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

Good Afternoon Dragon Family:

I was recalling a conversation this week I had with a student towards the end of my teaching career. They told me they had requested a schedule change out of my AP World History Class. I said I hated to hear they were leaving and asked what the problem was. They replied the class was too hard and they wished to move to regular World History where they knew they could make an A. They were concerned they had made a C on the first exam and said, "failure is not on option for me." Of course I immediately pointed out that a C was by no means a failure.

Of course I want our students to always to do their very best. But I also want them to understand some of their most powerful learning experiences will come from failure. Some of the greatest accomplishments throughout history were achieved by individuals who overcame significant failures. Thomas Edison famously failed thousands of times before patenting the electric lamp. Abraham Lincoln, widely considered the greatest U.S. President, lost multiple elections and failed at numerous business attempts. JK Rowling's books were rejected repeatedly by publishers before Harry Potter made her a billionaire.

History is full of individuals who endured many failures on their pathway to achievement. All great teachers know the most powerful learning experiences can occur when students struggle. This is sometimes referred to as productive failure. A recent comprehensive study reported in the New York Times and other publications detailed how 9th grade math students nearly doubled their learning comprehension when presented a math problem, prior to any direct instruction from a teacher, and allowed to wrestle with the problem and find their own solutions. Students were then provided a mixture of direct instruction from a teacher and worked in small groups to collaborate on solutions. Students who only received direct instruction had a comprehension rate of 49%. Students who worked on solutions on their own before receiving instruction had a comprehension rate of 82%.

Students are not passive learners. They develop a love of learning when they experience what teachers sometimes refer to as a-ha moments. A-Ha moments occur when students discover new, intriguing information, master a difficult concept, or develop a new skill. A-Ha moments don't occur unless students are presented challenges they must overcome. Students truly grow as learners, and develop a lifelong love of learning, when they master things that are difficult.

Our job as educators are to guide students through that process. Present students with challenges that are attainable with the support of mentors. Congratulate and encourage students when they overcome challenges and experience meaningful learning. We encourage all parents to support students in embracing what is hard. Support them through the small failures they experience in high school while understanding those failures, with the proper support, could lead to great successes.

Always feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns

Jason

cell phone number: 918-873-0354

Teacher Professional Development Day & Homecoming Parade!

Please check out section on What's Happening @ PHS for more details. I have to admit I'm kind of surprised high school kids know who Adam Sandler is??? That seems very 90's to me!

Congratulations Zoe Swift: PHS Staff Member of the Month. Zoe is a special education teacher at PHS. Compassionate, caring, dedicated, student-centered, and collaborative are just a few words to describe Zoe. Thank you Jason Bridwell of State Farm for sponsoring!

Go Dragons!

Zoe is pictured with teaching assistant Marquis Walters and Mindy Wells, special education teacher and chair of the department.

Congratulations Adam Edelman for being selected by our faculty as September Student of the Month. Adam is the son of Kraig and Kristi Edelman. He plays football and golf and is active in STUCO, powerlifting, and FCA. His favorite class is Erica Keen's Wildlife Management!

Congratulations KK Eck for being selected by our staff as Student of the Month for September. KK is the daughter of Jeff and Kelly Eck. She plays softball and basketball and is active in STUCO, Spanish Club and is the chair of the Principal's Student Advisory Council. Her favorite class is Ms. Findley's Honors English IV class. Great job KK!

This is the third year of my Parent's Advisory Council. We meet once every 9 weeks and I provide important updates and receive valuable feedback from parents. There are no topics off limits and I appreciate the council for their feedback and their willingness to engage and sometimes ask tough questions. This year I opened up the council to any parents with an interest to serve and a handful of parents expressed interest. They were invited to attend our meetings. We discussed several important issues this week including a report on the start of school, school safety, and school improvement initiatives.

One question that was asked was for clarification of Semester Test Exemptions which is a new policy this year. Students are exempt from their semester test in individual classes if they have an A and 3 or less absences. B and 2 or less absences. Or a C and 1 absence or less. ANY absence, other than activity absences count towards exemptions.

Thank you to members of council who were able to attend this past Wednesday:

Kelly Eck

Maria Escobedo

Tevi Winters

Marci Gracey

• Drills

This was our first week to have no safety drills. We have met the minimum requirements for drills conducted for the first semester. I will conduct additional drills when I feel we need additional practice or there is a need to update our procedures. A reminder to parents that we are entering the fall storm season and severe storms are NOT unusual this time of year. This is Oklahoma, please remain weather aware.

• Parents and Visitors

Thank you for checking into our main office upon your arrival to school. We appreciate you obtaining a visitor's pass when entering the main part of our school. Any visitor should have a visitor's pass if moving to areas of the school beyond the front office. This includes the commons. Parents should NOT walk into the commons and take food or other items directly to their student. Please check into the office.

• Advisory & StopIT

Our topic during advisory this week was StopIT and overall school safety. We emphasized the importance of using StopIT properly and responsibly. StopIT is an anonymous reporting tool that allows individuals to report information that helps keep our school safe. This could include bullying, harassment, or threatening behavior. StopIT has been very useful in gathering information that has led to support and help being provided to students.

I've also linked the video we shared in Advisory with Mercer Martin, STUCO President, and myself speaking on important safety issues. Mercer shared the new 988 suicide and crisis line that allows anyone to text this number and receive support. Great job Mercer

Please be sure to check the regularly updated Counselor's Corner Newsletter linked below. Ms. Feroli has added important information for each individual class.

We recently hosted several events to highlight opportunities for students as they transition to post-secondary life. I would like to thank Melissa Feroli for her hard work organizing these events.

• Kirk Rushing and College & Career Night
• MATC visit to meet with Sophomore

Please note we are scheduled to host an ACT PREP on campus this week. At last notice we did not have enough students signed up to hold the event. We have invited students from other schools but have not had the response we had hoped for. I sent out another notice to parents and students last week. They will make a decision by tomorrow whether to proceed with the event. PLEASE consider registering by tomorrow if you would like your student to attend.

PLEASE NOTE LATE REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR OCTOBER 22ND TESTING DATE IS FAST APPROACHING

Are eligibility list is released every Friday afternoon. Students on the list for two consecutive weeks are ineligible to participate in extracurricular events for the following week. Students are also required to check in with their advisor on Wednesdays during the first 15 minutes of lunch: 11:45-Noon. Students and parents are notified each Friday afternoon by email if they are on the list for the upcoming week. What should parents do to help support their students academically in this case?

• Communicate with the teacher. Please don't hesitate to contact teachers if your student is failing their class. This is the most important person to contact. The best way to reach a teacher is by email. All staff emails are linked to every newsletter and also available on our website
• Talk to your student. What is their struggle? Do they have missing assignments (most likely) and how can you help them? Often students fall behind and develop a sense of helplessness. Students sometimes need help getting back on track. We are building our Advisory program to help support students in this regard. Advisors can be neutral observers who can help provide students the advice and guidance that can help them. However the most important parties involved are the student and classroom teacher.
• Arrange tutoring. Students often need additional help, particularly in Math and English. There are free tutoring options available online. Every PHS teacher is available for extra help during our Advisory Check-In period: 11:45-Noon every day. Although teachers are required to be available for students during this time on Wednesdays, students would need to arrange a meeting on other days.

Beginning the first of October we will again be offering free tutoring after school twice a week. Although our primary focus will be Math, students can receive tutoring with any subject. I will be sending specific information soon with times and dates.

2022 yearbooks are in and being delivered to those who pre-ordered. Limited quantity available for $55 and are first come, first serve.
Email trumboa@purcellps.org to reserve a copy. Details coming soon about 2023 Yearbook.
Special thanks to April Trumbo for her hard work

I love to highlight what's happening in classrooms throughout our school. Ms. Findley shared with me the past week some successes that have occurred in her 1st Hour class. All educators and students know the challenges of an 8AM class, much less a challenging class such as Senior English. When I arrived on Friday morning to snap a picture of her class, I observed all students reading their novel and engaged in learning.

Congratulations to my first PHS Class of the Week. Great work

Two out of 6 Conference meets are now done, and they continue to do well. They won their 1st Round against Maysville, lost the 2nd Round vs Pauls Valley, but came back in Round 3 for a win against Paoli. Next meet is Thursday after school @ Washington.

• Our Homecoming Dance has been rescheduled and re-themed:

The Dance is now a Senior Night Blacklight Dance

November 4th 10PM - Midnight

-HOCO Parade is on Main St. starting at 1:30 followed by the pep assembly in front of McClain bank.

-Homecoming coronation starts at 6:30 on the 23rd

-Football game vs Crooked Oak at 7pm.

-The Homecoming Grand Marshals are Greg and Tammy Dillard!

If you or your organization want to be in the homecoming parade, you must contact Krysta Matthews by Sept 21st.

PHS Homecoming is Friday, September 23rd. The parade begins at 1:30. Entries should be lined up by 1:00 p.m. on Lester Lane. The parade will go one way down Main and turn South on Canadian. The pep assembly will take place in front of the McClain Bank but you must drop off your riders behind the caboose on Apache (see map).

Submit entries by 9:00 a.m., Wednesday Sept 21st, so we can finalize the parade order. Late entries will be added at the end of the parade but before the high school floats and homecoming court.

The theme of this year’s homecoming is ‘Dragons Come on Down’: Game Shows.

For more information about the parade, email Krysta Matthews at

matthewsk@purcellps.org or call PHS 405-442-0099.

They placed 2nd in their division and 14th overall at the Moore Outdoor Music Fest (MOM Fest) over the weekend. This is a young group after graduating a powerhouse senior class last year but not surprisingly, they are rapidly improving!

Purcell FFA 2022-23 Officer Team:

President: Emma Lynn

Vice-President: Hudson Andrews

Secretary: Carli Thomas

Reporter: Kaden Pliler

Treasurer: Kyleigh Green

Sentinel: Haley Kretchmar

It's kind of a big deal....

Monday 9/19

• PHS Softball vs. Lex @ PHS; 6PM

Tuesday 9/20

• PHS Cross-Country @ Lindsay
• PHS Softball vs. Meeker @ PHS; 2 games; Senior Night Between Games

Wednesday 9/21

• no scheduled activities

Thursday 9/22

• PHS Softball @ Blanchard; Var Doubleheader; 5PM; JV First

Friday 9/23

• PHS Football Homecoming vs. Crooked Oak; 7PM

PHS Fastpitch Softball: Have enjoyed a strong season winning 12 out of 13 at one point. They are entering the home stretch of their season and have a full week of games. Softball Regionals begin on 9/29

PHS football: Are currently 2-1 after bouncing back this week with a resounding win @ Lexington. The Dragons won 51-6 and prepare to host Homecoming festivities this week and a game vs. Crooked Oak

PHS Cross-Country: Continues a strong season with a meet @ Lindsay this week. Conference meet is @ Bridge Creek on October 11th. The Dragons have enjoyed multiple medalists at several meets this year.

A big thanks to our Football Managers. They work hard supporting our team! Great job Managers. We appreciate all you do.

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