Oklahoma students make Oregon State University honor roll
Oregon State University recently released its honor roll for the spring semester, and four Oklahoma students made the cut.
Two students had 4.0 averages. Emma A. Mc Intosh, of Norman, is a sophomore majoring in human development and family science. Chris A. Letchworth, of Stillwater, is doing post-baccalaureate work in Food Science and Technology.
Two studnets had a 3.5 or better. Marcus G. Wharry, of Idabel, is a senior majoring in natural resoruces. Garrett M. Rhodes, of Midwest City, is a junior majoring in exercise and sport science.
John Marshall teacher promoted to Jefferson Middle School assistant principal
Last night I spotted Billie England at the Oklahoma City School Board meeting, and I was a little surprised to see her. Normally teachers don’t pop up at those meetings, so I was caught a little off-guard. Then, as the meeting wound up, I figured out why she was there. The John Marshall High School math teacher was being promoted. She was named an assistant principal of Jefferson Middle School. It was neat to see someone I met and interviewed move her way up the ranks. The last time I saw Billie, she was making kids run and laugh about algebra. Here’s the story I wrote about her:
“OK my babies, OK my darlings, OK my sweetie pies.”
John Marshall High School math teacher Billie England settles down her class and starts in on her lesson.
Students calculate volume on the marker board as part of a state test review. It’s a game England plays. Each corner of her room represents one of the multiple-choice answers on a state practice test. Students work the problem and then move to the corner they think represents the right answer. The class is almost always divided.
England weaves around the desks, peeking over students’ shoulders. She pats a few on the shoulder. Her goal is to call on or physically touch every kid every hour.
“Kids have a tendency to melt into the wall,” England said. “You can’t just let those kids go unnoticed.”
England wants her students to do well on state tests, but she also wants to prep them for life. Some of her students come from loving homes; others don’t. She works at John Marshall because she wants to help them.
“They need me,” England said. “I don’t know what to say. I guess I need them, too.”
Just as the students debated the answer to an equation, the bell rang.
“Clean it up,” she said. “Go away. Love you. See you Monday.”
Metropolitan Library System hosts Children’s Music Festival
Sounds like fun! Here’s a press release from the library folks:
Couch potatoes, put on your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie!
The Metropolitan Library System’s Fourth Annual Children’s Music Festival pumps up the volume and has kids ready to rock the library to the sounds of Aaron Nigel Smith from “Between the Lions” and Dino O’Dell and the Veloci-rappers.
“The Children’s Music Festival,” said MLS Director of Outreach Dana Morrow, “is original songs that tell stories and celebrate reading and the arts. It’s interactive, fun and participatory, and it’s for kids of all ages. Through this and other musical events and series we’ve learned that kids respond to music better than just about anything else. A wide variety of musical styles is almost as much fun for them as browsing a toy store—or reading a good book.”
The Festival continues over five days in July and 18 libraries.
- Monday, July 23, 10:30a.m.: Northwest Library (606-3580) Dino O’Dell
- Monday, July 23, 10:30a.m.: Southern Oaks Library (631-4468) Aaron Nigel Smith, event held offsite at the OCCC Family and Community Education Center, 6500 S. Land Avenue
- Monday, July 23, 2:00p.m.: Capitol Hill Library (634-6308) Dino O’Dell
- Monday, July 23, 7:00p.m.: Midwest City Library (732-4828) Aaron Nigel Smith
- Tuesday, July 24, 9:30 & 10:30a.m.: Bethany Library (789-8363) Dino O’Dell
- Tuesday, July 24, 10:30a.m.: Ralph Ellison Library (424-1437) Aaron Nigel Smith
- Tuesday, July 24, 1:30p.m.: Downtown Library (231-8650) Dino O’Dell
- Tuesday, July 24, 2:00p.m.: Luther Library (277-9967) Aaron Nigel Smith, event held offsite at Luther High School Auditorium
- Wednesday, July 25, 10:30a.m.: Del City Library (672-1377) Aaron Nigel Smith
- Wednesday, July 25, 10:30a.m.: Wright Library (235-5035) Dino O’Dell, event held offsite at Exchange Avenue Baptist Church, 1300 S. Pennsylvania
- Wednesday, July 25, 2:00p.m.: Choctaw Library (390-8418) Aaron Nigel Smith
- Wednesday, July 25, 2:00p.m.:Warr Acres Library (721-2616) Dino O’Dell
- Thursday, July 26, 9:30 & 10:30a.m. Edmond Library (341-9282) Aaron Nigel Smith
- Thursday, July 26, 2:00p.m.: Jones Library (399-5471) Aaron Nigel Smith, event held offsite at Jones Community Center, 120 W. Atlanta
- Thursday, July 26, 2:00p.m.: The Village Library (755-0710) Dino O’Dell
- Thursday, July 26, 7:00p.m.: Belle Isle Library (843-9601) Dino O’Dell
- Friday, July 27, 10:30a.m.: Harrah Library (454-2001) Dino O’Dell, event held offsite at Harrah City Hall, 19625 N.E, 23rd
- Friday, July 27, 10:30a.m.: Nicoma Park Library (769-9452) Aaron Nigel Smith
Children’s Music Festival is co-sponsored by Arts Council of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information about this or any Metropolitan Library System program, visit the MLS website, www.metrolibrary.org.
Douglass High School graduate to give Carlton College graduation address
One of the graduates of the last segregated class of Douglass High School will give the graduation address next Friday at Carlton College in Northfield, Minn. Here’s a news release from the school about Emmitt House’s summer commencement address:
Emmitt C. House, Carleton Class of 1971, will present the keynote address for the Carleton Liberal Arts Experience (CLAE) commencement on Friday, July 13 at 9:30 a.m. in the Weitz Center for Creativity Theater. House will address the 52 CLAE scholars and the Carleton community, speaking about his life experiences including navigating the college search process, his undergraduate education, graduate education, and his career as a lawyer.
House is a native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he was raised in a family that settled in Oklahoma before statehood and participated in the 1889 Land Run. He attended Oklahoma City public schools and graduated from the last racially segregated class at Douglass High School. House chose to pursue a liberal arts education at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. While at Carleton, he was active in many student activities, including serving on the Student Senate. House and a visiting professor, Dr. Hagolani, organized and led the first group of Carleton students to participate in an academic seminar in Ivory Coast, West Africa. After graduation from Carleton, he was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and spent several years in Europe and West Africa studying ethnography. He subsequently attended Northwestern University School of Law where he received a Juris Doctor in l978.
After settling in Chicago, Illinois, House practiced law in the energy arena for 35 years. He was an in-house counsel for several major enterprises including a large utility conglomerate and a multinational oil company. He served as General Counsel for an energy marketing company before transitioning to the private practice of law for the past 15 years. He was a partner in two minority-owned law firms in Chicago and has served on the Board of Directors of a major natural gas company. In his law practice, from which he retired in Spring 2012, House represented utilities, energy producers and marketers, wind and solar developers and many other entities, handling a broad range of corporate and commercial matters in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Over the years, House has been involved extensively in civic and community affairs in Chicago. He has been active in political and community affairs and has served on numerous boards of organizations as wide ranging as public radio, youth development and public policy promotion involving housing, immigration and diversity. House is an enthusiastic supporter of a liberal arts education and has served as an Alumni Trustee on the Carleton College Board of Trustees. In his free time, Emmitt enjoys fishing, reading and playing golf. His current passion is creative writing.
House’s appearance is the culmination of Carleton College’s annual CLAE program, an inspiring summer program designed for the best and brightest college-bound students representing high schools across the country. The Carleton Liberal Arts Experience (CLAE) select 50 high school students who have just completed their sophomore year and brings them to Carleton, all expenses paid, for a one-week summer program. The CLAE program introduces the strengths of a liberal arts education through an array of courses in science, art, social sciences, and technology.
Oklahoma Board of Education diploma waiver votes
I plan to keep a running total of how the ACE/EOI appeals process votes have turned out. Here’s a list of how the vote has gone by district.
- Broken Arrow: 2 granted, 4 denied, 15 dismissed
- Catoosa: 1 dismissed
- Choctow: 1 denied
- Lawton: 1 denied
- Mannford: 1 denied
- Marlow: 1 denied
- Norman: 1 denied
- Oklahoma City: 1 granted, 1 denied
- Schulter: 1 dismissed
- Strother: 1 denied
- Tahlequah: 1 denied
- Tulsa: 2 denied
- Tulsa Union: 2 granted, 1 denied
- Wagoner: 1 denied
And here’s a list of how the vote has gone by meeting.
Results from the June 5, 2012 Oklahoma Board of Education Meeting
Granted, Extenuating Circumstances: 1 (Broken Arrow)
Granted, Accepted into a University: 1 (Broken Arrow)
Postponed until June 28: 1 (Oklahoma City)
Denied: 7 (four from Broken Arrow, two from Tulsa, one from Wagoner)
Dismissed: 16 (one from Catoosa, 15 from Broken Arrow)
Results from the June 28, 2012 Oklahoma Board of Education Meeting
Granted, Extenuating Circumstances: 2 (Tulsa Union)
Granted, Accepted into a University: 1 (Oklahoma City)
Denied: 9 (Choctaw, Lawton, Mannford, Marlow, Norman, Oklahoma City, Strother, Tahlequah, Union)
Dismissed: 1 (Schulter)
Total Results from Oklahoma Board of Education for 2012
Granted, Extenuating Circumstances: 3 (one from Broken Arrow, two from Tulsa Union)
Granted, Accepted into a University: 2 (one from Broken Arrow, one from Oklahoma City)
Denied: 16 (four from Broken Arrow, one from Choctaw, one from Lawton, one from Mannford, one from Marlow, one from Norman, one from Oklahoma City, one from Strother, one from Tahlequah, two from Tulsa, one from Union, one from Wagoner)
Dismissed: 17 (one from Catoosa, 15 from Broken Arrow, one from Shulter)
Rapper Bentley Green features Edwards Elementary in video
Go to about 2:35 and you can see the studnets of Edwards Elementary. They even get a special shout out at the end (4:05).
Graduation season begins with John Marshall
Thank you to John Marshall for sharing their fabulous photos with us from their May 10 graduation ceremony. Principal Aspasia Carlson said it was a wonderful night. Star Spencer and Southeast honor their graduates tonight, and a full list of Oklahoma City Public Schools graduation will be in The Oklahoman tomorrow.
John Marshall High School students get super-fancy
Look at this fabulous young ladies and gentlemen. The leadership class from John Marshall High School made a trip to the Petroleum Club to have a lunch and learn all about etiquette. A majority of the students at John Marshall are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunches. How was this exciting outing paid for? The John Marshall staff. They donated to the trip and sponsored students.
Royal Ivey visits Wilson Elementary to hand out Sonic donations
First of all, Sonic announces they’re giving you $4,000 for special projects. Then you find out Royal Ivey’s showing up with the checks. I’m pretty sure Friday was a great day at Wilson Elementary in Oklahoma City. Sonic funded seven classroom projects through its Limeades for Learning Program. The projects were posted through www.DonorsChoose.org. Here are the winners:
- Candice Pride: Power Play the Old Way to a Healthier Lifestyle ($573.08)
- Susan Bumgarner: Let’s Find Out About Everything! ($399.56)
- Cindy Riedl: Kindle a Fire for 21st Century Learning! ($601.40)
- Elizabeth Ejtehadi: Math Manipulatives Create Math Masters! ($468.45)
- Linda Baker: Kindle a Fire for 21st Century Math Students!! ($1,161.61)
- Gregory Eskridge: Teaching with Technology ($469.60)
- Deborah Brashier: Picture Our Possibilities ($287.48)
Last Day to Vote
Today is the last day to vote for Oklahoma in the First Book competition to get 50,000 free books for children in the state. Go to the Web site and type in the book that got you hooked on reading and do your part to help Oklahoma students get hooked on reading too.
- Staff Writer Dawn Marks
