Thursday, December 18, 2014

Congratulations to the two OHE Lego Robotics teams Stormdragon & RoboKnights who competed this past weekend and have earned a place at the next level, the Central TX FLL Invitational Championship.  Good Luck!






At the AISD Board Meeting Monday Night, OHE was recognized for our results on STAAR last spring.  OHE earned 3 out of 6 possible distinctions:  Postsecondary Readiness, Academic Achievement in Reading/English Language Arts, Academic Achievement in Science.  Way to go students and teachers.  

5th graders attended a performance at Zach Scott Theater.  Although the students were there to see others perform, I heard our own Mr. Cumings was on stage.  (I know the picture is bad because pictures weren't supposed to be taken, but who could resist).  


Phil Bildner was here Wednesday and presented students with lively advice on how to become a better writer.  It was encouraging to hear that even a professional author had to rewrite one of his books 21 times!  (That makes me feel better about all the rewrites for my dissertation!)






Our own Jackie Grotrian has been nominated by one of her students for the "My Teacher Rocks" contest.  Help keep her in the lead by going to the link below and voting for her!
http://austinsmilefixer.com/fun-stuff/contests-events/

And of course to everyone who helped make this holiday season so special for our students.  The food and activities for the classroom parties was just amazing.  






To see our Hip Hop Dancers and Ballet Folklorico Dancers performance during assembly this morning, the link is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsQGMSwMrf0&feature=em-upload_owner
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOK3WTQUTqE&feature=em-upload_owner
This is such a wonderful community.  Every time I walked into my office this week another treat was waiting for me!  Thank you so much for remembering me.  I wish each of you a very relaxing and joyful holiday season.

Friday, December 12, 2014

What an exciting week for 5th graders.  They began the week by attending a UT Basketball game.  I heard some students and teachers were selected to participate in the half time show.  Can you find them?

The next day that performed their Holiday Production three times!



Mrs. Fralin even found time to complete a science lesson on Newton's 3rd Law.  Do you know what that is?  If not, ask a 5th grader.




3rd graders took their annual trip to the Nutcracker.  It is so much fun seeing all the students so dressed up.


Student Council began wrapping items donated to the Giving Tree.  Families in need will pick them up next week.



The Flying Machine Theater was also here.  Students were introduced to the drama form of improvisation and got to be part of the show by telling the actors what to do  next in the play, Fairly Silly Fairy Tales. Hideout Theater offers children show every Sunday at 2:00 and students can sign-up for improv classes.




The Soaring Eagle Choir went caroling.  They went to Central Market and AMD.


Did you know that the OHE teachers use a computer program called GoNoodle?  Our own Ms. Siller was the top teacher of the district this past week for logging the most time with her students using the program.


Next week brings lots of excitement and usually lot of visitors to campus.  Please make sure you give yourself enough time to park as well as check in at the office.


Friday, December 5, 2014


OHE celebrated College Week.  Besides wearing college t-shirts everyday, classes created banners representing the wide selection of college opportunities students have.  Each grade level had a winner:  PK- Cabrera, K - Roberts, 1st - Hamburger, 2nd - Kennedy, 3rd - Grimm, 4th - Dawson, and 5th - Osio.  Mrs. Robert's kindergarten class was the Grand Champion.  



The OHE Student Council kicked off their Giving Tree Campaign this week.  There are over 200 items representing the different needs of families within our Oak Hill Community. Please stop by the front office to offer support to a family in need.  They also are gathering coats for "Coats for Kids".  You can drop off coats in the front hallway.  




The "Sir Readalot's Castle" overtook the OHE library this week.  The Family Night Extravaganza was awesome with appearance from Clifford, Santa, and our own Soaring Eagles Choir.  Thank you to all the many volunteers that help make this event happen.



Each 4th grade classes went to the Westcave Preserve. I heard it was beautiful and that students fully enjoyed the experience.






Don't forget to use the link at the top of our website if you are shopping on Amazon... up to 12% of your purchases comes back to OHE! Tell all of your family and friends too!  What an easy way to support OHE.

Another huge thank-you to the PTA Teacher Appreciation Committee.  The staff was met today by the Chocolate Cup and all had a great cup of coffee!

Don't forget that Monday is Green  Apple Deposit Day.  That is when A+ Federal Credit Union is on campus and students can deposit money between 7:15 - 7:45.

Lots going on next week.  5th Grade Performance, 5th Grade Field trip, 3rd Grade Field trip, Choir Field trip, and an assembly with the Flying Theater Machine. 


Tuesday, November 25, 2014

I would like to thank those of you who brought pies for the staff.  It is truly appreciated.  I am going home with a large pecan pie!

Mrs. Gerber's PK class celebrated an "Around the World Feast" today.  Almost every parent made food from where they are from.  Everything was made by hand! Every student had to at least try a bite and all of them tried something new! The parents in the class were excited to share their food!


3rd grade attended a field trip to Laguna Gloria.  They toured the museum and made projects.



When we return, Book Fair is upon us.  Please make plans to stop by during the day or come and shop during one of the Family Nights.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the time together.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Last Friday we hosted our 3rd annual OWOS event.  Check out www.AustinFamily.com to see the write up about it!

This weekend, the OHE Gardening club will be featured on KLRU's Central Texas Gardener. The episode entitled "Bringing Nature Home" highlights biodiversity and how OHE students are making hands on connections with nature. The program will air on KLRU : Saturday, November 22nd at noon & 4pm; Sunday, November 23rd at 9am; and Monday, November 24th at 5:30am. The entire program is online at www.klru.org/ctg and http://pbs.video.org.   Here's just Oak Hill's segment on Central Texas Gardener's Youtube channel:  http://tinyurl.com/l9oe5tk AND in the blog:
www.klru.org/ctg/blog  Thank you Mr. Cumings for encouraging our students and helping them to understand the importance for "Bringing Nature Home"!

Another huge thank you goes to Mrs. Mauldin and Mrs. Suggs along with the 40th  Anniversary Team!  It was an awesome celebration of the 4 decades OHE is been at this location.  Each student had a role to play as well as previous principals and staff.  Did you know that we have current staff members that actually attended OHE as students?!  Some of the time capsule submissions  by the grade-levels included Wonder by R. J. Palacio,  an iPhone, Legos, a screen-shot of  the Minecraft video game, and a poster from the movie "Frozen".  Time Capsule items were submitted to be opened at the next OHE Anniversary Celebration so that future OHE students can see what was popular with students  in 2014.  The previous time capsule is on display in the front hallway.  Here is part of the video.  The rest will be added shortly.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHl9o7xAVVg&feature=youtu.be


 OHE Alumni...
Third graders end their multicultural unit by making 'Stone Soup'.  They compared different versions from around the world and will create a map for each.


Please remember that OHE will be donating the Lost and Found items to charity on Tuesday.  If you are missing something, please come and look before we leave for vacation.

Next week is just a 2 day week and Pajama Day is Tuesday.  Don't forget!!

Friday, November 14, 2014

We are off and running with Middle of the Year Benchmarks (MOY).  4th and 5th graders started this week with writing and science tests.  Next week, along with 4th & 5th graders, 3rd graders will all take the math and reading MOYs.  Although these tests aren't as long as STAAR, they do assess the curriculum that has been taught.  Therefore, results help us determine what needs to be retaught and to which students.  You should receive the results within the next few weeks.  

The younger students had the opportunity to watch a performance by the theater group from Bowie, I think it was called "Little Mermaid".  It was a dynamic performance.


Today, the Oliver Foundation, awarded the school with a $3000 check to support our PE department's healthy choices initiative.  Ms. Ashorn's class was excited to receive the check!


Speaking of grants.  Did you know that OHE has received almost $40,000 in grants already this year?!  The district is recognizing OHE on their monthly good-news program Inside AISD which is cablecast on AISD TV, on the AISD TV blog AND posted to the main AISD webpage!  The "stand alone" video about Oak Hill's grant program is on-line here :
http://vimeo.com/channels/aisdshorts/111109538

And a huge thank you to Sally Coleman and her Our World, Our School Celebration.  I remember 5 years ago, when this was just a seed of an idea with Sally.  Now we are 3 years strong!  Thank you to all who performed, to those that had booths, and to those that brought food.  It was a great experience traveling through the countries.




If your free tomorrow morning and like the cold, OHE could use some help winterizing the gardens.

Stay warm!

Friday, November 7, 2014

Last week I forgot to thank the wonderful volunteers that provided the staff with a Soup Lunch.  It is one of our favorites.  We all have fun tasting the different soups!

Did you know that some of the AISD School Buses have cameras on the outside of them to catch drivers who are not stopping when the school bus puts on the their red lights?  On average, these buses catch at least 2 drivers per route not stopping!  Right now this is just a pilot program but could be implemented in the near future.  So make sure you are stopping when school buses have their lights on red.  Heard it was a pretty hefted fine.

Our PK Team attend their conference this week.  This was made possible by the financial support of our PTA and school partners.  It was a great experience for them.
Wednesday is Picture Retake.  If you weren't satisfied with the first picture, just return them and let your child's teacher know you want retakes.

Monday is the last day for our UNICEF fundraiser.  If you still have the UNICEF box at home, please send it Monday.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, October 31, 2014

I know every week I say there are a million things going on here at OHE.  And this week was no exception.  Each day we celebrate Red Ribbon Week.  Monday was Crazy Hair Day.  I don't know about you, but these are some crazy hair dos.



 
 Thursday was "Put a Hat On Drugs".
Friday, "Come as a Book Character".







Bilingual Storyteller and Bluebonnet award winning author Joe Hayes visited OHE on Monday. Students enjoyed learning how he turned something he loved hearing and doing into a job that has lasted for over 35 years for him - telling stories. He left us with a good message of "You never know until you try!". Hopefully some of our young storytellers came home and retold the tales they heard to someone new to keep the stories going! If not ask about the ant (K-2) or salt (3-5) and sit back and enjoy the story!


First graders went to the Nature Center and Zilker Park.  It was their first field trip of the year. 

 Digging for dinosaurs...



Second graders went to Inner Space Caverns. I think it is one of the favorite field trips student take,


Wednesday our Reflection Winners were announced.
OHE 2014-2015 Reflections Winners

LITERATURE AWARDS FILM PRODUCTION AWARDS
First……………………Emma
First……………………Miles
Second…………………Janani
Third……………………Sanmay
First……………………Norah
Intermediate Second…………………Brook
First…………………….Ali
First…………………….Sophia
PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
First…………………….Reichen
First…………………….Raelen
First……………………William
Second………………….Nautica
Second…………………Christopher
Second………………….Kelly
Third…………………...Marly
Second………………….Richard
Second………………….Rebecca
First……………………Xander
Third……………………Rebecca
First……………………Raelen
Third……………………Rebecca
First……………………Richard
Third……………………Rebecca
First……………………Karina
Third……………………Rebecca
Second…………………Richard
Second…………………Nicholas
MUSIC COMPOSITION AWARDS
Second…………………Reichen
Primary Second…………………Kiara
First…………………….Annika
Third…………………..Jack
Third…………………..Oliva
DANCE CHOREOGRAPHY AWARDS
 VISUAL ARTS AWARDS
First…………………….Amelia
Intermediate First……………………Lauren
First…………………….Raelen
Second…………………Emma
Third…………………..Torin
First……………………Aja
Third…………………..Eva
First……………………Arisha
 Third…………………..Rebecca
First……………………Kelly
Third…………………..Rebecca
First……………………Taymour
Third…………………..Diego
First……………………Taymour
Third…………………..Angela
First……………………Robby
Third…………………..Nell
First……………………Katie
Third…………………..Mayah
First……………………Nicole
 Third…………………..Atzin
First……………………Sophie
Third…………………..Anna
First……………………Alexix
Third…………………..Aidan
Second…………………Andrew
Second…………………Campbell
Second…………………Rodrigo
Second…………………Matthew
Second…………………Jesus
Second…………………Sophie
Second…………………Kiara
Second…………………Sophie
Second…………………Kate
Second…………………Claire

I am so proud of each of the students that entered.  There were some great projects and tearful stories.  A huge thank you to Shawna and Betsy for organizing the event!

In Mrs. Robert's Kindergarten class, they counted pumpkin seeds. The medium  pumpkin had 418 seeds. Everyone estimated how many they thought would be in the large pumpkin. There were 480! The closest guess was 476! They counted by 10's and put groups of 10 cups of 10 into a 100 cup until we ran out of seeds. It was a fun math activity.


Third Graders have spent the past few weeks learning about Dia de los Muertos. The altars can be seen all over the school.  Their culminating activity was to watch the new movie "Book of Life", which is based on this Mexican tradition.  


Our Ballet Folklorico also performed a traditional Veracruz dance.


Did you know that some of our 5th grade classes "Buddy" with Pre-kindergarten students and help them read?



UNICEF boxes were sent home this week.  This is an annual service project at OHE for our 5th graders.  Their goal this year is $2000 so if you are Trick-or-Treating today, don't forget the UNICEF box!  

Be safe and stay warm!