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BOBCAT BEAT
A Monthly PTA Publication
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A Message from OFE Principal
By Dr. April Williams
Welcome to 2016 and welcome back!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break. It is amazing that half the year is already behind us. I want to take a moment again to thank all of our families and staff
who
donated to the Toy Drive for our local Fire Department, they were definitely thrilled to be able to pass on some joy to those in need. On behalf of myself and OFE teachers and staff, I would also like to extend a huge thank you for the thoughtful gifts and treats. We definitely appreciate them all!
As we move into the last semester of the 2015 school year, please remember to continue to stay in contact with your child's teacher. A sustained relationship between home and school allows students to thrive in their educational environment. Please also take note of the friendly reminders below:
- Students should attend school every day and on time. Teachers pick their students up at 7:50AM and instruction begins promptly at 8:00AM.
- Uniforms should be worn every day, except Wednesdays (sports/college shirt) and Fridays (OFE spirit shits). Ripped jeans, jeggings, leggings and athletic shorts are not proper uniform attire.
- If your child forgets his/her lunch, know they will be provided a lunch. Please do not make a habit of dropping lunch to the front office every day for your child. It is very difficult for our clerks to leave their positions to deliver lunches. I do understand that mornings are rushed and sometimes we forget.
- Students are not allowed to be picked up after 2:30PM. No student will be called to wait in the office for their parent to arrive early. We must always ensure safety above all else. Students will be called to the office only when their parent (or designated ride) arrives.
- Avoid delays and traffic by taking advantage of dropping your students early. They are welcome in the building at 7:00AM daily.
I am looking forward to another wonderful semester at OFE. Thank you for all you do in helping us ensure the best education for your child.
Dr. Williams
Important January Dates to Remember:
January 18 - MLK Day (no school)
January 27 - Early dismissal
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Planning Ahead
At their November 23 meeting, the HISD School Board of Education approved the 2016-2017 school calendar. The first day of school will be August 22 and the last day of the school year will be May 25.
The full calendar can be found at:
http://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/17155/2016-17AcademicCalendar.pdf
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Enchanted Masquerade - OFE Auction 2016
By Ruth Mendez & Courtney Zavala - OFE Auction Committee
Chairs
The 2016 Silent and Live Auction - "Enchanted Masquerade" will be held on Friday, March 4, 2016 at 7:00PM at SPJST Lodge 88 (1435 Beall St.) The auction is OFE's biggest fundraiser of the year, benefiting student enrichment, leadership programs, and technology enhancements. The event will include dinner, live music by Breakfast at Tiffany's (K teacher, Ms. Janish's band!) and is a BYOB Adult Only event! You may sponsor the auction, purchase a table for the event to sit with your friends or donate an item for the auction today by going to the OFE Auction website (
http://www.oakforestpta.com/fundraising-events/spring-auction/) and filling out the sponsor or donation form. Individual and online ticket sales and sponsorship will be available soon so please continue to check Living Tree and the Spring-auction website for regular updates.
Each class will participate in the auction by creating a class basket that will be auctioned off at the event. If you choose to donate items (for example unused gift cards), please remember to fill out the Auction Donation Form located at
www.oakforestpta.com/fundraising-events/spring-auction and send it along with any items to the front desk at school. If your donation is a large item that your kiddo can't carry, please e-mail us at
[email protected] and we will arrange for pick up.
The themes for the baskets are as follows:
- Pre-K and Kinder: Coffee/Tea (Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, thermos, travel mug, biscotti, chocolates, etc.)
- 1st Grade: Camping (cooler, flashlight, sunscreen, sleeping bag, folding chair, etc.)
- 2nd Grade: Spa (bubble bath, body scrub, tub pillow, loofah, etc.)
- 3rd Grade: Sports (football, baseball, glove, goggles, racquet, Frisbee, Texans paraphernalia)
- 4th and 5th Grade: Grilling/Cooking (seasoning, sauces, utensils, apron, cutting board, fire starter, etc.)
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Book Fair Success!
By Laurie Pitzer and Selena Crochet, PTA
Book Fair Chairs
The numbers are in ... Our Fall Book Fair officially raised $6,423.97! This was our most successful fair, yet -- thank you to all who shopped. Our OFE Librarian, Ms. Campbell, will be able to purchase hundreds of BRAND NEW LIBRARY-BOUND books for our Bobcat Library thanks to your support!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Hope to see you all back to shop next spring.
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Teachers of the Week for December 2015
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Fourth grade teacher, Ms. Soria, expects nothing less than the best from her students and it shows in their work, which was on display in the front entry in December. Did you see the catapults her fourth-graders created? We're all very happy to have her at OFE for the first year this year.
__________________________________________________________________
Ms. Cones' fourth grade students enjoy creative, project-based learning activities
throughout the year. This holiday season, for example, each student chose a country, and researched how its citizens celebrate Christmas.
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PALS Corner:
Peer Assistance and Leadership Students
By Jennifer Brown, OFE Counselor
Bobcat Beat Submission by Evan Neff:
The PALS have been busy helping Ms. Shepherd with magnet tours since October. Every week, four PALS greeted the prospective Bobcats and their parents and walk them to the library. As we lead the tours at OFE, many fifth grade students have also been touring various middle schools. It will be very sad to leave such a great school with most of us going our separate ways. We will always remember Bobby the Bobcat but are excited about our new adventure!
The fifth grade PALS took time out of their morning to spread lots of JOY for their Random Acts of Kindness project on December 17th. There was excitement in the air as the PALS surprised some hardworking, very deserving employees with caroling, holiday cards and home-baked treats. Kindness, happiness and holiday cheer were in the air!
"Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change." --- Bob Kerry
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OFE Yearbook Sales Results!
By Jennifer Trevino Scogin
, PTA Yearbook Committee
The yearbook class competition is over and 252 yearbooks were pre-sold in the fall! That is the most pre-sales OFE has done. You can still order yearbooks via the PTA website at www.oakforestpta.com as well as dedication pages (a final order deadline will be determined later but will likely be around the end of January, so keep that in mind!). Please note that dedication pages are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
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By Renee Dahlmeier and Kathleen Orr, PTA Teacher Appreciation Committee (TAPS)
The Teacher Appreciation Committee (TAPS) provided a Holiday Breakfast on Friday, December 11. Creative Crepes served made to order Crepes for all our teachers and staff. Five PALS delivered crepes to the teachers and we are so thankful for their time and willingness to help. A special thank you to: Jack Davis,
Abby O'Guynn,
Tyerra Osborne, and
Adonai Ross for helping to make the TAPS Holiday Breakfast wonderful for OFE!
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PTA Healthy Kids 
By Joey Hunter, PTA healthy Kids Committee
The OFE PTA's
Healthy Kids Week is right around the corner:
January 25-29
. We have a fun week planned to include: collecting non-perishable food items for the Souper Bowl of Caring, showing support for our fellow students and a representative from t
he Houston Texans Kids Triathlon presenting at OFE to encourage our kids to participate in this year's triathlon. No firm date in April has been set but it is not too soon to start thinking about it! This is a fun family event that is very popular at Oak Forest. Last y
ear, we had 167 kids on our team and are hoping for even more this year. We don't want the kids to have all the fun ... parents, if y
ou are going to challenge your kiddos to do a triathlon, you too will have the opportunity.
Check out
http://www.trifind.com/re_221813/NoLabelTriathlon.html
Let's see how many Oak Forest parents are up for the challenge.
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PTA Member Spotlight:
Otto family
The
Ottos
support the OFE PTA because they want their children to know how much they value education. Mom, Tara says, "We love the supportive teachers and staff at OFE. The teachers truly care about our kids and about our family. I have seen the teachers go above and beyond in the classroom, and I feel like they really know and love our children. I am continually telling the kids how fortunate we are to go to a school like Oak Forest and I thank God for the teachers, staff, and parents that make the school excellent."
Will and Tara's seven-year old daughter, Campbell, is in Ms. Brantford's first grade class. Finley (6) started kindergarten in Ms. Robinson's class this year. Mary Ann is in preschool, and their youngest, Jude, is 20 months old.
Tara says of her school-aged children, "The kids love to go to school! They have made good friends and have learned so much. I truly cannot believe that our kindergartener is in the process of learning to read, and I attribute this to his teacher. Our first grader's teacher is so kind and I love how she constantly encourages my daughter."
Many
PTA members say that they joined the PTA to show appreciation and support of their school. If you aren't a member, you can make joining part of your new year's resolution, and show support for OFE alongside families like the Ottos: join for $6.50 online at www.oakforestpta.com
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Give back to OFE in 2016 with AmazonSmile
By Maureen Marcon and Cara Ramelow, PTA Box Tops Committee
Have you heard of
AmazonSmile
and how it can help OFE?
Bobcats can now earn money for Oak Forest Elementary by doing your Amazon shopping through the AmazonSmile program!
- Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Oak Forest Elementary.
- AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service.
Using the link below, connect your Amazon Smile account to "Oak Forest Elementary PTA".
NOTE:
You MUST do your Amazon shopping at smile.amazon.com for OFE to get credit for your purchases.
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PTA Membership Myths
By Gaby Rodrigues and Courtney Gaydosik - PTA Membership Chairs
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Only moms join the PTA.
A strong PTA needs the support of parents,
family members, teachers, school staff members and the community. Anyone who cares about our children should join the PTA.
* Joining the PTA means I have to volunteer.
The PTA appreciates everyone's membership, regardless of your availability. You will be made aware of volunteer opportunities as they arise; any amount of time helping out at OFE is appreciated!
* PTA Membership never expires; I only have to join once.
Each new school year begins a new PTA membership year. Your membership will be good through the end of August 2016.
* I do not have any more hours in the day to give to the PTA.
If you are unable to give your time, please consider giving us your financial support. You will have the satisfaction of knowing your contribution helps fund activities and events for our OFE students and teachers throughout the year. Check our website for details.
* The PTA is only made up of stay-at-home moms who need something to do.
Our 70-person PTA Board is made up of a wide range of people: dads, full-time and part-time working mothers and stay-at-home moms who juggle bills, homework, sports and household chores just like you :)
* My child's life will be the same whether or not I join the PTA.
Not only does PTA membership put you in regular contact with other involved and vocal OFE families, but also our OFE teachers and administrators. This shows you are interested and actively invested in their overall educational experience.
* I have an idea but the PTA isn't interested.
Please share your new ideas and your suggestions for improvement at any time. We strive to keep our activities and events fresh and exciting for our students and teachers, which can only happen with your input. Email Betsy Denson, our PTA President, to get the ball rolling with your idea: [email protected]
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Did you know...What is GradeSpeed and GradePro?
Keep up with your child's grades on Gradespeed (website) or via an app called GradePro! Both free services are used across HISD in order to keep up with a child's attendance and grades. To register online, you will need your student's HISD ID number which can be found on their report card.
If you still have difficulty with registration, please
call the HISD Helpdesk at 713-892-7378.
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Support OFE: Link your Kroger Plus card
By Cara Ramelow and Maureen Marcon - Box Tops Committee Chairs
If you have linked your Kroger Card with Oak Forest Elementary PTA and submitted a screen print from the Kroger Community Rewards website or a printed receipt from Kroger noting at the bottom that you are supporting OFE, your child will earn a free dress day in the spring (TBD). If you haven't done so yet, please submit this ASAP with your child's name and homeroom teacher's name on it to your teacher.
Every time you use your Kroger Plus card, Kroger will donate money to Oak Forest Elementary. All you need to do is go to the following website and enroll in their Community Rewards Program:
Choose Oak Forest Elementary PTA / Organization No. 90142 as your reward choice!
Either create an account or enroll (or Re-Enroll if you have already participated in previous years!) in the rewards program if you already have an account set up.
You must re-enroll every year so sign-up now. Oak Forest Elementary is depending on you! You must sign up online; you can't sign up in the store. if you need assistance with signing up, instructions on how to enroll can be found on the Oak forest Elementary PTA website.
Sign-up grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends, etc. Let's start earning money for our kids and our school!
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Box Tops for Education
By Cara Ramelow and Maureen Marcon - Box Tops Committee Chairs
Oak Forest Elementary needs your support in raising money for our school. There are a couple of easy ways that you can help make a difference! (1) You can register your Kroger Plus card with Kroger's Community Rewards Program and (2) you can collect Box Tops for Education. Last year we earned almost $6,600 between these two programs and we are determined to beat that total!!
For every 10 unexpired Box Tops that you submit, you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a free ice cream cone. Your box tops submissions can be turned into your teacher or you can drop them in the blue basket located by the bench in the front atrium. It is helpful to submit your box tops in groups of ten in a zip lock bag or envelope and don't forget to
include a box tops raffle slip for every ten Box Tops submitted. You must include your full name and classroom on your bag or envelope so you can be entered in the drawing. There is a raffle slip at the bottom of this article or you can go to this link -
http://whub34.webhostinghub.com/~oakfor5/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Box-Tops-Raffle-Sheet.pdf
In December, Bobcats collected 1,686 box tops - that makes 10,930 so far for the school year! With each box top worth 10 cents, you've earned $1,093 for our school so far this school year! Ms. Rogers' class is in the lead for the end of year ice cream party with Ms. Graeve's class not too far behind them! But, don't worry! There is plenty of the school year left to collect for your class! Congratulations to Kirin Bunge and Elizabeth Johnson. They were the winners of the monthly drawing for a free ice cream cone.
The Bobcats listed below collected Box Tops during December and received a prize just for submitting. Names in bold submitted 100+ Box Tops. Good work, Bobcats!
Cooper Allen
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Hayley Davila
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Carter Neil-Dobbs
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Mia Strom
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Conner Amos
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Amanda Evans
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Claire Nguyen
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Richard Taylor
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Carson Amos
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Savannah Horvath
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Catherine Pennington
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Travis Tilley
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Jackson Autry
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Tyler Horvath
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Blaise Rabo
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Olivia Tipton
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Mariam Bell
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Kernard Hughes
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Kailyn Ragsdale
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Nicole Tomp
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Kirin Bunge
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Isabel Issakhan
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Aydin Ramelow
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Davis Turner
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Akira Bunge
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Elizabeth Johnson
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Carsten Ramelow
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Gia Velasquez
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Daniela Bustamante
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Fouad Khalaf
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Alisah Ramirez
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Maren Ware
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Lilliana Caballos
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Elijah Kruppa
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Brynn Reina
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Story Witherspoon
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Jaxon Cheshire
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Grace Lurix
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Siena Rodrigues
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Presley Crabbe
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Ella Madi
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Alexis Saha
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Caroline Croker
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Miguel Maldonado
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Brayan Sanchez
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Chase Culpepper
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Jackson Martini
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Dayanara Sauceda
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Kole D'Agostino
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Mirella Mendez
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Kailyn Siarski
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Kendall David
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Lina Mendez
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Joseph Siarski
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AnaCorynn David
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Reggie Mendez
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Katelyn Smith
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OFE
Box Tops for
Education
Raffle Ticket
Just attach 10 to be added to our monthly drawings
Hint: Box tops can be placed in a ziplock bag or envelope and stapled to the form. |
Student's name: ___________________
Home Room Teacher Name:__________________________
Pod:____________
Grade:_____
Entry Date:__________________
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Available for OFE Box Tops Raffle
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