I am not sure how one school can fit so much into one week but we did especially our 5th graders.

The week began with OHE’s 5th grade All City Choir students performing at Choralfest. I heard it was an amazing experience and the singers did a great job too.

5th graders also participated in a presentation from the Magnet Middle Schools and learned what each school has to offer.  5^th graders can either attend 6^th grade at their assigned Middle School or if selected they can attend a magnet school.

Then on Wednesday, Mrs. Wiley’s class performed a dance to Thriller.  This same dance will also be performed by many students and staff district wide at the State of the District Address on November 13^th.   
After their performance, Ms. Brown led the students and teachers in our annual Monster Mash dance. 

An annual tradition with 4^th grade students, is to demonstrate Trick-o-Treating Safety tips to the younger students. 

Also on Wednesday, obviously trying to get some learning accomplished on Halloween,  5^th graders made Flubber.  I’m not sure who enjoyed it more the students or the parent helpers.

5^th graders also started their annual fundraiser for UNICEF.  The goal is to collect $1600.  In just one day,a  third of the money was already collected.  I heard of a second grader who actually chose not to Trick-o-Treat for candy but for UNICEF and collect over $60.  What an awesome idea.

Throughout the week, classes have been learning about different cultures and events.  The first graders learned about Dia de los muertos – or Day of the Dead.  The students created an alter with pictures of loved ones as well as cookies, skulls and pictures.  Stop by the library or a 1st grade class if you would like to see it.

As I mentioned earlier, teachers did try to get some learning in this week.  When time was available classes discussed the upcoming election.  Students read about the different races and what the candidates stood for regarding things such as healthcare, war, and education.  Today, students voted for president and a few other races.  The younger students voted as a class while the intermediate students each were able to cast a vote.

Today as if we didn’t have enough  happening all week was Fun Field Day.  It was actually a great day for this and a wonderful way to end the week.  Thank you Mrs. Keller-Bergh and Mrs. Palmer for organizing the event and to all the parent helpers.

As you can see, this was a busy week and students who had great behavior in the cafeteria last month also recieved a special treat.

We are all glad to have an extra hour of sleep this weekend.  Don’t forget to set your clocks back on Saturday.

One of the things that makes OHE so great are the extra-curricular events the students participate during the year. This week almost every grade participated in something above and beyond the regular school day.

The 1st grade teachers hosted a Literacy Night for their parents and students. Parents were introduced to reading strategies that can be used to support their children. Techniques like questions to ask before, during, and after reading a story and how to help students decode unfamiliar words. It was a great turnout.

Our 2^nd and 3^rd graders had field trips.  The second graders went to Inner Space Caverns and loved seeing all the rocks and gems.  I heard they came back with a bunch.  The 3^rd graders went to One World Theater and saw a rendition of “Sheila The Great”.

Mac Barnett is here in town for the Texas Book Festival THIS weekend down on the capitol grounds Saturday and Sunday.  Oak Hill was fortunate enough to have him come present to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders on Thursday. And what a treat! With his humor and wit, he really had the students laughing! He introduced his mystery series, The Brixton Brothers, and gave insight into his writing process and inspirations for his characters and stories.  Hopefully this has inspired a few of our own writers to get their ideas on paper! Go enjoy Mac Barnett and many other authors this weekend at the Texas Book Festival!!!

The OHE Choir performed this morning during assembly and sang pumpkin related songs. This was their first performance and they did an amazing job.

Next week the middle school magnet programs will meet with 5^th graders and describe the different programs.  This is mainly a sharing session but parents are more than welcome to attend.

Have a great "cold" weekend.

Typically I eat lunch in the cafeteria with the students.  I enjoy listening to the students.  Sometimes I just listen to them speaking with one another and sometimes they will ask my questions.  It is through these conversations that I identify how students feel about school. 

My first year here, I made a rule that if the entire grade level had to participate in an activities or the activity couldn’t be done.  Unfortunately, I made that rule after some classes had started a buddy program with another grade level.  That day when I walked into the cafeteria and sat with a class of students, I was bombarded with questions as to why they couldn’t work with their buddies. They told me how much they enjoyed reading together and helping the younger students.   I saw how upset they were by my rule and quickly changed the policy. 

Other times I will walk into the cafeteria, and the students will start asking where I have been.  That tells me I need to my meetings, get out of my office, and walk into the classrooms.

My favorite conversations are when students talk to me about what they are learning.  This week as I sat with Mrs. Dillon’s class for lunch the students were wearing badges.  The students explained that they were learning mysteries and they were identifying different parts of the stories.   The badges were to help them remember they were to be detectives and to document what they learned.  What a great way to motivate students . 

Next week is School Bus Safety week.  As a school, we will talk with students about bus safety.  Please help by reminding your children about the rules on the bus and the importance of being safe.   Also, next Friday is my next Principal’s Coffee.  The topic for the meeting will be on Special Education and what that means. 

Thank you and have a great weekend.

The OHE first graders had a wonderful experience this week and participated in a presentation from the Texas Natural Science Center. Who doesn’t like looking at bones?

They were also engaged in their classroom learning.  It is amazing how much they can do already.  I didn't know there were so many different ways to practice spelling words.

The Oak Hill Rotary has partnered with OHE for many years and in many different ways.  One way is through supporting the literacy of our students.  Each 3^rd grade student received a dictionary from the rotary with instructions to learn a new word every day!

Tonight was our second Family Fun Night and it was a huge success.  The crowd loved the movie “Pirates, Band of Misfits”.  I don’t think the line at the Tony’s Pizza Truck ever went down and enough popcorn was popped to feed the entire school. 

If you couldn't make it tonight, be on the lookout for our next Family Fun Event, which is Roller Skating on November 3rd!  Also next week is "Food Server Appreciation Week".  If you see one of OHE's kitchen staff, please tell them thank you.

Thank you for all your support,

Dr. Mitchell

Do you ever sit back on a Friday and wonder where the week has gone?  That's what I did today as I sat down to write the blog.  It went so fast that I couldn’t even remember what we did this week. 
Luckily, I keep everything on the caledendar. 

Mrs. Baxter conducted all the GT testing for the new fall nominations.  Results should be in towards the end of the semester.

Hopefully some of you turned out for the Spirit Night at Mama Fu’s.  Twenty-five percent of your bill comes back to OHE.  So thank you.  The next Spirit Night is at Craig O’s.  A favorite of the students. 

The new student council was installed today.  The previous president, Calvin G. had the honor of installing the new president, Kael S.  Then Kael, installed all of the other members. 

Enjoy the nice “cool” weekend.

What a week! The student council campaigning took over the hallways and walls. The students were quite creative with their posters and stickers. But today was the big day! Speeches and then the election. The students did an amazing job delivering their speeches. I am always impressed that they can get up in front of their peers and recite their speech. Afterwards, the 4th and 5th grade students returned to class to vote. Our 2012-2013 Student Council Board is: President – Kael S.; Vice President – Ben W.; Secretary – Sarah L.; and Treasurer – Jake O. Congratulations to all the candidates and the newly elected Board.

Wednesday was our second annual “Bring Your Dad to School” Day.  We had an amazing turnout.  At least 339 Dads were present!  Dads started in the cafeteria with their child and then followed them to class.  Some teachers had activities for the Dads to complete while other classes had Dads observe the students doing their normal routines.  Afterwards, Dads returned to the cafeteria for a debrief with me. 

Students in grades 3^rd – 5^th spent the week determining who was going to be Student Council Representatives for their homeroom classes.  Elections were held and our new Student Council Representatives met with Mrs. Caporal today to discuss expectations.   Next week, 4^th and 5^th graders will campaign for Student Council Treasure, Secretary, Vice-President, and President.  The hallways will be full of campaign posters next week. 

Next Wednesday is Bring Your Dad to School Day.  This is a day when we celebrate Dads or male role models here at OHE and show them how students’ days begin at school.  Dads will start in the cafeteria with the students at 7:30 and then move to the classrooms.  At 8:15 Dads will be dismissed from the classrooms and can either leave or join me back in the cafeteria.  If a Dad or male role model is unable to attend, moms are welcome to participate. 

Friday at 8:30 is my first Principal’s Coffee.  One agenda item will be to discuss the new elementary report cards.   Hope to see you then. 

On Tuesday, authors Margaret Peterson Haddix and Lisa McMann, visited OHE and spoke with our 5^th graders.  Each author explained how the idea of their books were formed and the strategies used to formulate each idea.

 Students had the opportunity to ask questions  and purchase the authors’ books.  Some even had the authors autograph their copy.

OHE has been issued a challenge.  It is called “Fuel Up to Play 60” and it challenges us to “Get Healthy” by eating healthy and exercising.  The PE teachers are asking everyone to take the pledge and agree to doing something or stop doing something in order to be more healthy.  I have agreed to limit my chocolate ration to just 2 times per week.  (usually it is several times a day!)  Stop by the bulletin board outside the cafeteria to see who has taken the challenge. 

Over the summer, OHE was presented with a reading challenge by our PTA to read 2500 books.  In OHE fashion, we surpassed that limit.  We  read 3433 books!  Below are pictures of the top winners in each grade level and faculty. 

I would like to start by thanking everyone for their support while transportation resolved the bus overcrowding situation.  The new "zebra" bus started today and the other buses were under the student ratio.  I shouldn’t have to remove any more students due to buses being overcrowded. 


You have heard me say many times that schools are much more fun when students are in them.  That is definitely the case here at OHE.  I have spent most of the past 9 days either in the cafeteria or classrooms.  Those, believe or not, are actually my favorite places because I can interact with students.  Plus, watching a bunch of four and five-year-olds eat can be a pretty comical experience.  Try it sometime.  Students love to have their parents eat with them, especially if they bring something special for lunch. 

Classrooms are fun places as well.  Students are engaged in their learning and eager to demonstrate that learning to me.  As I visited kinder classes, students were busy learning about science.  Some classes were discussing matter and what that meant, while in other classes students were observing, exploring, and predicting. 

 

Just about in all the intermediate grades, students had been busy writing.  Hopefully you will see their products next week during Back-to School Night.  I think you will be impressed. 

Back-to-School Nights are from 6:00 – 7:00. 
PK -2^nd is September 10^th
3^rd – 5^th is September 13^th.

I would also like to thank everyone who helped with our PTA family fun night’s Ice Cream Social.  It was a great opportunity with mounds of ice cream and plenty of music.

Welcome back Oak Hill Eagles!  It has been a great first week of school.  The students have transitioned back into school well.  Oak Hill is such a better place when students are here. 

The staff and I spent time over the summer planning for the upcoming year and learning how to bond as a team.  With so many new faces, I felt that learning how to work collaboratively was important.  To demonstrate how to work together, the staff and I completed several different tasks. Below Mrs. Faulkner and her partner, Mrs. Barre built a tower using marshmallows and spaghetti.  The task was to see who could build the tallest tower in ten minutes.  

Then on the first day of school, Mrs. Faulkner attempted the same activity with her students to show them the importance of being a team.  I think the student towers were more creative than the teachers, but don't tell them I said that.

 

As I walked the building the week.  Students were already engaged in learning.  In Mrs. Palmer's PE class, students were jumping rope.

 In Mrs. Calabrese's class, students had already learned what "independent" reading meant and what it looked like.

We also learned this week that two of the students in Mrs. Grimm's third class last year had their poetry selections chosen for publication. 

With one week under our belt, we are ready to start our reading tutoring programs for our primary students.  The programs are called Reading Rangers and SOARING.  Volunteers work with our struggling first and second grade readers.  If you are interested in helping, there is a sign-up list outside the computer lab door or you can sign-up on our website.

I would also like to thank everyone's support for being calm with the bus overcrowding concern.  I think the situation is finally resolved.  If your student rides the rabbit bus, please look for letters changing the route.

As usual, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask.

Have a great Labor Day Holiday weekend. See you back at school on Tuesday.