WILDCAT ROAR
SEPTEMBER 2014
From the Desk of Dr. Woolridge
George Washington Carver Middle School Mission Statement
Carver Middle School is committed to empowering all students to be inquirers and to meet high academic standards in a nurturing, enriching,
supportive environment where individual differences and talents are respected; academic excellence is promoted; lifelong learning is strongly
encouraged; critical, creative, and higher level thinking skills are developed; connections among
all disciplines are provided; and students are empowered to become productive citizens of the
global community.
Dear Carver Parents and Students,
For the Carver Family, this school year once again brings the expectation
of maintaining our academic and athletic traditions. At Carver, our curriculum and instruction is in line with the mission of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IBMYP). That mission, “…to develop
inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help create a better
and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect,”
guides our current academic focus and presents many opportunities for
our instructors to address national and international studies throughout all
content areas of instruction. Hence, our collective goal is to develop
students that will eventually become global citizens—global citizens that
are prepared to use their knowledge, skills, talents and intercultural
awareness to make a positive contribution to the world.
Carver Middle School is a community; and, like all other communities, its
members must share the responsibility of our mission. Our continued
success depends on parents, faculty, staff, and, of course, students contributing and giving their personal best on a daily basis. Parents, to begin
with, I encourage each and every one of you to stay involved during your
student’s short time period at Carver Middle School. Middle school can
be extremely challenging because it is a time for emotional, physical, social, and intellectual development.
WILDCAT ROAR
Page 2
Dr. Woolridge continued….
It is of the utmost importance that our students know that we are there for
them as they attempt to find their place in a setting where the sense of
belonging and friendship become their primary focus. Of course, each
student is different, and some students may struggle to manage a demanding academic, athletic, family and/or extra-curricular schedule.
None the less, for any student to be successful, he or she will need parents to be firm by insisting that a minimum of sixty- minutes be devoted
to study, homework and/or outside reading every evening after school.
This year, two new faulty members have joined the Carver Family. Mrs.
Vicki Bennett is our new 6th, 7th and 8th grade Spanish instructor; and,
Mrs. Kristi Merchant is our new librarian.
As always, Carver is your school, and your support and involvement are
critical to our continued success. Please feel free to call the school for
any assistance or information that you may need.
Sincerely,
Melissa J. Woolridge, Ph.D.
George Washington Carver Middle School Vision Statement
We are a community of lifelong learners of unlimited potential which welcomes
diversity, embraces challenge, strives for excellence, and celebrates personal
growth for every member of the Carver Middle School family.
PTSA
PTSA UNIT MEETING
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16th
AT 6:30 P.M.
CARVER LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER
Presenting Q & A with Dr. Woolridge
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Page 3
Farrow’s Fuss
I would like to welcome all of the student’s back to school and a special welcome to the newest
members (students and parents) of the Carver Family! I appreciate the assistance of all patrons in the
dropping off and picking up of students by keeping the bus loop empty during school operating hours
(8:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.). I also want to commend the students and parents on not walking across
the bus loop during the morning and afternoon hours. The Carver administration, faculty, and staff take
all students’ safety seriously. We appreciate the fact that you entrust us with your child nearly eight
hours every day.
We encourage all parents and guardians to drop off/pick up their students in the parking lot on
the north side of our campus. This lot may be accessed from Pine Street. Those who choose to utilize
the west parking lot (closest to the main office entrance) should be aware of the following rules: have
your student prepared to exit the vehicle so you do not hold up traffic;
do not block the handicap parking spaces located directly adjacent to
the main office ramp; vehicles should leave an access lane open in the
afternoon for other vehicles to move through.
Other areas of concern for student drop off/pick up occur
from parents and guardians parking across Greenwood Street and telling their student to cross in the middle of the street. We ask that you speak with your student and
have them cross at the protected crossing at the corner of our bus loop. We also ask that any student
crossing Pine Street do so at the stoplight located at the corner of Greenwood and Pine.
With a “family” of nearly 650 entering our “home” every day, we strive to be in as many places
as possible to maintain our educational environment to the highest level. The Carver administration, faculty, and staff welcome the input of parents and students. We understand that students may say things
at home that they have not mentioned to anyone at school. If your student tells you of an unsafe area
or inappropriate behaviors that are occurring at school, please do not hesitate to contact any of the administrators or counselors immediately.
Once again, please assist your student in having a great educational experience at
Carver by notifying us at any time with concerns you may have. Our contact information is:
Dr. Melissa Woolridge, Principal, [email protected]; Valarie Farrow, Assistant
Principal, [email protected]; Bob Ehrle, 8th Grade Counselor, [email protected]; Kathleen Jeffries, 7th grade counselor, [email protected];
Maya Blount, 6th grade counselor, [email protected].
WILDCAT ROAR
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FACES
OF
C
A
R
V
E
R
Mrs. Cooper - Front Office, Mr. Meyers - ISI
8th Grade Helpers: Cathryn Barcus-Schafer, McKenna Raley, Elise Delancy,Zoe Brewin, Carolyn
Tett Nieman Walker, Catherine Ziegler, Mr. Kirby - Band/Orchestra, 7th Grade Parents & Teachers
at BTS Night
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Page 5
BACK
TO
S
C
H
O
O
L
PICS
Mr. Carver, Mr. Grimes - 7th Science, Ms. Davis - 6th Science, Ms. Hart 7th Math, Ms. Dyer - PE, Mr. McKay - 7th English, Ms. Abraham - 6th
Science
WILDCAT ROAR
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CARVER STUDENT MEMBERS WIN A FAIR MEGA RIDE PASS
Student members/dance attendees will be entered into a
drawing for a Tulsa State Fair Mega Ride Pass for this September!
The drawing will be held the night of the dance on September 5th.
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Page 7
CARVER
Parent
Teacher
Student
Association
Back to School Bash
Friday, September 5th
7:00-9:00 p.m. - Carver Gym
Join PTSA for $6
*Parents, Students, Teachers, Family &
Friends
*Free ticket to the first dance with
Student Membership
*Help Carver Reach 100% Membership
Communication Form - Page 13
*Receive Weekly Emails
*Specify Directory Preferences
*Get Involved - Sign-up to Volunteer
WILDCAT ROAR
Page 8
CARVER SPIRITWEAR
Thank you for your orders of spiritwear so far this year! Orders placed
at back-to-school events and in the office by August 29th have been
placed and should be delivered to your student at the end of
September. If you missed the first ordering period, there will be one
more opportunity for delivery this year. Look for information in early
October for delivery in November.
Every school has slightly different spiritwear ordering procedures and
policies. At Carver, we do not keep spiritwear in stock. Spiritwear
options are offered for individual ordering twice each school year and
at the end of school we accept pre-orders for the next year. All
spiritwear (tees and sweatshirts) can be ordered at any of these
sales. Spiritwear sweatshirts and fleece can be worn any day of the
year over a uniform top (please see the Carver uniform policy for
specifics). Spirit tees can be worn on Fridays with uniform bottoms
(please note: no jeans are allowed at Carver unless specified).
More information and pictures of Carver spiritwear are found on
Carver's website. Click on the Parent tab, then PTSA, then look on the
right for the Spiritwear tab. Please let me know if you have any
questions at [email protected]. Thank you! Nancy McDonald
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
Page 9
Welcome to another great year
at Carver Middle School!
I hope your kids are off to a great start,
and that all of you were able to attend
either 6th Grade Parent Academy or Back
to School night to hear about some of
the things going on this year.
For those of you who are new to Carver (or returning families who stayed in the wings in
previous years), I want to encourage you AND your kids to jump in and get involved in the
Carver community. Most of us hope to move on to Booker T, so we will be in this together
for at least 7 years – it makes the journey a whole lot more rewarding (and fun!) if you
connect with other families.
You probably know that there are lots of opportunities for your children to get engaged
in the Carver community, with everything from sports teams to clubs to social activities like
the Membership Dance Sept. 5. But parents can get involved, too! Look for opportunities
to volunteer – sign up to chaperone trips, work the book fair, help at one of the Carver
clean-up days, or lots of other opportunities. Come out to cheer on Carver teams, even if
you don’t have a child on the field -- it’s a lot of fun AND many wonderful friendships are
started on the sidelines. (Especially don’t miss football homecoming!)
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to get involved with PTSA. We’d love everyone
– parents, family, teachers AND students to join. Membership is only $6, and your support
helps support numerous projects like providing classroom materials and improvements to
make Carver a better environment for our children. And members get to determine the
priorities for how that money should be spent. You can join by filling out the form on Page
7. The first meeting will be Sept. 16 at 6:30 – at this meeting you will have a chance to do
a Q & A with Dr. Woolridge, and we will approve the annual budget. We’ll even provide
some cookies to sweeten the pot , so please plan on joining us!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me or any PTSA Board
member. Hope to see you Sept. 16!
Anna America,
Carver PTSA President
WILDCAT ROAR
Page 10
Sports Schedules
Football
9/16 Carver at Clinton (changed from 18th)
10/2 Rogers at Carver
10/7 Monroe at Carver (changed from 9th)
10/15 Carver at Memorial
10/22 EC at Carver (changed from 23rd)
10/28 Carver at McLain
Carver home games will be played at
BTW
Game times are 6:00 JV and 7:15 Varsity
Volleyball
TPS Tournament
Wed & Thurs 9/3 & 9/4 TPS Tournament
V at 5:30 JV at 6:30 p.m.
Mon 09/08/14 6:00 pm Carver at Hale JH Hale
Thu 9/11
6:00 pm Thoreau at Carver 6:00 p.m.
Mon 09/15/14 6:00 pm Central JH at Carver
Mon 09/22/14 7:00 pm Carver at East Central JH
Mon 09/29/14 6:00 pm Memorial JH at Carver
Wed 10/01/14 6:00 pm Carver at KIPP
Mon 10/06/14 6:00 pm Rogers JH at Carver
Wed 10/08/14 6:00 pm Clinton-Webster at Carver
Mon 10/13/14 6:00 pm Carver at McLain JH
JV at 6:00 and V at 7:00 pm unless otherwise noted
*Schedules are subject to change
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1
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SEPTEMBER 2014
Page 12
Carver 8th Graders take the ACT EXPLORE on October 3rd. This tells
students things they need to know to plan their high school courses,
prepare for the ACT Test, think about college, or choose a career
direction. ACT Explore includes four multiple-choice tests: English,
Math, Reading, and Science. The student's skills in these subjects
will make a big difference—in school and, eventually, in his/her
career. The ACT Explore score report will help identify strengths and
areas that need improvement.
If you have questions, contact Mr. Ehrle, 8th Grade Counselor.
A national middle school coaching and competitive mathematics
program that promotes mathematics achievement through a series of fun and engaging
"bee" style contests. Whether students are
interested in competing, or in just improving their math skills through problem solving,
the Mathcounts Club and Competitve Team provide students with opportunities to hone
their skills and have "SUM" fun at the same time. Mathcounts meets every Monday
afternoon from 3:50 to 5:00 P.M. from September through our regional competition
in February. Carver competes with both public and private schools throughout the
Northeast Region of Oklahoma. Students who excel in the competition series may earn
college tuition credits at the University of Tulsa, and advance to the state and national
level competitions.
Sponsor - Mrs. Hart, National Board Certified, Mathematics
7th Grade Mathematics, [email protected]
SEPTEMBER 2014
Carver Middle School
624 E. Oklahoma Place
Tulsa, OK 74106
918-925-1420
http://carver.tulsaschools.org/
CARVER CONTACTS
Principal: Melissa Woolridge
Principal’s Secretary: Carol Crumb
Assistant Principal: Valarie Farrow
Front Office Clerk/Attendance: Kathy Cooper
Grade Level Counselors:
6th grade—Maya Blount
8th grade-Bob Ehrle
7th grade—Kathleen Jeffries
Cafeteria Manager: Judi Austin
Nurse: Jessica Sanders
Need a staff email address? Look under Staff Directory on the Carver Website or give us a call.