1. education
2. school

VOLUME FIVE, ISSUE FIVE | OCT. 22, 2014
From the Superintendent
Many reasons to
celebrate at BAPS
Welcome back from fall break! To kick of the
second nine weeks, I’d like to celebrate some
of the many accomplishments of our students
and staff:
• Varsity Cheer – Congratulations to the
varsity cheer squad for winning their third
consecutive Large Coed Division OSSAA
Cheer State Championship by a margin of
12 points. Their determination and hard work
is creating a legacy for the cheer program at
Broken Arrow High School.
• National Merit Semifinalists – Six BAHS
students were recently honored as this year’s
National Merit Semifinalists for their prestigious
academic accomplishments. Rachel Pribble,
Garret Morton, Tram Le, Holly Harper, James
“Rett” Parker and Travis Shell are among
approximately 16,000 students from across the
nation who have qualified for this honor.
• The Pride of Broken Arrow – In keeping
with tradition, the Pride of Broken Arrow took
first place in the Bands of America Super
Regional held in St. Louis. The Pride goes on
to represent Broken Arrow Public Schools on
Nov. 15 in the Bands of America Grand National
Championship.
• United Way – Great news! Because of
each of you, BAPS reached and surpassed
its United Way goal of $110,000. Thank you to
everyone who helped raise more than $114,000
this year.
• Softball – It was an incredible season
for the Lady Tigers softball team. They were
the state runner-ups and the 2014 Class 6A
Academic State Champions with an overall
3.83 GPA.
• BAHS Drama – The 10th grade drama
students placed third at the Regional One-Act
competition early this month. Their production
of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream” qualified them for the State
One-Act Competition on Oct. 25.
• Model Schools – Great Expectations
foundation named three Broken Arrow schools
as Model Schools. Liberty Elementary,
Creekwood Elementary and Country Lane
Intermediate all received this honor.
Additionally, there are a number of other
staff awards, student accomplishments and
innovative programs that bring accolades to the
district, and I am thankful for the many ways in
which each of you work with me to continually
improve our district. It’s a great day to be a
Tiger!
Congratulations to 2014-15
Site Teachers of the Year
Prior to fall break, each of the district’s
27 schools announced their 2014-15 Site
Teacher of the Year.
“Each of these 27 individuals were selected
by their peers as outstanding teachers who
continually display qualities of leadership and
innovation,” said Dr. Jarod Mendenhall. “I hope
every employee will join me in congratulating
these individuals on their accomplishment.”
The Teacher of the Year process continues
as the site representatives compete for
the District Teacher of the Year. Each Site
Teacher of the Year will submit a portfolio to
the Teacher of the Year Professional Development Committee, a group composed of teachers, administrators
and previous Teachers of the Year. This year’s District Teacher of the Year will be announced at the annual
Star Awards Gala taking place at the Tulsa Renaissance Hotel on April 16, 2015. From there, this educator
represents Broken Arrow Public Schools in the State Teacher of the Year competition next summer.
“As a committee, we meet to thoroughly evaluate each portfolio, conduct interviews and select the best
candidate for District Teacher of the Year,” said Jennifer Peterson, Senior Executive Director of Elementary
Instruction. “Although the process is quite rigorous, it allows us to not only honor outstanding educators in
our district but also helps all of our educators strive to be the best they can be for the benefit of our students.”
The 2014-15 Broken Arrow Public Schools Site Teachers of the Year are:
Arrow Springs ECC – Kyle Cole
Aspen Creek ECC – Marla Warwick
Creekwood ECC – Jessica Hendricks
Park Lane ECC – Kimberly Litton
Arrowhead Elementary – Donna Chadwick
Aspen Creek Elementary – Alison Sutton
Country Lane Primary – Jessica Thornton
Country Lane Intermediate – Kim Archer
Creekwood Elementary – Rachel Hammon
Highland Park Elementary – Deanna Calvert
Leisure Park Elementary – Helen Hester
Liberty Elementary – Amy Napier
Lynnwood Elementary – Lynn Lorenz
Oak Crest Elementary – Amanda Bowser
Rhoades Elementary – Serenity Thompson
Spring Creek Elementary – Karen Snider
Vandever Elementary – Judy Mullins
Wolf Creek Elementary – Dana Lawson
Centennial Middle School – Kelly Docto
Childers Middle School – Penny Crofford
Oliver Middle School – Debbie Coffman
Oneta Ridge Middle School – Andrea Fort
Sequoyah Middle School – Beth (Helen) Davis
Freshman Academy – Chris Ennis
Broken Arrow High School – Donna Gradel
Broken Arrow Academy – Michael Lugar
Margaret Hudson Program – Ashley Nickelson
STEM NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Two Broken Arrow educators, BAHS science teacher Donna Gradel and BAPS STEM Instructional
Specialist Andrea Sagely, were recently recognized for integrating a strong balance of science,
technology, engineering and math in the classroom to ignite an inventive spirit among their students.
Gradel and her BAHS team were awarded a $10,000 grant through the Lemelson-Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) for creating a low-cost, sustainable fish food for developing countries. She
is the first educator in Oklahoma to receive this honor. Read more here.
Last week, Sagely was one of only two recipients recognized as a STEM Champion during the STEM
Expo in Branson. This program honors public and private elementary, middle, high school teachers
and teacher educators from across the country that have served as a champion for integrated STEM
education in their school and community. Read more about her award here.
I T ’ S
A
G R E AT
D AY
T O
B E
A
T I G E R !
Broken Arrow Public Schools is an equal opportunity educational institution.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Thursday, October 23 – Community Forum for proposed 2015 bond issue – 6 p.m. at Childers Middle School
Friday, October 24 – BA v. Jenks – 7 p.m. at Tiger Field
Monday, October 27 – Community Forum for proposed 2015 bond issue – 6 p.m. at Oneta Ridge Middle School
Tuesday, October 28 – Community Forum for proposed 2015 bond issue – 6 p.m. at Sequoyah Middle School
Thursday, October 30 – BA v. Edmond Santa Fe – 7 p.m. at Edmond Santa Fe
Monday, November 10 – Board of Education meeting – 6 p.m. at ESC
Tuesday, November 11 – Veteran’s Day
Tuesday, November 18 – BAHS Empty Bowls Project – 5:30 in BAHS Cafeteria
November 20-23 – BAHS Fall Play, “Taming of the Shrew” – 7:30 p.m. at the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center
November 26-28 – No School, Thanksgiving Break
*The above list is not a comprehensive list of all district events but represents events that will impact a majority of
our employees or campuses, or that are large in scale. For a comprehensive list of events, click here and apply
the appropriate filters.