High School Playbook

 OKLAHOMA CITY - Putnam City High School science teacher Lesa Rohrer has been awarded an Earthwatch "Live From the Field" fellowship sponsored by HSBC Climate Partnership that will allow her to take part in studies of forest management and climate change.

In early December Rohrer will travel to Maryland to help establish baseline data for trees near the Chesapeake Bay. The project, “Sustainable Forest Management in a Changing Climate,” is under the direction of Dr. Geoffrey Parker and affiliated with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

“I’m really excited to have this opportunity,” Rohrer says. “As a teacher, it’s great to have a chance to be involved in research and bring that experience back to my classroom. The results of this study are important too. This program will help forest managers and communities understand how forests are responding to climate change and
how forests can be better managed.”

While she’s gone, Rohrer will interact with her Putnam City High classes through blogs and a live web seminar.

The mission of the Earthwatch Institute is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. Earthwatch is a world leader in the field of experiential education, providing opportunities in the field and online for volunteers to broaden their
understanding of sustainability and support conservation research.

Visit www.earthwatch.org or call (800) 776-0188 for more information. 

Six music loving students from Del City,  Carl Albert, and Midwest City High Schools get the opportunity of a lifetime when the John Lennon Education Bus Tour stopped by so they could get a chance to record a song in a studio, just like their favorite artists.  Eyewitness News 5’s Amanda Guerra reports.

Check out more photos, video, and reports from Del City, Carl Albert and Midwest City

� What do a grease car, a tornado machine, and a Tesla coil have in common? If you guessed science club uses them all on a regular basis, then you�re right. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ The club, sponsored by 9/10 physical science and AP environmental science teacher, Jason Atha, specializes in field trips, inventions, and engineering feats. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ �We finished the grease car through various donations and grants,� Atha said. �The grease car will be used by AP environmental students and it will be kept up by science club. It�s run on a hybrid system that switches between diesel and fry grease. It starts with diesel it switches to fry grease once it gets warm enough. It gets the same mileage as diesel at 20 MPG, but it�s free fuel.� ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ When they�re not getting free fuel from the cafeteria, they�re working on a machine to control the weather. Their tornado machine has gained a certain amount of notoriety and has even been featured at the National Severe Storms Lab in Norman. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ �It needs a little bit of work from the science club this year before we put on another show in Norman,� Atha said. �It�s completely open-air. There�s a low-pressure area at the bottom of the cylinder, which is eight foot tall and open on all sides. The air rotates at the top, and an exhaust fan sucks air through the bottom so it�s higher pressure. Then the air rotates like water going down a drain.� ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ But science club isn�t only about maintaining and adding on to old projects. They�ve got big plans for new projects too, including a new variation of an old idea: the skeet shooter. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ �I�ve got this idea, a �golfing robot�. It uses a golf club to launch the clay pigeons. The golf club makes it shoot the same every time,� Atha said. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ Science club is also going places� literally. The list of field trip ideas handed out at the first meeting was filled to the brim with a plethora of possibilities. At the end of the school year, Atha is planning on taking his students to the same place he did last summer: Taylor Valley, which is located in south central Colorado. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ �I�d really like to go back this year. We had some guides with us last year for kayaking, but most of the time we were by ourselves. We used a latrine, hauled water all week, and cooked on a gas stove. We slept in tents and brought all of our own food, so we ate pretty well. The whole trip was paid for by science club funds, plus a small amount was collected from each person who went.� ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ Those interested in joining science club must pay a $20 fee and bring a signed constitution, available in Mr. Atha�s room. The next meeting will be on Thursday, October 9, and every other Thursday. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ � President � Nicole Thompson � Junior Vice-President � Tanner Shinn � Sophomore Vice-President � Kyler Selby � Freshman Vice-President � Alex Barnard � Secretaries � Jennifer Thomas and Mykal Towery � Treasurer � Rodney Bennett

 The Bishop McGuinness dance group, DanceVisions performed for the first time this year at the “Mean Green Freshmen Fling.” The event welcomes all freshmen to McGuinness. The dance was a jazz routine called “Never See Your Face Again.” The group learned the routine at their summer workshop.
The dancers are from left to right top row: Samantha Watson, Michelle Oliphant, Courtney Thurman, Andrea Garcia, Scott Casso,Natalia Migliaccio, Madeline Mahoney, and Elizabeth Van Horn.
Bottom row left to right: Katie Reap, Marissa Wolf, Breanna Beaver, Sarah Turpen, Anna Levine, and Liz Luetkemeyer.

It's summer, and the last thing you probably want to think about is school, but how did you spend your last days of this school year?  Sleepless nights due to finals?  Hitting the snooze button that one extra time dreading going to class? 

Students at Yukon found some great ways to enjoy their last day of school.  Check out this Sideline Report from HSPlaybook Reporter Bailey.

What is banned book week?
Banned book week is a week that concentrates on letting the
students know that they can read what they want to read. Taking a
book off of the shelf and not allowing a student to read it is like
taking the freedom of speech away from the author.
What are banned books?
A book is banned when a group of parents or a religious group
come together and say a book is bad and they don’t want children
reading them.
Why are some books such as Little Red Riding Hood and
Hansel and Gretel banned?
Some of the fairy tails, such as Little Red Riding Hood, are banned
because of violence. Some parents don’t want their children reading
about a little girl’s grandmother being eaten by wolves. Hansel and
Gretel is also banned because it is about two kids who are
abandoned by their parents and a witch trying to cook and eat them.
What are the top ten banned books?

• · Scary stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
• · Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
• · I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• · The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
• · The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• · Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• · Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
• · Forever by Judy Blume
• · Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• · Alice (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

from The Shield

Katy Vaughn, a senior at Pauls Valley High School, made the difficult decision to not go to her senior prom.  Instead, she will be going to Stillwater to try out for the Oklahoma State Pom Squad.  How tough of a decision was this for her?  Check out Emily’s interivew with Katy to find out more!

Have a fun prom story to share?  Write your own blog or post pics and it may be featured!

Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School newspaper and yearbook adviser Kelly Matteson was recently awarded the Lois A. Thomas Award of Distinguished Merit in Journalism for teacher of the year in High School Media Advising. Matteson received the award at the Oklahoma Scholastic Media’s all-day Spring Media Monday 2008 held at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication on the University of Oklahoma campus earlier this month. Oklahoma Scholastic Media is the oldest high-school media association in the United States.

The award is named in honor of Putnam City High School journalism adviser Lois Thomas who retired in the early 1980’s. Ms. Thomas was very innovative in teaching scholastic journalism to her students. The award has been presented to a scholastic media adviser every year since 1982.  It celebrates the talent, dedication and desire of journalism educators who teach and guide students through the production of high school newspapers and yearbooks.

Ms. Matteson was nominated by Bishop McGuinness Principal David Morton. She has been with the school for six years and currently teaches Yearbook, Newspaper, Photography and Advanced Photography.   
 

The Strategies for Success Class!!!!!!1 

The Bishop McGuinness Strategies for Success class recently donated items needed by Positive Tomorrows, the school for homeless children in Oklahoma City.  Due to the regulations of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the school no longer falls under the administration of the Oklahoma City Public Schools, and it now relies solely on private donations and grants. 

McGuinness students collected personal items, such as body lotion, soap, cologne, snack items, and gift cards.  They brought their items to school and were collected in a big basket. Several students from the class personally delivered the basket to the Positive Tomorrows. After the trip, the students were asked to write their reflections about the experience. Nick Cudjo said, “It looked like fun to volunteer there and make new friends.  I am honored to be able to say I have been there and donated to help them.”  Jill Shewmaker observed that “They are people just like us, but instead of a home, they have the streets,” and Tyler McClellan added, “It was sad to know that the children were homeless, but it was great to know they had a great school home.  I want to go back soon as a class to help the students with their work.”  Mary Ellen Lacher summed up the feelings of her classmates when she wrote, “It was an amazing experience seeing that a group of caring adults and teachers were making sure that these kids are safe and getting a good education.”

The Strategies for Success class has twenty students enrolled. It is designed to improve reading comprehension and increase and expand writing skills, as well as note taking and organization.  The class is taught by Fran Barton and Jane Boyers.