Tiny Tails To You! Petting Zoo made it to the Annex Cafeteria on Tuesday, even after some heavy rains. Pre-K students had a fun time petting small animals such as: bunnies, chicks, guinea pigs, hedge hogs, a blue tongue skink, bearded dragon and a chinchilla. Some animals were so cozy and soothed by gentle hands, that they fell asleep. Even Mrs. Gerber hopped right in with the fun but chose to stick with the soft fuzzier animals.

 

Ms. Underwood celebrated with students who helped out in the library this year. They ate lunch and watched "How to Train a Dragon" while eating popcorn and cookies.  

Fourth grade performed their western on Thursday. It was a full house at the OHE Corral. Students sang songs about heading West by horse and wagon, locomotive, and steamboat- in search of gold!  They struck it rich with Ms. Brown and Ms. Tobias leading the way!

The afternoon ended with an exciting basketball game (silent auction donation from 2nd grade) between Second Graders, called the "OHE Super Eagles" and the Second Grade Teachers. Coach Shaw led his team to victory.  Great fun was had by all!

Last night was also the AISD Salute - Teacher of the Year Celebration at the Long Center.  Mrs. Steinle, OHE Teacher of the Year; Mr. Gerber, OHE Teacher of Promise, and Mrs. McGregor, OHE Teacher Assistant of the Year were all recognized at the event.

It was an exciting morning at the assembly today with a surprise Flash Mob performance by our No Place For Hate Coalition.

Check out the video below (or on our youtube channel):

Did you know that classes can adopt the chickens for a week and they get to keep the eggs!  This week was Ms. Grotrian's class. Typically, a class receives between 12-14 eggs per week.  The students have named the chickens.  The one with feathers on her feet is Chirp, and she lays green eggs.  Maggie also has feathers on her feet but doesn't lay green eggs.  Tiny is the smallest and lays the smallest eggs.  The class celebrated today with french toast.  

Today after the assembly, was another OHE tradition, the 2nd grade talent show. Many students showed their talents from singing, doing karate, performing a song with sign language, doing gymnastics, telling jokes, playing instruments, dancing and even showing us some magic tricks. These kids are very talented and brave. It is hard to get up in front of a crowd.

A special thank you to Mrs. Nowakowski-Grimm, who filled in as an Administrator this week. You will see her again in the office next week helping while Mrs. Baxter is out.

And yes, it is the last week.  Can't believe another year has gone by.  There are still some teachers that need parents to help for 3 Ring Circus.  Touch base with your teacher if you can help or sign up here. We'd love help anywhere as some classes are in more need than others! Thank you.

On Monday about 60 5th grade Library Club members  and all of the 1st grade classes met for their final Reading Buddy Day. They celebrated with a Beach Blanket Read-O where they took some of their favorite books and their beach towels out to the black top and enjoyed some time reading together. This reading buddy group has met almost once a month this year. At each meeting, small groups gather and share books while they get to know each other. It is great to see the relationships grow as they share a love of reading!
The Library Club members have done a great job this year helping in the library. They have earned points throughout the year by checking their assigned shelf making it neat and displaying books to catch students' interest, helped students in the library find books, ran errands for Ms. Underwood, monitored the hall (and modeled appropriate behavior) during the Pledge and Moment of Silence, and helped during Book Fair. They have been a great group of kids, and they are looking forward to their end of the year celebration next week!

 On Tuesday, Bernadette Nason, was a storyteller on campus.  One 5th grade student described her as "epic".  I learned that means way cool.

 Also on Tuesday, an OHE parent has made it a tradition to celebrate staff members that have been at OHE for 25+ years.  This year we celebrated Mrs. Lynch and Mrs. Faulkner. I think together they had over 50 years of OHE experience!

On Wednesday, Nic a 5th grader, received his Silent Auction Item and ate on stage with Sgt. Mitchell.  He and his friend had lots of fun asking Sgt. Mitchell questions.

 Nic also received another one of his Silent Auction Items on Friday as Principal for the Day.  Here is what he had to say about the experience. "It is fun to be principal for the day. Plus, Dr. Mitchell is  the most awesome principal I have ever seen. Plus, the cafeteria was exhausting with so many questions to be answered by all the kids!"

Thursday evening, we had 5 of our Take Flight students Graduate from the program.  These students have been attending sessions everyday for 2 years!  What an accomplishment!  Plus, a huge thank you to Ms. Ashorn and Mrs. Moody for teaching the program.

Did you know that Mary, the Cafeteria Manger has retired?  Bill, the person who has been substituting while Mary was out, has accepted the position and will be the new Cafeteria Manger.  Please give him a huge OHE welcome the next time you see him.

Did you see the news crew on campus again?  Our gardens are getting lots of press.  This time is was with Mr. Cumings and our Gardening Club.  I'll let you know the air date once we know.

Last week I mentioned that our Music Memory team would be competing on Saturday.  They did great.  Of the 18 team members, we had about 5 perfect scores and lots of 2nd and 3rd place winners.

For those that haven't heard, I will be out for part of the week.  Demetrie and I are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary.  Helping Mrs. Baxter while I am out will be Mrs. Nowakowski-Grimm.  She has been working on her Principal Certification all year and this will give her some great hands-on experience.  (Don't give her too much trouble :))

Can you believe we only have 2 Fridays left of school?!  

This year's student council celebrated their accomplishments for the year Monday.   They completed their last service activity by visiting Querencia Retirement Home and then returning to campus to feast on pizza.  I am proud of our Student Council.  They learn so much about the concept of giving.  Also thank you to the Oak Hill Rotary who partners with the student group and leads them through the year. 

Track club has been rained out many times this year and again on the last day.  But that didn't stop the students from honoring Mrs. Palmer.  Thank you Mrs. Palmer and the other parent volunteers for supporting this program.  I know I cherished my dots for each round I completed. 

Our kindergarten students took a field trip to the Crowe's Nest and had lots of fun.  

As you know, OHE has a wonderful volunteer based reading program for our 1st and 2nd grade students.  Today they graduated.

Soaring 2013-2014

I volunteer in the program also and have learned so much about struggling readers and how to help them.  If you are looking for a way to volunteer next year, this is an excellent way.  Plus you immediately receive the benefits because the student you mentor loves working with you.  If you would like to know more about the program and how it supports our students, here is a video about our program.

For the past several years, two parents have really helped shape, organize and recruit for our SOARING program, Bridget Brown and Kelly Woytek.  Kelly is leaving us next for bigger students.  She was presented with a lab coat with her name on it "Dr. Kelly Woytek". She will be teaching "Viruses" at Texas State in the Fall. And thus ending her 4+ years of heading up Reading Rangers. Thank you Bridget and Kelly!

Tomorrow the OHE Music Memory Team has their competition . I wish them the best of luck.  

Also, it is that time of year that OHE begins collecting books for our summer "Drop and Swap".  Bring in your read books for a new book to read.  

Book Fair week is always fun and full of excitement.  This time was no exception.  It was a definite Fiesta.  Our newly created Ballet Folklorico group danced for the school on Cinco de Mayo and again during Family Night for Book Fair.

 It was also Kinder Round Up, and we met many of the new students that will be attending OHE in the fall.  The students were so excited about being on campus.

Second graders have been studying the Butterfly Cycle.  After making caterpillars in class, they released the 'hatched' butterflies outside.

Also this week, we celebrated Teacher Appreciation.  It is just overwhelming the love and kindness shown for the OHE staff.  We had Rudy's BBQ on Wednesday and massages today.  Plus, without the staff knowing, students with the support of one of our amazing parents, created a video explaining how they felt about their teachers. Students even dressed up in costume to make the video more interactive.

Next week is the STAAR retest for our 5th graders.  We still have a few students needing to pass.  It won't be a No Visitor Week but please be mindful when you are on campus.  

Have a great weekend and have a great Mother's Day.  

Today the following 3rd graders' posters were chosen by La Sertoma.  This project is a tradition for 3rd graders which is aligned to their science TEKS.  Congratulations:  Kiara B, Katie D, Victor G,Eva G, Sarai L, Kelly M, Vivian-A N, Jessica R, Ian S, Sasha T, Olivia T, and Nicole V. We are very proud of you. 

The following students were selected to participated in the district Music Memory contest. Congratulations!
3^rd grade team: Kiara B, Eve, G, Campbell G, Sophia M, Dat N, and Ridley O. 
4th grade team:  Tallulah B, Lucy G, Diego L, Aram M, Sam V, and Hazel W.    
5th grade team:  Alanna A, Ethan C, Leena J, Visahn N, Gabrielle P, and Anya T.                              

During assembly this morning, we honored the OHE amazing volunteers.  Students and Staff were asked questions like, "What is a Volunteer?", "How much money do Volunteers earn?", "What do the Volunteers do at OHE?" and "What would your job be like without Volunteers?" There were some amazing answers, which I quite agree with.  The video is posted on below and on our youtube channel, just in case you can't see it.  It is worth watching.  

Today was also the last Principal's Coffee for the year.  The topic of conversation was "Students and Social Media."   If you would like more information, please refer to the following sites.  

www.stopbullying.gov

www.beforeyoutext.com

www.thinkyouknow.org

With testing this week, it has been a pretty uneventful week.  The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students did a great job on the STAAR test and the primary students did a great job remaining quiet.

I would like to continue to recognize the parents and Boy Scout troop that are helping with the front lawn area.  This has been a huge task, but it looks really great.  I appreciate everyone's support.

Throughout the week, 2nd graders attended a musical of Pinoncchio at the Zach Scott Theater.  One of our own students was in the play.

Today the 5th grade students kicked off the annual Food Drive.  They will be collecting food items for the Austin Area Food Bank.  Each classroom will have a box so all students can support the program.  At the end of the program, the 5th graders weigh all the food and then go and help at the food bank.  It is a great way for our students to give back to their community.

We value our volunteers at OHE and we have AWESOME ones! Please join us on Friday, May 2nd for a special treat to celebrate you!

Can't believe next week begins May and then school is almost over!  Seems like we just started!

Did you know that we have bird houses, built by the students in Gardening Club, hung all around the playground?  If you can locate all 21 the bird houses and identify the type of bird that would use them, I have a prize in the office for you?

Speaking of the playground...have you seen all the work being done in the front?  Wow!  A huge thank you goes out to Sue Lagerquist (former OHE teacher), Beth Thorton, and Sarah McKenna (both parents) for spending countless hours this week shoveling mulch and dirt.

Tuesday was a general PTA meeting and a new PTA Executive Board was approved.  We have several new players, Arati Singh, Esther Williams, and Rosie Truelove. A big thank you to Anne Marie Reed for her leadership as president these past two years.  Also at the meeting, we heard from Dr. Brooks (a current OHE parent) on "Building Self-Compassion in Children".  He identified many strategies both for adults and children that help.

Thursday, the kindergarten students who won the Silent Auction Item, "Kinder Pizza Party" celebrated in the conference room.  Not sure what they were more impressed with, the pizza party or my office!

 A parent of a kindergartner and 4th grader taught yoga to a few of the PE classes.

We ended this short week with an outstanding 2nd grade Fairy Tale Performance.  A huge thank you goes out to the 2nd grade and music teachers!  Did you know that Ms. Tobias rewrote the words to the songs to make them "Fairy Tale" appropriate.  Such talent!

Have a great Easter weekend and don't eat too much chocolate!  Don't forget next week is STAAR testing again, so no visitors on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This week the PTA Silent Auction Winners for "Lunch on Stage with Friends" celebrated.  Thank you to Ms. Pinky for decorating the tables each day.  The students loved it. 

 5th graders went to Hamilton Pool on a fieldtrip this week.  Below is the group project they worked on when they returned.

Mrs. Gerber's class has baby chicks, which they are trying to find homes for.  Let me know if you are interested.

Today was the Student Council "Be an Athlete" day.  So much fun.

If you need plans for tomorrow, the Gardening Club is hosting an "Open Grounds" day.  Heard there will refreshments and a scavenger hunt!

The week of STAAR testing is always a little stressful.  Schedules have to be changed and lessons need to be quiet, which causes everyone to be a little more irritable.  But the 4th and 5th graders did a great job staying focused and all the other students did a great job trying to stay quiet.  Things will go back to normal for two weeks, then we do it all over again.

Thursday, Clint Small and O'Henry Middle Schools were here helping student select instruments for next year.  It was fun watching students "try-out" with the different pieces.  I think it is great they do this.  Who knew you had to have the right kind of mouth to play certain instruments?

If you don't have any plans for Saturday morning, there is a workday here at starting from 8-1.  We need strong arms and expertise to complete our classroom garden area, build new areas, and edge the circle drive. This is a great opportunity to improve our school grounds while building friendships. See you on the back patio!

Have you ever heard of the Pebble Project?  You have probably seen them on campus this week and not realized who they were.   The Pebble Project exists to prevent child abuse and neglect by empowering children to contribute to their own safety.   Each second and fourth grade class received a one-hour workshop by Pebble Project staff and trained volunteers. The heart of the workshop consists of three role-play situations.  Each role-play is followed by group discussion about what happened and what feelings and rights were involved. Staff invite the children to brainstorm how to deal with the situations assertively. Each role-play is redone with the child staying safe, strong, and free.  Throughout the program, children are presented with options available to them in dangerous or difficult situations. They learn about their right to say "no" and to tell a trusted adult in order to get help. If you have a second or fourth grader, ask him/her what they learned from the presentation.

Tuesday was our annual Prospective Parent Open House.  About 50 prospective parents participated in the event and stated that is was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the school and the registration process.  Thank you to Lindsay C. and her committee for organizing the event.

Next week begins STAAR testing.  Please remember that visitors will not be allowed on campus Tuesday or Wednesday so that we can maintain a secure, quiet testing environment for all students.  Our 4th grade students are taking the writing test, and the 5th graders will take the math and reading tests.

With spring in the air, students are beginning to push the boundaries on some of the behavior expectations we have at OHE.  Here are a few reminders:  if students are on campus prior to 7:30 they should be in the cafeteria unless they are eating breakfast, a 5th grade helper, in the morning track club, or in tutoring.  All students need to have a book on them to read at all times.  Students are encouraged to read in the cafeteria until 7:30 when they are dismissed for class.

Speaking of 5th grade helpers, how many of you have been helped by one?  One of the kinder walkers, Carlos, does such an amazing job with these students.  This week one of the student's water bottle leaked all over the floor and inside the backpack.  Carlos took the time to not only clean the floor but helped the little boy dry the backpack out.  Another student, Saskia, helped a little girl who had gotten sick by cleaning her clothes and taking her to the nurse.  These 5th graders are a huge help in the morning.  Please tell them thank you when you see them.

Lastly, have you seen the art work displayed in the front hallway?  The pieces were created by some of our kinder and 1st grade students.  We definitely have some future artists on site!

Don't forget Monday at 1:00 is the rescheduled PTA "Birds and Bees" Presentation.  It will be in the cafeteria.

Have a great weekend. 

Welcome to Spring!!!  So glad the cold weather is gone!  

We began the week with St. Patrick's Day.  I think this was the first year in decades that we have been in school on this day.  It was a sea of green.  

The second graders went to the Austin Aquarium.  I heard that some of the students were able to touch the fish.  That is very cool!

Half the third graders went to the Ladybird Johnson Wild Flower center this week and saw lots of colorful plants.  The next half goes next week.  

We ended the week with the Student Council Sponsored Movie Night.  It was an "Epic" event!

Next week OHE is hosting a Prospective Parent Meeting.  If you know of incoming students, please make sure their parents know about this meeting.  

Have a great weekend.