๐๐๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐ค๐ ๐ฐอ๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐ฃ celebrates students’ return for First Day of School
๐๐๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐ค๐ ๐ฐอ๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐ฃ is an accredited private school serving children from the Dhegiha tribes, which consist of the Osage, Omaha, Quapaw, Kaw, Ponca and Northern Ponca nations.
Pictured are ๐๐๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐ค๐ ๐ฐอ๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐ฃ students, 3rd through 6th grades on the First Day of School, Aug. 18, 2022. SHANNON SHAW DUTY/Osage News
With a little more than 50 students returning for the 2022-2023 school year at the Osage Nationโs Elementary School, ๐๐๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐ค๐ ๐ฐอ๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐ฃ, students and staff celebrated the return to classes on the First Day of School, Aug. 18.
โI missed my friends,โ said 3rd grade student Anthony Cass, Osage. โThe first day of school is going good.โ
Unlike the local public schools, ๐๐๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐ค๐ ๐ฐอ๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐ฃ is an accredited private school serving children from the Dhegiha tribes, which consist of the Osage, Omaha, Quapaw, Kaw, Ponca and Northern Ponca nations. The tribes are part of a Siouan language group whose languages are similar with a shared history and culture.
The school serves children from six weeks to 6th grade. The school has added a grade each academic year as the first class grows up and will ultimately go through the 8th grade. The school is also year-round, ending in mid-July every year.
School Superintendent Patrick Martin said the first day went well and the kids are glad to be back.
โWe put in a lot of work getting ready for school and we had a great first day,โ he said. โEverybody but three kids showed up today.
โWe have a couple of new teachers and a new schedule, and weโre trying to make all that work.โ
He said the school hosted a Back-to-School Night on Wednesday, Aug. 17. Families came to tour the school and they served pizza for everyone.
โWe enjoyed hosting the families and community,โ he said.
For more information about ๐๐๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐ค๐ ๐ฐอ๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐๐ฌ๐ฃ, call (918) 287-9772.
Languages spoken: English, Osage (intermediate), Spanish (beginner)
Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage from the Grayhorse District, is the editor of the award-winning Osage News, the official independent media of the Osage Nation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelorโs degree in Journalism and a masterโs degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Peoples Law. She currently sits on the LION Publishers board of directors, the Freedom of Information Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists, and she is also a member of the Pawhuska Public Schools Board of Education. She served on the Board of Directors for the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) from 2013-2016 and served as a board member and Chairwoman for the Pawhuska Johnson OโMalley Parent Committee from 2017-2020. She is a Chips Quinn Scholar, a former instructor for the Freedom Forumโs Native American Journalism Career Conference and the Freedom Forumโs American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a former reporter for The Santa Fe New Mexican. She is a 2012 recipient of the Native American 40 Under 40 from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. In 2014 she helped lead the Osage News to receive the Elias Boudinot Free Press Award. The Osage News has won Best Newspaper from the SPJ-Oklahoma Chapter in their division the past five years, 2018-2022. Her award-winning work has been published in Indian Country Today, The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity, NPR, the Associated Press, Tulsa World and others. She currently resides in Pawhuska, Okla., with her husband and together they share six children, two dogs and two cats.
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