. Kenzie treats everyone with respect and works well with students, staff, and parents alike. Kenzie is a true asset to Purcell High School!

Safety Drill Updates

• We conducted two safety drills over the last two weeks (Lock-in Drill & Fire Drill). Both drills are required by state law to be conducted in the first two weeks of each semester. I was very pleased with the seriousness by which both students and staff approach safety drills. The safety of all individuals in our school is a responsibility we will always take seriously.

Possibility of Winter Weather

• Please be prepared for the chance for winter weather Sunday night into Monday morning. The forecast is currently for a chance of overnight icing. All decisions on school closures are made at the district level. Please monitor our social media feeds for updates and information.

Please be sure to stay updated on all things counseling from Ms. Feroli. Click on the Counselor's Corner tab below for all relevant info. This newsletter is updated throughout the year and includes many important resources and info including:

• ACT Info
• Graduation Requirements
• FAFSA info
• Oklahoma's Promise
• Curriculum Guides
• Graduation pathways
• and much more

• Our students will attend several Advisory sessions during the spring semester. The primary purpose of advisory is to provide students needed support with college and career readiness. Students will also receive Mental Health Awareness information including reminders how students can receive support when needed. We will also emphasize Safe Driving Awareness through our upcoming Advisory session. I've also listed other Advisory/Pep Rally dates in addition to our spring testing dates. I will provide more specific information regarding state mandated tests after spring break.

1/31 (WED): Advisory: Student Mental Health Supports & Safe Driving Awareness

2/16 (FRI): PEP Rally: Basketball Playoffs; First PHS Soccer: spring sports

3/6 (WED): Advisory: Pre-Enrollment / Senior Meetings

3/27 (WED): Advisory: Pre-Enrollment / Senior Meetings

4/3 (WED): Advisory: OK Career Guide (ICAP Requirements)

4/10 (WED): ACT TEST - All Juniors

4/15 (MON): US History Test (OSTP) - ALL Juniors

4/17 (WED): Advisory: OK Career Guide (ICAP Requirements)

4/24 (WED): Science Test (OSTP) - ALL Juniors

The senior website is can be accessed by clicking on the link below. It includes important updates and information relevant to seniors and parents.

Senior sponsors:

Michael O'Neal: onealm@purcellps.org

Amber Findley: findleya@purcellps.org

We are pleased to offer a high quality ACT Prep Course on campus March 26. This is available to any student and will only cost $20! The district is paying the rest. PowerPrep Inc. will host this session. Every junior will take ACT on 4/10. Click on link below or scan QR code in image to register!

https://powerprepinc.com/.../purcell-high-school-act-prep...

Register Now for This Fall’s ACT College and Career Readiness Workshops

Start your 2023-24 school year off right with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn from college and career readiness experts and to network with fellow counselors in your region. We’ll cover trends, tips, and tools to help keep your students fully informed and prepared to start their post-high school journeys.

• All workshops are free to attend.
• A variety of in-person and virtual workshops are available.
• Some events focus on specific ACT solutions.

Sign Me Up!

Our Dragon Brew coffee cart gang served hot coffee and hot chocolate at the Purcell Elementary today. This program, which began as a result of a donation from the Purcell Public Schools Foundation, is part of our school-to-career transition programs. Thank you to our staff and student volunteers for helping grow this program.

#phsdragons

Celebrate National Popcorn Day and say hello to our own Camdyn Frankenberg. Camdyn completes her high school work internship requirement through our partnership with Pride Popcorn.

We appreciate our community partners that provide our students these important school to work transition opportunities. Email Amber Findley, PHS Internship Coordinator, if you would like to host a high school intern: findley@purcellps.org. Juniors can fulfill one hour of high school credit through a work internship. Seniors can fulfill 2 hours of high school credit.

All students are required to complete an internship experience as part of graduation requirements.

Principal's Honor Roll -- Fall 2023 - GPA of 3.0-3.9 with no grade lower than a B. Congratulations to these students for this significant academic achievement.

Superintendent's Honor Roll Students -- Fall 2023 GPA of 4.0 or greater and no grade lower than a B. Congratulations on your academic achievement.

• After school tutoring is available Mon-Thurs from 3:15--5PM. PHS teachers provide direct and individual tutoring including access to a Math teacher nightly. There will be tutoring available this week.
• Teachers are available to meet daily from 11:45 -- Noon in their classrooms. Students should make arrangements with teachers.
• There are outside tutoring options available (listed under parent resources at the bottom of the newsletter,

Reading Enrichment Programs --- see contact info below

Summer 2024

see flyers below in English & Espanol

Ann Carls

Program Director

phone: (800) 964-1600 ext. 4191

fax: (888) 296-5456

I enjoyed meeting with 3 members of the Youth Action for Health Leadership(YAHL) program yesterday. YAHL is a state-wide youth-led health initiative that promotes healthy behaviors. HS students Kaydence Townsend, Payton Bounds, and Madison Jarvis came by to talk about ways we could promote healthier living and tobacco-free lives for our JH students. Thank you girls for sharing information about YAHL!

---Carol Testa; Principal, Purcell Junior High

I want to thank our PHS Cheerleaders & Coaches Grant Gish & April Trumbo. They do such a great job representing our school and promoting positivity at our games. They work hard cheering at multiple games weekly. They are supportive of other programs and always ready to lead our pep rallies and celebrations at school. They are very successful in their own competitions but always available to help promote our programs throughout the community. Great job Cheer!

Homecoming Queen: Alyssa Thompson

Homecoming King: Kylen Defreeze

School Board Appreciation Month! Board members play a crucial role in their communities.Their service to community is a foundation of not only public education but democracy. It also models the value of service to our students. We are lucky to have such a great board at Purcell.

Parents may now access the Balfour website and start purchasing Yearbooks at the sale price as well as Sr. Ads. Please let me know if you need any additional information.

https://www.balfour.com/oklahoma/purcell/purcell-high-school.

Contact yearbook sponsor Leigh Ann McGregor with questions: mcgregorl@purcellps.org

Winter Sports Update

A huge thanks of appreciation to all individuals who help make the Heart of Oklahoma Tournament such a success. Please excuse me if I leave anyone out. We are grateful for everyone

• Rick Hammer and Sarah Jones for their leadership and coordination of the tournament.
• Purcell Athletic Secretary Cara Simonton for her tireless work behind the scenes making sure everything is ready!
• Kyle Shaw and high school custodians Erica Estrada & Helen Reed for making sure our facilities are clean and presentable.
• Char Page and the Dragon Fire Booster Club for their overall support and hard work running our concessions.
• All volunteers and workers, including students and parents, who support tournament operations.
• Our Tournament Sponsors

ALLEN FARMS

AMERICAN ABSTRACT

BOOSTER CLUB

BRAVO'S MEXICAN

CLINE MONUMENT

FERGUSON BUICK-GMC

HEARTLAND CUSTOMS

MULLIN PLUMBING

RICK SCHMIDT

SHEEHY

SMOKE N HOLLAR

THE PURCELL REGISTER

VNYL DESIGNS

WOODY FORD

• Parents who donated to the hospitality room.
• Purcell Police Department and McClain County Sheriff's Dept for providing security.
• Our coaches: Roger Raper, Camden Patterson, Jeremy Pruitt, Toney Cooper, and Mandy Clay.
• STUCO and sponsors for working to clean the gym each night.

Congratulations to both our boys and girls basketball teams for successful performances this weekend at the highly competitive 52nd Annual Heart of Oklahoma Basketball Tournament.

The girls won 3rd place Saturday defeating Class 5A Elgin 61-51 to cap a great tournament weekend. The girls are currently ranked #13 in Class 4A and improve to 12-4 on the season.

The boys also defeated Class 5A Elgin 57-52 to clinch the Consolation Championship. The boys had a strong weekend and improved to 8-8 on the season. Their weekend was highlighted by a historic performance on Friday by junior Kobe Freeman. Kobe exploded for 50 points against the OKC Knights. The 50 points scored in a game are ranked 2nd all time in Purcell's long and storied basketball history. Congratulations to Kobe and his teammates who of course played a huge role in this accomplishment.

Both basketball teams are back in action this Tuesday vs. Lindsay @ the Reimer Center. They will both travel to Comanche this Friday for a district road game.

Our Lex/Purcell wrestlers will also be in action with a Senior Night dual Wednesday at Lexington and the Conference Tournament this Saturday a Firelake in Shawnee.

Boys and girls weightlifters will be in action this week as well with meets scheduled Wed (girls) and Friday (boys) at Dibble

Best of luck to all athletes and coaches.

At high school athletic events, do you:

-Keep your cool OR come unglued?

-Show empathy OR criticize?

-Accept the officials’ calls OR shout obscenities?

Our character is ALWAYS showing. How does YOURS look?

#BenchBadBehavior

There are several major rule changes this year for basketball.

There is no more 1 and 1 bonus free throws. All bonus free throws are now 2 shots.

Team bonus now starts at the 5th foul per quarter. Each quarter, team fouls reset. Scoreboard will only show max of 5 fouls per quarter.

Again these are big changes for basketball. Please be patient with coaches, scoreboard operators, and officials.

Go Dragons!

Rank One Forms are now available to be completed. Visit rankonesport.com or scan the QR code to complete your athletic forms for the 23-24 school year.

Registration is now open for the Oklahoma Math Tutoring Corps (OMTC) for the 2023-24 school year. This high-dosage tutoring program is available for Oklahoma students in grades 7, 8 and 9, providing 50-minute virtual tutoring sessions three times a week in groups of no more than four students.

Along with feedback from students and families, 78% of 7th and 8th grade students who participated during the 2022-23 school year had 2023 assessment scores within the same performance level as in 2022 or improved a performance level. Remaining at the same performance level is considered growth as the state’s academic standards increase in complexity each grade level. Please note, 9th grade does not have a state assessment, so we do not have testing information on them.

OSDE’s Math Tutoring Corps will host two sessions during the 2023-24 school year. The first runs September 17 through November 18, and the second in Spring 2024. Each session can accommodate up to 1,500 students and students are eligible to participate in one or both of the sessions. Families and students can register through this link. The OSDE will provide any needed technology or internet access, and tutoring schedules will occur during students’ free time outside of the school day.

Please contact the high school if you are unable to access Parent Portal. This allows students and parents to access real-time grades 24/7, attendance information and update personal information. I include a parent/portal link for all parents/guardians on every Parent Newsletter. This link is located immediately below this message. It's very important all parents have access to parent portal.

Please complete this form linked here if you are need of a Parent Portal Account:

https://forms.gle/kcw4yFh9UghpFKW76

If you have any problems accessing Parent Portal please contact the school directly: (405) 442-0099