Washington County supply drive set to begin

Bartlesville Public School District’s Weekly Email Newsletter
Leaders
in
Education
Volume 6, Number 45...Friday, July 20, 2012...www.bps-ok.org
The Bruin
Concussion
testing
program to
start July 29
A look at some of the backpacks gathered during the supply drive last year.
Washington County
supply drive set to
begin
For more than a decade, the Washington County School Supply Drive
has been assisting students and parents within Green County as they prepare
for the new academic year.
A locally run non-profit organization which evolved from a small effort
begun in 2001, the focus of the WCSSD is to provide free school supplies to
youngsters who might not otherwise be able to afford them in several school
districts, programs and sites within Washington County including the American Christian School, Bartlesville, Bowring, Caney Valley, Copan, Dewey,
Headstart, Osage Hills, St. John's and Wesleyan.
The WCSSD is known for its motto of “pack the backpacks,” as the
tried-and-true academic carriers are stuffed with school supplies. An estimated 200 volunteers gather every August to pack the backpacks based on
SUPPLY- Continued to Page 6
Head athletic trainer Alan
Mount, and the Bartlesville Public
School District will begin implementing a concussion testing
program for BPSD athletes at the
end of this month.
The program is slated to
begin this summer with football
players, and is expected to expand
as the school year progresses.
In order to better manage
head injuries/concussions, the
school has acquired a software
program called ImPACT (Immediate Post Concussion and Cognitive
Testing). ImPACT is a tool used
by many professional, collegiate
and high school sports programs
to assist in the diagnosis and management of concussions.
In the event that a concussion
is believed to have taken place,
ImPACT will be used to help
determine the severity of the head
injury, and when the injury is fully
healed.
An initial computerized
“baseline” examination using
ImPACT will be administered
to athletes prior to the start of
practice for the season. Baseline data defines “normal” for
each individual.
If a concussion is suspected,
TESTING - Continued to Page 7
Bartlesville Public School District Teacher of the Month: March
Theresa Merrifield was named the Bartlesville
sure to tailor her teaching style to all students, and
Public School District’s Teacher of the Month for
allow them to embrace the opportunity to learn. She
March by Arvest Bank and Oakley Chevrolet-Buick. always tries to create an inclusive atmosphere that
Merrifield is a first grade teacher at Hoover
allows student the best chance to be successful.
Elementary School. In recognition of her Teacher
According to Merrifield “I strive to instill the
of the Month Status, Merrifield was presented with
love of school and learning in my students.”
a plaque as well as a check for $300.00 by Stephen
Merrifield loves all parts of being a teacher, but
Colaw, the Arvest Bank senior vice president and
she said watching the students enhance their reading
trust officer, and David Oakley Jr., the owner of
skills is particularly rewarding.
Oakley ChevroletMerrifield said “I especially love first gradHoover Elementary
Buick.
ers and the beginning reader. I love to watch them
Merrifield
grow in their reading skills.”
moved to Bartlesville while in fourth grade and has
When she is not busy teaching in the classcalled Bartlesville home ever since.
Growing up, Merrifield always
knew she wanted to become a teacher.
She expressed that she has always really enjoyed school and learning.
According to her, “I owe my
zest for learning to my grandmother
and my mother.”
Following graduation from
Oklahoma State, Merrifield began
her teaching career at Ranch Heights.
She was at Ranch Heights for 12
years.
Following her 12 year stay at
Ranch Heights, she took some time
off to stay home and care for her
young children.
In 2007, her passion for teach- A first grade teacher at Hoover Theresa Merrifield (pictured center), the Bartlesville Public
ing brought her back into the class- School District’s Teacher of the Month for February, is congratulated by Stephen Colaw
(right), the Arvest Bank senior vice president and trust officer, and David Oakley, Jr. (left),
room at Hoover Elementary where
she has been teaching first grade for owner of Oakley Chevrolet-Buick.
the past five years. In addition to
her first grade teaching duties, Merrifield is also a
room, Merrifield is always trying to strengthen
certified reading specialist.
herself professionally. Whether it be through data
Merrifield loves to teach and she considers it an teams or professional organizations such as the In“art.” It is her feeling that an outstanding teacher is ternational Reading Association, Merrifield always
able to understand how to effectively interact with
wants to make herself a better teacher.
her class and develop a relationship that creates a
Theresa Merrifield is a teacher that truly goes
successful learning environment.
the extra mile to provide her students with the best
Merrifield stated, “I care deeply about my stueducation possible. The positive attitude and the
dents and their zest for learning. I want them (stuenergetic outlook on education make Merrifield
dents) to have a pride in themselves and love being
an outstanding educator. The Bartlesville Public
a learner.” School District is proud to have teachers like MerIn her classroom, Merrifield focuses on making rifield throughout the district.
BPSD students attend OK Mozart
master classes
Several Bartlesville Public School District musi- ence.”
cians recently had the opportunity to take part in
Leading up to the master classes, students
Oklahoma Mozart master classes.
practiced specific pieces of music. At the class, they
The master classes were hosted in conjunction
worked with members of Amici New York to improve
with the Oklahoma Mozart Festheir quality.
tival that took place in BartlesThe ability to work with proville during the middle of June.
fessional musicians allowed the
The annual program allows
students to enhance their abilities.
Bartlesville students to work
Not many people get the chance to
with some of the finest musiwork with musicians the quality of
cians in the country and from
those who are a part of Amici New
around the world.
York.
This year, the orchestra in
“It is a really cool opportunity
residence during the OK Mofor our kids. I am really impressed
zart Festival, Amici New York,
with how the program works,”
led several two hour master
stated Alex Claussen.
Photo by Alex Claussen/Special to the Bruin
class sessions.
Trumpet player Dresan AlexApproximately 40 students Dresan Alexander learns from a member of
ander who attended the classes felt it
Amici New York during the OK Mozart master
from the BPSD had a chance to classes.
was a great learning opportunity.
participate in the program this
“I got to work with amazing
year.
professionals from New York and I really learned a
According to the BHS instrumental music inlot. I also had a lot of fun,” remarked Alexander.
structor Alex Claussen, “It was the highest number of
For their participation in the program, students
students we have had participate in recent years. It
were honored with a pizza party and also presented
was great to see a lot of the students get the experiwith two tickets to an Oklahoma Mozart show.
Supply lists now available
online for BPSD elementary
schools
With the start of the 2012-2013 school year less
than a month away, supply lists for the Bartlesville
Public School District elementary schools are now
available on the BPSD homepage.
Supply lists are available for Wayside, Jane Phillips, Hoover, Kane, Ranch Heights and Wilson.
When you arrive at the homepage, www.bps-ok.
org, click on the link located on the left hand side of
the homepage that says “Student and Parents.” The
link will take you to a page that has a drop down list
in the center of the page. On this page you will be
able to choose which school’s supply list you want to
view.
If you have any questions about specific supply
lists, please contact the elementary school in question.
Oklahoma green schools
training set for August
Oklahoma green schools training will be taking place on August 2 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the
Oklahoma State Cooperative extension office in
Dewey.
The training program will be hosted by Gale
Mills, the OSU Cooperative Extension Family and
Consumer Sciences Educator for Washington County.
The program will focus on how the Oklahoma
green schools program works. Additionally, the
program will look at green energy, water, waste &
recycling, environmental quality and school site.
To register for the program, you can visit http://
www.okgreenschools.org/okgs-training/. In order to
participate in the program you must pre-register to secure your spot. If 15 people do not pre-register then
the class may not take place as scheduled.
For more information please e-mail to info@
oklahomagreenschools.org.
B’Ville tennis players find success
A group of Bartlesville tennis players recently captured the Tulsa
region United States Tennis Association Junior Team Tennis title for
the 18 and under intermediate division.
The win was an outstanding accomplishment as the Bartlesville
squad finished 5-0 and edged out Union to capture the team title.
The team tennis format pits teams against each other with five
matches being played. The five matches consist of one boys and girls
singles, one boys and girls doubles and one mixed doubles.
The team is captained by parent Lisa Henthorne. Members
of the championship team are Preston Garrett, Lily Greets, Scott
Henthorne, Collin Sanders, Colin Henthorne, Taylor Hunt, Robert
Meszaros, Megan Turcotte and Hayley Walton.
With their title win, the team is now qualified to play in the
Photo Courtesy Lisa Henthorne/Special to The Bruin
Pictured are some members of the team headed to Kansas Missouri Valley Sectional Junior Team Tennis Championships on
City.
July 30 and 31 at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
If the team is able to win in Kansas City they will advance to the USTA Junior Team Tennis National Championships in Cayce, South Carolina October 26 through 28.
BHS musicians attend “Music
for all Symposium”
Five Bartlesville marching
band students and teacher Wendy
Benford had the opportunity to
attend the “Music for all Symposium” at Ball State University
located in Muncie, Indiana.
The program was an elite
musical symposium aimed at
helping musicians improve leadership and musical skills.
The symposium, which took
place at the end of June, was
attended by Bartlesville drum majors, Scott Henthorne and Devin
Laurence, marching band members, Dresan Alexander and Josh
Phelps, and color guard member,
Hannah Divelbiss.
The experience got started
with “Leadership Weekend.” Top
leadership professionals from
across the United States led the
leadership camp and provided students in attendance with outstanding lessons and information on how
to become better leaders.
BPSD musicians gained a better understanding of how to become
a better leader and it was something
that they got a lot out of.
Dresan Alexander stated “I
got to work with great people and
get involved with leadership activities.”
Following the completion of
the “Leadership Weekend,” students then got to put their leadership skills to the test as they helped
lead Monday move in for campers
arriving for the week long symposium.
The symposium took place
Monday through Saturday hosting approximately 1,000 students. The symposium had three
“tracks” for students to follow,
drum major, marching band and
color guard. The “tracks” allowed campers to get more specific instruction in their area of
interest.
Throughout the week long
opportunity,” Dresan Alexander
noted.
At the symposium there was
also a director’s “track” that allowed for professional development. Teacher Wendy Benford
Photo by Wendy Benford/Special to the Bruin
The five student from the Bartlesville Public School District that attended the
“Music for all Symposium” take time for a picture.
symposium, students practiced in
preparation for the final performance that took place on a Saturday evening, the final day of the
camp.
On the final day of the
“Music for all Symposium,”
participants had the opportunity
to display their hard work from
throughout the week with performances.
The performances also had
a twist as camp attendees got the
chance to perform with a drum
corps for part of the show. Performing with a drum corps was
a great experience for everyone
involved.
“There are no words to describe the chance to perform with
the drum corps. It was a great
was afforded the opportunity to
work with instrumental teachers
from around the country and learn
how to become a more effective
teacher and instrumental instructor.
According to Benford, “It
was a great experience this year.
I was able to learn a lot, but the
kids just have a great time. They
learned so much and are very
excited to share it with the rest of
the band.”
The “Music for all Symposium” was an amazing experience
for students that attended and
teacher Wendy Benford. It was
just another example of the hard
work that BPSD band members
put in during the summer to improve their talents.
SUPPLY- Continued from Page 1
school supply lists for each student’s
school and grade level. This year 11th
and 12th graders will receive packed
cinch bags instead of backpacks.
Sign-ups are now underway and
will continue throughout July for those
who would like to sign up their student
to receive a free packed backpack or
cinch bag. Forms are available and
can be filled out at the Mary Martha
Outreach (which is located at 1845
W. 4th Street), the CONCERN Center (333 S. Penn Ave.) and the Agape
Mission (309 S. Bucy Ave.). Forms are
available online through the WCSSD
website – at www.packthebackpacks.
org – but once completed, they must
be turned in at MMO, CONCERN or
Agape Mission.
Assistance is always needed to
keep the WCSSD moving forward,
and donations are accepted throughout
the course of a given year. More than
2,400 packed backpacks were distributed to students in need last year, and
an estimated $44,000 was spent on
the supplies which filled them. Those
who would like to help the program
can send their contributions to: WCSSD; P.O. Box 2013; Bartlesville, OK
74005-2031.
Supply donations are always
appreciated as well, and those that are
particularly needed include pencils,
wide-rule paper, backpacks, Crayola
makers (not crayons), colored pencils
and glue sticks. Donations of supplies
can be delivered to Tallgrass Estates
(2633 SE Mission Dr.), St. Luke’s
Episcopal Church (210 E. 9th St.) or
the CONCERN Center.
As an indicator of the scope of
the project, 46,649 pencils were given
out to students during last year’s drive
as well as 7,566 glue sticks. All told,
104 different products were handed
out to students.
Two fundraisers are scheduled
for this month to benefit the WCSSD.
Tallgrass Estates will hold a special
spaghetti dinner fundraiser on July 24
– beginning at 5:30 p.m. – and admission will be a donation of school supplies or money toward the drive.
Throughout July, ConocoPhillips employees have the opportunity to
purchase tickets for a drawing to win
several prizes including a Kindle Fire.
Tickets are priced at $1 apiece or six
for $5. All proceeds raised will benefit
the WCSSD. Tickets can be purchased
from Bob Wesneski or Meghan Smith.
In addition, from now through
September, McAlister’s Deli (2330
SE Washington Blvd.) will donate all
money collected in its tip jar to the
WCSSD.
Volunteers are always needed for
the drive, and in particular on these
special days as the 2012-13 academic
year approaches.
Saturday, Aug. 4:
Set-up day at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (supplies are set out for
packing) (9 a.m. to noon)
Sunday, Aug. 5:
Pack the backpacks at St. Luke’s
Episcopal Church (pack more than
2,400 customized backpacks) (1-5
p.m.)
Stack the backpacks at St. Luke’s
Episcopal Church (6-9 p.m.)
Monday, Aug. 6:
Backpack distribution day at St.
Luke’s Episcopal Church (9 a.m. to
noon and 1-6 p.m.)
Tuesday, Aug. 7:
Backpack distribution day at St.
Luke’s Episcopal Church (9 a.m. to
noon and 1-3 p.m.)
The WCSSD is assisted by several individuals in the community and
sends special thanks to Knightsbridge Advisors, the Acorn Storage Center, Tallgrass Estates,
the Upstream Financial Shared
Services group at ConocoPhillips
and the ConocoPhillips Hispanic
Network.
Article courtesy of David
Austin.
BHS class schedule pick up
Bartlesville High
School students will be
able to pick up class
schedules at the beginning
of August from BHS.
For seniors, class
schedule pick up will be
on Tuesday, August 7.
Students can arrive from
8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and
12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Juniors will be able
to get class schedules
on Wednesday, August
8 from 8:30 a.m. to 11
a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to
3 p.m.
For students that
are new to the district,
please contact Ms. Seal
at 918-336-3311 at extension 5000 to make an
appointment for Thursday, August 9.
TESTING- Continued from Page 1
the athlete will be required
to re-take the ImPACT test.
Information from the postinjury test will then be compared to the baseline test. A
report generated from the
comparison data should be
given to the athlete’s doctor
to help evaluate the injury.
Test results will provide
valuable information that
can help determine whether
or not the athlete is ready to
return to competition.
The test is set up in
“video-game” format and
takes approximately 15 to
20 minutes to complete.
The program is essentially
a physical examination of
the brain that tracks information such as memory,
reaction time, speed and
concentration.
It should be noted that
the program is non-invasive
and it is in no way an IQ test
or examination of intelligence.
Baseline testing is vital
to the accuracy and effectiveness of the program. It
highly recommended that all
football players participate.
The testing program
will take place for football
players on July 29-31 at
Bartlesville High School in
the library computer lab.
Time slots available
on Sunday July 29 will
be 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30
p.m., 3:15 p.m., and 4
p.m.
On Monday July
30 and Tuesday July 31,
9 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 10:30
a.m., 11:15 a.m., 1 p.m.,
1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15
p.m. and 4 p.m. will be
available.
There will be 12
seats available per session.
To schedule a testing session please contact
Alan Mount via e-mail at
mountwa@bps-ok.org or
918-336-3311 extension
5016. If you are not able to
reach Alan directly, leave
a message with 3 options
(dates and times) to schedule the testing session.
Additionally, the
BPSD will need a signed
consent form from a parent
or guardian to authorize the
testing program. Each athlete should bring the form to
the test.
Again, the program is
not mandatory but participation is highly recommended.
For more information
about the program please
contact Alan Mount at
918-336-3311 extension
5016.
Stellar Sites
The Bartlesville Public School District offers a wide
array of useful tools for students as well as parents. For
some extra educational insight, give these web sites a look:
PowerSchool
http://www.bps-ok.org Click on the PowerSchool
link toward the top of the home page.
- Parents and legal guardians can check with office
personnel at their student’s school to find out how to
access PowerSchool.
- Information on students - such as grades and attendance records available via PowerSchool.
Study Island
http://www.studyisland.com Use the “Member
Login.”
ers.
- Student login information must be obtained from teach-
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/BartlesvilleHighSchool#!/
BartlesvillePublicSchools or http://www.facebook.com/
BartlesvilleHighSchool
- Everyone can keep up with what’s going throughout the
BPSD or at Bartlesville High School by becoming fans of these
pages, which are updated regularly with news and events.
Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/BPSDBruins
- Keep up with the latest news and announcements from
throughout the BPSD.
Bartlesville Public School District Activities (July 13-19, 2012)
Tuesday, July 24
Summer school in session
Friday, July 20
Summer school in session
Saturday, July 21
(No events scheduled)
Sunday, July 22
(No events scheduled)
Monday, July 23
Summer school in session
“Leaders In Education”
Wednesday, July 25
Summer school in session
Thursday, July 26
Summer school in session
Editing, writing, design and photography by Chris
Tanea, Bartlesville Public School District community
relations coordinator, unless otherwise noted