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

Good Afternoon Dragon Family:

As a classroom history teacher for 17 years I often was frustrated when students told me that history was their least favorite subject. It motivated me to help my students find interest in a subject many find stale and boring. It was heartening to see students make connections to past and present events and see history as alive and not something made up of dates and obscure names. To see history as a living, breathing subject and not something from the ancient past.

Often students can find connections to the past through modern events that stir controversy and differences of opinion. Students can learn to engage in dialogue with each other rather than debate. Dialogue tends to encourage people to listen respectfully to other opinions, and respectfully disagree when necessary but to also find common ground. For example we have over 40 staff members at PHS. We all have different political views, values and beliefs, and backgrounds. But we all can find one thing to agree upon: Our desire to see all kids succeed.

I believe a high school has a moral responsibility to help students become better citizens. Our job is never to indoctrinate but rather to help students develop their own opinions and more importantly learn to be respectful of other opinions. Our world has become too divisive with social media contributing greatly to this trend. We are too quick to take sides and point fingers. We miss opportunities to listen instead of argue. Our students watch closely how we interact with each other as adults and how we treat each each other as fellow citizens of a school and community. This is an important lesson I have to remind myself of often: Our students are ALWAYS watching and learning from our actions.

One thing I hope all of our students learn from us is that mistakes do not define us as individuals. In fact they provide wonderful opportunities to learn and grow. They also provide all of us opportunities to show grace and forgiveness to others.

Proud to be a Dragon.

Jason

Go Dragons!

Always feel free to call or email me if you have questions,

sandersj@purcellps.org

405-442-0099 ext 505

Congratulations to Dalton Holder and Hailey Carpenter for being chosen as August Students of the Month by our faculty.

Hailey is the daughter of Alyssa and Todd Carpenter. She is active in STUCO, NHS, Drumline, and Academic Team. She is our Senior Class Vice-President and a member of the Band Leadership Team. Hailey is also a Youth Leadership Oklahoma Class 21 Member. She plans to attend OU and major in pre-med biology.

Dalton is the son of Kathy and Shannon Holder. He is involved in Academic Team, Student Council and Band. He is the Senior Class President, a member of the Principal's Advisory Council, a RYLA 2021 Attendee, LEAD President and Band Leadership Team. He plans on attending OU and majoring in Political Science.

Students learn at a higher level when they find passion in a learning experience. I believe all kids should find a learning opportunity where they do something, or make something, or create something that has lasting effect.Traditional modes of teaching and learning: Completing a worksheet, listening to lectures and taking quizzes or tests are important, and still have a place in schools. But too often they don't lead to meaningful learning experiences. Students don't develop an enduring understanding of a concept or skill. Real learning occurs when students can do something, make something, or create something from their newfound skill or knowledge.

I would like to celebrate several of our staff members who are creating these very opportunities in our school with new programs. I've also included some pictures below.

• Ray Samford and Robotics and Botany Class: We are excited about the beginnings of a sustainable vegetable garden and hopefully soon a greenhouse. We appreciate the donation of soil by Char and Jeff Page and Heartland Customs.

• Amber Findley and Internship Program: Our internship program has been strengthened by the work of Amber and partnerships we are building with our community. Student opportunities have increased as a result
  

• Zoe Swift and Adulting Class: Zoe has created a course and curriculum where students learn important transition skills between teenage and adult years. These include money management, career guidance, balancing family and work, basic car maintenance and so much more. So many kids are excited about this course.

• Emma Rolin and Forensic Science: Emma has brought CSI to the classroom and is bringing science alive through inquiry and investigation. This course will be in high demand moving forward.

• Krysta Matthews and Leadership: Krysta has brought hands-on leadership skills to the classroom. Her class recently engaged in critical team-building exercises before proceeding to projects like creating care packages for students new to the school. Great stuff!

• Katie Clayton and Esports: We believe it's important to meet students where they are and we all know teenagers love video games. This is a great opportunity to teach digital safety and etiquette while emphasizing the important skills that can be developed by safe online gaming habits.

• Erica Keen and Vo-Ag: Our Vo-Ag program is not new of course but Erica has worked hard to provide kids hands on learning experiences including emphasizing leadership and communication skills that are so critical to the modern workforce.

This Wednesday all Freshmen and Sophomores will take their MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) 6+ assessment for math and literacy skills. These assessments will occur in each student's individual Math and English course. The assessment should take the entire class period. Students are assessed during the fall, winter, and spring sessions. These assessments provide us valuable data that measure student progress and preparedness for upcoming exams such as state tests and ACT exams.

This is the third year our school has used the MAP assessment and we are starting to see the benefits of this data and how we can better support our students academically. I would encourage all parents to watch the brief video I've linked below to better understand the purpose of the MAP assessments. Unlike typical assessments, the MAP assessments provide a level of difficulty of questions based on whether students answer previous questions correctly or incorrectly. The data not only tells us where students stand in regards to their current grade level, but also measures growth over a period of time.

All parents will be provided an individual report for their student in the coming weeks. Teachers will be prepared to discuss student results at upcoming Parent/Teacher conferences. I will provide more detailed explanations of student reports when they are released to parents. These reports will provide you critical data about your students individual learning progress with math and literacy skills.

https://teach.mapnwea.org/assist/help_map/Content/AboutMAP/VideoBrowse/MAPintroVideo.htm

We will conduct another safety drill this week with our first Tornado Drill. Severe Weather season is of course in the spring but we do have a second season during the early fall months. It's important to review safety procedures for our students and staff. I've linked below our Severe Weather Preparedness plan for Purcell Schools and also our Emergency Dismissal Plan in case of impending severe weather or other emergencies. Here are a couple of key points for parents to remember:

• A lockdown will be ordered by administration if a severe weather warning is issued for the area and dangerous weather conditions exist. No individuals will be allowed to exit or enter the building in the case of a lockdown.
• Parents should give themselves plenty of time to check out students if severe weather is expected in the area.
• Communication to parents will occur through Infinite Campus School Messenger during a weather or emergency lockdown. All parents should make sure emails are current and up to date.
• All parents of Juniors and Seniors have the option of pre-submitting a form which allows their student to automatically check themself out in case of a sudden school dismissal. Please contact Candy Tuck in our main office to submit this form. (405) 442-0099

Please see instructions at the bottom of the newsletter for accessing Parent Portal. All parents need to make sure they can access Parent Portal. This will allow you access to student grades and updates from the school district.

Monday:

• Softball Home vs. Little Axe @ 5PM ; V/JV

Tuesday

• Softball @ Bethel @ 5PM; (JV FIRST; Varsity 6:15)

Thursday

• Softball @ Chandler @ 5PM; V/JV
• Academic Team @ Maysville; TBA
• 7-8-9 Football @ Bridge Creek; 5PM

Thurs-Sun

• FFA @ State Fair; Thu: Livestock Judging; Fri-Sun: Heifer Show

Friday

• Football is OFF this week
• Softball @ Amber-Pocasset @ 5PM; V/JV

Saturday

• Cross-Country @ Community Christian; 10:30AM
• Band @ Moore HS Stadium for Outdoor Music Festival; Prelims @ 1:30 PM

ATTENTION: Seniors 2022

Senior College Night:

Senior College Night will be at Purcell High School Commons on September 14th, at 6pm. There will be great info regarding financial aid and the opportunity to meet individually with colleges. Seniors please bring a parent or guardian or just yourselves! Please don’t miss this opportunity!!

Senior Panel Pictures: click on link: https://docs.google.com/.../1nx3iBg.../edit

Senior Remind:

All Senior students and parents are encouraged to join the Senior Remind Group. It will only be used to disperse Senior Class Info.

Remind Code: @phssr22

• Sept. 6th: No School: Labor Day
• Oct 4th: Parent Teacher Conference-secondary
• Oct 7th: Parent Teacher Conference-secondary
• Oct 15-18th: Fall Break

Parents can now access student information on Infinite Campus (our new student information system) The link to parent portal is below.

IMPORTANT: you will need an activation key to access the parent portal. You must email Kim Cummings @ cummingsk@purcellps.org in order to get the activation key

https://okcloud1.infinitecampus.org/campus/apps/portal/authentication/account-activation-key?appName=purcell&appType=parents

https://kb.infinitecampus.com/help/campus-parent-portal