Kari Forest the Junior Counselor/Test Coordinator at Claremore High School. When asked what she loved about working at Claremore, she told us, “Good people and good students!” She went into teaching because she enjoyed learning and wanted to share that with others. She likes to see people succeed and become more than they thought they could. She loves CPS because it’s a good fit for her; not too big, not too small, just right? She began her teaching career in 1980 and came to CPS in 2001. She taught Band for 21 years before coming to Claremore to be a principal and now a counselor. She has been an active volunteer for Volunteers for Youth and a member of CCOSA. She loves gardening and shopping and her beloved St. Louis Cardinals! She received her Masters in Education from NSU and her Bachelors in Music Education from SWOSU.
Thank you for sharing your talents with CHS! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE
Erica Johnson is the physical education teacher at Roosa Elementary. She loves being a Claremore Zebra where she graduated high school.
Ms. Johnson is loved and respected by all of her colleagues and students. She enjoys keeping her students active and teaching them how to be healthy.
Please welcome our Roosa Elementary Teacher of the Year: Erica Johnson!
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ClaremorePublicSchools/videos/2777302329188073
Youtube - https://youtu.be/WkSESDRUrDk
This is National School Counselor Week! We appreciate the wonderful Mrs. Kerr our Roosa Counselor. School Counselors: Helping Build Better Humans.
We appreciate Roosa sharing their #CPSZEBRAPRIDE for their counselor.
Anyone recognize this song?
HINT:
🎵 Man streckt den linken Arm ein, den linken Arm aus
🎵 Ein, aus, ein, aus
🎵 Man schüttelt alles rum
🎵 Man macht das Hokey-Kokey und man dreht sich herum
🎵 Das ist die ganze Sache
🎵 Ja, das Hokey-Kokey
🎵 gebeugt, Arme gestreckt
🎵 Ra, ra, ra
Mrs. Hernandez's class had a little fun doing the Hokey Pokey in German.
Who was your foreign language teacher(s)?
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
Meet the counselor: Mattie Kennon
My name is Mattie Kennon. I am a School Counselor at WRJH and currently work with our 6th and 7th grade students. I am also a Chair Advisor for WRJH's National Junior Honor Society and Student Council.
This is my second year as a Claremore Zebra, and my favorite year so far as a school counselor!
I am thankful for each of my coworkers, and their drive to positively impact students' lives. This inspires me to grow each day in my profession as a school counselor.
Thanks for sharing your #CPSZEBRAPRIDE for Ms. Kennon.
It’s National School Counselors Week! We have 3 amazing counselors here at CHS. Today we will introduce you Debbie Grace, the Claremore High School Senior Counselor.
She loves the relationships that she develops with the students and staff as a member of the Zebra family. Although she doesn’t have a “classroom”, she thrives in helping students get to graduation and prepare for their future.
She has been at CHS since 2013. At CPS, she serves on the Title 6 (JOM) committee, Teacher of the Year nomination committee and coordinates the annual Mr. Claremore fundraiser for the CHS counseling department.
Previously she was a Child Welfare supervisor with the Department of Human Services and an original board member for the William W Barnes Children’s Advocacy Center.
Her children were CPS graduates and now her grandchildren have joined the Zebra family. When she is not spending time with her family or attending her grandchildren’s sporting events/activities, she enjoys traveling, reading, and shopping!
She received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma and her Bachelors in Social Work from Kansas State University and has a specialty certification as a sexual abuse specialist.
We appreciate CHS sharing their #CPSZEBRAPRIDE for their Senior Counselor with us.
We are celebrating World Read Aloud Day, calling attention to the importance of sharing stories by challenging our parents to grab a book and read aloud to their children! It is all about bringing people together through stories. That will be more important than ever this year when the shared experience and connection of reading aloud are so needed in all of our community.
Join us in the celebration!
📷 Snap a photo or video of you reading aloud.
🖼 Post it in the comments of our Facebook page.
📃 Challenge (tag) 3 of your friends to join the fun.
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
Mrs. Geranen's Gang at Catalayah Elementary practiced some yoga poses during #WellnessWednesday. Maybe you and your child could practice the Warrior Pose this evening.
Mrs. Geranen then taught them the right angle in warrior - a little math reference.
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
Art is a natural way for all children to explore and express themselves. Through drawing, painting, and creating in general, children learn about their emotions, cope with situations, and are encouraged to explore social interactions.
🎨 Improve self-awareness
🎨 Reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression
🎨 Help a child deal with feelings associated with sickness, trauma, and grief
🎨 Improve communication skills
🎨 Boost self-esteem
🎨 Allow children to see problems from a different point of view
🎨 Improve problem-solving skills
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE Thank you, Mrs. Hopper, a counselor at Westside, for bringing us this week’s #WellnessWednesday post.
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/5Si06juhWkg
Here is a link to some additional ideas. https://5il.co/p0zj
This week is National School Counseling Week! This week we hope to focus on the unique contribution our School Counselors have upon the public school system.
School counselors are so important to our school buildings, and we would like to introduce you to ours, Mrs. Sheila Urbonas.
When asked what influenced her to become a school counselor, she replied, "After being a first grade teacher and special education teacher for over twenty years, I thought I wanted to leave the education field. I received my masters in counseling from Southern Nazarene University with the plan to work for a counseling agency. I worked in that field for a short time, but really missed the education setting. I missed the camaraderie of working alongside educators and being in a building full of children. Becoming a school counselor is the best of both worlds!"
We appreciate Claremont for sharing your counselor with us and showing your #CPSZEBRAPRIDE.
It is important to keep our kids safe while online, and Claremore Public Schools is committed to providing software for our devices and resources for our parents. We have partnered with FamilyZoneUSA to ensure students’ cyber safety at school and at home.
This #TechTipTuesday will show parents how to set up an account with FamilyZone and obtain the instructions on how to setup FamilyZone on all personal electronic devices that are not school-issued.
https://youtu.be/Pi0u67bpoAk
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
CPS School Counselors Honored During National School Counseling Week, Feb. 1–5, 2021
National School Counseling Week 2021, “School Counselors: All in for All Students,” sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), will be celebrated from Feb. 1–5, 2021, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems and how students are different as a result of what school counselors do. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.
Read more https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/o/cps/article/391579
We are proud of Claremore's rich history with the Apollo Program.
Kaitlyn Rodwell from the Claremore Museum of History stopped by Stuart Roosa Elementary and shared historical facts about Stuart Roosa with the Roosa 5th graders. She brought a star chart that Stuart Roosa used as a map to the moon. Students also saw a model of the space ship used by Stuart Roosa.
"We were celebrating 50 years of the Apollo 14 Mission on January 31st, the 3rd human-crewed lunar landing. Claremore's own Stuart Roosa along with Alan Shepard & Edgar Mitchell showed such bravery to launch after the scary events with Apollo 13. They were able to bring back approx. 100 lbs of moon rock for scientists to study and exposed tree seeds to an anti-gravity environment, which grew into "Moon Trees," shared Michelle Rahn, WRJH STEM teacher.
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up” – Pablo Picasso
Art is a great way to allow kids to explore themselves and let them push the boundaries of their imagination. Students in Mrs. Tidwell's class at @Claremont Elementary collaborate together on a painting project.
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
Our #MondayMotivation comes from writer and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, "The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are."
What's your favorite Maya Angelou quote?
What an outstanding award for our program, school, and community. Countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears by coaches, players, parents, and many members from our great city recognized by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association. Legendary Legion Field was named as one of the top high school fields in the nation. This award is for anyone who has ever held a rake or paintbrush, pulled the tarp, flew their helicopter over the field to dry it 🤷♂️, or donated their time and/or money!
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
Tobi Riggs, a teacher at Roosa Elementary, tells us about the digital tools she received from the Claremore Public School Foundation and encourages you to participate in this year's virtual Brainiac Brawl.
https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/article/390711
Shout out to our Child Nutrition Director for helping Food 4 Kids secure $1000 grant for their program that benefits our students.
Read more here - https://www.claremoreprogress.com/news/nutrition-program-receives-grant/article_af1ba5bc-60df-11eb-8012-afea1c4a6334.html
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
This week's Fridays With Frazier features another finalist for the District Teacher of the Year, Andrea Ratcliff.
Mrs. Ratcliff is an Art Teacher at Westside Elementary and also oversees the yearbook. Although she started teaching in 2006, she joined CPS in 2017.
Mrs. Ratcliff and her husband, Chris, have two children who attend school at Westside and WRJH.
She holds certification as a Secondary Principal (5-12), Elementary Principal (PK-8), Art (PK-12), and Physical Education/Health/Safety (PK-12).
She taught and/or coached students from ages 4 to 24 throughout her career.
She had an article published in a national magazine covering PLCs' principles and how they apply to sports teams.
When asked what was her why and she told us, "The students, always the students. They are my why. The students, their enthusiasm and their creative minds."
She felt an immediate draw at Westside when she brought her daughter in for a school tour. Westside felt like a place of belonging, a place of potential, and a place to grow professionally. Always giving credit to her fellow peers and administrator, she is also thankful for coworkers who have made the move from Arkansas a warm, welcoming environment & a place to grow as a teacher.
Favorite Quote - "Your life is your life don't let it be clubbed into dank submission. be on the watch. there are ways out. there is light somewhere. it may not be much light but it beats the darkness. be on the watch. the gods will offer you chances. know them. take them. you can't beat death but you can beat death in life, sometimes. and the more often you learn to do it, the more light there will be. your life is your life. know it while you have it. you are marvelous the gods wait to delight in you." -- by Charles Bukowski
Watch her in action in this video. https://youtu.be/Oy-_hznwOh0
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
MLK day is a perfect opportunity to discuss the principle of equality and how we should treat all people. Mrs. Ward's first graders had an object lesson about how things can look differently on the outside but be the same on the inside using eggs. She then asked them how MLK wanted everyone to be treated, and here are some of their answers?
https://youtu.be/mgxDcu67Y7E
#CPSZEBRAPRIDE
