We made it through our first week of STAAR testing. The students did a wonderful job staying focused and putting their best effort forward. I am sure when the results come back the data will show how great they did. The next round of assessments is the last week of April.

Many of you have seen the flags in the cafeteria or have heard the students discussing them. If you would like to keep up with the flags and what we are learning, the information is posted on our website. http://ohepta.org/Our_School_Our_World.html

This week was Wales and Guam. Students, whose families are from those countries, introduced them at assembly today. As I observe the students during these presentations, they appear interested and excited, especially when it comes to the food!

We ended today with our monthly Student Council Spirit Day - Hawaiian Day. There were lots of bright colors and flowers.

The week before testing can always be a little stressful, but here at OHE, we tried to have a little fun.
One of our kindergarten grandfathers is a beekeeper and brought his collection of bees for the kindergartners to observe.





They even were allowed to put on the correct safety gear.

Our kindergartners also performed their annual musical. It was a wonderful performance with lots of personalities.

As many of you have seen, the flags that represent the cultural backgrounds of our OHE students have all been displayed. (Each year we will update the flags with any new countries). During the assembly this morning with the help and support of the PTA's Our World, Our School committee, we kicked off the celebration. Each week with time permitting, a new country will be discussed. Today, we started with The United States of America. Interesting facts were presented like Americans made the first chocolate chip cookie and had the first man on the moon. The students like the cookie fact the best. We also had two girls, Audrey and Isabelle sing the National Anthem while another student, Gabby, accompanied them on the piano. It was an amazing performance.

Please remember that we are testing next week and visitors are not permitted on campus. Thank you.

In Mrs. Lagerquist's class yesterday. Presentations were made as part of a "Wax Museum" where students came to life as the people they studied.

Included were: Danica Patrick, Leonardo Da Vinci, John F. Kennedy, King Tut, Queen Elizabeth, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Adams and Helen Keller to name just a few!

Mrs. Nowakowski Grimm hosted a "Living Museum" with famous people from both the past and present.
Presentations were made to parents and other 3rd grade classes. As explained by a 3rd grade parent, "This was an awesome way to engage the students in history and LA with requirement to read, investigate and "live" people that have made significant contributions to society".

This morning in assembly, the OHE Student Council explained how with the A+ Federal Credit Union students could open savings accounts. The credit union will be here monthly in the mornings so students can make deposits. Please check the Eagle Eye for specific dates.

Also this morning in assembly, students were excited to see all of the flags hanging. It was fun to watch and listen to them as they entered the cafeteria. At lunch today, I was sitting next to a 1st grader. He asked, "Dr. Mitchell, do you know which flag that one is"? He was pointing to France, which I had just learned, so I said yes, France. He explained that France had a city named Paris and in Paris he had seen the Eiffel Tower. He then turned and pointed to "Italy" and said that is where I was born.



During lunch, I learned several things. First, the flags are going to be a great learning tool for the students. Second, many of our students have traveled and been able to experience the different cultures that make-up OHE and they are proud to share those experiences. Thank you PTA for helping to make this happen.

Have a safe and wonderful Spring Break. We will see you back on March 19th.

This week has been exploding with energy in preparations for our PTA Carnival. Plus at assembly Friday, we celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday and Texas Independence Day.

Below Mr. Cumings dressed as Sam to not only celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday but with the help of the Cat in the Hat (Ms. Jodi) they demonstrated the correct way to break confetti eggs.



A special thanks goes to Annemarie Read and Paige Ott for organizing the carnival and silent Auction. The night was a huge success.

This year the silent auction brought in over $15,000! Thank you to everyone who purchased something. I can't wait to find out who gets to be the "Principal for the Day"!

New at carnival was the Petting Zoo. The children loved it. Squealing pigs, rabbits, donkeys, goats and more definitely were the hit of the carnival.

Below are 2 of our first graders who have made it almost to the top of the Rock Wall.

Also new this year was the Hamster Ball. The students loved rolling around inside.

Saturday, the Student Council had their first Neighborhood Clean-up. It was definitely needed after carnival night. Over 30 people came to clean,and Mr. Cumings had to jump in the trash barrel so all the bags would fit.

Members from the Oak Hill Rotary, who is partnering with our student council, also helped clean.

I am not sure we picked up every piece of confetti but we left the grounds much cleaner.

We only have one week before Spring Break and with all the excitement that has just happened hopefully there will be a calm week of learning.

Thank you for all your support. We couldn't do any of this without you.

This week Mr. Cumings' class has been working on measurement. In the pictures below, the students had made paper airplanes and were measuring the flight distance for each one.
Friday was Student Council Tie Day. It was fun to see all the different ties.
This year at OHE teachers have had the opportunity to use a day to plan. We call it a PLC - Professional Learning Community. Part of the reason it has been successful is due to our substitute teachers. Many of whom have been past OHE teachers and substituting for OHE for many years. It is great to walk classrooms with substitutes and still see rigorous learning happening. Below is Ms. Schorr,
Ms. Fritsch,
and Mrs. Ledbetter.

February 29th at 8:00 is my next Principal's Coffee. I will be sharing the Dual Language Program that OHE will offer to students next year. Please come and learn more about the program.

As you have seen in my blogs, OHE celebrated "No Name Calling" week by creating projects using technology. The projects are being posted to our website for your viewing (As long as everyone in the project had permission for it to be posted).

Lastly, next week is carnival week! If you haven't signed up to volunteer, please do. Information is available on our website.

OHE began the week celebrating Valentine's Day. It was great seeing so many family members on campus, and luckily I kept the chocolate to a minimum.

This week we continued with our MOY II testing. 4th graders have now taken the writing, reading, and math assessments. 5th graders have taken the reading and math. 3rd graders take both reading and math next week. The science MOY II will be taken by 4th and 5th graders the following week. Obviously, there have been lots of assessments. Teachers are working diligently to analyze all the results in order to modify instructional decisions and tutoring groups prior to the actual STAAR test. We have about 20 instructional days to make sure that our 4th and 5th grade students are ready. If you have any concerns, please make sure you have set up a conference with your child’s teacher.

Speaking of conferences, Monday is Parent Conference Day.

This week OHE celebrated National Counselor's Week. This morning during assembly Mrs. Caporal was recognized and received wonderful comments from students and teachers.

Last night, OHE hosted our first Family Fitness Night. Families had the opportunity to try Hip Hop, Martial Arts, and Yoga. The instructors were fabulous with the students. They were very entertaining and funny while teaching the techniques associated with the class.

For the past several weeks gymnastics has been the theme for PE. The students have lots of time to practice the techniques and then are quizzed on them.

This week at OHE was Science Fair Week. Projects were completed by every student in 3rd - 5th grades and by class in the primary grades. The older students presented their projects first to their class. Then all projects were displayed in the cafeteria for viewing.

Students who wanted their projects judged for the Austin Energy Regional Science Fair had the opportunity to discuss their projects with community members. I received great feedback from the students. One students said, "Dr. Mitchell, the first time someone came to me I just blurted all this stuff out. But then when the next person asked me questions, I was prepared".

There were about 300 projects on display and about 85 students wanted their projects judged for AERSF. OHE teachers judged those 85 projects and had to narrow it down to only 17! What a difficult job they had. Here are our winners.

I am excited to announce that Mrs. Suzanne Baxter is OHE's 20111-2012 Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Baxter has taught at OHE for 21 years and has so many degrees and certifications that I can't name them all. She has been the GT coordinator for the campus for many years. She received her National Board Certification in 2004 and is now working on her principal certification. Mrs. Baxter exemplfies a life-long learner. She will now move on to the district level for Teacher of the Year. Congratulations and Good Luck!

Thank you to all who participated in our annual Applebee's Pancake breakfast. The school raised lots of money and we enjoyed serving the students breakfast as well.

For those that have driven by the school and seen the A-frame blackboards, they were a gift from one of our parents, Geeta Suggs. It is just another way to help us communicate with you.

First grade is hosting their annual can food drive. They are trying to receive 100 cans of food by the 100th day of school, February 1st. All the food items will be donated to the food bank. If you liked to help, send canned food and label it 1st grade.

I would also like to recognize Oak Hill's participation in the PTA Reflections Project. Previously, I announced how many of our students were moving to the next level. Now, eight of those students are moving to the state level. That is more students than any other elementary school. Congratualations!

In order for OHE to receive our "No Place for Hate" status, there are several steps that must be taken. One step is for each student to sign a "Resolution of Respect" form. These forms will be displayed at the entrance of each class. Another step is hold school level events that address bullying. So next week OHE is participating in "No Name Calling". We will begin the week with an assembly explaining the goal of the week. Each day students will wear different shirts to show support. Additionaly, classes are completing projects related to the theme and some will be shown at next Friday's assembly. It should be a great week.


Next Wednesday is my Principal's Coffee. There will be two speakers. Elaine Morrow will discuss her role as OHE's Campus Parent Representative for Special Education and representatives from Small Middle School will be here to address any questions about 5th graders transitioning to middle school.


Wednesday is also PTA Executive Board. It is the time of year to think about next year's board. If you have been saying to yourself that you want to become more involved with OHE but don't know how, this is a great organized way. If interested, please let me know.

As you have heard me say, the student council this year has been busy. Today Student Council Representatives went to all classes to ask what type of equipment was wanted for the playground. The primary students had awesome ideas. Hopefully, the fundraising efforts will continue and some of their ideas can be purchased soon.

I would like to thank all of you who came out for the Fun Run last Saturday. There were over 100 participants. The bicycle winner, Will D, ran 22 laps! I did half of that.

The 5th grade reading buddies had a great turn out this week. The library was overflowing with students. It was amazing to see all the interactions. Sometimes the 5th grader read and other times the 1st grader was the reader.

We received notice that several of our students' reflection projects moved on to the next level. Check the Eagle Eye for names.

I learned this week that this will probably be the last year for the Dougherty Arts Creativity Club at OHE. They are being reorganized with the Parks and Rec programs and will only be available at city rec centers. If you would like to support this program, there will be a meeting January 26th at 7:00 at the Dougherty Arts Center.

This year, the student council decided to raise funds to improve the playground. They purchased a bay of swings for the big building and new soccer nets. Construction on the swings started last weekend and we are now waiting for the concrete to set. The new soccer nets were installed yesterday.

The PTA purchased a bay of swings for the annex playground. Construction for this area began on Wednesday. This area needs more ground work to be done to add the swings. It should be done soon.



Have a nice 3 day weekend. See you Tuesday!