Ms. Underwood enjoyed her time with auction winner Ridley (and friends Ian and Campbell) while having dinner while watching HOME at Alamo Drafthouse. It is a great movie about not giving up and the importance of family and friends! They all gave it a big thumbs up!

The Hip Hop class performed during assembly and even put in some of their own moves!

Dress like an athlete day was a huge success.

Here are a couple of reminders.  Please follow the traffic patterns when driving on campus.  OHE is unable to provide continuous traffic control in the morning so please be mindful that young students are entering the school.

Also our annual Applebee's pancake breakfast in April 18th.  Purchase your tickets now.

Our first round of STAAR testing is complete!  The 4th and 5th graders did a great job.  Also this week began TELPAS, which is an assessment that evaluates the English acquisition for all our second language learners.  We can now breathe for a couple of weeks until round 2, which is the week of April 20th.  

While the "big" kids were testing, the kindergartens took a field trip to the Crowe's Nest.  

As always, they enjoyed feeding the animals.  

 With the help of lots of volunteers, the kindergarten garden is back up and in use.  Maybe I could have the come and help me with my garden?

 With specific thanks to Mrs. Thorton and Mrs. Lagerquist, our front area has another new garden.

Third graders visited the Wild Flower Center.

These students' projects were displayed at the new performing arts center, PAC.

Have you ever come to a "Friday" assembly early?  If you get a change, do.  Often an activity called GoNoodle is on and the student love moving to it.  This activity was called "Run Like a Kitty".  The students loved it! 

During assembly this morning, kindergarten students made a "Love Train".

The district has created a collage of videos from all the high schools.  The theme was “A day in the life of…”  I had the pleasure of viewing the video at the new PAC a couple of weeks ago.  It was amazing to see the talent of so many students as well as share in their stories.  I encourage you to watch the movie.  It can be found on the front page of the district website at www.austinisd.org.

Please remember this is a three day weekend.  See everyone back here on Monday.  

Principal of the Day

This principal of the day biz is tougher than I thought! First, we had to walk through the classrooms and check stuff off. Then, we had to check a million emails. Next, me and Ms.Anna saw what the Kindergardeners were up to. At 10:00 we checked more emails. 10:30, I went outside and had snack. 11:04, we had to calm down a four-year-old student from a fit that he had. 12:00, I had lunch and talked with friends. 12:30, I was on lunch duty. 12:55, I went to P.E. class. And finally, as I was writing this blog, I met the Associate Superintendent of AISD. It was a great day of learning how to be a principal.   -Ridley Ott

Students have started receiving their Silent Auction Items.  

Analia was able to eat lunch with Sgt. Mitchell and her mom.  He learned that she might want to be a detective!

Kindergarten students received their pizza lunch in the Principal's Conference room.  That is a real treat. 

1st grader, Emil, below was our winner for the readathon.  He read the 2,528 pages with a total time of 1,264 minutes.  That is quite impressive.  All in all, the OHE raised $7,674, had 182 student participants and 37 teacher participants.  Mrs. Garcia's class raised the most money with $1,227.  Joshua was almost half of that with $577.  Thank you to all who supported this program. 

This morning Mr. Cumings showcased some of the prizes for tomorrow's Family Fun Run.

 I wonder who will win this awesome bike?!

Then to prepare for tomorrow's Fun Run, students ran in place.  

The weather is finally supposed to be great tomorrow.  So please come join us for the Student Council Clean-Up and Family Fun Run.  

This week we celebrated our annual Kinder Musical.  They gave an amazing performance. 

Another annual tradition has been the 3rd Grade Living Museum.  These third graders researched historical figures and then created projects that gave information about the person. Many third graders even came "looking" like their person. 

Today during assembly, winners were announced for the Read-A-Thon. Joshua G, a 2nd grader, raised the most money of all the students. The winner for the most minutes and most pages read was absent today... we'll let him know after Spring Break. Congratulations to OHE for raising over $7600 for the Read-a-thon. That is fantastic, especially since it is only our first year to participate. Did you know that OHE is the 5th highest school in the fundraiser?

Volunteers worked on the kinder gardens today.  They look great!

Also save the date of March 28th for our Family Fun Run.  It has be rescheduled several times so lets hope the great weather stays.  

I wish each of you a restful spring break with friends and family.  I hope you’ll return on March 23 recharged and ready for the important final months of the 2014-15 school year.

After a really busy week last week, this week seemed pretty normal even with the "bad" weather day.  This morning during assembly we recognized some of our Track Club runners.  The miles for these students have accumulated over the years.  Two of our 4th graders have completed over 100 miles!  Ian reached 100 miles and Campbell has reached 125!  That is just amazing.

Tomorrow is the student council fundraiser at Barnes and Noble off Brodie.  If you get a chance, stop by and purchase a book.

If you haven't paid for your Silent Auction, you should have received an email.  If you have paid and just need to pick-up your item, stop by the office and we can get it for you.

Have a great weekend.

Such an eventful week!  Benchmark testing, late start due to bad weather, school assemblies, and CARNIVAL have all created lots of excitement.  Dr. Rangwala, Allison, Lisa and Katherine from Dr. Mary Kay Becher's dentist office spoke with PreK, Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade about proper dental care! They talked to kids about how to brush and floss and why it's so important to do so!!!! We also heard from the Austin Symphony.  And, we ended the week with our annual carnival.  Even with the extreme cold weather and rainy conditions, students still found ways to have lots of fun.The petting zoo... Home Depot crafts.... Face painting.... And of course the money collectors...Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers that help make this awesome event happen and especially for coming out in the cold and rain.  Stay warm and safe.  

Hope each of you had the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher this past Monday.  If not, it is never too late.  Just let you child's teacher know you want to schedule a conference.  

This morning during assembly we had lots to celebrate.  Mr. Gerber, last year's Teacher of Promise, announced this year's Teacher of Promise.  This recognition goes to a teacher in their first year of teaching.  The 2015 OHE Teacher of Promise is Ms. Emily Kittredge.  

OHE also participated in the surprise marriage proposal of our wonderful music teacher Ms. Tobias.  I don't think there was a dry eye in the crowd.  The students went crazy when her fiance went down on one knee and pulled out the ring!

 We are counting down for our wonderful OHE Carnival next Friday.  Staging has already begun for silent auction items.  The creativity this year is amazing.  Stop by the office for a sneak peak.

But before carnival, is our final round of benchmark testing.  3rd - 5th graders are testing next Monday - Wednesday.

Have a great weekend.

I can barely even think what to write because I am on such a sugar overdose!  It is always great seeing so many family members on campus.  Thank you all for all the goodies.  Not sure how many bowls of ice cream and pieces of candy I had today.

But it was a great way to celebrate a week of testing.  Not only did all the 4th and 5th graders take part in round one of MOY II testing, but even the primary students have been given their MOY reading assessments.  For those having conferences with teachers on Monday, make sure you ask how your child did on their MOY tests.

I did want to brag on some of our students in Mrs. Perteka's class. They noticed how the play ground has had an influx of trash, so they started a trash pick-up team.  It makes me proud when students see a need and device a plan to help resolve it.  Way to go!

Monday is a student holiday and a parent conference day for teachers.  These conferences are not mandatory unless the teacher has a concern about a child.  However, if you would like to meet with your child's teacher, just let them know.  

We are in count down mood for the OHE Carnival.  I saw volunteers out all day selling tickets.  Remember they are cheaper now then on that day.  We are also still in need of items for that day.  What each grade is expected to bring is on the school website, along with times to sign-up to work.  Please check out the site.  

Last day for Box Tops is Tuesday.  As of right now, 4th grade is in first place.  

Have a great Valentine Weekend and see you next week. 

It was a great week celebrating Counselor Appreciation Week.  Ms. Ahumada does an outstanding job and OHE is grateful for all she does for us.

Our Pre-Kindergarten and PPCD students took their first field trip.  Their first stop was the fire station.  They even got to tour the 'sleeping quarters' for the firemen.

Wednesday we celebrated the 100th Day of School.  This is a great elementary school tradition and the student enjoy finding ways to make 100.  I decided to celebrate the day by eating 100 pieces of candy!  

Ms. Siller class made smoothies...

100th Day T-shirts....

Mrs. Rolls class made a 100 cake...

Snack packs....

Counting by 10s to 100...

Next week begins our second round of benchmarks for 4th and 5th graders.  Monday is writing for 4th graders and math for 5th graders.  Tuesday is the second day of 4th grade writing, and 5th grade Reading.  

It is also Green Apple Deposit Day on Tuesday and Valentine Parties Friday.  

Have a great weekend.

What a beautiful week.  Guess someone else must be reading my blogs!

Remember how Ms. Grotrain was nominated by a student in her class for the "My Teacher Rocks" contest through Dr. Becher's office?  Well, she came in 2nd place and Dr. Becher was so impressed by the high number of votes that Dr. Becher's staff brought the whole class pizza!

 Our Kindergarten students took a field trip to One World Theater to see Junie B Jones.

 This week our Pre-Kindergarten students were learning about community helpers.  Below is Mr. Kanak, yep Mrs. Kanak's husband, explaining about surgical procedures.

 But it is always great to see that our students want to be like us.

 Earlier this month Mrs. McKinney's Donorschoose Project was funded.  Below you can see students already playing with the equipment.

Students also participated in our annual Science Fair.  There were some amazing projects.  The student below are all moving forward and will compete in the Austin Regional Science Fair.  Good Luck!

Students participated in the  Austin Jazz Workshop.  Although those of us in the office were treated to their music as well.  

All of tomorrow's events were again cancelled, no Fun Run or Student Council Clean-Up.  

Next week Mrs. Baxter will be off campus visiting her new and first grandchild.  Mrs. Horne, who substituted for me when I was out, will be helping us out again.

Next week is also Counselor Appreciation Week.  If you see Ms. Ahumada, please let her know how much she is appreciated.  

Stay dry and see you Monday.