Whittier Middle School

Whittier Middle School
March 2010 Newsletter
W h i t t i e r W e b s i t e : w w w. n o r m a n . k 1 2 . o k . u s / 5 0 4
News From Ms. Swanson
I want to extend my gratitude for your flexibility with our snow days this winter and for your support of the District’s plan to make-up the instructional time. In addition, thank you for attending our recent Parent/Teacher
Conferences. As we all know, we are partners in your child’s education, and your involvement is sp valuable
to us. I also want to thank our wonderful Whittier PTA for providing food for teachers during conferences.
Those are long days for our faculty and staff, but the time spent is so worthwhile.
As we approach spring, our eighth graders have finished their first round of state testing. The CRT Writing
Test took place on February 24. As we enter March, we feel the relative calm before the bulk of the state testing storm. Spring Break is March 15-19, and afterwards, teachers and students really buckle-down and focus
heavily on preparing children for success on the standardized tests. The state testing window opens on April
12. Once the testing window opens, we begin testing sessions as soon as possible each day. So please, look
ahead on your calendars and help your children be on time to school. That way, they will not have to make-up
testing sessions separate from their peers. Also, make sure they are well-rested and well-fed during this time,
to maintain energy and stamina. At Whittier, we try to shutdown all school-related activities during the testing
window to provide free evenings for students and to provide uninterrupted content review and testing sessions during the school day. Obviously, this is a very hectic and high-stakes time for our students and teachers, which is why I’m giving everyone advanced warning about testing. This is certainly not the time to take
your child out of school for appointments or vacations, unless it absolutely cannot be avoided. I appreciate
your help with this as always!
Here are the tentative dates of testing for you to put on your calendars. These are fairly “firm”, but they are
subject to change before April 1. Therefore, always check the new and improved Whittier Website
(www.norman.k12.ok.us/504) for the most current testing schedule.
April 12 –
Testing Window Opens/Paper-Pencil Testing Begins
6th and 7th grades will take OCCT math test.
8th grade will take OCCT science test.
April 13 -
6th and 7th grades will take OCCT reading test.
8th grade will take OCCT U.S. History test.
April 14 -
Online Testing Begins
Core 8-1 Reading Test
Core 7-1 Geography Test
April 15 -
Core 8-2 Reading Test
Core 7-2 Geography Test
April 16 –
Core 8-3 Reading Test
Core 7-3 Geography Test
April 19 -
Core 8-1 Math Test
Page 2
March 2010 Whittier Middle School Newsletter
Ms. Swanson, cont. from page 1
April 20 -
Core 8-2 Math Test
April 21 -
Core 8-3 Math Test
April 22 -
8th graders will take the District Fine Arts Test.
April 23 -
7th graders will take the District Fine Arts Test.
April 26 -
6th graders will take the District Fine Arts Test.
April 27 -
EOI Testing Begins (according to current ACE Legislation, a student must pass 4
of 7 EOI tests to graduate high school in Oklahoma. Algebra I is a required “passtest.” English II is also required.)
8th Grade Algebra I EOI Test (Section 1, a.m.; Section 2, p.m.)
April 28
7th Grade Algebra I EOI Test (Section 1, a.m.; Section 2, p.m.)
April 29
8th Grade Geometry EOI Test (Section 1, a.m.; Section 2, p.m.)
April 30
8th Grade Biology I EOI Test (Section 1, a.m.; Section 2, p.m.)
As I already stated, this is a busy and hectic time for staff and students. We would also appreciate anyone
who is available to monitor tests on any of these days. Each testing room requires an administrator and a
monitor. While the administrator must be a certified teacher, the monitor does not have to be certified. If you
are interested and available, please contact Terri Welborn at school or by e-mail: [email protected].
Here are some other reminders for you and your child when preparing for standardized testing: (1) make
sure your child understands the directions; he/she is encouraged to raise a hand and ask questions before
the testing officially begins. (2) Calm and reassure your child about testing. Confident children do better on
tests; (3) Remind students to read each question and every answer choice carefully. Then, choose the best
answer for each question; (4) Students should go back and check their wok, if they finish early. The extra time
may be used to answer any questions that may have been initially skipped; (5) If students cannot finish the
test within the time allotted, they will be given additional time to complete the test; (6) Students should not
spend too much time on any one question. If a question takes too long to answer, they should skip it and answer other questions. They may return to skipped questions after they have finished that section of the test.
More parent information is included in the Student, Parent, and Teacher Guides, which will be sent home
the closer we get to the testing window. Teachers may be using practice tests to familiarize your child with the
testing procedures and format. Sincerely, Ms. Swanson
Order Yearbooks Now!
Parents—Have you forgotten to purchase a yearbook? No worries! It's not too late! Even though online ordering has expired,
you can still get an order form from the office or in Ms. Clarke's
room (Rm. 301). Second chance yearbooks are now $37, cash or
check made payable to Whittier Middle School are accepted.
The new deadline is now March 9, 2010. After this deadline, you
may still purchase one on Distribution Day for $40 cash only
(end of May). If you don't know if you have purchased a yearbook, you may e-mail Hollis Clarke at
[email protected] to verify your order.
Forgot a date? event? social?
or other information? Check out
the PTA Webpage at
http://staff.norman.k12.ok.us/~rbell/
whittierpta0607index.htm.
Send your web information to
Webmaster Regina Bell at
[email protected].
Page 3
March
Whittier
Middle
SchoolNewsletter
Newsletter
March
20102010
Whittier
Middle
School
PTA
NEWS
During the month of March, the Whittier PTA will be busy preparing for
the next school year. We will be assembling a new slate of officers and
soliciting new committee chairpersons. If you are interested in being
active in PTA next year please let us know. You may find more information in this newsletter or refer to the Whittier PTA webpage at the
Whittier website.
The annual CRT standardized tests are just around the corner. Help is always needed with
monitoring the classrooms. If this is something with which you would like to help, please call the
office at Whittier. As an added benefit, volunteering as a monitor is one way to directly observe
the kids in the classroom.
The 6th and 8th grades had their class socials in February. The 7 th grade social is coming soon.
Thank you to all parents who helped make the events possible. The kids who attended had a
great time.
I wish everyone a safe and relaxing spring break.
Laura Cooper
The March Whittier PTA Board Meeting is scheduled for March
11th at 12:00p.m. in the Whittier School Library. There are
important items up for vote on the agenda—please join us!
Make-up Days Scheduled for Instructional Days Lost Due to Inclement Weather
The following inclement weather make-up day schedule has been announced by the Norman Public Schools. By
Oklahoma State Statutes, public school districts are responsible for providing 175 instructional days for students.
Superintendent Dr. Joseph Siano stated, “As you are well aware, the recent winter storm has caused challenges
with our school calendar. The district must make adjustments in the instructional calendar to meet the state requirement.”
Three days will be made up with the following adjustments in the current school calendar:
· Day 1 – Monday, February 15 – previously scheduled holiday for Presidents’ Day
· Day 2 – Friday, February 26 - previously scheduled Parent/Teacher Conference Day
Conferences will be restructured.
· Day 3 – Friday, May 28 – previously scheduled snow make-up day
The make-up schedule for the fourth day has yet to be determined. The current calendar designates the week of
June 1 as alternative days. The district is investigating recent changes to state law that provide for more flexibility
in making up instructional days. Dr. Siano explained, “We know this is disruptive, and the district will work to
accommodate parent, student, and staff conflicts that may be caused by this calendar adjustment.”
Page 4
March 2010 Whittier Middle School Newsletter
Attention 8th Grade Students and Parents:
8th grade English will soon begin the highly anticipated Holocaust unit
after Spring Break. On March 24th, we will have a very special guest,
Holocaust survivor Michael Jacobs, visit the 8th grade students in the
morning and an open community presentation in the evening with a
message of hope and belief, not one of hate. He will be presenting his
experience and testimony of events he endured during the Holocaust
as a 16 year old teenager.
This has turned into a treasured tradition at Whittier and an unforgettable experience for the students. Before Spring Break, students will be given a parent letter and
an opportunity to purchase an autobiography which Mr. Jacobs will inscribe. The
morning presentation will be strictly for 8th grade students, and the evening presentation (time TBA) will be open for all interested families, previous students, etc. More
details will be available on the Whittier website.
Attention all
7th Graders!
The 7th Grade Social will be held on
Friday, March 5th,
in the Whittier Gym. Cost is
$5.00. We will have a DJ,
Photo Booth, and contest.
Food and Refreshments will
be provided. The theme is
Lollipops!
Box Tops for Education
Please look on food labels, personal hygiene
items, Kleenex, etc. for Box Tops for
Ed. Save these and send them to
Mrs. Poole in Room 242.
CONGRATULATIONS MS. CLARKE!
Hollis Clarke, Whittier Middle School
English teacher and 2009-10 Site
Teacher of the Year has been named
as a finalist for Norman Public
Schools' District Teacher of the
Year! We are so proud of Ms. Clarke
on this well-deserved honor! The District Teacher of the Year will be announced at the Celebration of Teaching Banquet in April.
Whittier Middle School has had a District Teacher
of the Year Finalist for 7 of the past 10 years! Also, the
2009 District Teacher of the Year is Mrs. Mary Pace, a
Whittier Middle School English Teacher. Former social studies teacher, Judy Burns was District Teacher of
the Year in 2006 and principal Holly Swanson was District Teacher of the Year in 2000.
8TH GRADE BOOKMANIA CLASS SKYPES WITH
YOUNG ADULT AUTHOR ALANA FERGUSON!
Check out her website
at http://www.alaneferguson.com/
The students talked to her "live" about the writing process, creating novels, doing research for writing, etc. ...
and all from the comforts of their own classroom with
the assistance of librarian Karin Perry and their teacher,
Leah Esker. A very authentic learning experience to
say the least!
Page 5
March 2010 Whittier Middle School Newsletter
WOW WEEK VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!
WOW week will be May 11 - 14.
We will need LOTS of volunteers that week!
Please respond to Toni Edzards: [email protected]
if you are interested in helping!!
Whittier Students Dominate MathCounts Regionals
Middle school mathematicians from central Oklahoma competed on
Saturday, February 6th at Oklahoma City Community College for the
Regional MathCounts Competition and Whittier Middle School of
Norman came out on top. The top team was made up of 8th graders
Joseph Gao and Yash Patel and 7th graders Steve Zhang and Nathan Yu. They are
coached
by
Terry
Littlejohn, Jen White
and LeAnn Chastain,
all teachers at Whittier.
The second place team
in the central Oklahoma region was Alcott
Middle School of Norman and third place
went to Westminster
School in Oklahoma
City.
Whittier
had
seven of the top ten individual
mathematicians out of the 104
who attended the comst
nd
petition. Steve Zhang placed 1 , Joseph Gao 2 , Defne Altan 6th, Jesse Yue 7th, Yash
Patel 8th, Nathan Yu 9th and Julie Zhu 10th. All of these students qualified to compete
at the State MathCounts Competition on Saturday, March 6th in Tulsa. The top 4 competitors at the State Competition will qualify to represent Oklahoma at Nationals this
May at Disneyworld.
March
Page
2010
6 Whittier Middle School Newsletter
Page 6
WhiWhittier
Middle 2010
School
2009-10 Calendar
WHITTIER
CALENDAR
DAY OF WEEK
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Tuesdsay
Thursday
Thurs. and Fri
DATE
March 2
March 4
March 5
March 9
March 11
March 11
and 12
Mon – Fri
March 15
– 19
Monday
March 22
Tuesday
March 23
Thursday
March 25
Friday
March 26
Monday
March 29
Tuesday
March 30
Monday
April 5
Wednesday
April 7
Thursday
April 8
Tuesday
April 12
Thursday
April 22
Friday
April 23
Monday
April 26
Saturday
May 1
Monday
May 3
Monday – Friday May 3 – 7
UPCOMING EVENT
District Choir Contest
CSI
Read-a-thon
District Band Contest (8th)
Leadership Meeting
NN Senator Elections
Monday – Friday May 10 –
14
Friday
May 14
Monday
May 17
Monday
May 17
Tuesday
May 18
Wednesday
May 26
Thursday
May 27
Friday
May 28
WOW Week
LOCATION
Western Heights HS
Cafeteria
Library
PC North
Rec Gym
TIME
CPA
Norman North
6:15 – 8:15 PM
TBA
Lloyd Noble
Lloyd Noble
7:30
7:30
Rec Gym
CPA
Norman North
8:00
7:00
5:00 – 8:00
Advisory
7:00 – 11:00
Advisory
Spring Break
Professional Day
All City Orchestra Rehearsal
All City Band Rehearsal
Spring Pictures
All City Concert – Band
All City Concert – Orchestra
Percussion Concert
Honor Roll Breakfast
Whittier Orchestra Concert
Math and Science Olympiad
EARTH DAY
NI Cut Off
NI Due
Deer Creek Band Festival
Open House
Sex Education
Spring Band Concert
Yearbook Distribution
8th Grade Slide Show
Spring Choir Concert
Academic Awards Assembly
Last Day of School
Professional Day
Deer Creek – Edm
WMS
CPA
7:00
Cafeteria
Whittier
CPA
Lunch
7:00
6:30
Page 7
March
Page
2010
7 Whittier Middle School Newsletter
SPRING ATHLETICS
COME OUT AND SUPPORT WHITTIER!!!
Slow Pitch Softball Schedule
First Time Frame is 8th Grade Games
Second Time Frame is 7th Grade Games
Date
Location
Team
Time
3/1/10
Away
Moore
4:30/5:30
3/2/10
Home
Southmoore
4:30/5:30
3/5-3/6
Away
Irving Round Robin TBA
3/9/10
Home
Longfellow
4:30/5:30
3/11/10
Away
Irving
4:00/5:00
3/22/10
Away
Moore
4:30/5:30
3/23/10
Home
Irving
4:30/5:30
3/25/10
Home
Alcott
4:30/5:30
3/29/10
Away
Westmoore
4:30/5:30
4/1-4/3
Away
Purcell Tournament TBA
4/9/10
Away
Alcott
4:30/5:30
4/12/10
Home
Westmoore
4:30/5:30
4/15/10
Away
Longfellow
4:30/5:30
4/22/10
Away
Southmoore
4:15/5:15
Whittier Track 2010
Date
Meet
Location
Thurs 3/25
P.C. West Track Meet
P.C. West H.S.
Fri 4/2
Yukon Track Meet
Yukon H.S.
Sat 4/3
Moore Meet
Moore H.S.
Sat 4/10
Norman Invitational
Norman H.S.
Sat 4/17
Plainview Track Meet
Plainview H.S.
Sat 4/24
Conference Meet
Moore H.S.
Nonprofit Organization
Whittier Middle School
2000 W Brooks
Norman, OK 73069
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Phone: 405-366-5956
Email: [email protected]
Norman, OK
Permit #65
We’re on the web
www.norman.k12
.ok.us/504
PTA OFFICERS NEEDED
The members of the nominating committee are:
Kim LaBrie, Jenny Davis, Lori Neighbors,
Shannon McCutchen, and Jill Fayak.
We will be developing a slate for PTA Officers.
The positions available are: President, two Vice
Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary.
If anyone is interested in serving in one of these
positions or would like to recommend someone for an
office they can contact anyone on the nominating
committee or e-mail Kim LaBrie
at [email protected].