Things continue to roll along and we are already over half way through the month of October.  Even though it was a short week, we packed a lot into the four days of school we had this week.  On Tuesday, everyone smiled and said "Cheese" for the camera for fall picture day. Wednesday, we had many volunteers get trained for the Soaring Readers program. I can't wait for them to get started this week. On Friday, we had several fun events. During the assembly, the green apple from A+ Federal Credit Union came to visit the students to talk to them about opening a savings account.

You can find more information about the program at the A+ Federal Credit union website. https://aplusfcu.org/have-a-family/life-stages/green-apple/green-apple-program

Also on Friday, the 5th graders went on a field trip to HEB to learn about finances and healthy eating. They shopped for food and then went on a picnic to eat the food they purchased.  Here are some pictures from their adventure.

On Saturday, many families joined the festivities at the National Kick Off Event for Marathon Kids. Every student at Oak Hill is encouraged to participate in Marathon Kids. Some of the physical activity they do at school counts toward their mileage, so it is easy to complete at least one marathon over the course of the year. They are encouraged to exercise everyday and complete more than one marathon throughout the year. The goal is to get everyone moving to maintain a healthy lifestyle. See the pictures below to view the fun!

Upcoming this week: Wear Orange to school on Wednesday for National Unity Day. This is our promise to end Bullying. On Friday, we will have the Fall Fun event. You can get more information on this event from the Eagle Eye. This week is also School Bus Driver Appreciation week. If your child rides the bus, be sure to let the bus driver know how much you appreciate them. They can simply say and extra "Thank you" or make a card or picture for the bus driver. We appreciate all they do to keep our students safe. One last reminder that October 30 is dress as your favorite book character, so be thinking about and preparing those costumes now. Looking forward to a great week!

Safety

At Oak Hill, we take huge pride in making sure that our students stay safe. It is our top priority. We need your help with drop off in the mornings. Drop off continues to be a safety issue.

Traffic only goes ONE DIRECTION in the parking lot and the circle drive. See map above for reference. In the circle drive, there is only ONE LANE of traffic (not two and no passing). In the parking lot, there are NO ADULTS monitoring children, PLEASE do NOT drop your child off in the parking lot or along the street and let them run in. Many kids have been seen running between cars. Cars have been going the wrong direction and people are trying to pass each other. It is very dangerous for our students. Consider coming to school between 7:15 and 7:20 when there are no lines. Please be patient and drive slowly.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation and adherence to the traffic flow. 

This week, the first grade students did an awesome job with their musical performance. Thank you to Ms. Brown, Ms. Flaherty, and the first grade teachers for helping to make the performance a success. The students sang their hearts out and were so cute on stage. In case you missed it, here are a few cute photos.

 

Monday, October 12 is Parent Conference Day. This is an important time when you can connect with your child's teacher and receive important information. Please make sure you attend. 

It is hard to believe that at the end of this week, we will be half way through the month of October. Time is flying!

October is here! Can you believe that we have already been in school for 6 weeks? October will be a busy month with a lot of enriching and exciting activities. This week the Soaring Eagle Singers began.  It's a great group of students and I look forward to their performances throughout the year.

We also began learning about our Social Emotional Learning  (SEL) word of the month. This month we are learning about the word Empathy and what it means to be empathetic.  Some students from Ms. Bentley's class helped us learn about Empathy during assembly this week.  They are so cute!

Students who are seen being empathetic to others will get their name on the SEL Word Wall in the cafeteria.  

We want all of our students and families to be safe at school, especially when in the parking lots. Please remember that traffic should flow in one direction in the parking lot on the North side of the school. If you drop off on the side of the school, please enter the lot at the second entrance and drive East toward the annex when dropping off.  Please see the picture below for reference. 

Also when dropping off your children, please make sure to drop off at the curb and not in the parking lot where they have to cross in the lot. Once your children have been dropped off, please proceed all the way to the end of the lot by the annex before exiting.  The parking lot spaces should be reserved for staff. If you arrive prior to 7:30, please park on the street (School Rd.) so that the staff can park in the spaces and not be late for their students. 

We appreciate your cooperation to help us make sure that all of our families stay safe.

During the first Principal's coffee of the year, we had a great turnout and an informative presentation from Darla Caughey, SEL facilitator from the district. She presented on the Welcoming Schools program, which is designed to help schools embrace diversity and be inclusive, reduce gender stereotypes, and reduce bias and bullying.  Oak Hill is such a wonderful school and we already work hard at doing all of those things, so being a Welcoming School is a very easy achievement.  If you weren't able to join us this time, we hope to see you next time. 

 I am so proud of the wonderful work we do here and the kindness that everyone is shown on a daily basis. This is the best school in AISD! 

Student Council elections were held this week. The students that ran for office did a wonderful job presenting their speeches.  I was so impressed with how they stood in front of their peers and told them why they wanted to be an officer and why the students should vote for them. It takes a lot of courage to talk in front of others. They should be so proud of themselves!

On Friday, during assembly, Oscar the Grouch reminded the students about how they can help the environment by composting at lunch time. Mr. Cumings and I did our best Oscar the Grouch impressions to help the students be earth friendly and compost their food and milk cartons and throwing all plastic containers and bags in the trash can.  We will continue to remind the students periodically to help Oak Hill be earth friendly and to help our trash lines at lunch time go a bit faster. 

Time is flying! This week, we are closing out the month of September and looking ahead to the many wonderful activities that October will bring. I can't wait! 

This week began the kickoff of CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health). At Oak Hill, we will be highlighting the idea of being a CATCH MVP campus.  M stands for moving around and staying active. V stands for valuing healthy eating.  P stands for practicing healthy habits. Throughout the week, Fuel Up to Play 60 team members encouraged OHE MVPs to use a variety of ways to stay active and healthy.  Our FU2P Team was introduced to the campus at our Friday assembly.  Here is a picture of one FU2P team member giving a healthy tip on the morning announcements and the FU2P team at assembly. 

Track club is also starting this week and Wake up Workouts have also been in full swing on Tuesday  (1st, 3rd, 5th) and Thursday (2nd, 4th) mornings. We encourage all students to eat healthy and get at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day.  To help kick off CATCH, students and staff dressed like MVP's on Friday. Here are some great photos:

 

 

Some students also viewed a presentation by Safe Route to Schools reminding and teaching our students about pedestrian and bicycle safety.  This presentation is scheduled for all  K - 5 students through their PE class. If your child did not get the presentation this week, then they will see it soon. 

 

On Thursday the Pre K, Kindergarten and 1st grade classes viewed a special presentation by the Barn Hill Preserve. They got to visit with a baby joey, a snake, an armadillo and a bearded dragon. The students had a great time. Hopefully the animals did too. 

This week, we also added a new pet to the OHE family. A baby bunny was found on the track and will be cared for by Ms. Hunter's class in 3rd grade until it is ready to survive on it's own. 

At assembly on Friday, the students celebrated the technology being up and running after construction by dancing to a Go Noodle video. They were moving and grooving and getting their brains awake for a full day of learning (sorry, it's a bit dark!). 

We are in the last days of our PTA drive. If you would like to support the school and join the PTA and/or contribute to the No Hassle Fundraiser, please do so very soon! Every student in the school benefits from your generous donations. With this money, the PTA is able to help the school with extra programs and materials that enrich the learning of every child in the school. Each and every donation is appreciated no matter how big or how small. 

Wow! What a busy and great week! 

Ice Cream Social/ Sept 11 Remembrance

The Ice Cream Social on Friday night was a blast! Even though we had to move it indoors due to nearby lightning, it was a huge success. I enjoyed meeting many new families and watching the students, parents and teachers dance to the DJ. The ice cream and toppings were delicious. What a fun community event!
Here are some of my favorite photos:

This event would not have been possible without the hard work of our event chairs, Jamie Garcia and Rosie Truelove, as well as the many volunteers that signed up to help out. Thank you for the time and effort that was put into planning and working at this event.

At noon on Friday, we recognized Patriot's Day by joining in the simultaneous singing of the National Anthem with thousands of other students all over the country. It was a nice way to honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11th. 

The PTA was also recently recognized as a National School of Excellence. This honor is only given to 170 schools across the country and only 11 Texas PTA's received this award. Oak Hill was the only school in AISD! Your hard work, dedication, outreach and inclusiveness help to make this PTA truly successful. We have a wonderful partnership between the school and the PTA! Please consider becoming a PTA member and donating to the No Hassle Fundraiser to help our school continue the work that we do. Any amount helps and every dollar raised goes to benefit the school and your children. The PTA helps fund enrichment activities and materials, field trips, and technology. Thank you for your support. Here is the link to the article on the PTA Excellence award. https://www.austinisd.org

I continue to be inspired by the wonderful support at Oak Hill and know that I am so lucky to part of such a wonderful place.

This week was another great week at OHE!  Thank you for supporting your students and coming to learn about their classes at Back to School Night.

As I walked to classrooms this week, I observed the students hard at work and eager to learn. I saw lessons in every subject area and listened to many wonderful discussions being had by the students.

One of my favorite things to do as I walk around visiting classrooms is to view all of the wonderful student work displayed in the hallways and the rooms. It gives me insight into how the students think and helps me to learn more about them.

Kindergarten is studying letters and used the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to help introduce this concept and then the students made their own coconut trees. Some of the first grade classes did a writing activity called "the best part of me is..."  Students had to pick what they thought was the best part of them and then explain why they picked that part. What a great way to build self esteem!

In assembly on Friday, we received the results of the summer reading challenge. Oak Hill met the goal and read 2502 books over the summer! Way to go! I look forward to participating in the challenge next summer. Some of the winners for the grade levels are pictured below. 

Next week, we will begin our Student of the Week Awards at assembly. 

Don't forget that we have the Ice Cream Social this coming Friday, September 11. We hope to see you there! Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the extra day off on Monday.  Tuesday morning begins another great week of school!

A Wonderful First Week of School

The first week of school at Oak Hill Elementary was a success! I hope that your children had as much fun as I did. We spent time learning systems and practicing routines this week. It is important for the students to know what we need to do on a daily basis in the classroom, in the hallways and in other areas of the school building. It helps the school run smoothly and allows for maximum learning by the students during the day. 

 

Breakfast and lunch systems worked well and we efficiently got students through the breakfast and lunch lines to give them a healthy start to the day and to provide more fuel to keep them going until dinner time. This is always such a great time to chat with their friends and really get to know their classmates. I enjoyed meeting many students this week by helping out with lunch duty. As a reminder, if you come to eat lunch with your child, we are asking that you please sit on the stage. We appreciate your understanding and observation of this policy.

I was able to visit every classroom on Monday and welcome and meet the students. It is always so much fun to see their faces, bright with the anticipation of a new school year. Check these students out below- they look ready for a great year!

Everyday, I meet someone new who is volunteering at the school, asking how they can help, or just wishing us a great year. The Oak Hill community is strong and dedicated to working to make sure that Oak Hill is the absolute best place to be. Our students are so lucky!!

My wish for this school year is that every student and teacher make this their best school year ever. I have a feeling that this year will be one of my favorites! I look forward to seeing you all on Monday. Be sure to get some rest this weekend. The first week of school is always tough as we adjust to the new routine.

I included the first day picture of my boys and I. They are in 7th grade! (Gulp)

Just a reminder that this coming week we will have Back to School Night. Wednesday night from 6-7pm is for grades K-2 and Thursday night from 6-7pm is for grades 3-5. Hope to see you there!

Hello & Construction Update!

Hello! This is Lori Komassa- the proud new principal of Oak Hill Elementary.  I hope that your family had a wonderful summer! The first day of school is less than 2 weeks away!

It has been a very busy summer of construction and updates to the school. We have beautiful new carpet, new lighting, new paint in some areas, a new covered walkway (still in the works) , remodeled ADA compliant restrooms, and other necessary improvements.

We are busily putting everything back where it belongs and are working hard to make sure that the building is ready. Teachers have been meeting over the summer to plan for the school year and are working hard to get ready to welcome the students on the first day. Please know that the teachers have not had access to the building all summer and even now, have only limited access to their rooms. They will get full access on Monday, August 17th and will spend the week getting rooms ready as well as participating in some meetings. Though they will be working on the weekends and late into the evenings to unpack and prepare their rooms, the rooms may not look as decorative as they usually do, but will be clean and ready to welcome students. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

We are so excited to meet you at the Eagle Encounter on Friday, August 21 from 3:30-5 and on the first day of school, Monday, August 24.