Currently, there is an immediate opening for a peer
buddy to attend Oak Hill Elementary School from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Monday
through Friday. The Peer Buddy Program
is designed for typically developing three/four year olds to provide peer
models or "buddies" for three/four year old children who are
receiving special education services in the public school setting. Peer models have the opportunity to be
leaders, be helpers, make new friends, and participate in activities such as
art, music, physical skill building, group learning and story time with a
certified teacher and teacher assistant.
They also learn basic school routines.
The program has been developed to ensure appropriate peer role models
for our students with needs in the areas of speech/language, listening, and
social and behavior; therefore, we do not charge a monthly fee. For more information about the program,
and/or an application form, please contact Ms. Lauri Schattenberg, Preschool
Program for Children with Disabilities Teacher, at 841-7847. To be considered for the program, the child
must have been three years of age on or before September 1, 2009.
Parent/Teacher Conferences this Month
How many times have you asked, "What did you do at school
today?" And all too often the response is, "Nothing. Well, the week of
October 19 parents will get a chance to gain more insight into how
their child is doing this year during Parent/Teacher conferences.
There is no school October 19 to allow teachers to meet with
parents. Please contact your child's teacher if you have not scheduled
a time to meet.
Read On!
News from our OHE Library...
BOOK EVENT: MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Kate DiCamillo,
author of Because of Winn Dixie
and
Tale of Despereaux,
will be at Book People (603 N. Lamar
Blvd)
Saturday, October 17th at 4:00
promoting her new book The Magician's
Elephant.
Don't miss out on the chance to see
an awesome author in person!
call (512)472-5050 for more information
Read on....Ms. Underwood, Oak Hill Librarian
C.A.T.C.H CORNER
by Kristen Palmer, OHE P.E. Teacher
Marathon Kids is a wonderful program that encourages students K – 5th grades to walk, jog, or run 26.2 miles between Sept. - February. At Oak Hill Elementary, our teachers have implemented a system in which all of the student’s miles are run and logged at school. This program has been up and running for many years at our school. At other schools, the students complete the Marathon Kids challenge exclusively at home.
In an effort to promote and encourage family physical fitness, I am inviting families to take the Marathon Challenge! This would involve logging the walking, jogging, or running that your family does at home! Families would have from Oct. – Feb. to complete the 26.2 miles.
If you are interested in the Family Marathon Challenge, email Kristen.Palmer@austinisd.org. You will receive more information on the program as well as a log sheet to track your miles. However, you don’t have to wait to start counting what you and your family walks, jogs, or runs!! Go on and get started!!
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 Monday, October 26th. More information was sent home in your child's folder and can also be found on our website here.
Free $for our school
Last
year, OHE raised $765 through the Box Tops program. Help us meet our
goal for this year of $1200! Look for the Box Top coupon on products
that you already buy. By clipping and saving the Box Tops, you are
giving money back to the school. Go to www.boxtops4education.com for money saving coupons and for a complete list of participating products.
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!
Math Pentathlon Club Underway
After the first three meetings of Math Pentathlon Club on Tuesday afternoons, most of the kinks have been worked out for the112 Oak Hill students participating from grades 1-5. Over 30 parents volunteer as coaches and assistants, along with providing snacks and babysitting for younger siblings. This new club couldn’t happen without them, or the nine teachers who are letting the Math Pentathlon Club use their classrooms every Tuesday: Osio, Cumings, Lagerquist, Atkinson, Dillon, Bentley, Maroney, Calabrese, Mendrek, and Ritter/Roberts. Approximately 28 kindergartners will be starting on Oct. 13 thanks to Michelle Kinkade, who's done all the legwork to get it going.
Volunteers and students alike are getting into the grove and many of the students will be starting their second game next week. A special thanks goes to the volunteers who have stepped in at the last minute for others who had the flu. While the Math Pentathlon Club is currently at full capacity, any questions can be directed to Ily Abounader (ily.abounader@gmail.com), who has worked very hard to put this extraordinary effort together.
Playground Update
from Ms. Whistler, OHE Principal
The AISD grounds supervisor came to Oak Hill this week to
discuss outstanding work orders. As it
turns out he is also a specialist in playground equipment. He told me that the wooden equipment in our
woods was not safe. Therefore, it was
removed this week for the safety of our students.
Fighting the Flu
It is often in hindsight that we realize our child's after school
meltdown was really because they were coming down with something. It's
important to face this flu season with both vigilance and common
sense. Take a look at the latest AISD information about seasonal
flu/H1N1 on the OHE website, which also includes some informative
links.
*please see our website calendar for the most up-to-date dates and more information
Happy Birthday www.ohepta.org and Eagle Eye!
by Geeta Suggs, mother and OHEPTA web person
We are constantly making changes and trying very hard to improve our school communications. The website changes almost daily... certainly weekly so I hope you check in there often for new information. You may not realize that our website and Eagle Eye have just turned one year old. While we've come a long way, we still have a long way to go. I certainly can't do it myself and am requesting feedback from you. If you get a moment, please go sign our guestbook on the website and leave us feedback or send me an email at info@ohepta.org of what's missing on our website or in the Eagle Eye weekly newsletters. Please keep in mind that all that we do is strictly volunteer work and we do this in the hopes that our children's live's will be enriched by us being informed. I encourage you to tell us what's missing or what you'd like to know. Help us make this a better tool for communicating.
Thank you for your continued support and patience. Together we can make a difference!
Request for Volunteers!!!
We are using a website called volunteerspot.com for various events to get
volunteers. All that is required from you is an email address (no name,
etc.). Once you enter your email address, LOOK IN YOUR INBOX for a confirmation email from volunteerspot. Click on that link in that email and then you can sign up for whatever you can help with. If you
have questions, please contact me at webmaster@ohepta.org.
Let me know what you think of volunteerspot.com. I hope it's easy for you to use!
Attention: All Classroom Volunteers!
If you were not able to
attend any of the 3 Powerpoint Presentations for Volunteers, do not fret! It will be available on the computers in the library all next week (Oct 12-16), and also on
a computer in the workroom. After you view the Powerpoint
Presentation, you need to sign the Confidentiality and Access Agreement at
the main office. Make sure to print your name underneath your
signature.
For our Spanish Speaking volunteers, we are still
working on scheduling a special presentation for you. Date/Time
TBD.
If you have any questions, please contact the school directly
at 414-2336.
OHE Picture Day!
Reminder: Tuesday, Oct. 13th is Picture
Day! Make sure to bring in your order form along with your payment.
A BIG Thank you to all our wonderful Picture Day
Volunteers! I will email your schedule by Monday. There will also be
copies of the schedules on the counter in the main office.
Science Fair Presentation This Week
Thursday, October 15, 6:30-7:30pm, Cafeteria
Science fair kick-off is this week! On Thursday evening fellow OHE parent, PTA volunteer, and Ph.D in Analytical Chemistry, Wayne Branagh, will present the scientific method in the main cafeteria. Our esteemed 5th grade teacher, Ms. Osio, will also give the presentation in Spanish. Science fair boards will be on sale by the PTA. For more information about the science fair, see this letter
, timeline and interest form, and
packet.
If your child intends to participate in the science fair, please
fill out the interest survey and return it to school. Remember,
science fair is mandatory for 4th graders!
SAVE TREES -- DOWNLOAD YOUR SCIENCE FAIR PACKET ONLINE!!!
Help us save paper by downloading your
science fair packet online! On the interest form, strike through the sentence that
reads "Please send home the
information packet." and write in "ONLINE
DOWNLOAD."
PTA Ice Cream Social!!!!
You are invited to our
1st ever Purely Social
Ice Cream Social!
Come hang out with your
OHE friends!
$1 per spoon, ice cream is free!
OHE Blacktop (outside)
October 16, 2009
6:30pm – 8:00pm
Volunteers needed for different shifts! Please come help us make this event a success!
Sign up here!
OHEPTA Webmaster Geeta Suggs has created a helpful new area on the website to keep you completely up-to-date on Austin ISD’s Boundary Task
Force that is reviewing Southwest Austin
elementary school boundaries. Once there, you can subscribe via your email address to get AUTOMATIC updates whenever any new information is posted. Simply enter your email address in the "Subscribe via email" box. The postings,
updates, and information are provided by Cathy Cox and Molly Austin, our OHE
Boundary Task Force representatives, and Casie Wenmohs, OHE’s Boundary
Working Group Chair. Check it out now at:
PARTNERS IN READING PROGRAM - GET READY TO
VOLUNTEER!
Quick Summary of the
Program:
Small group reading program during
which volunteers work with 2nd graders using a curriculum designed to make
words come alive through stories and poems. Volunteers work with the same group
of students each week for 24 sessions. Teachers are in the room during
the program. Program times will be EITHER Tuesday OR Wednesday
mornings from 8:00 am until 8:45. A Spanish/bilingual program is included
for the Bilingual classes.
Two steps to completeto become a
volunteer
1) Register as a
Volunteer
Registering will start the mandatory background
checks and build the specific email database we'll use to communicate with
volunteers. Visit the APIE website: http://www.austinpartners.org/.
Select VOLUNTEER at the upper right-hand side of
the page.
Under SEARCH FOR OPPORTUNITIES, select OAK HILL
ELEMENTARY (no need to select a program or a neighborhood) and
press SEARCH
two programs will appear as "Oak Hill Reading
Rangers". The only difference in these two options is the DAY. These programs are 2nd grade, group 'reading rangers' (not to be
confused with 1st grade, one-on-one 'reading rangers'.)
SELECT the DAY you are able to volunteer.
(Bilingual-please select Wednesday)
ENTER your email information
Likely the system will say - you are not
registered. SCROLL down and
REGISTER
2) Attend Training -
APIE provides a 2 hour training session designed to
help volunteers become familiar with the curriculum and review strategies
for working with 2nd graders. Training is required. Let
me know if this will be a problem.
Oak Hill training
opportunity:
Monday, October 12th at 8:00-10:00 in the
office/conference room at Oakhill Elementary. (Includes the Parent Volunteer
Training required by AISD) Email Hannah Neill to sign-up. hannah@ae-cpa.com
Thanks for volunteering!
Hannah Neill and DeeDee Eastwood
Dads, mark your calendars for Donuts With Your Dude!
OHE students are invited to “take their Dads to school” for
a donut on Thursday, October 22, from 7:15 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. on the playground
under the blue shade. Dads should make plans to walk their child(ren) to class
after the event. (Students must still arrive to class by 7:45 a.m.) Donuts With
Your Dude is a new event organized by the PTA’s Welcoming Committee as a way
to recognize the special role that dads (or other male role models) play in a
child’s education. If you have questions or need more information, please
contact Casie Wenmohs, Welcoming Committee Chair, at ckw@austin.rr.com.
Shop for the holidays and earn 20% for Oak Hill!
The new Learning Express toy store is donating 20% of sales to the
Oak Hill PTA when you shop from 4 to 8 PM on Thursday, November 5.
Mark your calendars for a night of holiday shopping - and enjoy
refreshments while your items are gift wrapped free too! Shop from 4
to 8 PM and 20% helps our school programs! Learning Express is located
near Kohl's and DSW.
