Ex Cineribus 2011 Staff

TSAS’s Literary staff members are celebrating their selection as part of the 2011 National Council of Teachers of English Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines. Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences’  Ex Cineribus was ranked Excellent and Edison High School’s Eyrie was selected for a Highest Award; the selection is from a field of 391 national literary magazines and these are the only selections from the state of Oklahoma.

“This is a great honor for our school, especially considering it is our first time to enter and the second year of our journal” Said TSAS’s advisor Ellen Stackable. “I am proud of the staff, especially Rachael Luthor, Olivia Blankenship, Gina Butler, Taylor Haught, and our University of Tulsa Intern, Catherine Roberts.”

At this time, we have filled all of our shadowing slots and are unable to accommodation any more students.

Open Houses

• OPEN HOUSES are scheduled for Tuesday, December 13,2011 and Thursday, January 19, 2012 from 6:30-8:00 pm. This is a great opportunity for parents to see the facilities and meet the teachers. Parents and students are welcome.

About TSAS

• We are a school of choice, with a college preparatory curriculum. We offer a range of AP classes, plus visual arts, jazz band, orchestra, photography, drama, musical theatre, and a health and fitness program from the Thornton YMCA. TSAS does not offer athletics, transportation, nor free lunches, and does not have a dedicated special education teacher on staff.
• TSAS is a free, public charter school, sponsored by TPS. Since we are relatively small, our staff and our student body all know each other. We are able to work more closely with individual students to help them towards better understanding and comprehension. We endeavor to make the curriculum challenging in order to better prepare our students for success at the university level.

Barnes Noble Voucher 2011

Proceeds from items purchased using the (attached) voucher or mentioning TSAS at checkout will benefit our school. Supporters MUST present the voucher or mention TSAS at the register PRIOR to transaction for their purchase to count towards the total donation.

NEW: Out of town friends and family can now support our school!! Supporters of the Bookfair shop through www.bn.com/bookfair, and are required to enter our Bookfair Event ID # 10617272 in the designated field found on the payment page during checkout in order for their purchase to count towards the online Bookfair total from December 5-11, 2011.

Saturday, December 10th, SIX musical ensembles will be performing at Barnes & Noble from 1:00 – 4:00pm (note the performance times have been changed from earlier emails). Please come out and support our students and shop, shop, shop!

Facebook event

Rock and roll your way to the fishbowl and buy your tickets for Serenade Night!  Tickets are available for purchase beginning today, and they will also be sold at the door.  Tickets cost $10.00 each.  Serenade Night is scheduled for November 5, 2011 at 7:00 at the Bernsen Center at 8th and Boston in downtown Tulsa. Serenade Night is a showcase of the music, theater, and visual art classes and is also a great silent auction. The entire event is a fundraiser for all of the arts programs at TSAS.

Additionally, two restaurants in the area, Elote and Mod’s, will donate 20% of purchases that evening to TSAS. We MUST turn in the receipts so please bring them to the Bernsen Center where we will collect them or turn them into school the following Monday. Elote opens at 4pm, Mod’s will be open all day.  We hope you will join us!

This year the venue has moved to the park-like grounds of the TSAS east courtyard. Come enjoy the first ever faculty chili cook-off, musical performances from a variety of student bands and groups, Mod’s gelato, grilled brauts and dogs, sweet treats, and many booths, games and activities sponsored by student clubs and organizations. Fall Festival will be a night to remember!

Thursday night preceding their trip, the seniors had a great night of fun at the Senior Lock-In at TSAS. Games, craft projects, movies, eats, treats, and very little sleep were enjoyed by all.

More Pictures are available at our Facebook page.

Our all school field trip to Camp Loughridge last Friday was an overwhelming success! The day was split between indoor activities focused on growing our unique TSAS culture and outdoor team building challenges. As a community, our school places a high value on the importance of relationships, respect and responsibility. Our day at camp is just one of the ways we are working to ensure that these characteristics continue to grow. Check out our photo album of some of the day’s adventures below, or for a quick snapshot of the fun, go to our Facebook page at facebook.com/tsas.org.

Dear TSAS Community,

We have had a smooth, successful and enthusiastic start to our new school year!  Teachers and students alike are excited about their new classes, the new students walking the halls, and the emphasis on raising TSAS to an even higher standard of excellence as we began our second decade as an academic community.  In the days to come you will be hearing more about exciting educational initiatives that are coming online this year.

As we make our way through the year, I hope to share our story with you.  Already, great pictures of our first week are up on our Tulsa Schools of Arts and Sciences Facebook page.  Look for us at facebook.com/tsas.org.  We will also continue to share information and our academic adventure with you on our website www.tsas.org.  We have an amazing school and so much to celebrate!

Here are a few important updates that will assist you as we kick-off our academic year.

Permission Forms

On Monday your student will be bringing home a number of permission forms.  Please read, sign and return them early next week.

• Student Handbook and Computer Use Agreement Form
• Family Language Survey
• Family Income Survey
• Student Directory Agreement Form
• Camp Loughridge Permission and Release Form

All School Field Trip

The entire school will be attending an all-day field trip to Camp Loughridge next Friday, August 26^th, from 8am-3pm. We have planned an exciting day of ropes course challenges and team building activities.  This field trip is directly connected to the new Advisory Program and all students are expected to attend.  Transportation and lunch will be provided. Students must return their sign permission forms by Thursday, August 25^th to attend.  This incredible opportunity is made possible through a generous donation.

Advisory Program

In keeping with the founding vision of TSAS which empowers teachers to create innovative strategies for meeting the needs of students, this year we are launching a new Advisory Program.  Through this program teachers and students will be able to work together to:

• increase communication between students, teachers and parents
• increase academic success  and college planning
• increase community awareness and involvement
• increase self-awareness

Tuesday morning the entire school gathered for the first annual Advisory Sorting.  This new tradition was a fun way to build community and parade our TSAS culture. Each student was “sorted” into an advisory group and assigned a faculty adviser who will work with them weekly throughout their academic career at TSAS.  We anticipate great results from this new program.

Parking Spaces and Car Tags

Car tags and assigned numbered parking spots are required for every car parked at TSAS during the school day.  Students can purchase their car tags in the Fishbowl for $5.  Car tags go on sale Monday, August 22^nd.

I feel incredibly privileged to be working with the exceptional faculty and students who make up the TSAS community.  This is going to be a great year!

Liesa

Freshman and New Student Orientation

The freshman and new student orientation will be held from 6-7:30pm on Monday, August 15th. New incoming students will pick up their schedules, visit each of their classes and meet their teachers. From 6:15 to 7:15 parents are invited to attend a parent orientation to be held at the OU Schusterman Campus (43rd and Yale, across from the McDonalds).

Upperclassman Schedule Pick-up

Sophomores, juniors and seniors can pick up their class schedules in the Fishbowl from 9am-3pm on Tuesday, August 16th.

School Supplies

Students should bring a simple spiral notebook and pencils for the first day of school. Each teacher will be providing specific school supply lists on the first day of class.

Dress Code

The handbook is available for review on the TSAS website. With the record breaking heat Tulsa has been experiencing, students will want to dress accordingly. Close attention should be paid to the guidelines describing appropriate school attire.

School Hours and Drop-off/Pick-up Traffic

The school day begins at 8am and concludes at 2:50pm. TSAS traffic travels in a counter-clockwise direction around The Park office complex. For safety, students should be dropped off on the west side of the building in front of the entry stairs. Traffic will be congested during the first few days of school, so plan to arrive a bit early and use extra caution.

First Day of School

The first day of school is Wednesday, August 17th.

Late Start Thursday

We will not observe late start Thursday during the first week of school. Student should arrive at school by 8am on Thursday, August 18th. Late start Thursday will begin the following week.

I am anticipating an incredible new school year!

Liesa Smith

*photo courtesy ywel