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, Guardians, and Students,

On behalf of the entire faculty and staff at PHS I extend a warm welcome back to the 2024-2025 school year! It's hard to believe that it's 2025! We are always excited to see our students after an extended break

This year, we are placing a continued emphasis on student well-being. We believe that fostering a supportive environment is crucial for academic success and personal growth. Simply put, students will not thrive in the classroom without strong mental and physical health. To that end, we will maintain our focus on both student mental health awareness and overall physical wellness.

• Mental Health Awareness: We will continue to prioritize mental health awareness and provide resources to support students' emotional needs. We have two student-driven messaging campaigns through our partnerships with YAHL (Youth Action Health Leadership) and Healthcorp. YAHL is a state-wide youth led health initiative funded through TSET (tobacco settlement endowment trust). This program prioritizes establishing healthy habits for Oklahoma teenagers. Our partnership with Healthcorp, sponsored by the Chickasaw Nation, empowers high school students to promote healthy lifestyles and raise teen awareness about nutrition, exercise, rest, and healthy teen dating habits.

• Physical Wellness: We will encourage healthy habits by promoting physical activity through organized sports, clubs, or physical education courses.

We understand that navigating the challenges of adolescence can be complex. We are committed to working collaboratively with parents and guardians to create a supportive school for our students.

We look forward to a successful spring semester and as always please feel free to contact me if I can help.

Sincerely,

Jason

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

Cell: 918-873-0354

Congratulations Kassi Buchanan: PHS Staff of the Month. Kassi is the high school registrar and principal secretary. Kassi is an indispensable part of our school and works hard to meet the needs of our staff and students. Read an excerpt from her nomination from a fellow staff member:

"Whenever I need assistance with class room supplies or have questions about substitutes, Kassi goes above and beyond to help. Her cheerful and helpful demeanor is always appreciated. She consistently demonstrates a pleasant and approachable demeanor when interacting with students. Kassi plays a vital role behind the scenes keeping our school running smoothly."

Kassi is pictured below with sophomore Vanessa Montoya.

Dear Parents & Guardians:

The safety and well-being of our students and staff are our top priorities. To ensure we are prepared for any emergency situation, we conduct regular safety drills, including tornado, fire, and security drills.

These drills are crucial for:

• Teaching students how to react appropriately in emergency situations.
• Identifying and addressing potential safety hazards.
• Ensuring a swift and orderly response in case of an actual emergency.

Building Security:

To maintain a secure learning environment for all students, we ask that all parents and visitors enter the school through the front entrance only. Upon entering, please check in at the main office and present a valid ID.

These security measures help us:

• Monitor who is on school grounds.
• Ensure the safety of all students and staff.
• Maintain a controlled and secure environment.

Your cooperation in following these procedures is greatly appreciated.

We will conduct several important safety and security drills in the next few weeks. We will have a fire drill / evacuation drill on Thursday, January 9, at 10:57 AM (first few minutes of 4th hour). We will reschedule this drill if weather is not cooperative as students and staff will be outside for 5-10 minutes.

As I announced in my previous newsletter, Officer Daniel Fumi will begin his new position as our district School Resource Officer in January. We are thrilled for this new partnership between Purcell Police Department and Purcell Public Schools. Officer Fumi will serve as resource officer for all 4 school sites. A school resource officer serves many purposes but is primarily tasked with supporting school safety measures. Here is a brief outline of how Officer Fumi will support our safety efforts at PHS:

• Conduct safety assessments.
• Serve on JET Safety Team (school improvement team) and review safety procedures.
• Train staff.
• Deter crime: presence of a police officer can be a significant deterrent to crime.
• Build relationships with students and staff.

January & early February are traditionally are most likely times for winter weather and potential school closures. Please see graphic below about school closure notifications. Slippery surfaces (both walking and driving) can be very dangerous and we caution students and parents to always be aware of slick surfaces when freezing temperatures occur.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States and its territories. The 988 Lifeline is comprised of a national network of over 200 local crisis centers, combining local care and resources with national standards and best practices.

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 February 8. The regular registration deadline is Jan. 3.
• Seniors: Please be sure to see Ms. Feroli if you have any questions about scholarship applications. There is a link to available scholarships in the Counselor's Corner (linked below)

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/

Get answers to some of the most common financial aid questions, such as:

• What is financial aid?
• Why is financial aid important?
  
• Who qualifies for financial aid?
  
• How do I apply for federal financial aid?
  
• When do I apply for financial aid?
  
• How often do I have to complete the FAFSA?

This is a preview of assessment schedules for the spring semester. All freshmen, sophs, and juniors will have assessments at some point during the spring semester. These include state mandated assessments for juniors and school administered, benchmark MAP data for freshman and sophomores.

JUNIORS

College & Career Readiness Exam (state required for ALL JUNIORS.

• ACT (tentatively scheduled for April 9th)
• Science Assessment (April -date TBD)
• U.S. History Assessment (April-date TBD)

FRESH/SOPHS

Winter MAP Assessments

• measure student learning progress in Reading, Math, Science
• provides parents detailed information about student learning (family reports)
• accurate predictor of future ACT success
• Assessments will occur in late January / Early February in students individual English, Math, and Science classes.

Senior Emanuel Escobedo was recently honored as an Oklahoman Student of the Week nominee. He was also honored last week as PHS Student of the Month.

https://www.oklahoman.com/.../the-oklahoman.../76803181007/

Purcell High School students recently visited Dibble for the OASC student exchange, hosted by Dibble Stuco. We all boarded the Stuco Express and spent the day connecting with other student leaders through team-building activities. One of the highlights was decorating Christmas stockings for a local nursing home, which added a festive and meaningful touch to the visit. It was a fantastic experience that strengthened our bonds and fostered a sense of community.

Ray Samford's Botany class recently harvested their fall veggies including carrots and black Spanish radishes. They also have beets which aren't yet to size. Gardening clubs are a great reminder that school and learning is about more than just developing skills for future jobs. Gardening helps students connect to nature, work with their hands, promote mental and physical health, learn outdoors, and cultivate a life-long passion for nature.

It's also an important reminder as we wrap up semester tests, that some of the most meaningful learning students can experience, cannot be measured by a test.

Well done Mr. Samford!

Congratulations to the following students who won their competitions at the TSA (Technology Student Association) Mini-Conference in Blackwell. Great job as well to instructor April Trumbo.

Kenna Lee (soph): 1st Place HS Photographic Technology

Mavrik Akerman & Preston Kane: 1st Place HS Comic Book Design

PHS students Franklin Linker & Madi Jarvis lead a student driven teen health awareness campaign through our partnership with YAHL (Youth Action Health Leadership). YAHL is funded through TSET (tobacco settlement endowment trust). This campaign highlights important teen health topics including sleep, vape prevention, exercise, and mental health.

Our Dragon Brew service learning program served coffee and snacks to at the Intermediate School before the break. Thank you to Principal Tina Swayze for providing our students this opportunity to work outside our building.

Purcell High School offers students both in-person and online tutoring opportunities Below you will find information about Varsity Tutoring which provides students free, comprehensive, and unlimited access to online help. You can click on the button below this message to access Varsity Tutors.

Our sincere gratitude for Cindy's outstanding dedication and hard work in building a truly exceptional vocal music program at PHS.

Her passion for music is evident in every performance, and her students consistently demonstrate talent, discipline, and love for music. The success of our choral groups is a testament to her tireless efforts, from recruiting new members to conducting countless rehearsals to nurturing individual talent.

Thank you for your commitment to our students and for creating such a positive and enriching experience for them. We are incredibly fortunate to have you on our faculty.

Thank you McClain Bank & Kerry Wilhoit for delivering chocolate treats & our annual calendars (school people love their calendars!). Most importantly, thank you for your ongoing support of Purcell High School!

Thank you Landmark Church for providing the entire PHS staff a wonderful luncheon! The food was amazing and I appreciate the opportunity for our teachers & staff to enjoy fellowship and a stress-free lunch. Your support of our school & community is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to Stefanie Renfro for providing your room and to our office staff for decorating!

Thank you Chuck McCornack and Vince Humerickhouse from Rausch Coleman Homes for providing our staff an amazing luncheon. We are grateful for this support as we wrapped up our fall semester. Chuck and Vince are pictured with Cara Simonton, PHS Activity/Athletic Secretary

PHS Staff recently hosted their annual Christmas party thanks to our Climate & Culture team led by Melissa Feroli. We appreciate their efforts to provide our staff a fun evening of fellowship. A big thanks to Pinot's Palette owner Jon Corea (and PHS art teacher) for hosting.

FFA students have fun and spread holiday cheer as they worked on float building for the Christmas Parade.

This group spent the weekend at Lead 360, an FFA conference focused on training students in authentic leadership and networking with other FFA members. The future for Purcell FFA is looking very Blue and Gold.

Kate Ginn, a four-year veteran of PHS Cheer and the current team captain, has been honored as a U.S. Army All-American Cheerleader. She was recognized and performed at the U.S. Army Bowl on December 21, 2024, at The Ford Center in Frisco, TX. We are proud of you Kate!

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

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