Catalayah Elementary

National School Counselor's Day!!! Take a minute today and tell a School Counselor how much you appreciate them. Mrs. McComb is absolute amazing!!!! She goes above and beyond for our students at Catalayah. We truly appreciate everything she does for us. THANK YOU, Mrs. McComb for all you do for us and our students. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

It is important to keep our kids safe while online, and Claremore Public Schools is committed to providing software for our devices and resources for our parents. We have partnered with FamilyZoneUSA to ensure students’ cyber safety at school and at home. This #TechTipTuesday will show parents how to set up an account with FamilyZone and obtain the instructions on how to setup FamilyZone on all personal electronic devices that are not school-issued. https://youtu.be/Pi0u67bpoAk #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Tobi Riggs, a teacher at Roosa Elementary, tells us about the digital tools she received from the Claremore Public School Foundation and encourages you to participate in this year's virtual Brainiac Brawl. https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/article/390711

What does Distance Learning look like at your house??? Does your family get up like a normal school day and complete work in the morning? Is your family like mine and sleeps in on Fridays and completes their work in their jammies??? #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Mrs. Sayre Whitaker, Westside Elementary teacher, wants you to know how CPSF has made a difference in her classroom and with her students. If you have ever received a grant from CPSF, comment on the CPS FB and tell us your story. Bonus points for a photo! https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/article/388886 #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

**Staff Spotlight** Department Head of Special Education at Catalayah, Mrs. Nichol I am a native of Michigan and graduated from Laker High School in Pigeon, Michigan. I went to college at Oral Roberts University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and Special Education. What I love about teaching is watching students learn and grow! I will complete my 40th year of teaching at the end of this school year. All 40 years have been with Claremore Public Schools. The first 30 I taught at Central Upper Elementary in Claremore, and the last 10 have been here at Catalayah. I also completed my intern teaching with Claremore at Claremont Elementary. It's great to be a Zebra!! In my free time I love to spend time with my grandchildren, sew and do decorative painting and crafts. I have been married for 39 years to my husband, Edward. He is the owner of a swimming pool repair and maintenance company. We have one son, Justin who is married and lives in Jenks, Ok. I also have two grandchildren, Abby (6) and Alex (4). If I could be any book character I would like to be any fairy tale character. I love, love fairy tales and enjoy reading them to my grandchildren. My favorite quote is "The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it." One thing I want to do that I've never done before is learn how to swim. I almost drowned in Lake Huron as a teenager and have been reluctant to try ever since. We are building a pool next summer for the grandkids and I want/need to learn to do it. This is my 40th and final year of teaching as I am retiring at the end of the school year. #CPSZEBRA PRIDE

Mrs. Hall has been teaching our kids some really cool stuff in the innovation lab. They have been working with Sphero Bolt! BOLT is Sphero’s most advanced coding robotic ball to date, providing even more ways to express inventive ideas and experience the power of programming. Our students are able to program the sphero to move, speak and display different designs. They have really enjoyed the different aspects of programming. Watch the vided in the link below to see what these girls programmed their sphero to do!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi8xlbSieRE #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Diorama Project** 3rd grade students were given the option to participate in the diorama contest for the Will Rogers Memorial. The idea was to create a diorama that depicts the life of Will Rogers. The dioramas will be displayed at the Museum for all of February. Any visitors at the museum during that time are asked to vote on their diorama!! Voting end February 25th and winners announced the 25th. If you get a chance, stop by the museum and vote for your favorite!! These kids worked really hard on their diorama and we are so proud of them. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE (I wasn't able to get a picture of all the entries, so please stop by the museum to see them all!!)

Diorama Project** 3rd grade students were given the option to participate in the diorama contest for the Will Rogers Memorial. The idea was to create a diorama that depicts the life of Will Rogers. The dioramas will be displayed at the Museum for all of February. Any visitors at the museum during that time are asked to vote on their diorama!! Voting end February 25th and winners announced the 25th. If you get a chance, stop by the museum and vote for your favorite!! These kids worked really hard on their diorama and we are so proud of them. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE (I wasn't able to get a picture of all the entries, so please stop by the museum to see them all!!)

Have you Thanked a School Board Member lately??? We have been highlighting them on our facebook page. If you don't know them take a few mins to read their bio and get to know them. They do so much for our school, students and staff. THANK YOU, CLAREMORE PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION!! We couldn't do what we do without you. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Mrs. Casey's class used Jamboard on their IPads today to practice regrouping. It’s like a digital dry erase board.😊👍🏻 What is your kids favorite thing to do on their ipad??? #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

National Popcorn Day was this week!!! Did you get to celebrate National Popcorn Day??? We celebrated at Catalayah!!!! The kids (and teachers) were so excited to smell the yummy popcorn cooking in the hall. What a nice treat we were able to share with our students today. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

**Staff Spotlight** Librarian, Mrs. James I graduated from Charles Page High School in Sand Springs. Then went on to The University of Tulsa and graduated with my bachelors degree in English, with Elementary Education as my area of specialization. I received my masters degree in reading, and my Certification in Library Media and Information Technology from Northeastern University in 2003. I completed my National Board Certification in 2006. I knew early on that I wanted to work with children in some capacity. I decided in my 2nd year of college that teaching would be the most rewarding. Providing love and support to children, and giving them the tools to live happy and productive lives makes me feel proud. I have been teaching for 24 years. I began teaching in Claremore and have never left! I taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, all at Claremont. I became the librarian at Claremont for the last 2 years I was there. I have been at Catalayah since it opened, as the librarian. In my free time I like to spend time with my family and enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. I have been married for 34 years to my high school sweetheart, Tony. He has worked for Baker Hughes for 30 years in finance and as Compliance Manager. We have 3 grown children, one granddaughter, and one grandson on the way! If I could be any book character I would want to be Ms. Frizzle, because she is the embodiment of what a successful teacher possesses. She makes learning meaningful and fun! My favorite quote is "Character is how you treat those that can do nothing for you," by Nelson Mandela One thing I want to do that I've never done is write a children's book!

Claremore Public School Celebrates School Board Recognition Month The Claremore Public School (CPS) District joins school districts throughout Oklahoma to celebrate School Board Recognition Month, Superintendent Bryan Frazier announced. "Our school board members are volunteers who shoulder critical responsibilities and often make difficult choices for our District, all without pay. Their goal focuses on the future success of the children in our District," Superintendent Frazier said. "Celebrating School Board Recognition Month is one way to say thanks for all they do." Rea more here: https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/o/cps/article/382373

**Staff Spotlight** Virtual Teacher, Ms. Toops I graduated high school from Liberty Mounds and went to college at Oklahoma State University! Go Pokes!! I love being in a profession that is about helping, learning and seeing students grow into the best they can be. I have been teaching for 15 years. The last 6 years has been at Catalayah Elementary! I enjoy working in my yard, decorating, reading, traveling and having fun with my family. I have 2 daughters, ages 38 and 30. I have been single for 24 years!! :) Favorite quote- Bloom where you are planted! Also, I would love to go skydiving.

I had so much fun with Mrs. McCrackens 5th grade Science class. They invited me to come participate in their Science experiment. In this lesson we learned about force. All forces have strength and direction- which are equally important. (Think of it like golf; you have to hit the ball in the right direction AND swing with the correct amount of strength for the ball to go in the hole.) The egg balancing on top of the toilet paper roll and the pie plate demonstrates a balanced force. The roll is holding the egg up, while gravity is also forcing it down. When the students hit the pie plate, the forces become unbalanced, and the stronger force (gravity) makes the egg fall into the cup of water. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vTK3Uht-kM #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

@Claremore Public School Foundation's biggest fundraiser of the year will look a little different this year due to Covid-19 BUT it will still be fun and competitive with all the #CPSZEBRAPRIDE bragging rights! Please go to their website to register for this virtual competition! https://claremorepublicschoolsfoundation.org/events/

Today is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day!! We would like to say a special THANK YOU to our School Resource Officers. We appreciate all you do for Catalayah and Claremore Public Schools!!! #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

It’s been a great week back at school!! Don’t forget- tomorrow is Distance Learning!!

*Staff Spotlight* 4th Grade Teacher, Mrs. Williams I graduated High School from Oologah High School and then went on to college at RSU, OSU and NSU. I have been teaching for 18 years, the last 5 years have been at Catalayah. My favorite thing about teaching is I love the spontaneous moments in the classroom when a personal connection is made between students and the material that's being learned. In my free time I enjoy gardening, reading, cooking and riding my motorcycle. I have been married to Nathan for 6 years. Nathan also works for Claremore Public Schools in the Tech Department. We have 3 children. A book character I would like to be is Laura Ingalls because she was so spunky and adventurous. My favorite quote is: "Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you will be criticized anyway."- Eleanor Roosevelt One thing I would like to do that I've never done before is to ride my motorcycle on a tour of lighthouses along the east coast. Have your kids ever had Mrs. Williams?? Tell us their favorite memories about Mrs. Williams. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE