Student Council elections were held this week. The students that ran for office did a wonderful job presenting their speeches.  I was so impressed with how they stood in front of their peers and told them why they wanted to be an officer and why the students should vote for them. It takes a lot of courage to talk in front of others. They should be so proud of themselves!

On Friday, during assembly, Oscar the Grouch reminded the students about how they can help the environment by composting at lunch time. Mr. Cumings and I did our best Oscar the Grouch impressions to help the students be earth friendly and compost their food and milk cartons and throwing all plastic containers and bags in the trash can.  We will continue to remind the students periodically to help Oak Hill be earth friendly and to help our trash lines at lunch time go a bit faster. 

Time is flying! This week, we are closing out the month of September and looking ahead to the many wonderful activities that October will bring. I can't wait! 

This week began the kickoff of CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health). At Oak Hill, we will be highlighting the idea of being a CATCH MVP campus.  M stands for moving around and staying active. V stands for valuing healthy eating.  P stands for practicing healthy habits. Throughout the week, Fuel Up to Play 60 team members encouraged OHE MVPs to use a variety of ways to stay active and healthy.  Our FU2P Team was introduced to the campus at our Friday assembly.  Here is a picture of one FU2P team member giving a healthy tip on the morning announcements and the FU2P team at assembly. 

Track club is also starting this week and Wake up Workouts have also been in full swing on Tuesday  (1st, 3rd, 5th) and Thursday (2nd, 4th) mornings. We encourage all students to eat healthy and get at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day.  To help kick off CATCH, students and staff dressed like MVP's on Friday. Here are some great photos:

 

 

Some students also viewed a presentation by Safe Route to Schools reminding and teaching our students about pedestrian and bicycle safety.  This presentation is scheduled for all  K - 5 students through their PE class. If your child did not get the presentation this week, then they will see it soon. 

 

On Thursday the Pre K, Kindergarten and 1st grade classes viewed a special presentation by the Barn Hill Preserve. They got to visit with a baby joey, a snake, an armadillo and a bearded dragon. The students had a great time. Hopefully the animals did too. 

This week, we also added a new pet to the OHE family. A baby bunny was found on the track and will be cared for by Ms. Hunter's class in 3rd grade until it is ready to survive on it's own. 

At assembly on Friday, the students celebrated the technology being up and running after construction by dancing to a Go Noodle video. They were moving and grooving and getting their brains awake for a full day of learning (sorry, it's a bit dark!). 

We are in the last days of our PTA drive. If you would like to support the school and join the PTA and/or contribute to the No Hassle Fundraiser, please do so very soon! Every student in the school benefits from your generous donations. With this money, the PTA is able to help the school with extra programs and materials that enrich the learning of every child in the school. Each and every donation is appreciated no matter how big or how small. 

Wow! What a busy and great week! 

Ice Cream Social/ Sept 11 Remembrance

The Ice Cream Social on Friday night was a blast! Even though we had to move it indoors due to nearby lightning, it was a huge success. I enjoyed meeting many new families and watching the students, parents and teachers dance to the DJ. The ice cream and toppings were delicious. What a fun community event!
Here are some of my favorite photos:

This event would not have been possible without the hard work of our event chairs, Jamie Garcia and Rosie Truelove, as well as the many volunteers that signed up to help out. Thank you for the time and effort that was put into planning and working at this event.

At noon on Friday, we recognized Patriot's Day by joining in the simultaneous singing of the National Anthem with thousands of other students all over the country. It was a nice way to honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11th. 

The PTA was also recently recognized as a National School of Excellence. This honor is only given to 170 schools across the country and only 11 Texas PTA's received this award. Oak Hill was the only school in AISD! Your hard work, dedication, outreach and inclusiveness help to make this PTA truly successful. We have a wonderful partnership between the school and the PTA! Please consider becoming a PTA member and donating to the No Hassle Fundraiser to help our school continue the work that we do. Any amount helps and every dollar raised goes to benefit the school and your children. The PTA helps fund enrichment activities and materials, field trips, and technology. Thank you for your support. Here is the link to the article on the PTA Excellence award. https://www.austinisd.org

I continue to be inspired by the wonderful support at Oak Hill and know that I am so lucky to part of such a wonderful place.

This week was another great week at OHE!  Thank you for supporting your students and coming to learn about their classes at Back to School Night.

As I walked to classrooms this week, I observed the students hard at work and eager to learn. I saw lessons in every subject area and listened to many wonderful discussions being had by the students.

One of my favorite things to do as I walk around visiting classrooms is to view all of the wonderful student work displayed in the hallways and the rooms. It gives me insight into how the students think and helps me to learn more about them.

Kindergarten is studying letters and used the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to help introduce this concept and then the students made their own coconut trees. Some of the first grade classes did a writing activity called "the best part of me is..."  Students had to pick what they thought was the best part of them and then explain why they picked that part. What a great way to build self esteem!

In assembly on Friday, we received the results of the summer reading challenge. Oak Hill met the goal and read 2502 books over the summer! Way to go! I look forward to participating in the challenge next summer. Some of the winners for the grade levels are pictured below. 

Next week, we will begin our Student of the Week Awards at assembly. 

Don't forget that we have the Ice Cream Social this coming Friday, September 11. We hope to see you there! Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the extra day off on Monday.  Tuesday morning begins another great week of school!