Music, music everywhere!

Band, orchestra, vocal!

Dancers, artists and actors!

During the last two weeks,

the fine arts reigned su-

preme in Ardmore City

Schools. Our students and

teachers made the most of

the opportunity the Christ-

mas season offers to demon-

strate their talents and crea-

tivity. I hope you were wit-

ness to the gala atmosphere

and the great productions

that took place in our

schools and community.

I want to extend my appre-

ciation to our fine arts

teachers for doing a fabulous

job with our students. A

great deal of extra work

went in to the preparation

for the programs. We offer a

special thank you to the

Goddard Center and their

Outreach Program for pro-

viding an artist in residence

for Jefferson Elementary.

These opportunities for our

students to perform play

important roles in helping

to develop skills related to

speaking or performing in

public, following directions,

working cooperatively with

others and being a member

of a group. These skills are

as important as math and

reading skills and help

make our students more

successful. I‟m already look-

ing forward to our spring

productions!

Jefferson Elementary Takes the Stage at the Charles B Goddard Center

ALL ABOUT ARDMORE CITY SCHOOLS

Holiday Edition (December/January)

Ardmore City Schools

will close in honor of the

Martin Luther King

Holiday, January 18,

2010. Be sure to check

local news listings for all

activities honoring Dr.

King.

AHS

Holiday Festival

December 28-30

AHS Gymnasium

Boys 1st Game Dec 28 @ 8:20 p.m.

VS. Westmoore

Girls 1st Game

Dec 28 @ 7 p.m.

VS Yukon

Come Out & Catch Some Great

Basketball Action!

Enrichment Foundation trustees,

John Veazey, Bob Bates and

Sharon McAnally notify AHS sci-

ence teacher, Linda Fisher, that

she has been chosen to receive

grant funding through the foun-

dation. From the 71 Ardmore

teachers who applied, 25 were

chosen for funds totaling approxi-

mately $10,000.

Congratulations to all

Enrichment Grant recipients!

Thank You to Our Friends at the Enrichment Foundation

Classes

Resume

January 5th

Page 2

AHS Fine Arts Gala 2009

Amanda Ack & Patrick McSweeney,

were the Masters of Ceremony.

AHS Drama students performed scenes from

Humbugs and Ghostbusters

AHS Orchestra performed Pastorale from the Christ-mas Concerto, Frosty the Snowman and Deck the

Halls and Good King Wenceslaus.

AHS Band performed Bells, Celebration and We

Wish You a Calypso Christmas

AHS Show Choir, “The Group,” performed Merrily Sing

Noel, White Christmas and Still, Still, Still.

AHS Band and Choir performed the finale, A Festive

Christmas Celebration

The Ardmore High School Fine Arts

Department presented their annual

Fine Arts Gala on Tuesday, Decem-

ber 14th at the Washington Theatre.

The presentation included perform-

ances from the AHS Concert Band,

under the direction of Debra

McMurry; the AHS Choirs, under the

direction of Shane Sanderson; the

AHS Orchestra, under the direction

of Jill Hagan; and the AHS Theatre

group, under the direction of Lora

Brooks. The art work of Rikki Cly-

more‟s art students was featured in

the lobby of the theatre. You can see

it on Page 4 of this newsletter!

Artwork Featured

on Page 4

All About Ardmore City Schools Page 3

Honoring our Veterans

Lincoln Elementary Honor Choir performs during Veteran’s Day Celebration

Ardmore High School Band, The Pride of Ardmore, honors veterans during the celebra-tion at the Veteran’s Center in November

AHS Students Named to All-District Bands: Garrett Dees, Lance Reisetter, Tayvon Lewis, Evan Capshaw, CT Roan, Sharon

Chikanga

AHS All-State

Honor Choirs

William Herndon, Sr

High Mixed Choir

Victoria Bicondova,

Jr. High Mixed Choir

Samantha Reser, Sr. High Women’s

Chorus

Johna Fledman, Jr. High Women’s

Chorus

Jared Chastain, Sr. High Jazz Chorus and member of Jazz sextet

ensemble

Will Rogers students from Mrs. Kennedy‟s Head

Start class took a field trip to Lowe‟s. Students

took part in a wood working workshop. The stu-

dents‟ projects for the month of December will be

gingerbread houses for the holidays.

Thank You Lowe’s

A M S students named to

Southeastern District Honor

Choir: Christian Allen, Sam

Eubanks, Raven Johnson, Ni-

kole Molina, Jeremy Salinas,

Colin Saner & Zoe Wright

Ardmore Middle School students named to All-State Honor Choirs

Skyler McAlister was chosen for the Junior High All-State Honor Choir (7-9 grades) and will be performing at the festival in

Oklahoma City next month. Alexis Lyons, Antonio Rodriguez and alternate, Makayla McGee were chosen for the Children‟s

All-State Chorus (4-8) grades) and will take part in the festival in Tulsa next month.

Page 4

Artists at

AHS

Kathleen Ezell

Ethan Stedman

Paris Littlechild

James Stubblefield

Payton Stein

Page 5

The Ardmore High School yearbook staff earned an All-Oklahoman Award at the 2009 Oklahoma Scholastic Media Fall Conference at the University of Oklahoma Monday, mak-ing it one of the top 14 yearbooks in the state.

Thirty-seven schools from around the state entered yearbooks in this annual competition. Nationally recognized scholastic journalism experts, some working in the professional media and some from the academic setting, evaluated the entries, assigning the best of them ratings of Merit, Distinguished Merit, Honors or Highest Honors.

Student staff members for the 2008 AHS Criterion were: Tim Pullin, Brandie Fore, Charis Idell, Brock Cox, Kurt Creswell, Jared Tibbs, Blake Fraiser, Virginia Cecil, Megan Brown, Felicia Hudson and Olivia Trent. The AHS Criterion is designed and published under the direction of AHS teacher, Addie Downing.

The 2008 AHS Criterion also received the Silver Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. “The student staff worked extremely hard to balance the content of the yearbook to be critiqued by experts, yet be meaningful to the students. I am so proud of their effort and creative commitment,” Addie Downing stated. She added, “Our 2010 year-books are currently on sale and we look forward to submitting it for the 2010 awards.”

Oklahoma Scholastic Media Honors AHS Criterion with State’s Top Yearbooks

Ardmore High School has been granted charter membership in the National Forensic League (NFL). This significant distinction is the highest school mem-bership honor in the NFL. As a charter member, AHS has demonstrated excel-lence in attaining new members and degrees. Ardmore High School is coached by Ms. Lora Brooks.

AHS EARNS PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL CHARTER MEMBERSHIP AHS All-District Honor Choir

Anna Unruh

Samantha Reser

Katy Parish

Austin Powell

Jared Chastain

Zachary Fasgold

Johna Fledman

Lisa Anderson

Sara Molina

William Herndon

Sabrina Woydziak

TyLynn Smith

Victoria Bicondova

Sheridan Hill

DiJon Davis

Mrs. Lori Hoke‟s 5th grade students at Franklin Elementary were treated to a special “Pilgrim‟s meal” before the Thanks-

giving break. Mrs. Hoke hosts the traditional meal each year. Students were served foods which would most likely have

been readily available to the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Items served included: dried apples, turkey, corn, winter

squash, cabbage, dried meat, cranberries, onions and turnips.

All About Ardmore City Schools Page 6

The honor choirs from Charles Evans,

Franklin, Jefferson and Lincoln Elementary

schools performed their annual holiday con-

cert on December 17th. Students performed

holiday songs for family and friends and

even asked the audience to participate in

traditional Christmas carols such as Jingle

Bells. The honor choirs were directed by:

Mrs. Patti Green and Mrs. Carol Unruh at

Charles Evans, Mrs. Paula Brinkley at

Franklin, Ms. Robin Spriggs at Jefferson

and Ms. Suzanne Sweeten at Lincoln. Pi-

ano accompanist for the performance was

Mrs. Carol Unruh.

Elementary Honor Choir Performs

Franklin Elementary students visit the Santa House at

the Greater SW Historical Museum. One of Santa‟s

elves tells the story of the Christmas Tree Forest. Stu-

dents also watched the puppets during their visit to the

Santa House exhibit.

Will Rogers students visit Santa‟s House at the

Greater SW Historical Museum in Ardmore. Santa

read „Twas the Night Before Christmas . The chil-

dren made Christmas cookies with the helpful

elves and created an ornament to bring home.

Page 7

Ardmore Middle School Vocal Music , Band &

Orchestra Holiday Performances

For the second year, Take 2 Academy has been awarded an

"Arts in Alternative Education" grant from the Oklahoma

Arts Council to assist in funding a residency program with

Ardmore Contemporary Dance Company.

The funding has allowed instructors from Ardmore Con-

temporary Dance Company to offer many programs to the

students at Take 2 Academy. Misti Reynolds has provided

instruction on yoga and relaxation in English I and II

classes. Through the art classes at Take 2, Erin Craven

has worked on dance elements and choreographic princi-

ples with students. In addition, Michelle Rambo taught

the hip-hop style of dance in the boy's PE class.

The programs reach the students not only as physical exer-

cise, but on an academic level, as well. “We directly tie our

dance lessons with the curriculum that is being taught in

the students' core classes. In the art classes I reinforce the

work they are doing with the art elements and principles

of design,” states Erin Craven, Artistic Director for the

Ardmore Contemporary Dance Company.

Through state appropriations and grants from the Na-

tional Endowment for the Arts, the Oklahoma Arts Council

funds arts events and arts education programs throughout

the state. Projects funded by the Arts Council that gener-

ate matching funds create public/private partnerships that

in turn impact Oklahoma's economy throughout the state's

rural and urban communities.

Arts in Alternative Education

Take Two Academy

Don’t forget to check us out on the Web.

www.ardmoreschools.org

&

Cable Channel 17

ESC Door Decorating

Contest

1st Place (Business Ofc)

Christmas Past

2nd Place (Personnel Dept)

Nutcrackers

3rd Place (Child Nutrition)

Santa Chef

All About Ardmore City Schools Page 8

Happy Holidays from

All of us at Ardmore

City Schools.

Friday, January 22 will be the NJHS Chili

Cook-Off. Everyone is invited to attend. Tick-

ets are $5.00 per person and may be purchased

from any NJHS student or by calling AMS at

223-2475. The ticket price includes chili and fixin‟s and a

drink. Chocolate desserts will be auctioned off after the din-

ner. If you have a winning chili recipe and would like to com-

pete for the title of “AMS Chili Champ”, please contact Cindy

Huddleston at the middle school. Grant Naylor won last year

and Scott Foster placed second. There will be a trophy and

bragging rights!

NJHS Chili Cook-Off with Chocolate Auction

AMS AVID student, Sydney Joe, demonstrates skills

she has learned in her AVID class, while AVID

teacher, Linda Johnson, explains the benefits of the

program to parents.

AMS and AHS AVID students and their families gath-

ered for an evening filled with fun and information.

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is

designed to close the achievement gap and increase

the college-going rate for students from low-income

and minority families. The AVID Program is offered

at the 7th and 9th grade levels at Ardmore Schools.

Funding for training and materials has been provided

by the Cornerstone Program.

A V I D

Ardmore City Schools

was contacted by

Drew Beard of the

Fellowship of Chris-

tian Athletes area

chapter to participate

in the Josh Heupel

#14 Foundation pro-

gram to provide a

Thanksgiving food

box and ham to fami-

lies in our school district. The #14 Foundation is a non-

profit organization started by University of Oklahoma

quarterback, Josh Heupel. It is dedicated to making a

positive impact on the lives of children in need to help

them achieve their highest potential by providing pro-

grams which inspire hope, develop leadership, accountabil-

ity, goal-setting and achievement.

On November 19, 2009, the Josh Heupel #14 Foundation

visited Ardmore to give away food baskets to 50 families in

Ardmore City Schools. The Ardmore High School Fellow-

ship of Christian Athletes helped with this occasion. Forty

-three food baskets were distributed to families in need.

The event took place at the Noble Stadium field house.

The following students were present to assist the families

in carrying the groceries to their vehicles: Stetson Blount,

Jeremy Boswell, Leneé Brown, Nychole Brown, Devin

Gordon, Troy Hardee, Rhaina Hodrick, Ellie Jones, Trey-

von Lawson, Jack Long, Trenton McFatridge, Joy Quary,

Devin Swearengin, and Braxton Whatley.

The Josh Heupel # 14 Foundation Helps

Ardmore Families

Math Matters at AMS!

The week of January 11 – 15 is “Math Matters at AMS” week. The week will kick off on Janu-ary 11 with the St. Jude Math-a-thon. All of the money raised will go directly to St. Jude’s Hospital to help support their services for children with ill-nesses.

Lincoln Elementary began the Tail Waggin‟ Tutors

program at the end of November. Lincoln third

grade teacher, Vicki Almon and Ellen Spraggins,

director of the tutoring program, worked diligently

to bring the program to the elementary school.

The objective of the Tail Waggin‟ Tutors program is to provide a re-

laxed and “dog-friendly” atmosphere, which allows students to prac-

tice the skill of reading. Many of the children chosen to participate

in the program have difficulty reading and as a result have devel-

oped self-esteem issues. These students are often self-conscious

about reading aloud in front of classmates.

The program maintains that by sitting down next to a trained dog

and reading, all threats of being judged are put aside. The child

relaxes, pats the attentive dog and focuses on the reading. Reading

improves because the child is practicing the skill of reading, building

self-esteem and associating reading with something that is pleasant.

Lincoln principal, Jill Day, anticipates great results from the

unique tutoring sessions. “We are very excited about this pro-

gram,” states Day. Adding, “Our goal is to increase reading flu-

ency with our first, second and third grade students. In turn,

students‟ self-esteem will improve which will ultimately impact

Tail Waggin’ Tutors at Lincoln

Storyteller, Valerie Kimble, presented two stories during

Charles Evans Family Reading Night recently. More than

200 students, parents and family members attended the

event which included a holiday music performance by the

Charles Evans Honor Choir.

Charles Evans students presented their Native

American projects recently in social studies

class. Each student chose a Native American

habitat to recreate. Students used many dif-

ferent materials to create their projects, mak-

ing them as true-to-life as possible. The pro-

jects were presented, along with an oral report

by the students. Several of the projects will be

on display during the All Schools Exhibit at

The Charles B. Goddard Center in the spring.

Seventh Grade All-District

Band Students: Nikole Molina,

Bob Waltz and Mariah Stewart