During assembly this Friday, the choir performed several Halloween songs.

 Ms. Osio's class gave a brief presentation about Oak Hill's UNICEF drive starting on Monday.  We ended the assembly by singing and dancing to the Monster Mash.  It was lots of fun!

 

This week at Oak Hill we have been celebrating Red Ribbon Week, which is an opportunity to remind students to live drug free, throughout the year, by focusing on smart, safe and healthy lifestyle options.  Each day was celebrated by wearing "strange" clothes, like wear your shirt backwards, crazy socks, dress like a twin, and today was "Put a cap on drugs".  Below is just an example of some of the hats.  Students were also asked to complete five healthy choice activities from the lunch menu.  Those students received a special prize from Mrs. Caporal.

A tradition at Oak Hill is the 4th grade Halloween Safety Skits.  Fourth graders performed skits in all the primary classes teaching students how to be safe on Halloween.  If you ever get a chance to see the skit, it is really helpful and of course the students did an awesome job memorizing their lines. 

A wonderful tradition at Oak Hill is the Young at Heart reading program for our kindergarten students.  On Tuesdays, volunteers come and read with the students.  You can see the hallways lined with readers.

OHE presented the first musical performance of the year.  Ms. Brown and Mr. Bowers, with support from the first grade teachers, had the first graders singing songs about the weather.  The students had great costumes and props. 

Mrs. Bentley’s class earned extra free time today due to such great 2^nd grade behavior by filling up their jar. They are camping out and reading books.

Mrs. Hernandez’ class also earned a special prize for such great 1^st grade behavior by filling up the jar. The students decided to bring stuff animals to schools instead of watching a movie! 

Due to a scheduling conflict the next Principal’s Coffee must be changed.  The new date is November 12^th at 8:00.  Hope to see you then.

This morning in assembly there was a wonderful musical presentation led by Mr. Bowers and performed by Mr. Cuming’s class.

The district has a goal that each nine weeks all schools will have an attendance rate of at least 97%. Oak Hill’s attendance rate for the first six weeks was 97.5%. Way to stay in school!

The weather for Marathon Kids on Saturday was great! I have always been a huge supporter of Marathon Kids, because it is what motivated me to become a runner. About 14 years ago, I went to run the first lap with my fifth grade class back when it was at Auditorium Shores. I quickly learned that I could not finish the lap. Embarrassed, I decided to do something about it and signed up with RunTex to train for the Motorola Marathon. In 1998, I ran 26.2 miles completing my first - and only marathon. However, that experience taught me that value of exercising and I have participated in other races as well as triathlons since then.

I encourage you to participate in Marathon Kids with your children. The 26.2 miles doesn't have to be completed at one time. You have about 5 months to finish. See everyone at the finish line!

Today I listened to 4th and 5th grade students give campaign speeches for student council positions.  What an absolutely amazing performance to an audience of over 200 people!  There was lots of humor and chanting.  My favorite line was "I have lots of experience.  I was born before the turn of the century."  Obviously this came from one of your 11 year olds.  Although only four students could win a position, I am proud of each and every one of them.  

Here is another must read book, Out of My Mind.  This book is about an eleven year girl who has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak.  I would like to say that it is a 'feel good' book but it isn't.  Actually it made me angry.  Even though the story is fiction, I was frustrated by how a child's potential was hindered due to the views of the society around her (and this book wasn't written in 1899 like the last one).  Obviously this book had a strong impact on me. Actually, I couldn't sleep the night I finished the book because I wanted to make sure that every student here at OHE not only feels accepted but also is challenged.  Plus, I felt that it was my responsibility to help change the perception of society about students with special needs.  With that in mind, here at OHE we have a classroom of three year olds with special needs.  Because there are no other three year olds on the campus to act as peers, we look for peer buddies in the community to enroll in the class.  If you are interested in this program, please contact the school.

On another note, don't forget that Marathon Kids is tomorrow.  I will be at the finish line to congratualate the students.

As I walked classes this week, I was very impressed to see how much technology is being used to teach students.  In one class a teacher was using an iPad for a student who was having difficulty writing letters.  With this application, the student could trace the letter with his/her finger creating the letter.  In another class, the teacher was showing a video from the previous day's lesson.  This allowed the teacher to identify students using correct strategies and vocabulary.

Also while I was observing, I saw teachers incorporating physical activities into lessons like jumping in place prior to moving into a new activity and touching hands to opposite knee while counting.

Another teacher took pictures throughout the week of the students involved in different activities and sent those to parents for them to view.

On another note, spirit night at Chick-fil-A was a huge success.  Lots of families participated. 

Friday was our first cafeteria popcorn award.  By grade level, the classes with the best behavior for the past month won.  There were 8 classes due to ties:  Faulkner, Mendrek, Mays, Fraser, Peterka, Santana, Osio, and Wiley!  Thank you to Mrs. Zierer, Mrs. Spake, and Mrs. Picardat for popping all the popcorn!

Friday was also my second Principal's Coffee.  This is a casual time to meet with me and ask questions related to the overall school.  We are hoping to meet in different locations around the community. Let me know if you have any ideas for locations.