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May 20, 2024

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SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

As the 2023-2024 school year comes to a close, I’d like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to our entire school community for helping make this a very successful year. It has been a year filled with celebrations, academic achievements, state championships and innumerable accomplishments. 

A school year can only be successful because of the hard work and dedication of our teachers, staff, and administrators. These unwavering professionals have demonstrated an unmatched level of commitment to providing a nurturing and enriching learning environment for our students. I am continually impressed by their passion, resilience, and dedication to making a difference in the lives of our students.

To our dedicated school board members, accolades to you as well because we know that a school year cannot be successful without you. You are our unsung heroes. We are truly blessed to have you serving our community. Each of you bring something unique to the Board and together you are a “power house”. Your dedication, loyalty and service to the entire community is unprecedented. It is so apparent that you love this District and want to see us continuing to “Go Boldy”. We truly appreciate you!

Perhaps the greatest celebrations of all, throughout the entire school year, are those that come during the last couple of weeks. For me personally, our high school graduations are the highlight of the year. Seeing family and friends gathered to “cheer on,” “whoop and holler,” expressing excitement and joy is just fun! Graduations are memorable moments for our students, families, teachers, and staff that serve as a reminder to all of us,  that the hard work and effort is well worth it.

While we have officially graduated our 2024 seniors, I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for their success in their future endeavors. It’s always wonderful to hear the stories and see the accomplishments of our seniors at the graduation ceremonies, while officially adding them to the long list of distinguished Putnam City Schools alumni. This year, we have officially graduated 1,084 seniors. In our 109-year history, that brings the official total to 75, 378 graduates. To give you a visual of this number, our graduates would fill the Paycom Center, Home of Thunder, more than four times. That is worth bragging about!

Finally, as summer break officially began today, I encourage everyone to take time to rest, recharge, and rejuvenate. Whether you’re embarking on new adventures, participating in Summer Recharge, or simply enjoying moments of relaxation with friends and family, I hope this summer is a safe, fun, and fulfilling one for all.

-Dr. Fred Rhodes, Superintendent

BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

STAFF REPORTS

  • Student-Athlete recognitions by the District Athletics Department, Dr. Balenseifen

  • Golden Apple recipient recognitions by the Putnam City Schools Foundation

See the recognitions below

BOARD ACTIONS

Board Members approved the following items:

  • Employment recommendations for new personnel and reassignments (see Attachment A within the full agenda link below)

  • Amended summer school and extended year programs for 2023-2024

  • Boundary adjustment between Capps MS to Cooper MS

  • Recommendation and appointment of April Buckley as Northridge Elementary Assistant Principal

  • Recommendation and appointment of Dana Scott as James L. Dennis Elementary Assistant Principal

For a full list of board meeting items and attachments, please view the full agenda on our website.

BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS

CHARITY AVERY thanked everyone involved for their efforts in putting together great graduations for our high schools. She spoke to the distinction of our graduates who are going to the Armed Forces and who are first-generation high school graduates. She acknowledged our Special Olympians for competing in Stillwater last week. Lastly, she wished everyone a great summer.

JAY SHERRILL recognized our student-athletes and Golden Apple recipients that were mentioned tonight. He congratulated our graduating seniors. He especially mentioned our faculty and staff for their dedication this school year.

JUDY MULLEN HOPPER thanked all faculty, staff, and administration for their tireless work to prepare our graduates. She specifically mentioned the elementary administrators and staff for building a solid foundation for our graduates.

STEVE BURGER was thankful for the nice weather and wonderful unique traditions at the graduation ceremonies.

GAIL LOPRESTO expressed how the graduations were wonderful and acknowledged the hard work that goes into them. She was honored to give the Lindsay Daniel Award at Arbor Grove recently. She also encouraged and reminded the Board, including herself, to stay positive during Board comments. She appreciated everyone for their hard work which ended with an overall successful school year.

Board Meeting Staff Report Recognitions

District Athletics

Athlete Recognitions

Putnam City High

  • Alexis Ahtone - Wrestling

    • OCA Girls West All-State 6A 130lb State Champion

  • Tessalynn Goodner - Wrestling

    • OSSAA State Champion 6A 190lb State Champion

  • Tanner Wood - Cheer

    • PCH Cheer Captain

    • OCA All-State

Putnam City North

  • Brooklyn Coble - Pom

    • OSDTDA All-Region West Team & All-State

  • Bobby Cunningham - Boys Varsity Swim

    • Boys Swim Team Captain

    • The Oklahoman's All City Honorable Mention

    • OCA All-State West

  • Bode Durham - Boys Varsity Soccer

    • PCN Boys Team Captain & MVP

    • OK Soccer Coaches Association All State East Team

Putnam City West

  • Richard Buz - Boys Varsity Soccer

    • Oklahoma Soccer Coaches Association All-State West Team

    • PCW Soccer MVP

  • Manny Martinez - Boys Varsity Soccer

    • Oklahoma Soccer Coaches Association West Team

    • PCW Offensive Player of the Year

  • Caya Smith - Varsity Basketball

    • ESPN Women's USA Top 100 Ranking

    • Large West Girls All-State

    • 6A District 2 Offensive Player of the Year

    • Super 5 First Team

    • Big All-City First Team

Golden Apple Recipients

Tyrea Craig
Tyrea Craig, Human Capital
Terri Hinkle
Terri Hinkle, PCN
Claudia Hughes
Claudia Hughes, Dennis Elementary
Holly Klein
Holly Klein, WOMS
Jeremy Scott
Jeremy Scott, PCN

DISTRICT DATES & EVENTS

May 27 - High School and District Offices Closed

July 4 - High School and District Offices Closed

August 14 - First Day of School for 2024-2025

District Calendar
Check out the 2024-2025 District Calendar to plan for next year! It's always available under the Families tab on the website.

Free PC Foundation Event Open to ALL PC Families

Cares Community Fair
Cares Community Fair

HAPPENING AROUND PC

New School Times Announced for 2024-2025

New School Times

The new school start-stop times have been announced. Click here to read the letter to families.

PC STUDENT SUCCESS

Congratulations Class of 2024!

PCH Graduation

Putnam City High School

PCN Graduation

Putnam City North High School

PCW Graduation

Putnam City West High School

Congratulations to all of our high school graduates! There are countless accomplishments, recognitions, personal triumphs, and lessons that have all led up to the great walk across the stage. We are proud of our graduates and cannot wait to see the accomplishments you make in life.

Check out all of our graduation photos on our social media!

Sprightly Energy For a Sunny PC Elementary Track Meet

PC Elementary Track Meet
PC Elementary Track Meet
PC Elementary Track Meet

The annual Putnam City Elementary Track Meet was the spot for all the running, jumping, and throwing you could take! Our elementary schools brought well-practiced teams to represent their school in this three-day event. Having this opportunity to be so active in sports at a young age helps these young athletes' preparedness, confidence, and friendly competition habits that will be more prominent as they age.

PC PROUD

Northridge Space Farmers

Northridge space farmer students

We have some Space Farmers in Putnam City! Northridge students have been participating in the Growing Beyond Earth program sponsored by Fairchild Botanical Garden and NASA! While this program is primarily for secondary students, these Northridge 5th graders were accepted to participate. They have been hard at work growing plants in a space growth chamber similar to the International Space Station. They recently found out they were awarded a Judge's Special Merit Award at the GBE Program Symposium. Way to go, Knights!

PCH AFJROTC Unit Named Top 10%

PCH JROTC

The US Air Force recently selected Putnam City High School JROTC as a Distinguished Unit for the 2023-2024 school year overall. There are 831 Air Force JROTC units in the world and this means our JROTC Pirates are in the Top 10% of the units out there. What an accomplishment! Congratualtions to these hardworking Cadets and their Instructors, Lt. Col Dane Christensen and MSgt. Frank Mattair!

PC IN THE HEADLINES:

PCN Mr. Marvin story on News 9
CLICK TO WATCH: Putnam City North Janitor, Friend to Students, Greets Graduates One Final Time
News 9 PCN DECA
CLICK TO WATCH: Putnam City North Joins The Porch to Discuss DECA Delights

FRIENDLY REMINDERS

Don't Forget Pre-Enrollment!

Don't forget pre-enrollment for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year! All families should have received a District email containing important information regarding pre-enrollment, along with a code required to complete pre-enrollment for your student. The email address this information will be delivered from is noreplyregistration@powerschool.com. The required Snapcode within the email will be student-specific and will only be used for your student’s pre-enrollment. If you have more than one student enrolled, each student will have a separate code called a Snapcode. 

Please see your email for more information and some frequently asked questions. Contact enrollment@putnamcityschools.org for questions.

district reminder

Are you missing out on important updates from the District? On Monday, 4/1/24, we sent a districtwide email, text, and push notification to all families about severe weather activity cancelations.

If you did not receive a certain communication, here are 4 things to check:

1) Check your email address listed in PowerSchool - make sure it is current and correctly typed.

2) Make sure noreply@putnamcityschools.org is not labeled as spam.

3) Check your phone numbers in PowerSchool. Are you not getting text messages? Text START to 98900

4) Download the Putnam City Schools App for iPhone or Android

As a reminder, all official Putnam City School districtwide communication methods include:

  • phone call & text message

  • email

  • push notification (for those with the app)

  • putnamcityschools.org website updates

  • all official Putnam City Schools social media accounts

update your information

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Meeting Date: Monday, May 20, 2024, 5pm | Location: Administration Building | Next meeting: Monday, June 3, 2024, 5pm | In Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Fred Rhodes, Deputy Board Clerk Chantil Baldwin, Board Members: President Gail LoPresto, Vice President Steve Burger, Charity Avery, Judy Mullen Hopper, and Jay Sherrill.

Putnam City Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, identity, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, or disability. Translations are completed by Google Translate.