Great.School.News

Superintendent Wilma Basnett and Principal Karen Epps are pleased to announce that Solano Modified Traditional School has earned a Highly Performing label from the Arizona Department of Education. Students and staff have worked very hard for this honor. Last year Solano had a high percentage of students who exceeded the state standards! Clarendon, Longview, and the Osborn Middle School all earned Performing Plus labels and Encanto earned the Performing label. At Encanto, only the third grade is tested for AIMS, and thus the school is unable to demonstrate growth between two tested grade levels (a significant part of Arizona’s formula for determining both types of school labels). Encanto students consistently perform very well on the AIMS. Under Arizona’s new letter labeling system, three district schools are labeled ‘B’ (Clarendon, Osborn Middle and Solano) and the remaining two are labeled ‘C’ (Encanto and Longview).

Superintendent Wilma Basnett is pleased to announce that two Osborn schools have won the first place Golden Bell Award from the Arizona School Board Association, Osborn Middle School and Solano Modified Traditional School (see below). Golden Bell Awards are one of the most important and coveted education awards in Arizona and are given to school districts from throughout the state that have shown outstanding successes in student achievement. First Place and Runner Up awards are given in four categories: District-wide Curriculum Delivery and Accountability Program; High School (Grades 9-12); Middle Years (Grades 4-9); and Elementary Years (Pre-K-Grade 6).

All five Osborn schools received School Safety Grants to support having a School Resource Officer or Probation Officer on campus. Officers are certified and highly trained to work effectively with students, teachers and families in the school community. They provide Law Related Education to students, contribute to the assessment of School Safety and Prevention, are a resource for the students and their families in need of community based services; and serve as a liaison between the school community and law enforcement. The officers also serve as role models and talk with students about issues that have real-life importance, building their trust and confidence to turn to law enforcement if and when the occasion arises.

Officer Marcus Matthews (Police): Osborn Middle School

Officer Jose Morales (Police): Clarendon & Encanto Schools

Officer Stephanie Gardner (Probation): Longview School

Officer Rosario Lopez (Police): Solano School

Volunteers from Rotary 100 brought dictionaries to Osborn fifth graders. This year all 307 fifth graders received their own dictionary to take home. Extra dictionaries are available for students who enroll during the school year. They commented on how polite the children were and how delighted they seemed with their books. Each student received a paperback copy of A Student’s Dictionary & Gazetteer personalized with their name inscribed inside. Research indicates that a dictionary in the home is shared by at least four people- giving the entire family the opportunity to increase their vocabulary. Fifth grade teachers also provide many opportunities for students to increase their word power through the use of their dictionaries throughout the school year.

Parents who live in the Osborn School District with concerns about their 2 ½- to- 5 year- old child's development are invited to participate in free screenings. Children will be screened in developmental areas, including: cognitive, language, motor, self-help, and social. Screening will take approximately 15-30 minutes. Please call Becky McNany for an appointment or for more information: (602) 707-2017. The screening dates and locations are: October 28 at Longview; December 2 at Solano; January 27, 2012 at Encanto; February 24 at Longview; and April 13 at Solano.

Across the district, third graders and their parents will attend the monthly KidsRead events held in the libraries. Students can have breakfast with their family, listen to a story read by a guest reader and go home with a new book! KidsRead was founded 15 years ago. The program is designed to improve literacy by modeling reading together and giving third graders books to keep in their home libraries, so that they will have appropriate level reading material in their homes. Twice a year in December and March, all third grade students are given hard-cover Dr Seuss books. KidsRead is supported through donation to the Osborn Educational Foundation. Please visit www.OsbornSchools.org/OEF for more information.

Clarendon School (4-6)

Principal Sandy Meko is pleased to announce that 28 Clarendon students from the Osborn Ballet Program were selected for children’s parts in Ballet Arizona’s production of Nutcracker. Four boys were selected to dance in the opening Party scene: Alberto B., Isaiah M., James M., and Calvin R.; 9 students were selected to dance as Angels: Melanie H., Dulce E., Adisa J., Araceli L., Ariana L., Janet M., Bethany N., Melina S., and Astrid W.; and 15 were selected to dance as Soldiers or their understudies: Raquel B., Ambre B., Leslie G., San Juana E., Linda C., Charidy H., Jade K., Claudia L.V., Mireya L., Fatima G., Trinity L., Vivianna M., Bobbie S., Gabriela T., and Autumn K.. It was an exciting experience. The group did a great job and will be rehearsing every Saturday to prepare for the performances which begin in early December. Ballet Instructor Camden Lloyd is pleased that so many students who worked so hard last year to earn the privilege to audition were selected. Osborn Ballet Program students will be learning from both sides of the curtain; some for the third time! The Osborn Ballet Program is supported by the Osborn Educational Foundation and your Ballet designated AZ tuition tax credit donations to Clarendon School. More information is available at www.OsbornSchools.org/Programs/Ballet.htm

Clarendon’s Boys and Girls Ballet Classes have begun. Students receive dance instruction as well as nutrition instruction, homework help and extracurricular academic projects to assist students with school-day skills. The Nutrition instruction is done in partnership with Osborn Child Nutrition and St Joseph’s Hospital Community Outreach. Students learn to eat well to dance well. The Ballet Program is supported through Tuition Tax Credit donations at OsbornSchools.org.

The Osborn Ballet program and the entire fourth grade went to see Ballet Arizona’s premiere production of Cinderella. Students enjoyed the two scenes presented in the matinee- especially when the step sisters tried on the slipper. Many of the students had performed in Ballet Arizona’s Class Act Ballet under the Stars at Indian Steel Park and enjoyed seeing their instructors perform.

Congratulations to the following Clarendon teachers who have been selected as mini-grant recipients by the Osborn Educational Foundation: PE Teacher Deb Fields’ project Badminton Nets for PE will use the funds to purchase nets so she can add Badminton to the PE curriculum and increase student hand-eye coordination. Art Teacher Barbara Middleton’s project Colored Pencil Animal Drawings will use the funds to purchase Prismacolor Pencil sets and supplies. Students will learn to make a drawing focusing on ‘texture’.

Encanto School (PK-3)

Congratulations to the following Encanto teachers who have been selected as mini-grant recipients by the Osborn Educational Foundation Structured English Immersion (SEI) Teacher Jennifer Cook’s project Singing to Learn will use the funds to purchase various classic books with music so that her second language learners can have as much exposure to English as they can get. Having books that can be sung again and again makes it fun and easy for students to learn and practice their English. Dual Language Teacher Danielle Wilhelmy’s project Learning about Science through Kids Discover will use the funds to purchase sets of discover magazines on various topics (plants, organisms, light, matter, etc). Students will have the opportunity to expand their learning about the science topics taught in third grade by reading and using the magazines. SEI Teacher Heidi Guerra’s project Word Detectives will use the funds to purchase various learning center materials to create 20 learning centers focusing on different skills. The Word Detectives Project asks students to decode and build simple words.

Longview School (PK-6)

Congratulations to the following Longview teachers who have been selected as mini-grant recipients by the Osborn Educational Foundation Teacher Kelly Coakley-Magid’s project Math Facts Masters will use the funds to purchase Franklin Learner Handheld Math Games so that her students can use them when work is completed early to practice math facts in a fun and engaging way. SEI Teacher Heidi Gibson & AmeriCorps Volunteer Jeanette Goseyun’s project The Peace Movement will use the funds to purchase a video camera and props for Longview’s Student Council use in creating a student centered video promoting Longview's Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems (PBIS) PEACE program. Literacy Teacher Ana Gutierrez’s project Orca Reader's Book Club will use the funds to purchase various books by Orca Book Publishers in order engage low-level "reluctant" readers.

Osborn Middle School (OMS) (7-8)

Osborn Middle School won a first place Golden Bell for their Honors Mathematics program which was designed to increase academic opportunities for students by accelerating mathematics coursework and curriculum. The timing of a student’s successful completion of Algebra 1 in their academic career is critical to opportunities afforded them during high school and beyond. Accelerating students’ mathematics curriculum facilitates their enrollment in advanced mathematics courses at the high school level. As a school, we had a success rate of ninety percent of our students passing the ninth grade Algebra Qualifying Test (AQT) and one hundred percent of our students passing the tenth grade Geometry Qualifying Test (GQT). Additionally, the newly added seventh grade algebra program also had a success rate of one hundred percent last year. Approximately fifty schools have students take the AQT. Last year, Osborn accounted for approximately 20% of the 516 students who received credit for algebra and 60% of the 48 students who received credit for geometry. Our Honors Mathematics Program has grown in both strength and numbers over the past five years. It has grown so large that more than a third of Osborn’s 2011 graduating eighth grade class started high school this fall one or two years accelerated in Mathematics.

Photo: Sarah Saiz's 7th grade Algebra Class

Literacy Master Teacher Brendan Mann received a $10,000 Media and Technology grant from the Arizona Republic. He plans to use the funds to purchase a classroom set of netbook computers for an Electronic Literacy project. With the daily integration of technology, students can increase their literacy comprehension skills, critical thinking, and problem solving.

Congratulations to the following OMS teachers who have been selected as mini-grant recipients by the Osborn Educational Foundation Teacher Mariano Guerra’s project Lego Physics will use the funds to purchase various sets of "Lego Racer" cars for students to design and test an object's motion. Resource Literacy Teacher Hillary Ravell’s project Teaching Tolerance through Literature will use the funds to purchase sets of books to enhance reading fluency, thinking and reasoning skills by reading texts about the KKK and the Nazi movements.

Solano School (PK-6)

Solano Modified Traditional School won a first place Golden Bell for their Solano Writing Project, a school-wide program designed to empower students as writers. Solano staff members believe that one of our most important tasks as educators is to introduce students to written language and to teach them how to use it to communicate effectively and creatively. The Writing Project has not only been a positive experience for the Solano community, it has also contributed to improved achievement for Solano students as they grow and mature in the school.

Congratulations to the following Solano teachers who have been selected as mini-grant recipients by the Osborn Educational Foundation PE Teacher Craig Johnston’s project Hoops will use the funds to purchase sets of 36" diameter hoops for use in various games. Autism Teacher Kelly Adler’s project Fluency/Books on Tape will use the funds to purchase Flip Video Camcorder and reading book sets for levels C-O. Now her students will be able to read and hear appropriate leveled books on tape and they will be videotaped so they can watch themselves reading the book to increase accuracy and fluency.