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

Dear Parents,

As we come to to the end of the first quarter of school (it's hard to believe) I want to take this opportunity to thank parents for their support.

That support is critical to the success of our school. I'm very proud of the work of our students and staff. Our attendance improves each semester. Our suspension rates have declined by nearly 50%. Our total number of students failing a course is at a 5 year (at least) low. Our staff and student climate and safety surveys indicate that the large majority of individuals feel safe and secure at school. Our assessment scores have improved at a steady rate over the three years since Covid. While we certainly have areas of needed growth and improvement, our staff is working hard to meet our academic, safety, culture, attendance, and behavior goals.

I also want to emphasize the importance of goal setting for our students. Whether it's in academics, extracurricular activities, or personal growth, setting clear goals can provide a roadmap for success.

Goals give students a sense of direction, motivation, and purpose. They help students focus their efforts, develop time management skills, and build perseverance. When students achieve their goals, they experience a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that can boost their self-esteem and confidence.

Please encourage your child to set personal and academic goals this year. We are here to support them in their journey and help them reach their full potential. We will follow up on student goals in our upcoming Advisory lesson that addresses student goal setting.

Jason

Please feel free to text or call me if I can help

Cell: 918-873-0354

Our Lady Dragons faced off with Weatherford Saturday for the softball state championship. The game did not go our way, but the fight, determination, and grit that these girls demonstrated is unmatched. We are very proud of all the girls and our coaches. They represented their school and community with class, sportsmanship, and pride.

Sam teaches junior English and Alternative Education English. Read a tribute of Sam from one of her peers:

"Sam's dedication to her students will undoubtedly have a positive impact on their future success. Sam is particularly skilled at reaching out to students who may be struggling and creating a safe and inclusive learning environment. Her passion for teaching and her commitment to providing students with unbiased opportunities for self-expression make her an excellent candidate for the honor of Staff Member of the Month."

---Jon Corea

PHS Art Teacher

• Please read an important summary of our recent staff and student safety surveys conducted by Rick Hammer and our Safety and Wellness JET Team (school improvement team).

During the month of September, high school students and staff completed a survey regarding the overall safety of the school. When students rated the overall of the school, the average was a 3.99 where 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest. Staff rated the school at a 4.45. When asked if teachers, counselors, and administrators had students' safety in mind, 90% of students agreed.

Students were also asked to choose the safety issues that concerned them the most. Bathrooms and Vaping were the top concern of students, followed by the parking lot and driving issues, and the lack of student IDs. Another concern of students was outside during lunch, which administration has quickly resolved by adding our duty rotation to cover outside more consistently.

The teachers' response to the most concerning safety issues were a little different from the students. The most concerning issue for staff is Green Ave, and students having to walk on or across Green Ave before, during, and after school. The next two major concerns for staff members were mental health of students, and vaping/drug/alcohol abuse.

The last question asked was improvements they would like to see regarding safety. The most common suggestions were metal detectors at the main door, security officer on campus, crosswalk/stoplight on Green Ave, eliminate JH and HS students traveling back and forth between buildings, and a way to secure classroom doors in case of an intruder.

Student and staff safety is always the top priority. This data gathered from the survey is vital for us to hear how our students and staff members feel while in the school building. I look forward to working with the Safety and Wellness JET Team to dig into the data, and continue to ensure safety being of the utmost importance.

Rick Hammer

Assistant Principal / Athletic Director

Purcell High School

• Thank you to parents and patrons for driving safely and slowly in our parking lot when picking up students. I appreciate the courtesy and patience.

Our Counselor's Corner is a resource for all things Counseling Related. Please click on the link below to access relevant information including Academic Guidance, Student Supports, Scholarships, College & Career counseling, social and emotional supports, and more. This link is updated regularly. Seniors and senior parents can also access the Senior Website which is also linked below.

Highlights:

• The next National ACT test date is December 14. The regular registration deadline is November 8. Over 60 seniors took the ACT on campus last week. Thank you Melissa Feroli for organizing the on-campus testing session for students. We also were able to offer a free ACT Prep on campus prior to the testing date. 30 students took advantage of this opportunity thanks to Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics.
• Please note the link below that will directs you to FAFSA information. As always please reach out directly to Melissa Feroli (counselor/alternative education director) or Jason Sanders (head principal) if you have questions concerning your student's academic progress.

High school seniors, even if you haven’t chosen your college yet, complete the FAFSA now. Don’t wait! Some types of financial aid are first-come, first-served. Learn more at:

https://www.startwithfafsa.org/

Each freshman and sophomore parent should have received in their email a family report detailing your students recent FALL Map Assessment results. These assessments measure student learning progress in reading, science, and math. They are important predictors of future ACT success. The Family Reports will show your student's learning progress over their last several assessments. They will also predict whether your student is on-track or off-track for future ACT success. ALL juniors will take the ACT as part of their college and career readiness assessments.

• I urge you to review your student's results and reach out to individual math, english, or science teachers or Mr. Sanders or Ms. Feroli directly if you have questions. Here are a couple of points your should remember when reviewing MAP scores.

• These assessments were given early in the semester and therefore will reflect the 2 1/2 month learning gap resulting from the summer vacation. As a rule of thumb, it's generally a positive result if students maintain learning levels from the spring assessments.

• A decline in learning could reflect the summer learning gap or a student's lack of effort on the assessment. MAP assessments indicate if students are rapid guessing or rushing through the assessment. Obviously this will not provide us accurate learning data. We urge you to always encourage your student to do their best on our MAP assessments.

• Students will be assessed again in the late winter/early spring.

PHS Student Council Officers attended the District 8 OASC Fall Convention in downtown OKC. They had an amazing time networking and participating in team-building and leadership activities. As a former STUCO sponsor I know how beneficial attending District & State Conventions can be in building your leadership programs. Thank you sponsors Amy Stone & Leigh Ann McGregor for providing our students this opportunity. A special thanks to Mike Savage for driving our students to the convention.

Our art students shined today at the Lexington Chalk Art Contest on a beautiful fall morning. We have some incredibly talented students as you will see from the photos. We are also fortunate to have an amazing Art teacher in Jon Corea.

Most Vibrant

Dee Clevenger

Emma Leon Garcia

Kylie Macarthur

Zoey Clevenger

Most Realistic

Ivanna Coronel-Guzman

Yandel Chavez

Joselyn Ramirez

Kenna Lee

Best in Show

Lilly Venegas

Erick Suarez Howe

Emily Shields

Daisy Venegas

I visited our PHS Leadership class and watched their presentations over the research they had completed on future career choices. This provided students an opportunity to practice important communication skills such as public speaking. Speaking in front of your peers (high schoolers can be a tough audience) can be very challenging. I was very proud of their work. Leadership classes help kids develop these important life skills. PHS Leadership is taught by Amy Stone, Purcell Secondary Schools Media Specialist.

What a huge accomplishment for our FFA Program this week at the State Opening and Closing Ceremonies Contest in Stillwater. Our team was 1 of 2 teams selected out of our Preliminary heat to compete in the final 8 out of 50 teams. They fell a little short in the finals, but we couldn’t be more proud of this group for how well they performed. Additionally freshman Justus Fulbright was 1 of 50 students to qualify for the State FFA Greenhand Quiz contest. These achievements and the growth of this program reflects the hard work of these students and the leadership of Erica Keen.

Mario Kart Team: Consisting of Bradley, Fatima, AJ, and Brendan, this team is currently ranked 7th in Oklahoma with a record of 2-1.

Rocket League Team: Made up of Brody, Brody, and Greyson, they are ranked 17th in the Great Plains Central Region, also holding a 2-1 record.

Super Smash Bros. Teams:

Team 1: Comprising Aidan, Aden, and Ezra, they currently sit at 60th in Oklahoma with a record of 1-2.

Team 2: This team, made up of Bryar, Fatima, AJ, and Braeden, is ranked 78th, also with a 1-2 record.

We’re excited to return next week for more competitions as we continue through the remainder of the regular season!

PHS Cheer had a busy few weeks with a great cheer camp and performance at halftime at a recent football game. They also led the pep rally celebrating our PHS Lady Dragons softball team as the prepared to go to the State Tournament. Great job Cheer!

The Dragon Pride Marching Band placed 8th out of 30 bands Saturday night at the OBA State Marching Championships in Yukon. What an accomplishment for this group who improved each week throughout their season. Congratulations and great job to all band members and director David Hilger and asst. director Jacob Willing.

Say “hello” to two-way messaging and classroom announcements in the Purcell app! With the addition of Rooms, our district app keeps getting better. Parents/guardians check your email and text messages tomorrow (9/3) with instructions to sign up and access new features.

To make sure you are ready to use Rooms, download the Purcell app today!

Download for Android https://aptg.co/Bp9PVp

Download for iPhone https://aptg.co/H7tnMs

We wanted to inform you that OSU’s Randall and Carol White Reading and Mathematics Center has several online and in-person opportunities available for students in grades 1-12 this semester! Please see the images below for details. The first provides information about reading tutoring for students in grades 1-8 and math tutoring or enrichment for students in grades 2-6. The second provides information about an online reading workshop for students in grades 6-12.

Please share this with any families you feel would benefit, and let us know if you have any questions.

Randall & Carol White Reading and Mathematics Center

College of Education and Human Sciences

102 Willard ~ 405-744-7119 ~ RMC@okstate.edu

Functional Family Therapy

The Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs is offering the Functional Family Therapy (FFT) program for highly at-risk youth and adjudicated youth in specific Oklahoma counties. FFT is an evidence-based treatment program designed to reduce at-risk behavior in adolescents with an 70%-80% effectiveness rate. FFT is the leading treatment to address adolescent substance use, delinquency, and family system change. FFT targets youth aged 11-18, younger siblings, and their parents/caregivers. Intervention ranges from, on average, 8 -12 one-hour sessions for mild cases and up to 30 sessions for more difficult situations. FFT is conducted over an approximate three-month period and is largely an in-home intervention that is provided at no cost to the family.

FFT is appropriate for youth ages 11-17 exhibiting frequent and high degrees of the following problematic behaviors: defiance of authority figures (home and school), aggressiveness toward other people, extreme sibling rivalry, running away, truancy, vandalism, negative peer association, poor academic performance, chronic absenteeism from school, frequent school suspensions/expulsions, current/history of arrest, bullying issues, gang affiliation, and or substance abuse.

Is FFT available to students in my county?
To learn if FFT is available in your county please click below. Counties are where FFT is available are highlighted in blue: Functional Family Therapy (FFT) (oklahoma.gov)

How to do I make a referral?
To make a referral, please reach out to your local county Office of Juvenile Affairs. FFT can be provided as a preventative intervention. You will have to make a referral to OJA services and request FFT if the student does not have OJA involvement.

Students can access Varsity Tutors platform on their school-issued Chromebooks through their Clever account. Students & Parents can also access Clever account @ purcellps.org by selecting the Student Learning Page from the menu.

You can learn more about the tools available to your student here.

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