GUEST AUTHOR: MS. SILLER

Greetings from the annex! 

What a wonderful time of year it is to be in the annex! Spring is here and our 4, 5, and 6 year olds have been learning lots about life and the living world around us! We have been studying life cycles, growing plants in our very own gardens, trying all the wonderful produce they worked so hard to grow, and studying insects too! We have had many opportunities  to ask questions, make predictions, and find out answers to many of life's burning questions. With this, we as teachers have enjoyed the many expected and unexpected teachable moments. We love exploring and learning together!

This month we have had lots of special guests in our rooms to help us understand and explore life cycles and nature. Pre-K has had success hatching/taking care of baby chicks and kindergarten has watched the life-cycles of ladybugs and butterfly as they go from eggs to maturity.  

 

 

This year we have some new additions to OHE! My kindergarten class has watched eggs for 28 days and successfully hatched baby quail chicks! We are excited to share pictures and this new adventure with the OHE family! Hopefully we will have a successful quail coop full of quail in the coming years at Oak Hill. 

Mrs. Baxter received a grant for the quail start up, and as a school we will help her to raise quail that can be released into the wild in Bastrop. With the devastating fires that depleted their population a few years ago we are hopeful that we can help to revive their numbers in the coming years. 

With the kindness and hard work of local Boy Scouts, our new baby chicks have a beautiful coop located next to our wonderful chicken coop! Displaying our school colors, it is sure to be a great home for our quail. Our new chicks will not be ready to live outdoors until they are 5 weeks old. (around summer break) If you are around this summer, please volunteer to help out with care of our quail and chickens and don't forget to come by to check it out! 

GUEST AUTHOR: MRS. TARPLEY

We started May out with a FIESTA!  Our wonderful librarian opened our “Under the Sea” themed book fair. Thank you to all of those that volunteered and made this event run smoothly. Thank you Ms. Underwood for organizing it.  

OHE’s very own Ballet Folklorico performed several performances in celebration of Cinco de Mayo.  All the kids’ hard work and practice really paid off and showed in their stellar performances.  Their success was made possible by the following teachers: Mrs. Portillo, Ms. De La Rosa and Ms. Garza (I couldn’t have done it without them).

Have you heard of our new babies on campus? If not, here is a sneak “BEAK”. 

This week is Teacher Appreciation week.  We are so lucky to have such fabulous Oak Hill families. Thank you for the overflowing appreciative gifts, snacks and treats. You are awesome!

We have summer on the brain with 19 days and counting until summer break. Who hoo! I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week, upcoming weekend and a Happy Mother’s Day! 

GUEST AUTHOR: MR. CUMINGS

STAAR date: Zero five, zero one, one five; T plus five days past test week.

Hey y’all! It’s Mr. Cumings sitting in for the principal’s blog. I heard there were guest authors so I volunteered to step in and take a swing at it.

Speaking of volunteers, today was a great day for recognizing our fantastic army of volunteers. The stage steps were full from stage right to stage left with our incredible volunteers. So much that happens here at OHE is due to volunteers and It’s hard to imagine what it would be like around here without seeing them. The first grade honored them with an astounding acrostic poem spelling out everything a volunteer means to them. Way to go first grade! I even heard some goof ball teacher sang a song about the volunteers, to a tune that is way out of season. Which he was reminded in class was not a Christmas song and shouldn’t have been used for this time of year. Oh well, the syllables matched up and Ms. Brown knew the music, it was a win/win. Thanks again volunteers, we really couldn’t do it without you and we hope  you enjoyed your breakfast.

It’s been a week without Dr. Mitchell and things seem to be flowing okay. Hopefully we will know about the new principal soon. I saw that the School board approved a bunch of new principals at the last board meeting and I bet our candidate will be up for approval at the next one. The school board meets the fourth Monday of the month and this month that looks like Memorial day. Sooooo…. maybe they won’t be meeting that day. I’m sure someone more important than me knows when we’ll find out. Until then, let the suspense increase.

Book fair starts next week on Monday, Star Wars day (may the fourth be with you). Kids can start shopping before class with permission from their teacher and folks are welcome after school until 3:30, but students must be with a parent or guardian. This spring’s theme is Under the Sea, so drop by and “shell” out some “clams” and support the library. If you cannot make those daytime hours, family night is Tuesday from 5:30 to 7 o’clock.  There will be a performance of OHE’s very own outstanding Ballet Folklorico at 6 o’clock in the cafeteria. The spring book fair is a quickie though, so get your purchases early. The fair rolls up its towel and heads inside after the last lunch on Thursday. So, head on down to the book fair this week! Don’t forget your sunscreen.

Well, I guess I have rambled on enough (I was only supposed to write a paragraph).  I’ve enjoyed writing this principal’s blog, I hope you have enjoyed reading it. 

Have a great weekend everybody, and I’ll see ya’ in the halls.

Mr. Cumings

GUEST AUTHOR: MRS. BAXTER

This week has been a pack-filled week with many activities. On Monday and Tuesday, second graders worked very hard taking  End-of-Year Benchmarks in Reading and Math. Fifth graders have started chess tournaments, a great way to learn strategical thinking! First graders and  PK shared what "RESPECT" means as part of our Friday Morning Assembly today. We were quite entertained and also reminded of how important it is to show respect and caring to those around us. Volunteers were also thanked at our assembly for all they do for us. Mr. Cumings serenaded them with a song while they were gathered on stage. They were also given a breakfast afterwards that was prepared by the faculty. We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful volunteers! No wonder we have the best school anyone could ask for!

PS Stay tuned to a future blog about possible "babies" about to be born at Oak Hill: baby bob-white quails.

As most of you are aware, I typically blog late Friday after school.  (Which is my excuse for so many mistakes :).  But since this will be my last blog for OHE, I decided to not wait until the last minute.

To reflect on my time at OHE, I reminisced by looking through the old blog posts.  I actually read my first post and am pretty impressed that I was able to keep up with this type of communication.  Looking back now, I realize it has become a scrapbook of sorts for everything that has happened over the last five years.  What a great way to remember all we have done.    It is really hard to decide what my "favorites" are but here are a few:

Bets with students

Ice Cream Social

Pajama Day
  

Carnival


Student Council Service Projects


Our World, Our School

Ballet Folkloricio and our Dual Language Program

As I reviewed the pictures from the blog posts, it was fun to see faces of students I hadn't seen since my first year as well as faces that have been here the five years.  There is a big difference between kindergartners and how they look now in 4th grade.

It was also fun seeing the family participation here at OHE.  Some of the same families that helped me that first summer with painting, communication, and reorganization are still involved today!  That definitely shows how it takes a community to run a school.  Remember that as the new principal transitions into OHE.  OHE is an amazing school not because of one person, but because of the school community at large.  When I came on board 5 years ago, I didn't know anything about this community or things like a carnival, Dual Language, Our World, Our School, parent involvement, etc.  But together, I quickly learned.  Now many of these things are part of the tradition at OHE.  With your continued support, they will stay part of the school's traditions.

My first post stated that I was looking forward to being part of the OHE family. Now that I've been part of this OHE family, it is hard to say good-bye.  I already know things I will miss.  But the thing I will miss the most, are your kids!  I have thoroughly enjoyed being their principal and watching them grow.  For some students the connections I have made came during our daily morning time together in the cafeteria prior to school.  For others, it was running with them during track club.  For others, it happened during my visits to the classrooms.  Yet for others, it was on the bus line at the end of the day.  Whichever method was used to build connections with students, I will miss them.

I want to thank each of you for the support you have given me over the past five years.  The positive experience I have had here wouldn't have been possible with that.  I appreciate all that you have done and will continue to do for OHE. For those that weren't able to come to assembly this morning, here is the video.

OHE will always hold a special place in my heart.

GUEST AUTHOR: MRS. BAXTER

Even though Dr. Mitchell is not available to write the blog this week, ever in the spirit of Oak Hill, I am filling in to share some of the fun activities going on around campus. On Thursday, second grade treated us to a delightful fairy tale performance called "Once Upon a Shortcut." I was so impressed by their acting, singing, and costumes! It was definitely one of the best I have seen in the many years I have been at Oak Hill. Thanks to both Ms. Tobias and Ms. Brown as well as all of the second grade teachers for their hard work. Third grade also went to the Wildflower Center this week. As a former third grade teacher, I know how much learning and fun the students had as well as the hard work put  into this field trip. Thank you to all third grade teachers as well as a special thanks to Mrs. Lagerquist for leading the learning. Not to be outdone, last year's and this year's Student Councils have purchased a set of large bongo drums and a large chime set to put on the playground. What a unique addition! Thank you to our student council members and Ms. Ahumada for their efforts.

Finally, hope we see lots of you tomorrow at our annual Pancake Breakfast at Applebee's from 8:00 - 10:00. Speaking of breakfast, make sure your children get a good breakfast starting on Monday for the STAAR test.







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