OHE Principal's Blog

2012-05-23T15:10:00.001-05:00

The 5th graders had a wonderful time at Reunion Ranch. This is an excellent way to end their elementary career.

Don't forget tomorrow is assembly and crazy hair day since 5th grade graduation is Friday morning.

Also, we still have some classrooms looking for parent volunteers for 3 Ring Circus. Check with your teacher if you are interested in helping.

Location:Patton Ranch Rd,Austin,United States

2012-05-18T14:24:00.000-05:00

Another Silent Auction Winner, Movies with the Teacher.

Each year the PTA gives three scholarships. Below are this year's winners: Maria Luisa, Noah, and Tess.

The PTA also recognized Mrs. Brown as a lifetime member.

Ms. Ashorn was recognized for her commitement to OHE students in the Take Flight program.

Of course, Ms. Frances was honored for her commitement of 32 years to OHE!

Mrs. Sasser an existing 5th grade parent was recognized for her support of the Reflections program.

Mrs. Jody, another existing parent, was recognized for her volunteerism. She volunteers in so many ways here at OHE that I can't name them all!

Last Saturday was the annual Primetime Showcase. (Primetime is the name of the grant we received that allowed us to have so many afterschool enrichment programs.) OHE took the LegoRobotics and it was a huge hit - even with school board president, Mark Williams.

Our 4th and 5th graders performed at the symphony this week using their recorders.

4th graders also went to the LCRA Red Bud Center and learned everything about water.

Congratulations to Addison McKenna for being selected as one of 48 TAGT Summer Scholarship winners for the 2011-12 school year!

Addison is a kindergarten student at Oak Hill Elementary School in the Austin Independent School District. Addison will be using the scholarship to attend the Summer Wonders Camp sponsored by the ACE Academy.

We were one of the 22 Austin ISD elementary students in grades 4-5 who qualified to participate in the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) during the 2011-12 school year. Congratulations to those students.

2012-05-11T17:23:00.000-05:00

Last week, the Student Council Board had the opportunity to visit a Oak Hill Rotary Meeting. They received plaques recognizing their hard work. All student council members were recognized last Friday for the contributions they have made here at OHE.

As many of you have heard, OHE now has a Gaga Pit. Students have been so excited. Thank you PTA and Cub Scouts Pack 446!

We began this week by celebrating our moms! There were moms everywhere.....Music....

.....Walking down the halls......

....in Art class.....

....even a few dads came...

The Silent Auction Lunch Winners loved having lunch on stage this week. Kinder Winner...

1st Grade Winner....

2nd Grade Winner....

4th Grade Winner....

5th Grade Winner

The Silent Auction Winner for "Principal of the Day", Mr. Dhruv, had lots of fun.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Mrs. Lumbreras' class would be learning about the life cycle of butterflies. This week we had lots of butterflies in the annex.

Today our PTA was presented with the "5 Star Award" and "Extra Mile Award for Outstanding Volunteer Program" from the ACPTA. I am so proud of our PTA, and all the volunteers that work here at OHE to make all our programs successful for students. I know the students love working with you. I also want to mention that out of the 37 schools recognized today, 8 of them were from the Austin High Vertical Team. What a fabulous vertical team!

2012-05-04T16:39:00.001-05:00

It must be getting close to the end of the year because our schools days are packed with extra things happening. Make sure you are reading the Eagle Eye to stay informed.

Tuesday we celebrated our annual Kindergarten Round Up. Over 50 families came to register and tour the school. The students loved seeing their new school.

We continue with silent auction winners. Below the "Bug Guy" allowed students to observe his collection. Although, it wasn't just bugs but snakes too!

Thursday night our wonderful PTA was honored as being one of the top PTAs of the year. Geeta Suggs, our webmaster, was also honored as our Parent Ambassador.

Today was our last Student Council meeting of the year. Do you know what all they did this year? Here are just some of the items: raised over $2500, organized the OHE Giving Tree and helped 10 OHE families, adopted Patton Ranch road, brought back A+ Green Apple days and facilitated the depositing of money, created a monthly spirit day, created a Student Council newsletter, and adopted a school in Mexico and collected school supplies for them. I am very proud of all the hard work they did.

Today was the last day for Dual Language applications. There was lots of interest resulting in a waiting list at each grade level. The district lottery is next week and families will be notified shortly after the lottery.

2012-04-27T19:43:00.004-05:00

It has been an intense week with all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders taking the STAAR test. On testing days, there are no special areas except for PE for all students. So not only does it make a long day for students taking the test but all students. But it is Friday and we have made it through the test. I am confident that all the hard work by teachers and students leading up to this day will prove worth it when we see the results.

We did get to have some fun today when Spike from Round Rock Express visited OHE during assembly. For the past several years, OHE has won the Newspaper in Education Award and received $500. Hopefully this summer will be no exception. Look for more information in the next few weeks.

The Student Council also hosted movie night and those that came out watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Thank you for supporting the OHE Student Council and the playground fund.

2012-04-20T16:06:00.003-05:00

We continued with Silent Auction Winners. Brooke and Devin won "Eating with a Sheriff's Officer" (my husband). Not sure who had more fun him or the students. They loved asking questions about everything on his uniform.

For the Principal's Coffee this week, Mark Williams, School Board President came to speak and take a tour of the campus. It was also a tour and Q&A with incoming 1st grade parents.

More Silent Auction winners at assembly today. Sam read the names of Eagle of the Day. I must say he did a much better job than I do.

Will and Jonathan were our Silent Auction Mascot winners. They were great performers on stage.

Then of course, we recognized our wonderful OHE volunteers. Please go to the website and checkout the video. Our volunteers do so much for us. Thank you!

2012-04-13T15:29:00.001-05:00

We continued this week celebrating silent auction winners. Below are the kindergartners who won a pizza lunch with their teachers and a friend.

Mrs. Lumbreras' class for the past few weeks has been studying the life cycle of chickens.

The class began with 17 eggs in the incubator and documented the temperature and humidity levels. (It was hard to take a picture but hopefully you can see one of the chicks.)

Then this week, 17 baby chicks were hatched. For the next week, the class will continue to observe the chicks. But stayed tuned because next they are studying the life cycle of butterflies!

We also celebrated Librarian Week and recognized both Ms. Underwood and Mrs. Lynch. Please checkout our website for their video. We appreciate all they do for us.

Many things are happening next week. Monday is a general PTA meeting and the topic will be on how to keeps students engaged in learning while having fun over the summer.

Tuesday at 6:00 in the OHE cafeteria will be the next Dual Language meeting. Please join us to learn more about the program.

Wednesday at 8:00 is the next Principal's Coffee. Mark Williams, the school board president, will be here. There will also be a tour of the school and an introduction to 1st grade for kinder parents. Come join us.

Lastly if you haven't seen the website, OHE can now earn money when you shop with amazon.com. Check the website for details.

Location:Patton Ranch Rd,Austin,United States

2012-04-05T09:03:00.001-05:00

We have had a fun spring week. The 2nd graders performed their 18th annual Fairy Tale play. It was great to see the personalities of the students when they are on stage. There are some awesome performers, singers and dancers in the grade.

If you haven't ever seen the Fairy Tale performance, make sure you come next year.
The week was also spent trying to schedule some of the silent auction items. One item was to record the message on my office phone. Drew, one of our kindergartners won. He had lots of fun and couldn't believe it was him on the phone.

Remember this is a long weekend and we are off Friday and Monday. Have a great Easter break and see you back on Tuesday.

2012-03-30T14:16:00.003-05:00

We made it through our first week of STAAR testing. The students did a wonderful job staying focused and putting their best effort forward. I am sure when the results come back the data will show how great they did. The next round of assessments is the last week of April.

Many of you have seen the flags in the cafeteria or have heard the students discussing them. If you would like to keep up with the flags and what we are learning, the information is posted on our website. http://ohepta.org/Our_School_Our_World.html

This week was Wales and Guam. Students, whose families are from those countries, introduced them at assembly today. As I observe the students during these presentations, they appear interested and excited, especially when it comes to the food!

We ended today with our monthly Student Council Spirit Day - Hawaiian Day. There were lots of bright colors and flowers.

2012-03-23T12:54:00.001-05:00

The week before testing can always be a little stressful, but here at OHE, we tried to have a little fun.
One of our kindergarten grandfathers is a beekeeper and brought his collection of bees for the kindergartners to observe.

They even were allowed to put on the correct safety gear.

Our kindergartners also performed their annual musical. It was a wonderful performance with lots of personalities.

As many of you have seen, the flags that represent the cultural backgrounds of our OHE students have all been displayed. (Each year we will update the flags with any new countries). During the assembly this morning with the help and support of the PTA's Our World, Our School committee, we kicked off the celebration. Each week with time permitting, a new country will be discussed. Today, we started with The United States of America. Interesting facts were presented like Americans made the first chocolate chip cookie and had the first man on the moon. The students like the cookie fact the best. We also had two girls, Audrey and Isabelle sing the National Anthem while another student, Gabby, accompanied them on the piano. It was an amazing performance.

Please remember that we are testing next week and visitors are not permitted on campus. Thank you.

2012-03-09T14:59:00.002-06:00

In Mrs. Lagerquist's class yesterday. Presentations were made as part of a "Wax Museum" where students came to life as the people they studied.

Included were: Danica Patrick, Leonardo Da Vinci, John F. Kennedy, King Tut, Queen Elizabeth, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Adams and Helen Keller to name just a few!

Mrs. Nowakowski Grimm hosted a "Living Museum" with famous people from both the past and present.
Presentations were made to parents and other 3rd grade classes. As explained by a 3rd grade parent, "This was an awesome way to engage the students in history and LA with requirement to read, investigate and "live" people that have made significant contributions to society".

This morning in assembly, the OHE Student Council explained how with the A+ Federal Credit Union students could open savings accounts. The credit union will be here monthly in the mornings so students can make deposits. Please check the Eagle Eye for specific dates.

Also this morning in assembly, students were excited to see all of the flags hanging. It was fun to watch and listen to them as they entered the cafeteria. At lunch today, I was sitting next to a 1st grader. He asked, "Dr. Mitchell, do you know which flag that one is"? He was pointing to France, which I had just learned, so I said yes, France. He explained that France had a city named Paris and in Paris he had seen the Eiffel Tower. He then turned and pointed to "Italy" and said that is where I was born.

During lunch, I learned several things. First, the flags are going to be a great learning tool for the students. Second, many of our students have traveled and been able to experience the different cultures that make-up OHE and they are proud to share those experiences. Thank you PTA for helping to make this happen.

Have a safe and wonderful Spring Break. We will see you back on March 19th.

2012-03-03T10:55:00.004-06:00

This week has been exploding with energy in preparations for our PTA Carnival. Plus at assembly Friday, we celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday and Texas Independence Day.

Below Mr. Cumings dressed as Sam to not only celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday but with the help of the Cat in the Hat (Ms. Jodi) they demonstrated the correct way to break confetti eggs.

A special thanks goes to Annemarie Read and Paige Ott for organizing the carnival and silent Auction. The night was a huge success.

This year the silent auction brought in over $15,000! Thank you to everyone who purchased something. I can't wait to find out who gets to be the "Principal for the Day"!

New at carnival was the Petting Zoo. The children loved it. Squealing pigs, rabbits, donkeys, goats and more definitely were the hit of the carnival.

Below are 2 of our first graders who have made it almost to the top of the Rock Wall.

Also new this year was the Hamster Ball. The students loved rolling around inside.

Saturday, the Student Council had their first Neighborhood Clean-up. It was definitely needed after carnival night. Over 30 people came to clean,and Mr. Cumings had to jump in the trash barrel so all the bags would fit.

Members from the Oak Hill Rotary, who is partnering with our student council, also helped clean.

I am not sure we picked up every piece of confetti but we left the grounds much cleaner.

We only have one week before Spring Break and with all the excitement that has just happened hopefully there will be a calm week of learning.

Thank you for all your support. We couldn't do any of this without you.

2012-02-24T16:24:00.002-06:00

This week Mr. Cumings' class has been working on measurement. In the pictures below, the students had made paper airplanes and were measuring the flight distance for each one.
Friday was Student Council Tie Day. It was fun to see all the different ties.
This year at OHE teachers have had the opportunity to use a day to plan. We call it a PLC - Professional Learning Community. Part of the reason it has been successful is due to our substitute teachers. Many of whom have been past OHE teachers and substituting for OHE for many years. It is great to walk classrooms with substitutes and still see rigorous learning happening. Below is Ms. Schorr,
Ms. Fritsch,
and Mrs. Ledbetter.

February 29th at 8:00 is my next Principal's Coffee. I will be sharing the Dual Language Program that OHE will offer to students next year. Please come and learn more about the program.

As you have seen in my blogs, OHE celebrated "No Name Calling" week by creating projects using technology. The projects are being posted to our website for your viewing (As long as everyone in the project had permission for it to be posted).

Lastly, next week is carnival week! If you haven't signed up to volunteer, please do. Information is available on our website.

2012-02-24T15:27:00.000-06:00

2012-02-17T15:37:00.002-06:00

OHE began the week celebrating Valentine's Day. It was great seeing so many family members on campus, and luckily I kept the chocolate to a minimum.

This week we continued with our MOY II testing. 4th graders have now taken the writing, reading, and math assessments. 5th graders have taken the reading and math. 3rd graders take both reading and math next week. The science MOY II will be taken by 4th and 5th graders the following week. Obviously, there have been lots of assessments. Teachers are working diligently to analyze all the results in order to modify instructional decisions and tutoring groups prior to the actual STAAR test. We have about 20 instructional days to make sure that our 4th and 5th grade students are ready. If you have any concerns, please make sure you have set up a conference with your child’s teacher.

Speaking of conferences, Monday is Parent Conference Day.

2012-02-10T15:28:00.002-06:00

This week OHE celebrated National Counselor's Week. This morning during assembly Mrs. Caporal was recognized and received wonderful comments from students and teachers.

Last night, OHE hosted our first Family Fitness Night. Families had the opportunity to try Hip Hop, Martial Arts, and Yoga. The instructors were fabulous with the students. They were very entertaining and funny while teaching the techniques associated with the class.

For the past several weeks gymnastics has been the theme for PE. The students have lots of time to practice the techniques and then are quizzed on them.

2012-02-03T16:29:00.003-06:00

This week at OHE was Science Fair Week. Projects were completed by every student in 3rd - 5th grades and by class in the primary grades. The older students presented their projects first to their class. Then all projects were displayed in the cafeteria for viewing.

Students who wanted their projects judged for the Austin Energy Regional Science Fair had the opportunity to discuss their projects with community members. I received great feedback from the students. One students said, "Dr. Mitchell, the first time someone came to me I just blurted all this stuff out. But then when the next person asked me questions, I was prepared".

There were about 300 projects on display and about 85 students wanted their projects judged for AERSF. OHE teachers judged those 85 projects and had to narrow it down to only 17! What a difficult job they had. Here are our winners.

2012-01-27T15:58:00.002-06:00

I am excited to announce that Mrs. Suzanne Baxter is OHE's 20111-2012 Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Baxter has taught at OHE for 21 years and has so many degrees and certifications that I can't name them all. She has been the GT coordinator for the campus for many years. She received her National Board Certification in 2004 and is now working on her principal certification. Mrs. Baxter exemplfies a life-long learner. She will now move on to the district level for Teacher of the Year. Congratulations and Good Luck!

Thank you to all who participated in our annual Applebee's Pancake breakfast. The school raised lots of money and we enjoyed serving the students breakfast as well.

For those that have driven by the school and seen the A-frame blackboards, they were a gift from one of our parents, Geeta Suggs. It is just another way to help us communicate with you.

First grade is hosting their annual can food drive. They are trying to receive 100 cans of food by the 100th day of school, February 1st. All the food items will be donated to the food bank. If you liked to help, send canned food and label it 1st grade.

I would also like to recognize Oak Hill's participation in the PTA Reflections Project. Previously, I announced how many of our students were moving to the next level. Now, eight of those students are moving to the state level. That is more students than any other elementary school. Congratualations!

2012-01-20T17:06:00.003-06:00

In order for OHE to receive our "No Place for Hate" status, there are several steps that must be taken. One step is for each student to sign a "Resolution of Respect" form. These forms will be displayed at the entrance of each class. Another step is hold school level events that address bullying. So next week OHE is participating in "No Name Calling". We will begin the week with an assembly explaining the goal of the week. Each day students will wear different shirts to show support. Additionaly, classes are completing projects related to the theme and some will be shown at next Friday's assembly. It should be a great week.

Next Wednesday is my Principal's Coffee. There will be two speakers. Elaine Morrow will discuss her role as OHE's Campus Parent Representative for Special Education and representatives from Small Middle School will be here to address any questions about 5th graders transitioning to middle school.

Wednesday is also PTA Executive Board. It is the time of year to think about next year's board. If you have been saying to yourself that you want to become more involved with OHE but don't know how, this is a great organized way. If interested, please let me know.

As you have heard me say, the student council this year has been busy. Today Student Council Representatives went to all classes to ask what type of equipment was wanted for the playground. The primary students had awesome ideas. Hopefully, the fundraising efforts will continue and some of their ideas can be purchased soon.

2012-01-13T18:59:00.000-06:00

I would like to thank all of you who came out for the Fun Run last Saturday. There were over 100 participants. The bicycle winner, Will D, ran 22 laps! I did half of that.

The 5th grade reading buddies had a great turn out this week. The library was overflowing with students. It was amazing to see all the interactions. Sometimes the 5th grader read and other times the 1st grader was the reader.

We received notice that several of our students' reflection projects moved on to the next level. Check the Eagle Eye for names.

I learned this week that this will probably be the last year for the Dougherty Arts Creativity Club at OHE. They are being reorganized with the Parks and Rec programs and will only be available at city rec centers. If you would like to support this program, there will be a meeting January 26th at 7:00 at the Dougherty Arts Center.

This year, the student council decided to raise funds to improve the playground. They purchased a bay of swings for the big building and new soccer nets. Construction on the swings started last weekend and we are now waiting for the concrete to set. The new soccer nets were installed yesterday.

The PTA purchased a bay of swings for the annex playground. Construction for this area began on Wednesday. This area needs more ground work to be done to add the swings. It should be done soon.

Have a nice 3 day weekend. See you Tuesday!

2012-01-06T15:29:00.003-06:00

Welcome Back! I hope that you had a wonderful vacation. Mine was great, and I came back in one piece from my skiing trip - just a little sore still.

Even though it was a short week, it quickly returned to normal around here and lots of rigorous teaching and learning took place.

There are several events happening in January. The first one is tomorrow and it is our Fun Run. It was lots of fun watching our teachers this morning tell the students about the event. I hope to see all of you with your running shoes on at the track.

We also have our annual Applebee's Pancake Breakfast on the 21st. When teachers serve you breakfast, the students always want to come.

And don't forget my Principal's Coffee the last Wednesday of the month. This is a great time to ask school related questions and learn more about OHE.

Lastly, we are always looking for reading volunteers. OHE has 2 parent/volunteer run reading programs in the morning. The more volunteers we have the more students we can serve. Below is Mrs. Zierer tutoring one of our students. She also helps organize the program. If you are interested, please let me know.

2011-12-21T13:21:00.002-06:00

I wanted to wish each of you a wonderful holiday vacation and thank you for all the support you have shown OHE this past semester. It was great seeing such a turn out of parents and families these last few days before break. Thank you for all the wonderful treats and goodies. See you in the New Year.

2011-12-16T15:58:00.003-06:00

It is really hard to believe that there are only 2 days left in the first semester. We have just finished our first round of Middle of the Year benchmark (MOY I) for 3rd – 5th graders and are in the process of analyzing the data. You should expect to hear the results of how your son/daughter did on these assessments within the next few weeks. If you have concerns, please schedule a conference with your child’s teacher.

This week our 1st grade students learned about different cultures and how they celebrate this time of year. Each class of students rotated to a different teacher during the day, and I am sure they would be excited to share with you what they learned.

Second grade students learned about other countries and how they differ from the United States. Parents became the teachers and students rotated through the classes and participated in different activities.

Fifth graders performed to “The Elves’ Impersonator”. The acting, dancing, and singing was absolutely amazing. It was still enjoyable to watch even the third time!

Also this week, Clint Small's Performaning Arts department performed for our 5th graders. This was to help student know what instruments or singing opportunities are available to them in middle school. It was great to see so many OHE alumni in the group.

2011-12-09T11:25:00.002-06:00

Over the past several years, we have tried to update the technology on campus. New technology means we must change some of our instructional practices so that students have access to the technology as well. As I walk classrooms, I am amazed by the amount of technology that I observe. Below is Ms. Peterka's third grade class, using several different types of technology: iPads, iPods, and netbooks. OHE recently received about $65,000 for technology updates. You will see a huge change next semester as we receive our order.
If you haven't had the chance to see our OHE Soaring Eagles sing, it is a must. There are around 60 4th and 5th graders. Recently, the have performed for our Book Fair Family Night and a morning assembly.

I want to say thank-you to everyone that supported our Book Fair. During one of our family night's, we had a huge turnout. This was also the same night the choir sang, student council passed out hot chocolate, and pictures were taken with Santa.

2011-11-22T10:08:00.014-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, the Lego Robotic team competed in a tournament. It was the school’s first competition and although the teams didn’t advance, the scores were quite impressive. A big thank you to Dr. Becher and Mrs. Suggs for their support of the program.

Eventhough it was a short week, rigorous learning was still happening! In Mr. Cumings' class, students had to complete several different science experience. Below, students are working on the computer to solve their science questions.
Here the boys are making a light circuit.
Below, this group of girls were making magnets.

Mrs. Nowakowski-Grimm's glass celebrated with a "Thanksgiving Writers Coffee House". Students read stories and poems they had been creating over the past several weeks.

In Ms. Atkinson's class, students were using iPads to practice multiplication facts.
OHE celebrated our annuaul Pajama Day. Below is Mrs. Robert's class with their PJ's on.

The OHE PTA honored the staff with pies. Yum! I have never seen so many types of pies!