Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

This time of year is always a good time to reflect on the many things that we are thankful for. This year, I can add being a part of this wonderful school to my list. I am extremely thankful to be here each and every day! I enjoy walking through the classes and the hallways and seeing the smiling faces of our students. This school has such a warm feel to it and I know that it is because of the amazing students, faculty, and parents at Oak Hill. I am so thankful for the many volunteers who give of their time to help our school and our students to have fun and to learn. We could not do it without you!

Speaking of volunteers... did you know that we have THREE volunteer Reading programs at OHE that help our primary students sharpen their reading skills? These programs require dedicated volunteers that give their time once, twice or as many as 5 times a week to help our students. One of these programs has been around for 25 years!  Here are some pictures of the Soaring Reading, Reading Rangers and the Young at Heart Reading programs. We are thankful for their time and dedication.

 

 

 


Last week and this short week, contained many exciting events. Fourth and fifth grades attended the UT Women's Basketball game. I'm not sure who had more fun- the students or the parents?
 

 

The second grade students had a visit from KEYE meteorologist Collin Meters to kick off their weather unit.













We celebrated the students who participated in the empty bowl project
and the students who were recognized by their teacher for showing Respect, our SEL Word of the Month.

We have a great group of students, parents, and teachers! I am so thankful to be a part of such a caring and involved community.

I wish you all a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope that you enjoy the break and the time with your family and friends.


Friday, November 20, 2015

GUEST AUTHOR: MS. KITTREDGE
 
As the weather gets cooler, or as we refer to it in Texas, ‘less hot’, the leaves begin to turn brown and fall of the trees, and our first graders’ settle into the routines and daily life of first grade, we begin to turn our attentions to the holiday season. With Thanksgiving fast approaching and Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza celebrations following, our Social Studies TEKS in first grade focus heavily upon holidays and their traditions.

In both my classroom and Ms. Hernandez’s, we have been discussing Thanksgiving and the things in our lives that we are thankful for. This type of open dialogue always brings such positive and heartwarming conversations. My students discussed how they are thankful they have basic needs like food, water, and shelter. Some shared they are thankful they have an older sister or younger brother to play with. One student expressed that she was thankful because she has ‘the best bus driver ever’. After our talks, I thought a great way to visually show how thankful we are was to create a thankful tree. To start, each student was given three leaves. On each, they were able to write something they were thankful for. Following our lesson I began assembling our tree. As I stapled my student’s leaves onto the tree, I read each, and reflected. It was amazing to read each of my student’s personal thanks. They were able to express in just a few words what they are grateful for and what makes them happy in their lives. This activity was not only a great precursor for all of our holiday discussions, but also a rewarding one.  So next time you have a spare moment, I invite you to come by the first grade hallway to view our thankful tree and read some of the things our first grade students, at OHE, are thankful for.
 



Sunday, November 15, 2015

Our World, Our School

Our World, Our School was Friday night and I heard it was a WONDERFUL event. Unfortunately, I did not get to attend because I got strep throat and had to be out on Friday and was not supposed to be around anyone. Horrible timing, but I was able to see the pictures on Facebook and experience it a little bit. The turnout was incredible and the performers looked so entertaining.  It was very nice to see everyone dressed up to represent their culture and I'm sure the food was amazing. A big thank you to our outstanding event chairs who worked so hard to make this event happen and to everyone who helped out or manned a booth during the event. You can check out pictures of the event on Facebook and here are a few good ones as well.
 

 



 

On Tuesday, this coming week, we will have the Reflections Awards at 6pm. Come take a look at all of the amazing artists that we have at OHE!

We do have school on Monday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday, Nov. 24 before the Thanksgiving break. Don't forget that Nov. 24 is our school wide pajama day. I can't believe that it is time for Thanksgiving already! It truly seems like the first day of school was just a week or so ago. Time is flying, but we are learning something new every day and having a great time doing it!




Monday, November 9, 2015

Fall Fun Day

Friday was such a blast! We finally got to have the Fall Fun day and spend some extra time being active and having fun at the same time. Coach Palmer and Coach Shaw worked so hard to organize this for the students. They had a plan for every weather possibility which took a lot of extra time and planning. We thank them for their dedication! We also could not have done it without the almost 75 volunteers that gave their time to help run stations or organize volunteers. Thank you so much! 
As I walked around to the various stations, the thing that impressed me the most was how respectful and cooperative all of the students were playing together. I even got to play a few games with some of them. That was fun! Rather than me just tell you about the fun, here are the pictures to prove it. 


 


 

 

 

We are looking forward to a great week of learning this week and Our World, Our school on Friday evening. Be sure to come join us- it will be great! 

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Wow! What a fun and busy week!

This week sure was full of crazy things! We had crazy hair, crazy costumes, crazy hats, and crazy weather. Here are some awesome pictures from the week: 





On Tuesday this week, second grade had a visit from the fire department and learned about how to be safe in a fire and what the job of a fireman is.
On Wednesday, Ms. Faulkner's class got a special visit and story from State Representative Donna Howard. 

On Thursday, second grade visited Longhorn Caverns to learn about land formations and how the earth changes over time.
Also on Thursday, the fourth grade team visited the Bob Bullock Museum to learn more about Texas History. This is an important part of the 4th grade curriculum. 

 

On Friday, we started the day with an OHE Halloween tradition, the Monster Mash. 

The Soaring Eagle Singers sang some awesome songs for us and the hip hop club performed a wonderful dance. It was great!
Some of the third grade students made a video to share with the school about Dia de los Muertos "Day of the Dead", an important Mexican tradition. They did such a great job! You can see the video here. Dia de los muertos video

We also celebrated our Empathy winners on Friday. They were seen by their teachers displaying empathy throughout the month of October. We had a lot more students that got their names on the wall. We have such a great group of caring students!
Finally, we ended the week with rain storms, tornado warnings, and puddles galore! It was crazy weather! Rest assured that all students and staff were safe during the storms. We have practiced for this and the campus did a great job. 

You can see more pictures and videos of the fun on the OHE facebook page. Be sure to check it out!

Phew- what a great week! I hope your kids had as much fun as I did!