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:

This is a busy an exciting time for PHS students and families. I'm highlighting here important upcoming events. Please be sure to scan through the newsletter for important information, events, links, etc relevant to you and your student. There are some busy days and big events ahead leading up to spring break.

• ACT testing for all juniors is April 6th. We are offering an ACT prep on campus through POWER PREP on Tuesday, 3/8. Information and links can be found below. Strongly encourage students and parents to look at this opportunity. Available to all grades.

• All Freshman, Sophs, and Juniors Pre-Enrolled (selected courses) for 2022-23 school year. This is a great time to visit with students about academic planning and course selection.

• Important tests for juniors ahead (April) including ACT, Science, and U.S. History.

• Senior end-of-year events are approaching. Please see specific info provided by our sponsors below and every Senior parent should click on Senior info tab also located below. Our senior sponsors, Michael O'Neal and Amber Findley do a great job organizing and providing important info.

• ROAD (Rely on a Dragon) Week is next week (Mar 7-10). PHS STUCO will be raising money for PHS students in need and our food pantry.

• Busy sports season as spring sports start (baseball this week) and both basketball teams will be playing in Area Tournament.

• Purcell FFA Bonus Auction (huge celebration of our FFA kids) will be Thursday, March 3rd @ the PHS Ag Building

• Parent/Teacher Conferences are March 8th and 10th (tues/thurs). This is a great opportunity to meet with teachers and staff as we approach the mid-point of the spring semester.

For those PHS fans attending upcoming sports events, please take a moment to read the message regarding sportsmanship shared by the OSSAA this week. I've included this important information in the athletics section of the newsletter. Everyone who loves sports and competition, including me, should take the time to read and reflect upon the message.

Please be sure to check PHS Website https://www.purcellps.org/o/phs to access quick links to all important info. Be sure to follow PHS on facebook or twitter to receive up-to-the minute school and event updates.

Jason

Go Dragons!

Always feel free to call or email me if you have questions,

sandersj@purcellps.org

405-442-0099 ext 505

Jake teaches Freshman Physical Science and is our Head Boys Track Coach and Head Boys and Girls Cross-Country. He also coaches junior high basketball and is a high school assistant. Jake came to PHS last year and we are lucky to have him. Jake is a dedicated teacher and mentor to many students. He has high expectations for all of his students and focuses on building and maintaining positive relationships. He is a tireless worker and is always willing to help or support other colleagues. Please read what some of his colleagues had to say about him:

He is always so enthusiastic about his classes and athletics, and passes that feeling on to the kids. They love going to his class each and every day, he teaches and keeps them busy from bell to bell. Coach is both an authoritative figure and an approachable one the kids love and trust. He has managed to cultivate great relationships with the students and teachers, as well as set them on a path to success. He invests a lot of his time in our school and kids.

----Jasmine Quinonez, Freshman English

I chose Mr. Deviney's class because he has great rapport with the students of PHS. There have been times in my career I have seen teachers that students love, but the teacher does not have high standards of rigor for their students. I have seen teachers that are their students’ friend as opposed to their teacher/mentor. This was not the case with Deviney’s class. He has great relationships with his students, but he also has high expectations for them.

----Jon Corea, Art Teacher

Congratulations senior Chris Moody who was selected by our staff members as February Student of the Month. Chris is the son of the late Margarita Moody. Chris is a member of the State Champion PHS Band and Color Guard. Chris is well known throughout the school as one of the kindest, most uplifting people in our school community. Chris maintains excellent grades while also managing a part-time job. His favorite class is English with Ms. Findley. He plans to attend either UCO or OCCC and major in dance performance. We are proud of you Chris!

Congratulations Cooper Lynn for being selected PHS Student of the Month. Cooper is the son of Brent and Amy Lynn. His activities include FFA and Welding @ Career Tech. Honors include Chapter Star Farmer, Discovery, Greenhand, and Chapter Degree. His plans after graduation are to be a professional welder, have a ranch and operate an Angus and Beefmaster cow calf operation. He also plans to tell people about agriculture who don't know where their food comes from. Way to go Cooper!

This week we will conduct our first spring Tornado Drill this Wednesday afternoon. We are moving closer to spring storm season and as we were tragically reminded earlier this year in other parts of the country: violent storms can strike anytime of the year. Safety is our top priority and weather safety is top of our list during the spring storm season. Every parent should review Purcell Public Schools Severe Weather Information. Communication is critical in case of an actual emergency. Parents can expect to receive communication via Infinite Campus (email), District Website, and Auto-call and text.

The Department of Homeland Security will conduct an onsite Risk Assessment of our campus in the coming days. This is a routine assessment and will provide important feedback and a comprehensive report detailing with safety suggestions and best practices. This is part of an nation-wide initiative by the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a Risk Assessment in every school in the United States. We welcome this opportunity to ensure our school is a safe as possible for students, staff, and visitors.

Please click on the link below to access Melissa Feroli's regularly updated Counseling Newsletter. This is an easy one-stop shop for scholarships, ACT testing, Oklahoma's Promise and other important information from your High School counselor. Information is segmented into easy to follow grade level specific categories. IMPORTANT ACT INFORMATION AVAILABLE AS SPRING TESTING APPROACHES

We will host an on-campus ACT Prep conducted by Power Prep on March 8th, 2022 from 8:30-2:30 pm. This will be open to any student who would like additional help preparing for the spring ACT. The good new is the prep course will be available here @ PHS! Please click on link below to register for the event. Please see Ms. Feroli or Mr. Sanders if you need help or have questions.

VERY IMPORTANT: All seniors and parents should review letter that was emailed last week regarding upcoming senior activities. I've copied and linked letter below. Please reach out to Michael O'Neal, senior sponsor, @ onealm@purcellps.org if you have questions.

Senior Panel Pictures: click on link: https://docs.google.com/.../1nx3iBg.../edit

Senior Remind:

All Senior students and parents are encouraged to join the Senior Remind Group. It will only be used to disperse Senior Class Info.

Remind Code: @phssr22

This is for Native American AND non-Native American students. As long as a student is on Free or Reduced Lunches, they qualify. This program can really assist families with food insecurity. If you would like more information, please let me know.

ROAD (Rely on a Dragon) week is March 7th-10th

ROAD week is March 7th-10th. ROAD week culminates on March 10th with a day of fun activities with the main goal of raising money for important causes and reinforcing a service mindset in our kids.
All proceeds with go to the Purcell Schools student needs funds. We have many Dragon students that need our assistance. The T-shirts were designed by senior Jordan Ingram. Small- xl is $15, 2x-3x is $17. Due February 28th!

Our after school tutoring program operates weekly and will last through Spring Break

When: Every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-5:00 PM

Where: PHS (Stefanie Renfro's classroom)

Who: Any student may attend but our primary focus is English and Math

Please contact Carolyn Anyong, Assistant Principal, for questions or help regarding tutoring.

anyongc@purcellps.org

We are now taking orders for the 2021-2022 PHS Yearbook. Students may pickup an order form from Mrs. Trumbo in the library or may be purchased online at https://www.balfour.com/oklahoma/purcell/purcell-high-school

Please note that the price is $45 through January 31st and will increase on February 1st to $55. Personalization is an additional $5. Payment is required at the time of the order. Quantities are limited so order yours today!! If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Trumbo.

Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a conference call with principals and athletic directors across the state. This was conducted by the OSSAA and the topic was sportsmanship and specifically abuse of officials at high school sporting contests. Please know this is not directed specifically at our fans. In fact, I truly believe we have some of the best fans in the state. Our fans are passionate about their teams and Purcell has a long history of supporting it's school and athletic programs in a positive and encouraging manner.

However I agree strongly with the premise of the article I've linked below and I encourage all fans to read. We all must do better. As a head basketball coach for 12 years there are many instances I regret in regards to my own behavior towards officials. In the end, I discovered that yelling at refs was not productive and I truly believe it doesn't help a team's cause. More importantly it's not in the spirit of sportsmanship and certainly wasn't a positive example for my players.

For the last decade we have heard warnings of a soon to arrive official shortage. It's here and it is a crisis. We will soon face the reality of games being impacted by a shortage of referees and officials. There are multiple reasons for officials exiting the game: lack of pay, travel, etc. However the primary reason we are losing officials and not attracting new ones is the verbal abuse, and sometimes worse, they face nightly in stadiums and arenas across the state. It's gotten out of control. We must do better.

I love high school sports. Whether as an administrator, coach, or former player, I've attended thousands of games the past 40 years. There is nothing more exciting than a small school athletic contest with the passionate fans and rowdy student sections. Emotions will run high and all of us are capable of losing control and yelling or screaming things we normally wouldn't. I've certainly been guilty myself of losing control of my emotions and screamed at refs. But I was wrong and it's simply wrong to yell at referees during games. It needs to stop. We must do better.

We have an exciting few weeks ahead with two basketball programs looking to make deep runs into the playoffs. Undoubtedly there will be some exciting nights as our teams battle to make the state tournament. We need your support and we need your passion for the games. But all of us need to do better in regards to our treatment of game officials. Cheer for your team, be loud, and have fun. However let's all pledge to do better when it comes to yelling at the refs.

Jason

http://www.ossaa.net/docs/2021-22/MiscForms/MF_2021-22_Sportsmanship.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2xJu-NN5eUaCC-t--xeYfLVnH4hwORuFf1_cbM2GbaA0H1wUM-xkyNM7k

This has been an eventful couple of weeks with a lot of success for PHS athletes and coaches. Here are some highlights:

• Freshman Coty Sessions qualified for the State Wrestling Championships by winning the west regional championship. Coty won her first round match at the fairgrounds 13-0. She lost in the semis to the two-time defending state champion 4-2. She then lost a hard fought battle 6-5 in the consolation semis. Although she missed the medal stand her accomplishments this year were remarkable and inspiring to many. She truly is a trailblazer and a represented our school and community with pride and respect.
• Girls and boys basketball teams remain undefeated in the state basketball playoffs and will both play in the Regional Finals this Tuesday night in Meeker. Our girls, currently 16-8, will face #6 Luther (21-3) and our boys (21-3) will face #8 Sequoyah Claremore (24-1). Both teams have already qualified for the Area Tournament this weekend in Enid
• Our weightlifting team recently placed 2nd at the Chickasha Powerlifting Meet. The following athletes placed:

Titus Mason 2nd place 168lb

Rowan Ardery 2nd place 181lb

Zicorrie Davis 2nd place 220lb

Jake Scott 2nd place 242lb

Ty Jasperson 3rd place 145lb

Luke Edelman 3rd place 181lb

Adam Edelman 5th place 168lb

• PHS baseball is scheduled to start this week with 3 games on the slate. The Dragons return several talented veterans and welcome some promising newcomers this year!

Open Gym- March 2 & March 9

Cheer Clinic- March 21 & 22

Cheer Tryouts- March 25

Info packets will be handed out Monday at school.

Monday, 2/28

• no activities scheduled

Tuesday 3/1

• Girls and Boys Bball Regional Finals @ Meeker 6:30/8 PM
• Baseball Season Opener vs. Destiny Christian @ PHS; 5:00PM

Wednesday 3/2

• no activities scheduled

Thursday 3/3--Saturday 3/5

• Area Basketball Tournament @ Enid HS (girls and boys) TBA

Thursday 3/3

• PHS Baseball @ Wayne; 6PM; Varsity only

Friday 3/4

• PHS Baseball vs. Noble @PHS; V/JV; 5:00PM

1. Go to: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/

2. Search for Purcell High School at the top of the page

3. Scroll down and click on game you wish to view

4. Click subscribe to watch

5. Choose your subscription option

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

We are excited to announce we have partnered with Parchment to provide students past and present the ability to send e-transcripts to the schools and organizations of their choice. This is a free service to all users. This service is currently live and students can order transcripts online or make a request for our school registrar to send transcripts electronically to colleges of their choice.

How does it work?

• Click on the https://www.parchment.com/u/registration/20225/account to either create an account or order a transcript from PHS.
• This order link is posted to our website.
• You will have to create a free account to order a transcript. There are 3 easy ways to create an account and I'm linking an easy to follow help document here: https://parchmentsupport.force.com/s/article/Sign-up-to-order-transcripts?language=en_US
• We will email our current students a registration code this week for an easy account set-up for them.

Free meals will be provided to any student/family who wishes to receive one. Students can pick up meals as they leave campus on Friday. Please contact our office if you have any questions. Please remember food is always available in our food pantry. Please notify our counselor, Melissa Feroli @ ferolim@purcellps.org if you are in need of food assistance.

• Mar 8: Parent Teacher Conference
• Mar 10: Parent Teacher Conference
• Mar 11: No School
• Mar 14-18: No School; Spring Break
• May 13: Last Day of School