GUEST AUTHOR: MS. KITTREDGE

Blast off with Phonics

Last January, I had the opportunity to attend a professional development training that introduced me to Really Great Reading’s Blast Phonics program for grades K-2. As I sat in the large, brightly lit gymnasium of an AISD high school, I found myself genuinely excited, engrossed, and engaged with only a board full of letter tiles in front of me. This year has brought the implementation of a brand new phonics program into my classroom and with it a true excitement of phonemic awareness.

Blast Phonic’s is a program designed for struggling reading, but is easily adapted for a classroom full of learners. It focuses on building upon phonics and phonemic awareness through hands-on and multi-sensory lessons. This 25-week program, with online components, student kits for building words, and workbooks, thrusts students deep into understanding phonics. 

In my classroom, I have chosen to adhere to Blast’s weekly schedule to keep consistent and routine with my class. Following this schedule has allowed my students to stay engaged, focused, and interested. They have quickly become familiar with our daily, 30 minute phonics lesson that begins immediately after calendar. Each day they sit, immersed, as we work through each student-centered lesson. Throughout each lesson I am in awe as we finger stretch words, identify the number of phonemes, discuss digraphs/trigraphs, and read high frequency words with fluency as they flash upon the screen.

This program’s lessons focus from mastering CVC words to exploring consonant digraphs, two-sound blends, trigraphs, silent e, etc. Each lesson builds upon the last, with constant repetition and review. Each day my class reviews short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, the different between a phoneme and grapheme, etc. They have learned to use key vocabulary through Blast and I see them utilizing it without prompting.

One of the key components of Blast is the student kit. Each student receives a kit that contains letter tiles, sound tiles, and a board for building words. This board can be utilized during whole-group or small group practice. Students are taught early on, with key vocabulary, that each letter or letters will match a sound tile on their board. On Wednesday’s each student grabs their kit from their assigned cubby, brings it back to their seat, and pulls it out, ready for a lesson full of building words.

As we work through our lesson, I walk around my room to monitor as my students finger stretch each word, lay down their colored sound tiles (red is always for the vowel) and then their letter tiles. Fully engrossed, they patiently sit, waiting, ready to share their answer. I have seen so much progress, confidence, and positivity emerge from implementing the Blast Phonics program within my classroom.

Time flies when you are having fun!

What a busy few months and a busy few weeks it has been.  I can’t believe we have just over one more week of school before our Thanksgiving break. I wanted to take a minute to highlight some of the wonderful things that have happened over the last few weeks.

We observed Red Ribbon week by learning why it is important to Say No to Drugs. Students expressed this is various ways: 

 

 

The fourth grade students treated us to a wonderful performance about the state of Texas. They sang many Texas songs and while we were being entertained, we were also learning. I learned a few things about Texas that I didn't know. I hope some of the students did to. 

Last week we had our annual Our World, Our School event. This event is one of the favorite events of our staff and families for the year. We ate some delicious food, visited booths and learned about various places around the world that our families are from, and were entertained by numerous talented performers. 

 

 

On Friday night, Oak Hill supported the Austin High School vertical team at the football game. The students and I were able to run through the Austin High tunnel and then form a larger tunnel for the Austin High School football players to run through onto the field. I know that the students had a great time being on the field and being extra cheerleaders for Austin High. The two Austin High school students pictured below even had affiliations to Oak Hill. One has a brother that attends Oak Hill and the other is the son of one of our art teachers, Ms. Benner. 

Friday is our Fall Fun event.  It looks like the rain is supposed to stop and we hope to have beautiful weather for this day.  I know the students look forward to this fun filled day of activities that get us moving and grooving! It is one of my favorite events of the year. You are welcome to come join us or volunteer for a little bit. We hope to see you there!

GUEST AUTHOR: MS. GRABEL

Remember the Roots

Fall is such an exciting time of year – fun field trips, cooler weather, changing leaf colors, and exciting holidays. Fall is when we build foundations; literally place down roots, put bulbs and transplants in the ground, prepare plants and vegetables for a long winter and their reappearance in the spring. Fall is a time for harvesting and preparing for (re)birth. This same concept is applicable in our classrooms as well.

As a first grade teacher, we spend the first half of the year hammering in phonics, focusing on reading, and preparing our students for a huge growth with the arrival of spring. We create a classroom environment that is safe and nurturing. We help our students with social challenges and encourage them to build friendships with their peers. We teach number knowledge so students can move on to grasp larger math concepts throughout their education. We build the foundations so our children can put down their roots and prepare to blossom, just like our plants in the garden.

I think it is important in every sense to remember our roots. As part of the Gardening Club here at OHE, I’ve seen how important it is for children to have their hands in the dirt and to have something that they can grow and call their own. As a teacher at OHE, I see the same importance in becoming part of a community, a family, a safe place to call “home”. Fall is a time to create new habits, nurture old passions, and pass those on to our children.

We all must remember that without good soil, consistent watering, the correct environment, and a little TLC; nothing will grow. What better metaphor than that of plants and fall to use for the education of our students? The more time we put into building a strong foundation and fostering the roots, the more likely we are to see tremendous growth and transformations when we awake again in the spring. 

GUEST AUTHOR: MS. GARZA

Ms. Garza's lovely new kinder class is kicking off to a great start!

This past week we have been learning all about shapes. These kiddos have gone over numerous shape books including: "Monster Knows Shapes." We then created our monster shape book and it didn't stop there. At the end of the week, I thought it would be a great idea to start the month of October with our very own Jack-o-lantern. We first discussed what type of shapes can be used for a Jack-o-lantern and the students came up with rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles. As I carved the pumpkin, we talked about whether a pumpkin was a vegetable or a fruit, and what you can create with a pumpkin. I then had my wonderful students put their senses to the test and help dig out the lovely pumpkin seeds. They said the pumpkin smelled gross, the insides felt squishy, and the color was orange. Once all the seeds were out, we counted the number of seeds we had....289!! ( That's a lot of seeds!) My class and I voted and came up with the shapes we were going to use for our pumpkin. We decided 2 triangle eyes, 1 triangle nose, and a rectangle mouth. We sure do love our shapes and will continue learning while having fun.

GUEST AUTHOR: MRS. BOND

Whole Brain Teaching In Progress at Oak Hill

Do you remember sitting through class while your teacher stood up front and talked for 45 minutes? When it was time to do an assignment afterwards, was it easy to recall or apply the information? A few of the teachers at Oak Hill remember sitting through those exact lessons and then not being able to retain that information.  We want to do everything we can to change that.  This is why a few of us have adopted a method called Whole Brain Teaching.  

What is Whole Brain Teaching? It is an integrated method that combines effective classroom management with pedagogically sound approaches to student engagement that are effective with a wide range of student learning populations. Basically, like I tell my Second Graders,   “Whole Brain Teaching is using all parts of our brain (our whole brain) to learn and teach each other”.

Mrs. Bentley, Mrs. Hernandez, Ms. Kittredge, Mrs. Thompson, and I all attended a very informative Whole Brain Teaching Conference this summer in hopes to apply this strategy in our classrooms.  We have been very successful so far.  The kids are able to use physical motions, repetition, images, spoken language, and the brain’s emotional core to help with learning. 

This is Mrs. Bond’s Class. The back row is holding the punctuation mark while the front row is showing the motion we do for that punctuation mark. 

Mrs. Bentley’s class is showing us the Place Value Power Pix.  Each subject has a picture, question, answer, and gesture that goes along with it.  All of these come together to allow the students to utilize many different ways to remember the information. 

 These two are showing part of how we do oral writing.  At this age, we are trying to make sure the students are using capitalization, punctuation, and sentence extenders.  He is showing us the motion of a capital letter and she is showing us the sign we use for because.  Students come up with their own sentences and share them with the class.  They use the proper motions while presenting the sentence to us.  This is also reflected in their journal writings.  Since their brain is using multiple ways to remember what to do, it is also applied in their writing. 

Mrs. Kittredge's class reviews the class rules. 

Obviously, there is a lot that goes into Whole Brain Teaching.  I can tell you that the results I have seen are wonderful.  The kids get so much more involved in learning because most of it feels like a game.  They teach their partner’s about what we have just learned.  They apply the skills/concepts we have learned into their everyday work, and then they beg to do more Whole Brain Learning.  

GUEST AUTHOR: MRS. PALMER

Did you know that OHE is a CATCH School?

Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) is a health program that promotes healthy habits and brings a school community together to teach children to be healthy for a lifetime. We recently had our annual CATCH Kick Off Week.

There are 4 key parts to CATCH:

Classroom curriculum

Students are taught the importance of good health behaviors. To accomplish this, health lessons are taught throughout the year. In addition, opportunities for physical activity is incorporated into the daily schedule. Both structured (WOW) and unstructured (recess) physical activities are supported.

Some examples of WOW activities: playing soccer and Gaga

Examples of recess activities.

Marathon Kids is a school-wide fitness program at OHE. All students Grades 1st – 5th are challenged to jog/run 104.8 miles throughout the year during the school day. Pre-K and Kinder students are encouraged to set a goal of 25-50 (or more) miles.

Students jog/run the track for 10 minutes most school days

Physical Education curriculum 

The P.E. curriculum teaches students physical skills and activities.

Cooperative People Alphabet activity from PE class

Nutrition services

Nutrition services prepare and promote healthy food choices at school.

The cafeteria offers healthy food choices including a salad bar option two times a week.

Family and Community

Family and our community encourage healthy habits in the home and community.

What can you expect from OHE’s CATCH Culture?

• Students are offered meals that are nutritious and follow the Dietary Guidelines from the cafeteria.
• Students will participate in Physical Education classes that are interactive and teach the values, knowledge, and skills needed to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle now and for the rest of their lives.
• Physical activity is included in the classroom throughout the day, including WOW, recess, and brain breaks. Recess is offered at all grade levels on a daily basis.
• OHE hosts events and activities that promote healthy eating and physical activity for students, parents and staff throughout the school year.

What can parents do to help support CATCH?

• Send healthy food choices for snacks and/or lunch.
• Encourage drinking water instead of sugar-sweetened drinks.
• Participate in physical activities with your child(ren).

GUEST AUTHOR: MRS. CHOUDHURY

Helping students develop positive self-esteem and confidence include showing them how to be sensitive and empathetic to the identity expressions of their peers.

In social studies, Ms. Choudhury’s fabulous 3rd grade class has been learning about diversity, identity, tolerance and different cultures that exist in our classroom. We read the book “The Name Jar” which is about a little girl from Korea named ‘Unhei’ who accepts her own Korean name and identity.

For Language Arts and Writing, students wrote the origin and importance of their own name. They were amazed to discover different origins of their name…Swahili, Indonesian, Indian, West Bengal, French, Swedish, Mexican, Bangladeshi, Canadian, Belgian and many more. Using technology, students went above and beyond by further researching the origin and meaning of their name.

We talked about and began to understand the meanings of the words Diversity, Tolerance, Culture, Unique, Identity and Acceptance of others, we built a community in the classroom and signed a compact of our “Classroom Rules” based on these words.

My hope is that this lesson will help my students to accept themselves and others for who they are, have respect for each other and build tolerance in the classroom and beyond. They are a great group of students!

Ice Cream Social

On Friday night, we had many Oak Hill families come out to join us at the Ice Cream Social. This was only my second time at the event, but I do think it is quickly becoming one of my favorite events- and I don’t even like ice cream! However, I love seeing the students who do like ice cream- some going back multiple times, the ones who enjoy being able to spend time playing and laughing with their friends,

  
  

and the students who have left OHE, but have come back to visit. Even our chicken friends came to check out the ice cream social!



It is such a "sweet" way to start the year!

   

Thank you so much to our wonderful PTA who works so hard to organize this awesome event for our school. Special thanks to Monica and Ophelia for taking the lead. Thank you also to our wonderful staff who comes out to help serve ice cream at the event. We could not do this without our teachers or the PTA!

 

Parents of 3rd- 5th graders, don't forget that Back to School Night is this week on Tuesday night from 6-7pm! We look forward to seeing you there!

Back to School Night for K-2 is next week on Tuesday, Sept. 20th from 6-7.