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Read On!
News from our OHE Library...
OHE Library Birthday Club
Trying to find that unique birthday present? The Oak Hill Library has just the gift for you! Join the Oak Hill Birthday Club! For a $12 donation made out to the Oak Hill Library, your child can choose a book to be "donated" to the library in his/her honor. Please be sure to include the student's name, class, and some interests or authors the student enjoys in order to help with the selection of a book that he/she will like. This donation will go towards the purchase of new materials throughout the year to make our collection even better. The honoree will have a nameplate placed inside a book he/she has selected from our new purchases. A picture of your child with the chosen book will be displayed in the main hallways throughout the year! Summer birthdays can be celebrated any time of the year!
C.A.T.C.H CORNER
by Kristen Palmer, OHE P.E. Teacher
C.A.T.C.H.: What is the parent’s role?
(Coordinated Approach to Child’s Health)
The role of the parent in the C.A.T.C.H. program is to:
Value healthy eating by providing healthy meals for their family.
Encourage the family to participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity daily.
Practice and teach healthy habits to their children.
One way that you could value healthy eating is by sending healthy snacks to school with your child. We recommend that snacks comeeither the GO or SLOW categories. Click here to see Go and Slow Snack Recommendations from the CATCH newsletter.
For a more extensive list of GO, SLOW, and WHOA foods go to theC.A.T.C.H. website.
P.E. NEWS
Marathon Kids This Week End!
The kick-off celebration for Marathon Kids is this Saturday, Oct. 3rd. All Oak Hill students are invited to run the track at the Mike Myers Stadium located at UT. FREE water bottles will given out and most importantly, you might be seen on the news. The Celebration is from 9:00-11:00. Go early because parking is difficult. Find the "O" section for Oak Hill.and sit there. Wear your Eagles T-shirt if you have one and look for Mrs. Bergh to get your picture taken.
Reflections
It's Reflections time again. Reflections is an art program sponsored by the PTA. The categories for entries are Literature, Music, Visual Arts, Photography, Film and Dance. The theme for 2009-10 is "Beauty Is..." Deadline for entries is Friday, October 23rd. Look for more information about the program in your child's folder over the upcoming weeks.
Become an OAK HILL SPONSOR
The Oak Hill Elementary PTA relies on financial donations from our parents and community to support our school’s programs. Traditionally, we have raised a significant amount of money through gift wrap sales. This year, we are offering you and your children the choice to “opt out” of selling gift wrap, and instead giving you the opportunity to make a contribution directly to the PTA. If you work for a corporation that matches contributions, you can multiply your impact!
Your child probably brought home a flyer on Friday detailing this information or you can click here to view a few suggested contribution levels. If you own or are affiliated with a business or corporation, consider sponsoring at the Sky High Level. Not only will you be helping our school, but your business will receive public recognition through our newsletter and prominent signs at the school. Whether your donation is large or small, every dollar is important!!
Workshop?
Workshop is a dedicated time every week that volunteers gather in the workroom in the Main building to help out with whatever needs to be done. Parents assist teachers with jobs such as copying, laminating, die cutting, etc. This gives the teachers more time to spend on teaching and planning.
Workshops are on Wednesdays starting at 9:00 A.M. in the workroom of the Main building. Any help that we can get would be appreciated. Come when you can!
RAVE!
Recognizing All Valuable Employees
Do you know someone who has made a significant and positive impact on customer service in AISD? Have you had an AISD employee make a special effort on your behalf by performing a remarkable or outstanding service? Has one of your co-workers exceeded expectations and helped make your job easier by treating you like their most important customer? If your answer is yes, we encourage you to acknowledge that person by taking the time to nominate him or her for a RAVE Award. We want to recognize those who exemplify the highest level of customer service in all interactions. All nominations will be reviewed and qualified candidates will be recognized the month following their nomination.
*please see our website calendar for the most up-to-date dates
Attention: All Classroom Volunteers!
There is an new AISD that ALL parents who volunteer in the classroom, must attend a training session and sign a Confidentiality and Access Agreement, before they are allowed in the classroom.
There will be a brief Powerpoint presentation offered on Monday, Sept. 28th at 8:00am in the cafeteria of the main building. Anyone who wants to volunteer in the classroom is strongly urged to attend.
FAQ:
Q. How long is the presentation?
A. About 15 minutes
Q. Can we bring younger siblings?
A. Yes.
Q. Does this include parents that just attend Class Parties?
A. No, you do not need to take the training if you are only coming to a class party.
Q. Will this training be offered in Spanish?
A. Yes, but not at the Monday, Sept 28th 8am meeting. At a different time to be determined soon.
Q. If I came to the room parent meeting last Monday and signed the form there, do I need to come to this training on Monday?
A. No, you do not need to come. It is the same training as before.
Q. Will there be other training times?
A. Yes, the first scheduled one is Monday, Oct 6th at 6pm in the OHE Library during the PTA Executive Board Meeting. More dates are still being determined.
Q. Do volunteers for after school programs like Math Pentathlon need to take this training?
A. No.
Basically, if you will be in the classroom volunteering in any capacity (not a class party) or on a school sponsored field trip, then you need to take this training. (e.g. you come read to your child's class, if you stuff folders in the classroom for the teacher, field trip chaperone, etc.)
Please note this volunteer policy is an AISD policy (NOT a OHE PTA one).
At this time, should you have further questions about any of this PLEASE call the school directly: 414-2336.
Kindergarten News!
The Kindergarteners are going to the One World Theater to see Charlotte's Web on October 9th. The kids will need to bring a sack lunch and drink for the day. The teachers are still collecting $19.25 for Field Trips, if you haven't turned it in yet.
Did you miss the PTA General Meeting?
by Valarie Spake, OHE PTA Secretary
Are you creatively challenged in the kitchen when preparing your child’s lunch or after school snack? Has the variation just been to change the brand of peanut butter you use for the PB&J sandwich? I know I was. But, I am heading in a new direction because of what I learned at the September 22nd PTA General Meeting. Teri Balog, a registered dietician, from the Texas Department of Agriculture, spoke at the meeting, arming us parents with great tips on nutrition and how to get your child to eat healthy snacks.
Ms. Balog graciously answered many questions from the audience, discussed reading the ingredients label on packaging, and gave a few suggestions on ways to get vegetables into our child’s diet. Other notable information presented was:
A child will try something new when they are the hungriest.
It takes an average of 15 tries of a new food before your child will decide whether or not they like it.
Children more readily eat what they help grow or prepare.
You can take the “edge” off of raw vegetables by giving them a quick steam for about 3 seconds!
Serve sweets on special occasions and not between meals, don’t use sweets for bribes or withhold them as punishment.
Yes, you read that correctly – sweets are okay in moderation. She even had a “sweet tooth” category on the snacks suggestion list. There will be harmony in our home!
This article just skims Ms. Balog’s presentation. I hope she will come and speak with our school again. Until then, at my house we are going to try something I learned at the meeting: pepperoni pizza prepared on an English muffin with my children’s assistance. Sounds yummy (and a great way to spend some time with my kiddos too)!
Green Apple Club
If you haven't gotten your Green Apple Club applications in, there's still time but do it fast. You don't want to miss our first deposit day at school on October 2nd.
What’s the Green Apple Club you ask? Well, it’s a savings program with A+ Federal Credit Union (A+FCU) where participants can make deposits right here at school. It’s a fun and convenient way for the children of Oak Hill to start saving and learning the important principles of money management and investment.
PTA MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
The PTA Membership dues continue to come in!! We now have a total of 322 PTA members at OHE. This is good but with a student population of approximately 1020, WE CAN DO BETTER!!! The Membership Drive is ending on October 2nd, so let’s really push it this last week.
Our Class Competition is beginning to look like a run away. Checkout the Class Contest board in the main building hallway to see how your class is doing. Below are the top three:
#1 Mrs. Bentley’s 2nd grade class at 95%!!! They are 1 family shy of reaching the 100% goal! Way to go Mrs. Bentley!
#2 Mrs. Roberts’ Kindergarten class at 59%. Mrs. Roberts’ class moved up from 3rd place last week! Good job Mrs. Roberts’ class!
#3 We have a 2-way tie at 53% membership between Mrs. Brooks’ 4th grade class and Mrs. Lagerquist’s 3rd grade class. You guys have one more week to break the tie!
Remember, the class with the highest percentage of members at the end of the drive or the first to reach 100% membership will win a special treat for the entire class AND the teacher will receive $25 to spend towards classroom items!! So help your class and our school and join the PTA now!!!
If you’ve misplaced your dues envelope, you can pick up another at the main office in either the main building or the annex. Just ask the friendly ladies in the office for PTA Membership information. Or you can contact Cathy Cox at membership@ohepta.org.
HEB is offering 70 free bonus Box Tops through September 30th!
Through September 30th, when you purchase ANY 10 participating Box Top for Education products at HEB, you will get a coupon instantly at the register that is worth 70 Bonus Box Tops!! The 70 bonus Box Tops coupon is worth an additional $7 to Oak Hill! (Purchases must be made in the same shopping visit.) On your next grocery trip stock up on your favorites such as Cheerios, Pillsbury Products, Fruit Roll Ups, Chex Mix, Ziploc Bags, Huggies Products, and more. Go to www.boxtops4education.com for a complete list of products and money saving coupons. Just remember when you are shopping for your cereal, snacks, paper products and so much more look for the Box Top coupons and remember to clip and save! Thank you in advance for your support!
