Friday, September 27, 2013

For the past several days in PE, students have participated in the Child Safety Program presented by the Public Works Dept. COA.  Make sure you ask your child about what safety measures they should be using. 




Also this week, third through fifth graders have been conducting student council elections.  Next week, 4th and 5th grade students will be campaigning for positions on the student council board.  The student council here at OHE complete several service projects throughout the year.  Here is this year's student council:


Last night, at the PTA General Meeting, we were excited to have AISD school board member, Amber Elenz, stop in and say hi. She talked about getting involved and joining your local PTA, and encouraged us to find out more about the Austin Council of PTAs (ACPTA). She said that PTA is a great way to have your voice heard about important topics on education.  


One of the roles of the PTA is to educate parents and to do so, the PTA will have speakers come give presentations on interesting topics. The guest speaker at last night's meeting was Bernadette Noll, author of Slow Family Living. She gave us tips on how to slow down and enjoy family time with just a few tweaks here and there in your schedule. It was very educational and inspiring!

Have a great weekend!


Friday, September 20, 2013

Since the rain is coming down while I write this blog, I’ll take the time to remind you about the importance of raincoats, boots, and/or umbrellas.  There are many times throughout the day students might walk in the rain.  Loading the buses is definitely one of them.  Keeping a little rain poncho in the backpack is a great idea. 


Along with all the wonderful rain, we have also been transitioning two new teachers to OHE.  Karen Spruce is our new 5th grade teacher.  She is coming to us from Barringtion Elementary where she taught 5th grade math.  Prior to that, she taught 4th grade math and science.  She will be part of our new 3-way rotation with Ms. Osio and Mrs. Petty.  Her 5th grade class starts Monday. Denise Reynoso is our new 2nd grade teacher.  She is coming to us from Lucy Read where she just began teaching Pre-kindergarten.  2nd grade letters will go out Monday letting families know of the new position and identifying which students will be in the class.  Her class will begin on Wednesday. 


It is that time of year for PTA Reflections. This is typically not a required activity for most  students, but students are highly encourage to participate.  The theme this year is Dream, Believe, Inspire and the students can do a multitude of different projects types. Check out this link for more information, http://ohepta.org/Reflections.html .

Some of the classes held Student Council representative elections this week other classes will complete them next week. From  those representatives elected in class, the officer candidates will be found.  Student council is a great asset to our school.  We encourage students to participate.

We also finished our “Celebrate Freedom Week”.  Each day during morning announcements, Mr. Cumings would read important facts related to our US Constitution.  We ended the week with the 5th graders singing a song related to the constitution.  




Friday, September 13, 2013

Many of the grade levels are using a new technology program, Class Dojo, as a way to encourage students to work and participate in class. Some grades like 4th grade are using it to determine the Personal Development grades on report cards. Additionally, emails can be sent to parents immediately as to how a student is doing in class. Below is an example of Mrs. Faulkner using the program as her class worked on a writing assignment.
Last year, OHE implemented to the of “Peace Areas” in the classrooms. This is a place students can go to work out problems, to calm themselves down, and/or to just have a quiet place. Below is an example from Mrs. Hernandez’ class.
In Ms. Grotrian’s class, students are recording information related to their class Read Alouds. This is a great way to analyze the literature being read.


We had a great visit with author Rebecca Janni who shared her writing process, her latest story, and a few songs. What fun having Ms. Brown up there singing with her! Mrs. Janni left extra autographed copies at our library for people to purchase. If you are interested, please let Ms. Underwood know.

Next week starts the Beginning of the Year (BOY) assessments for the primary grades. Make sure you ask your teachers about the results from the test.

Also for those of you new to my blog, I give special treats for students I mention or show a picture of in the blog. They just need to come to my office to receive it.

Have a great weekend!

Friday, September 6, 2013

Do you ever sit back on Friday nights and go, "Where did the week go?" That's how I feel writing my blog this week. It’s only the second week of school and already it feels like we have been back longer than that. Maybe because here at OHE we get right into the swing of things and students are already actively learning. I am quite impressed with all the reading, writing and math I’ve seen walking through classrooms. The students appear eager to learn and are really trying to impress their teachers. The week culminated with our annual Ice Cream Social. This is a wonderful, relaxing event outside. It reminds me of a neighborhood block party. Kids are off in the distance (on the playground, soccer field, and/or running the track) while parents are busy saying hi to friends they haven’t seen over the summer and introducing themselves to new parents. It is also a time that “older” students come back and say hi. I think that is one of my favorite things. It’s great to know they want to come back to OHE, and we enjoy seeing how grown-up they have become. Thank you Mrs. Spedale for organizing such a great event. Remember Monday night is Back-to-School for everyone. Be patient! The parking will be extremely limited. So come early and be prepared to walk.