Friday, October 25, 2013

Yesterday OHE had the privilege to hear from Nicholas Rodriguez.  Currently, he is performing in Les Miserables at the Zach Scott theater along with a current OHE student, Will S.  I have always enjoyed seeing previous students and learning what they are doing now.  To know that someone from little ole’ OHE has performed on 6 continents, is just impressive- especially since he left OHE in 86!  His first grade teacher, his Assistant Principal, and art teacher (Ms. Cantu) were all here to show their support.  He was great with the students and really encouraged them to ask questions. He explained to students how he went from OHE to Broadway.  He indicated that it began here at OHE in 4th grade which was his first stage performance but that it was all his experiences that helped him know what he wanted to do.  

Nicholas with his first grade teacher.

 Nicholas with me.
 And Mrs. Faulkner
 And with his co-star, Will S.
 And with Ms. Grotrian's Class.



That is one of the things that makes this campus unique – all the experiences provided for our students.  Just read through the previous blogs and the rest of this one just so see all the different experiences OHE students receive. 


Second graders ventured to Inner Space Caverns this week.  Not sure what they were more excited about, the cave or rocks they purchased.




 The Oak Hill Rotary distributed school supplies during morning assembly. The student council was there to receive all the supplies. 


 Next week begins our annual, “Trick or Treat for UNICEF” drive.  Be on the lookout for UNICEF boxes coming home.

The school has been busy implementing many of the schoolyard habitat grants we received.  This week 5th graders with lots of volunteer and KAB support built 10 plant containers.  There will be two containers for each grade level.  Grades are determining now what type of plants to plant.  Tomorrow to support “Make a Difference Day”, students, teachers and volunteers will be on campus continuing our habitat efforts. Come on out.  We would love all the help we can get. 
Did you know that OHE students have the opportunity to run the track several times a week?  Depending on their age, they can run before school from 7:15-7:30 and after school on Fridays.  There were over a hundred students/teachers/parents running the track last week. 


Check out the Eagle Eye this week for its “Did you know” question.  

Friday, October 18, 2013

As teachers held conferences on Monday, the PTA Teacher Appreciation Committee hosted a Soup Luncheon for us.  It was a yummy treat.  Thank you to everyone who made soups.  

Wednesday was “Wear Orange for Bully Awareness”.  It was a sea of orange.



With the support of the PTA Grant Committee, Mr. Cumings won the State Farm Grant. The money will be used with the Gardening Club to support the efforts of our butterfly garden and restore some of the bird habitats in the area.    

 3rd - 5th grade students participated in the Austin Jazz Workshop.


I would like to say thank you to Mrs. Castaneda, who helped us out this week in the cafeteria while Pinky and Janelle were out.  THANK YOU!!!!

The 1st grade reading program - Reading Rangers is still needs volunteers to work with the students.  We only ask for 30 minutes once a week.  I have participated in this program for three years.  The student I tutored my first year is now a third grader.  One wouldn't think that working with a student just thirty minutes once a week would make a difference, but it does. The student I tutored came to me last week and said, "Dr. Mitchell I miss reading with you.  I think you are my best friend!"  Wow, to have a student say that to you makes it all worth while.  Let me know if you would like to help.  


Friday, October 11, 2013

Today was the first Student Council Meeting.  This is when the new officers are sworn into office.  The neat thing about this event is that the Past Student Council President swears in the New Student Council President.  It is always fun to see previous students.  Thanks Kael for coming back.  Stay stunned for this year’s Spirit Days.  There are some great ones!




Earlier this morning one of our parents sent the following email related to our OHE gardens.  Because I know the hard work that has gone into and continues to go into these gardens, I thought it was important to share.  “Dropping my kindergartener off at Assembly today gave me the chance to pause at some of the beautiful native gardens by the main building. I love how bright and beautiful blue mistflower gets this time of year, and looking at it made me wonder if there was tropical milkweed as well since the mistflower is a food plant for Monarch butterflies, but the milkweed is a food plant for the Monarch caterpillars. Lo and behold, not only did you have the milkweed a couple of plants over but there were several caterpillars chowing down! They were big and plump and will be heading to chrysalis stage soon. I took a couple of shots to share with family and thought I'd share with you in case there was a way to let teachers and students know to keep an eye out (attached). It's Monarch migration season and they are on the decline this year. It is fantastic that Oak Hill's gardens are helping this population as they move south to their wintering grounds in Michoacán, Mexico! Way to go Oak Hill Elementary and the parent volunteers who made these gardens possible!”  Thank you Grounds Committee, Gardening Club, and Teachers.

Monday is Parent Conference Day.  If you haven’t scheduled your conference time, please get with your child’s teacher.  We will see you back on Tuesday. 

Friday, October 4, 2013

Did you know that OHE has an Outside Classroom?  At the back corner of the playground, a classroom has been created.  Classes are able to take the learning outdoors.  Below is Ms. Smith’s third graders.
 Mr. Cumings also took his 4th graders out during writing time so they could edit their papers. 


One of the OHE Lego Robotics team is working on a campaign slogan for tornadoes. Sgt. Mitchell was asked to speak with the team.  Over the course of Sgt. Mitchell’s career as a Police Officer, he has had to help get people to safety during some of the local tornadoes.  He was able to provide some important tips to the team.
Our Reading Rangers and SOARING Reading tutoring programs began this week.  These programs support students in 1st and 2nd grades.  It was exciting meeting my two first graders.  OHE is fortunate to receive UT HBSA students that help with our 1st graders. 

Have you seen the updates to our chicken coop?  Ben S., an Eagle Scout candidate added an additional fence around the coop.  He has added a bench and repainted the bus lines too.  Thank you.  By the way, one of our OHE chickens has laid the first egg!





In Mrs. Bentley’s class this week, students participated in experiments related to solids, liquids, and gases.  





This is Hispanic Heritage month.  Ms. Underwood has set up a display in the library of books for students to come check out and learn more about Hispanic Heritage.  The dates of Hispanic Heritage Month are September 15 through October 15th.  Several countries celebrate their independence day during those weeks: México, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The celebration also includes October 12th, Columbus Day.  Many of the books are bilingual in Spanish and English.  Stop by and check out a book.



This is also Bullying Awareness Month.  (Bet you didn’t know there was a month for that!)  AISD Police Officer Gary spoke during assembly this morning.  He gave tips to students as to what to do if they were bullied or even if they see bullying happening.  This is a great time for you too to speak to your children about the topic of bullying.  Ms. Ahumada, our counselor, will also being conducting lesson in the classroom related to bullying.   To help spread the awareness, we encourage students wear orange on Wednesday, October 9, which is "Unity Day." "Unity Day" is a day where we all become one and take a stand against bullying. Let's all wear orange and show our support for kids who are bullied! 


We finally have our 2013-2014 OHE Student Council Board.  Ben W. is President, Josh M. is Vice President, Brooke W. is Secretary, and Caroline L. is Treasurer.  I am so proud of these four students as well as the other 16 students who ran for a position.  I know the Student Council will continue to do great things this year.