School is back in session! August 20 was the first day of school and an end to summer boredom for all those students who have eagerly been waiting to show off all their new school clothes and supplies. Below is information provided by the school to introduce you to new teachers, give updates on bond improvements and give a peak into what will be happening in the upcoming school year.
MECC
• The Early Childhood Faculty and Staff are busy preparing for the new school year!
• The PreK teachers will be holding a “Parent-Only” meeting in their class rooms on Aug. 13 at 6 pm.
• “Back to School” Open House for parents and students will be held throughout the school district on Aug. 18 from 4-7 pm.
• All the elementary schools this year would like welcome a new Physical Education teacher, Mrs. Chris Weatherford.
• The ECC is excited to introduce our new kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Lytle. Jennifer is a Mannford High School graduate! She returns to us with 15-years of experience in Kindergarten and Prek and has taught in Tulsa and Union school districts. Jennifer has two sons and a daughter. Welcome home Mrs. Lytle!
• A new PreK aide will be joining us this year! Another Mannford High School graduate is Mrs. Jamie Dolan. Jamie will be helping in Mrs. Hollie Snyder’s PreK Class. Jamie is no stranger to MECC. She was a kindergarten aide for part of last year. Welcome back Ms. Jamie! A new Ameri Corps aide this year at the ECC is Mrs. Caleigh Gilmore. We are so excited to have her on board and appreciate Ameri Corps help with our kindergarten!
MES
WE’RE BACK!!
It’s that time again! The 2015-2106 academic year is upon us. Mannford Elementary School has had many changes over the summer. We have 4 new teachers and 2 new support staff joining our already excellent team. I know they are going to make us even better!! We should come back to a newly renovated cafeteria as well! Continue to look for even more changes thanks to the bond issue that you supported this past spring!! This is going to be an awesome year we are looking forward to seeing you soon!!
New Employee Bios:
Chris Weatherford-Physical Education/Health
I have been teaching PE/Health for 14 years and I am a Nationally Board Certified Teacher. I have been married 25 years to my husband Bill who is a general contractor for indoor home remodel. We have one son, Riley. He is 23, attends UCO and is a 911 dispatcher for the City of Edmond. My husband and I moved to Keystone Lake 2 years ago from Edmond. I previously taught at Berryhill, Deer Creek and St.
Elizabeth Ann Seton Schools, Pre-K-8th grades. My goal as a PE teacher is for students to experience the benefits and value of participating in various activities that will lead them to become physically active for a lifetime. I look forward to being a Pirate! Arrrghhh!
Talesa Hilton-3rd Grade
I grew up in Sand Springs, OK and graduated from Charles Page High School in 1992. I then attended Oklahoma State University and graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. My teaching career began in Sand Springs at Garfield Elementary where I taught 3rd and 4th grades. After my time at Garfield I moved to the Sixth Grade Center to teach math. After leaving Sand Springs, I spent time teaching at Lake Country Christian School. I enjoy spending time with my family and have 2 boys, which are 11 and 6 that will also be attending Mannford Public Schools. We look forward to starting a new school year and meeting everyone!
Shelly Hayes – 2nd Grade
Mrs. Hayes comes to us by way of Keystone Public Schools. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education for UCO in 1997. Mrs. Hayes has 15 years of teaching experience. She began her career with Kildare Elementary School and also spent 7 years at Prue Public Schools. Mrs. Hayes has taught Pre-K thru 3rd grades during her career. She and her family attend Lakeside Baptist Church and volunteer many hours to the youth of the church.
Jill Spess-1st Grade
Mrs. Spess, who many of you know, comes to us from Mannford Early Childhood Center. She previously taught 1st grade in Mannford and has made the move back to Mannford Elementary School.
Joyce Anderson – Title VII Reading Assistant
I have lived in Mannford my whole life and I graduated from Mannford High School. I am married to Bob Anderson and we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in September. I have three sons who all have attended Mannford Schools. My oldest son, Spencer, graduated in May and was one of the Valedictorians. My middle son, Parker, will be a sophomore and my youngest son, Conner, will be in 5th grade. Once my all my boys were in school all day, I started volunteering at the school. I really enjoyed being at the school and helping the students. Last year I was given the opportunity to be an AmeriCorp aide and I loved it. I would have continued with it but was given the chance to work for Mannford Schools. Which I gladly took. I am really looking forward to another year and getting to know and help more students.
Janet Champlain-Custodian
Ms. Champlain has been affiliated with Mannford Public Schools for many years in multiple roles. She will continue her duties as a bus driver and will now be joining our team as one of our custodians. We know she is going to be an excellent addition to our team.
MUES
We are very excited to start “Building a Bridge” with our students for this new school year. Our teachers have been preparing the way, making sure everything is ready for us to hit the ground running on August 20th.
We would like to welcome two new additions to our staff for this school year. Ms. Saliba and Mrs. Looney are coming to us from the Lower Elementary where they both taught 3rd grade last year. We are excited to have them join our team! Mrs. Looney will join our 4th grade team, bringing our 4th grade roster up from four classes to five. Ms. Saliba will be teaching Math to our 5th grade students, filling the shoes left by Mrs. Whalen who retired at the end of last year. Both are excellent additions to an already ALL-STAR staff at Mannford Upper Elementary.
We look forward to seeing all of you at our Back-to-School night on August 18th from 4-7pm. Come out and meet this fabulous group of educators.
MMS
Chris Greenert will join the MMS family this school year. Chris will be teaching 6th Grade Mathematics. Please join us in welcoming Mr. Greenert to the MMS Team!
In June 2015, MMS teacher, Kathy Burris led a group of 36 adults and students to the Eastern Seaboard for an 8 day tour of historical sites. The travelers visited Boston, Plymouth, and Cambridge enjoying sites associated with Colonial America. The group then traveled to New York City and Philadelphia. They attended a Broadway show, toured the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, 9/11 Memorial and Liberty Park! They finished up the last 3 days in Washington DC touring the Memorials, Mt. Vernon, White House and the U.S. Capitol!! If interested, Ms. Burris will be taking enrollment for the June 2017 tour this September. Parents of students entering 7th grade and higher are invited to attend the parent meeting scheduled for August 31, 2015 at the Middle School!! Stop by our table at the Middle School Open House for more information!
MHS
MHS New Staff:
• Chuck Anglin moved from Math to Alternative Education
• Sarah Endecott moved from MMS Math to MHS Math
• Andrea Frank moved from HS English to HS Art
• Don Morrow is our new HS Math Teacher
• Connie Shipley is our new HS Counselor secretary.
• Sherry Kovnas is our new HS Library Assistant.
• Kristin Moody is moving from MMS to MHS as a teachers aide.
• Renee Roberts is our new HS teachers aide
• Student Information
• MHS new student enrollment is happening NOW through August 20th.
• MHS is offering a freshman experience from 2:00 – 4:00 on Tuesday August 18th, followed by a freshman parent meeting in the MPF at 6:00
•MHS Alternative Education Academy starts at 1:00 p.m. this year.
• MHS Students report for 1st day of classes on August 20th
Bond Update
• High School parking lot lights are installed.
• Pavement repairs completed throughout the District.
• New Science textbooks are arriving daily – Reading & Math to be adopted in the next two years.
• Six of the seven new buses have arrived. The seventh bus is being outfitted according to ADA compliance and should arrive within the first month of school.
• Bids are being taken on the Track resurface project.,
WEBSITE Renovation – please check it out. There are District Calendars, Schedules, Social Media helps for Parents, Guardians, Grandparents, Students, Patrons, Live Twitter Feed, Enrollment Information and Staff contact information.
HUGE KUDOS to our summer maintenance and custodial crew for the work they have done in sprucing up our facilities!
As always we are thankful to serve at Mannford Public Schools. We are keenly aware of both the privilege and the responsibility of serving in this capacity.