February 2021 Newsletter

Feburary 2021

School's Back In

Can it be said too many times? This has been the strangest school year ever! Our teachers have worked in fully virtual mode for months, then A/B schedule for maybe nine days before going back to fully virtual, and now back to A/B as 2021 started. There is discussion about going to a five day a week schedule after Spring Break! All these changes can make a head spin like a whirling Dervish!

Having been in most every building at least once since the year started, I witnessed the wide variety of emotions our staff feels. I passed a classroom discussion in which I overhead one teacher say "I'm not worried about it all. I want to be here with our kids!" The very next classroom had a teacher who had spent hundreds of dollars of her own money to purchase an air purifier and Plexiglass for her desk.

Add all this anxiety onto another real concern I heard from a teacher last week who worried that her students weren't really learning her subject because they couldn't do basic functions virtually. They are falling behind, she wailed.

That desire to ensure your kids are learning, even as the staff deals with all the challenges the pandemic brings, that is the heart of our teachers. If I could wave a wand, I would make them leave that concern behind and just be realistic about what can be accomplished this year. We're all in the same place.

New Year, New Ways

The pandemic continues to challenge our staff, but thanks to our donors, the Foundation is ready to help. Our consistent donors as well as so many new ones continue to surprise and humble us with their generosity. We even received a surprise $20,000 check from the Love Family Foundation for more YES! Grants. These gifts enable us to respond nimbly to the challenges brought to us almost weekly.

Speaking of challenges, COVID-19 continues to bring us new ones. One stark example involves our three high schools. The junior class uses funds from prom to pay for their needs at graduation the following year. We did not have prom, so there is a gap that must be filled or an in-person graduation will not happen.

Thankfully, principals came to the PC Foundation, and because our donors are SO GENEROUS, we are able to help defray some of the costs associated with graduation this May. It isn't something we would typically fund, but we recognize the need to support the schools in creative ways and are grateful to do it.

Golden Apple Deadline Extended!

Each year, the Foundation recognizes a group of individuals for exceptional service to Putnam City Schools through the Golden Apple Awards. Recipients receive a cash award and an engraved "golden" apple.

Nominees can include, but are not limited to: volunteers, secretaries, cafeteria workers, custodians, aides, nurses, coaches, and teachers. Anyone of service to children in our district is eligible! There are so many amazing people associated with Putnam City Schools, and we need YOU to tell us about them!

Nomination forms and complete details are available on our website: https://pcf4kids.org/programs/awards-and-recognition/golden-apple.

Due to recent weather conditions, the deadline to submit nominations for the 2021 Golden Apple Awards has been extended to the end of the day Wednesday, Feb. 24th. For additional information contact Kris Baggerly at [email protected].

Thank You Alumni!

The end of 2020's annual campaign marked the first time in the Putnam City Schools Foundation's history that we were able to concentrate on reaching out to our alumni across the nation and share our mission. They responded in a BIG way, with many making a first-time gift to the Foundation! We are so grateful to have an opportunity to connect them with their alma maters, and share the good things our children and teachers are doing. We received several kind notes and phone calls from alumni graduating as far back as 1954! It is a joy to hear their memories of Putnam City.

Did you know we have an alumni section on our website? Check it out! https://pcf4kids.org/alumni/

CAST Corner

The CAST (Community and Schools Together) Steering Committee continues to brainstorm creative solutions to our district's needs. We've been able to share a searchable resource guide with principals to help find community services for our families, and connect our district leaders with opportunities to participate in the OKC Thunder's Black History Month Art Contest. We've connected the Oklahoma City Police Department with our schools to provide feedback on their efforts to improve police-community relations, and even provided a little candy to teachers at some schools just to say we're thinking about you.

As the year goes on, we expect some big news in the CAST program, so keep your fingers crossed that we can expand the program and offer services to all the schools in Putnam City.

Learn more about CAST: https://pcf4kids.org/community/.

RECENT MAJOR DONORS

CBRE

Dr. Donald Kastens (PCH Alumni)

Mobin Koohestani (PCN, Class of 2012)

Ann J. Long (PCH, Class of 1945)

Love Family Foundation

Matthew & Casey Major

Gene Moninger (PCH, Class of 1955)

Lee & Vivian Rice

The Nix Foundation

Michelle Tompkins

Neil Woodward (PCH, Class of 1980)

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February 17, 2021