Kicking off Tiger Time on the Donna and Molly Show was CHS senior, Shawnae and CHS junior, Chandler. The girls proved to be a delightful duo, supplying the community with information about the first days of the new school year.
CUSHING HIGH SCHOOL NEWS:
The Tigers were welcomed back to a fresh new look at the high school. The summer months kept staff busy installing SMARTBoards in all classrooms and tidying every nook and cranny of the campus. While these improvements are wonderful, probably the most notable improvement is the remodeling done to the common area of the lobby. The floors were cleaned and stripped of the old carpet glue before being restained and polished to a bright shine. The once dirty, carpeted steps have been up-graded with new vinyl sheets that give the entire area a sharp, fresh, clean feel for students to take pride in. To accommodate those with handicaps, auto-open doors have been installed at the entrance closest to the principal’s office and a ramp from the main level to the sunken commons area was added.
Student Council hosted a back-to-school mixer on Friday, in the lobby of the high school. Students enrolled in grades 9 – 12 were invited to join the fun. Activities included bowling, Sharpie tattooing, Twister, ping pong, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and a dance clinic for those with two left feet.
Football will kick off with its season opener on Friday, Sept. 4th at Bristow. Varsity play against the Pirates will begin at 7:30 p.m. Fans can look forward to a larger roster lead by seniors Brett Aicher, Garrett Evans, Tyler Farley, Martinez “D.J.” McKinney and Paul Carpenter. Head Coach Lance Hoggatt is impressed by the “renewed excitement among the players and the tremendous work effort they have shown. The team is committed to returning Tiger football to its rightful place and thus far their efforts have reflected that commitment.”
The high school girls’ softball team, coached by Don Amon and Chad Short, opened their season with a win against the Perry Maroons that went nine innings and a heart breaking loss to Frontier in ten. They then moved right in to play in the Cushing Fall Classic Tournament where they were flawless all five games and the championship of the Orange Division with a win over the Depew Hornets. They are 9 and 4, which includes a huge win over the Bristow Pirates, who are ranked 7th in 4A. The Lady Tigers made the rankings page at 20th. Friday, they traveled to OKC to the Hall of Fame field to face Tuttle, last year’s State Champions. The superb pitching of senior, Deshea Ladd and the hot bats of Ladd; junior, Hosanna McCoy; and freshman, Megan Carrier, have fueled the Lady Tigers. Amon says that the seniors, Ladd, Alex Williams, Kaleigh Brittenham, Krista Smith and Brenna Winterbottom have provided exceptional leadership to this particular group of girls. Their next home game will be on Thursday, Sept. 3rd.
Tri-County Church, directly across from the football field, will once again be hosting lunch on Tuesdays, starting Sept. 8th. These homemade meals are free for high school students and teachers.
Students who wish to participate in extra-curricular activities must turn in an information packet to the office. The initial cost is $10 to cover drug-testing fees. Packets are due before Tuesday, Sept. 1st and testing will take place Wednesday, Sept. 2nd in the Field House.
CUSHING HIGH SCHOOL WELCOMES FIVE NEW TEACHERS:
Rodger Brashear comes to Cushing via Broken Arrow. He and his wife relocated to Oklahoma after Hurricane Katrina hit Florida in 2005. He will be working in the special education field as a study skills and English instructor.
Also teaching a lab class with math study skills is Carolyn Haney. She has been a public school teacher for 15 years and has also worked as a private tutor. Haney is not new to the community; she has lived here with her husband, the Reverend, Dr. Larry Haney, minister at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). They have four grown children.
Returning to Cushing High after several years in the Stroud school district is Julie Sherwood. When she moved eight years ago, she was teaching computer classes. She has since gained certification as a library media specialist and will be in charge of the CHS library. Sherwood is married and has two children, Jake 9 and Cayden 3.
Coming from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Stillwater is Susie Kessler. Kessler will be teaching American and World history. She and her husband reside in Stillwater and have two grown children.
Tiger high school baseball has found a new head coach in middle school teacher, Charles Copeland. Copeland previously taught in the Byng school district and has always been involved with baseball and softball. He has been married for six years and has two children, Caden and Cora.
Several teachers are not new to the system, but have just taken on new positions. Al Williams, the former In-School Suspension (ISS) teacher will be taking over the alternative classes housed on the high school campus. These alt-ed classes were previously under the instruction of Jowanna Harris, however she is now teaching Life Skills (aka home economics) classes. Shane Johnson, who has been an aid at CHS for three years, is taking Williams place teaching ISS.
POINTS OF INTEREST:
*On Sept. 1st, there will be a Project Graduation meeting in the CHS lobby. All seniors who wish to participate need to be present by 6:30 p.m.
*On Thursday, Sept. 3rd, the 9th grade football team will travel to McCloud to take on the Redskins. The freshmen will play following the 7th and 8th grade games.
*A reminder to parents who have children enrolled at the high school: Students are not allowed to have their cell phones out or turned on while in the building. If you need to contact your student, please call the office at (918) 225-6622 and they will be happy to relay the message.
*Individuals or businesses wishing to purchase ads in this year’s high school annual can contact any yearbook student or Nancy Miller at (918) 225-6622. Ads need to be placed by Sept. 11th.
*Cushing Public Schools are becoming serious in their commitment to stop tobacco use. All CPS campuses are now tobacco free. This means no tobacco use on campus at any time. Adults who wish to smoke or dip during extracurricular activities will need to leave campus and help set a good example for all students. Any student interested in joining students working against tobacco (SWAT) needs to see Ms. Katy Arthur.
*FFA will be competing in floriculture, nursery, agriscience, and dairy cattle contests this year and some members will be heading to the national competition. To help support their efforts, they are now selling Blue and Gold breaded chicken strips and sausage along with T and D chicken breasts and sausage biscuits. Anyone interested in ordering can call (918) 225-1361 or get in touch with an FFA member. All profits go directly towards Cushing FFA chapter.
NEWS FROM PRINCIPAL, SALLY WRIGHT, WILSON ELEMENTARY
Wilson Pre-kindergarten is bursting with 110 four-year-olds! All excited about learning and getting to attend school for the first time.
Wilson has a REAL librarian this year, Mrs. Joanne Hill, who is busily working on coding books for students to check in and out of the library. Hill has graciously volunteered her time and efforts in the library with no pay, and is to be thanked for her time. If anyone else in the community would like to volunteer to help in the Wilson library, please call Principal, Sally Wright at (918) 225-4683. The Wilson library will also be getting a computer lab for the very first time, thanks to a grant from one of the local foundations that wanted to remain anonymous.
It has been exciting trying to dodge the road construction going on around the hospital area. This work blocks off the main roads into Wilson Pre-K. Parent have been very understanding and patient during child pick-ups, and a big note of thanks goes to Chief Terry Brannon and the Cushing Police Department for helping with traffic control.
NEWS FROM NANCY DOWELL, PRINCIPAL AT HARMONY ELEMENTARY
Harmony Elementary received notification that they have, once again, been chosen as a Schools for Healthy Lifestyles school. This honor is only given to approximately 51 schools in the state. Last year was Harmony’s first year in the program and the entire student body and staff loved the experiences it brought to the school. The program involves several elements. Different safety tips are taught each month. Physical fitness is a major component of the program. Students, teachers, and families become involved in making better choices regarding their health. There are also a variety of activity programs that bring excitement to Harmony. A key factor to this program is educating families that students who are physically fit are better equipped to be mentally prepared. The MOST EXCITING event for the Schools for Healthy Lifestyles committee, was attending the summer institute and learning new techniques to utilize for this school year. While at the summer institute, Harmony Elementary was named the Schools for Healthy Lifestyles Rookie School of the Year! This was quite an accomplishment.
The 2009-2010 school year has already brought some unexpected surprises at Harmony. Just two days before students were to begin, they discovered that kindergarten enrollment was much larger than expected. In a 24-hour period, teachers (especially the kindergarten teachers) constructed a brand new kindergarten class! A teacher was hired and class began with 20 anxious faces. There are now 65 kindergarten students at Harmony.
New teachers and teaching assistants were welcomed to the school this year. Jeff Holmes is teaching 5th grade, Lauren Harvey, 2nd grade, Sheila Brown, kindergarten and Mrs. Kristen Cooper will be a 1st grade teacher’s aide.
***
