I am excited to announce that Mrs. Suzanne Baxter is OHE's 20111-2012 Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Baxter has taught at OHE for 21 years and has so many degrees and certifications that I can't name them all. She has been the GT coordinator for the campus for many years. She received her National Board Certification in 2004 and is now working on her principal certification. Mrs. Baxter exemplfies a life-long learner. She will now move on to the district level for Teacher of the Year. Congratulations and Good Luck!

Thank you to all who participated in our annual Applebee's Pancake breakfast. The school raised lots of money and we enjoyed serving the students breakfast as well.

For those that have driven by the school and seen the A-frame blackboards, they were a gift from one of our parents, Geeta Suggs. It is just another way to help us communicate with you.

First grade is hosting their annual can food drive. They are trying to receive 100 cans of food by the 100th day of school, February 1st. All the food items will be donated to the food bank. If you liked to help, send canned food and label it 1st grade.

I would also like to recognize Oak Hill's participation in the PTA Reflections Project. Previously, I announced how many of our students were moving to the next level. Now, eight of those students are moving to the state level. That is more students than any other elementary school. Congratualations!

In order for OHE to receive our "No Place for Hate" status, there are several steps that must be taken. One step is for each student to sign a "Resolution of Respect" form. These forms will be displayed at the entrance of each class. Another step is hold school level events that address bullying. So next week OHE is participating in "No Name Calling". We will begin the week with an assembly explaining the goal of the week. Each day students will wear different shirts to show support. Additionaly, classes are completing projects related to the theme and some will be shown at next Friday's assembly. It should be a great week.


Next Wednesday is my Principal's Coffee. There will be two speakers. Elaine Morrow will discuss her role as OHE's Campus Parent Representative for Special Education and representatives from Small Middle School will be here to address any questions about 5th graders transitioning to middle school.


Wednesday is also PTA Executive Board. It is the time of year to think about next year's board. If you have been saying to yourself that you want to become more involved with OHE but don't know how, this is a great organized way. If interested, please let me know.

As you have heard me say, the student council this year has been busy. Today Student Council Representatives went to all classes to ask what type of equipment was wanted for the playground. The primary students had awesome ideas. Hopefully, the fundraising efforts will continue and some of their ideas can be purchased soon.

I would like to thank all of you who came out for the Fun Run last Saturday. There were over 100 participants. The bicycle winner, Will D, ran 22 laps! I did half of that.

The 5th grade reading buddies had a great turn out this week. The library was overflowing with students. It was amazing to see all the interactions. Sometimes the 5th grader read and other times the 1st grader was the reader.

We received notice that several of our students' reflection projects moved on to the next level. Check the Eagle Eye for names.

I learned this week that this will probably be the last year for the Dougherty Arts Creativity Club at OHE. They are being reorganized with the Parks and Rec programs and will only be available at city rec centers. If you would like to support this program, there will be a meeting January 26th at 7:00 at the Dougherty Arts Center.

This year, the student council decided to raise funds to improve the playground. They purchased a bay of swings for the big building and new soccer nets. Construction on the swings started last weekend and we are now waiting for the concrete to set. The new soccer nets were installed yesterday.

The PTA purchased a bay of swings for the annex playground. Construction for this area began on Wednesday. This area needs more ground work to be done to add the swings. It should be done soon.



Have a nice 3 day weekend. See you Tuesday!

Welcome Back! I hope that you had a wonderful vacation. Mine was great, and I came back in one piece from my skiing trip - just a little sore still.

Even though it was a short week, it quickly returned to normal around here and lots of rigorous teaching and learning took place.

There are several events happening in January. The first one is tomorrow and it is our Fun Run. It was lots of fun watching our teachers this morning tell the students about the event. I hope to see all of you with your running shoes on at the track.

We also have our annual Applebee's Pancake Breakfast on the 21st. When teachers serve you breakfast, the students always want to come.

And don't forget my Principal's Coffee the last Wednesday of the month. This is a great time to ask school related questions and learn more about OHE.

Lastly, we are always looking for reading volunteers. OHE has 2 parent/volunteer run reading programs in the morning. The more volunteers we have the more students we can serve. Below is Mrs. Zierer tutoring one of our students. She also helps organize the program. If you are interested, please let me know.