VERDIGRIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Second grade made a Cardinal with 100 black stick notes and 100 yellow sticky notes.

Third grade made a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and the word Cowabunga with 100 black and 100 orange sticky notes.

In order to better understand Homelessness and the impact it has, here is a list of some movies you can watch:

Movies/Documentaries

“Under the Bridge: the Criminalization of Homelessness” 2017 By the production team A Bigger Vision, Under The Bridge: Criminalization of Homelessness is a documentary film about one summer in Indianapolis, a tent city under a bridge, and the criminalization of homelessness in the United States.

“Storied Streets” 2015 Storied Streets explores homelessness across America by telling the stories of those who live it every day.

“Have You Seen Clem: A True Story… Sorta” 2005 Jaymo, an aspiring filmmaker, suddenly finds himself homeless and living out of his car. Desperate to find a way out, he begins shooting a documentary about the overlooked homeless people in this sharply divided society. When he stumbles across a mysterious bum named Clem, Jaymo realizes that every homeless person has a cart full of secrets and a unique story of personal collapse to tell. Together they embark on a cross-country road trip meeting a cross section of forgotten homeless people that struggle to live on and find contentment on the streets of America.

“Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story,” 2006. At 15, Liz Murray finds herself living on the streets after her mentally ill, drug addicted parents falter in their attempts to keep their family together. Instead of crumpling, the troubled teen clings to hope and determination, and works her way up out of homelessness all the way to Harvard University. This three time Emmy nominated film is based on an incredible true story.

 “Pursuit of Happyness,” 2006. This film is a good tour-de-force showcase for Will Smith, who convincingly portrays a down-and-out dad trying to better his family’s life. A chain of circumstances left Gardner jobless and homeless at age 30, and he found himself and his son living a bathroom at a San Francisco train station. Despite the negative situation, Gardner continued to fight toward his goal of becoming a broker and would eventually become a self-made millionaire.

“The Soloist,” 2009. In 2005, LA Times columnist Steve discovers Nathaniel Ayers, a mentally ill, homeless street musician who possess extraordinary talent, even through his half broken instruments. Inspired by his story, Lopez writes an acclaimed series of articles about Ayers and attempts to do more to help both him and the rest of the underclass of LA have a better life. However, Lopez’s good intentions run headlong in the hard realities of the strength of Ayers’ personal demons and the larger social injustices facing the homeless.

“The Blind Side,” 2009 Based on the true story of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy who take in a homeless teenage African American male, Michael “Big Mike” Oher. Michael has no idea who his father is and his mother is a drug addict. Michael has had little formal education and few skills to help him learn. Leigh Anne soon takes charge ensuring that the young man has every opportunity to succeed. When he expresses an interest in football, she goes all out to help him. They not only provide him with a loving home, but hire a tutor to help him improve his grades to the point where he would qualify for an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship.

“Time Out of Mind,” 2015 Richard Gere, starring as George, plays a homeless man in Manhattan, New York. He seeks refuge at Bellevue Hospital, an intake center for homeless men, where his friendship with a fellow client helps him try to repair the relationship with his estranged daughter.

As the day of showing our undying love for each other with balloons, gifts, candy and flowers draws near, please be advised of our delivery procedures.

Deliveries will be held by the office until the end of day.  Therefore, students will not see what each other receive.  No balloons or flowers in vases will be allowed on the bus.  Only deliveries put in their backpack will be allowed on the bus.  Deliveries too large for the backpack must be picked up in the car line.

If you are not attending the class Valentine’s party at 2:00 pm with your student, please be advised that pick-up lines will be longer due to the increased number of cars having to pick up students that receive deliveries.

Thursday, August 8: Class lists posted for 1-3rd grade on front windows

Thursday, August 8: in Cafeteria at 5:30 pm     Pre-K Parent Orientation, Class Lists posted

Thursday, August 8: in Cafeteria at 6:30 pm     Kindergarten Parent Orientation, Class Lists posted

Tuesday, August 13: 5:30-6:30 pm      Meet the Teacher, PK-6th

Thursday, August 15:  FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Monday, August 19: LE Gymnasium 6:30-7:30 pm      1st-3rd Parent Meeting

Thursday, August 22:  Fall Pictures

Our Third Annual Art Show was a huge success!  Make it-Take it was a hit, so not only did we see fantastic artwork by our students, but they created more while there!  There was a community loom to weave on and a community mural to color on.  A button maker, treasure kit station and Easter egg station were also available!  Kudos to Ms. Black, our art teacher, for all the hard work, and a big Thank You to our volunteers that helped!

Mrs. Jones's class won the Books are Fun contest raising money during Book Fair Week and winning the opportunity to SLIME Mrs. Moyer and Mrs. Reif!  The top two money raisers from Mrs Jones's class got to pour the green slime all over them at the Magnificent Monday Assembly!

OETA to Host Fall Literacy Festival

OETA is hosting its first annual Fall Literacy Festival, an extension of its Ready to Learn initiative. The free family event takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Oklahoma City Myriad Gardens Great Lawn.   

The event includes a day of engaging literacy activities and educational entertainment designed for children in PreK to 3rd grade and their families. Visitors are recommended to bring lunch and spend the day with OETA and special guests.

Highlights include:

Meet PBS KIDS Characters

Meet and greet with favorite PBS KIDS characters including the cast of Super Why, along with PBS KIDS’ giveaways including books and stickers.

Sing-a-Longs and Story time

Sing-a-longs with Spaghetti Eddie, and story time with special guest performer Al Bostick.

Hands-On Learning

Children can tour the lawn to participate in a variety of games and activities designed to celebrate literacy and foster a love for learning.

More information about the OETA Fall Literacy Festival can be found online at www.oeta.tv, by calling 1-800-879-6382 or e-mail info@oeta.tv