May
 
2016
BOBCAT BEAT 
A Monthly PTA Publication 
A Message from OFE Principal  
By Dr. April Williams
 
We have come to the end of an incredible, and incredibly busy school year here at OFE. And what a year it has been! I am so proud to be able to work with the wonderful students here and the entire OFE community - I could not have asked for a better place to serve as a first year principal. Thank you to the parents and students for all you do to make coming to work such a pleasure for all of us who are privileged to work here.

I do not intend to repeat the details of everything I have written in my previous posts to you about the many facets of life at OFE. Suffice it to say that it is always busy, and our children are always inspiring. Over the past week or so, we have seen this once again in so many ways. Our 5th grade PALS provided service to the MANNA Food Pantry by helping those affected by the rain and flooding that we sustained a few weeks ago and the level of talent and dedication the "Wizard of Oz" play displayed is next to none. WOW! Mrs. Osterman and her team outdid themselves; our students definitely have some phenomenal talents and it is a joy to watch them manifest. WITS awarded three of our students the distinguished
honor of reading their poems during their ceremony at the Menil Collection. Our students were chosen
from thousands of students in the Houston area. Our Career Day, although postponed due to weather,
could not have been more perfect. Thank you to all the parents who dedicated their time teaching our
students about the jobs they can secure with a strong education. The week of May 2 celebrates our
teachers and their undying dedication to OFE. Teacher Appreciation Week is one that allows us to thank
those who dedicate their time and talent to our kiddos every day. Please, if you haven't already, let your
teacher know how much you and your child appreciate them.

The end of a school year is a joyous time. It is nice to see the students and how they have grown and matured in a nine month span. But, with joy, comes sadness. It is hard to say goodbye to our kiddos who are moving on to middle school and our teachers who have done so much for OFE this year and years past. Our librarian, Mrs. Campbell, is retiring this year. While it is definitely sad to see her go, I cannot help but wish her well in her new life. She has devoted so much time and energy to OFE and I cannot thank her enough for that. She deserves rest, relaxation and grand-babies.


In my opinion, this has been a stellar year! I have a commitment to making OFE the highest achieving school in Houston academically and with your continued support I know we can achieve it! Please continue to have your child in school every day and on time. Teaching and learning is happening right up until the last moment on Wednesday, May 25.

Have a wonderful, safe and relaxing summer! See you back in August.



Important May Dates to Remember:

May 9     STAAR Testing - closed campus (no parent lunches)

May 10   STAAR Testing - closed campus (no parent lunches)

May 11    STAAR Testing - closed campus (no parent lunches) 
 
May 13 - Field Day

May 19 - PTA GT Expo

May 19
- PTA Meeting #5

May 23 - Awards Day

May 24 - Designated HISD party day

May 25 - Last day of school
   
 
Happy Retirement to Mrs. Campbell
By Candice Croker, Elizabeth  Arredondo  Hill and Angela Pennington
 

The OFE PTA and OFE community along with expressed sentiments of Ms. Angela Pennington, would like to  extend a huge thank you and farewell to our beloved OFE Librarian, Mrs. Julie Campbell. She has accomplished so much in her HISD career, and has carried on a family tradition of promoting excellence in education.  Her father, Dr. Leonard Robbins, was on the HISD school board from 1969-1972, serving as president in 1970.  His board began HISD's magnet schools, the gifted and talented program, and two schools - The High School for Health Professions and the High School for Performing and Visual Arts. Mr. Campbell taught at HSPVA for many years, and Mrs. Campbell and all four of the Campbell children graduated from the school.  She arrived at OFE in 1990, and for 14 years, she taught third and fourth grade reading, language arts, and social studies.  She became the librarian in 2004, when OFE moved into the new building.   In the 2010-2011 academic year, the district honored Mrs. Campbell as the HISD Librarian of the Year.   She enhanced Accelerated Reader (AR) to be the motivational program that it is today, and she carried on popular annual Bobcat traditions such as book character parades, book fairs, Read for the Record, and more.


Thank you, Mrs. Campbell, for all of the years you have  touched the hearts and minds of all of your students. Giving students passion about literature is a priceless gift. Although many of your students won't realize until they are older, during those K - 5th grade years, you made a lasting impression on them.  There are and will continue to be generations of Bobcats who truly appreciate you. Our PTA will miss your hospitality and graciousness that you have always shown when PTA board meetings, Coffee with the Principal, and other events have borrowed your library before and after school. You always welcome parents and our community with a smile. We know you have grand adventures planned with your brand new grand-babies but hope you always know you have a home at OFE any time you want to visit. A quirky movie character in a corny 1980's movie once said a prophetic line that we feel is applicable: "We don't say Good-bye, we say Good Journey." THANK YOU, Mrs. Campbell!
 
Kudos to our Head Honchos

Our Oak Forest PTA members would like to extend a big THANK YOU  to both the PTA leadership and to the OFE Administration in this year of transition.

Mrs. Betsy Denson is serving in her first year as OFE PTA President, and Dr. April Williams is finishing her first year as OFE Principal. Both of these women have shown this school and community how leadership is done right. We cannot thank them both enough for all of their hard work to guarantee OFE and its PTA did not skip a 'Beat' (no pun, okay a little pun intended). Please thank them the next time you see them around campus or out in our community. We are very thankful to them and their respective executive teams that transitioned the PTA and the Administration into a very successful 2015-2016 Academic Year.
 
HISD Budget Cuts - Recap from Coffee with the Principal
By Rachelle Park - PTA Legislative Committee Chair   

On April 15, our PTA met with Dr. Williams for our final Coffee with the Principal of the 2015/16 school year.  The topic for the Coffee was the anticipated budget cuts for the 2016/17 school year.  The Coffee was well attended as many OFE parents showed concern about cuts in programs and personnel.


BACKGROUND a s reported by the Houston Chronicle on February 25, 2016 - 
HISD expects to owe the state $161 million due to the recapture system.  The recapture system, better known as Robin Hood, takes tax dollars from districts deemed as "property-rich" and redistributes them to less wealthy ones.   The Chronicle went on to say, "A 2014 court decision declared the state's overall school-finance system unconstitutional. The Texas Supreme Court is weighing an appeal from the state, so no immediate financial relief is expected," and, "HISD had avoided this status with help from state lawmakers over the years, but this time legislators did not agree to raise the payback threshold enough to counter the district's still-rising property values."

One hundred and sixty-one million dollars is a lot to overcome in any budget.  Oak Forest Elementary could be facing a cut of around $70 per student.  There are many areas to look at the cuts, but Dr. Williams made it very clear that personnel is the last area they would cut.  Programs that could be cut first are perks for teachers, reducing supply use like paper, dreambox, IStation, and think through math.  If they have to cut personnel then hourly staff and interventionists would be considered first.  The parents expressed deep concern about ancillary programs being cut.  Dr. Williams said they are not looking at cutting any of these programs.
There was also discussion about whether or not Magnet/Vanguard programs will be cut.  The state provides funding for Gifted and Talented but OFE also gets monies from the district for being a magnet school.  Interim Supt. Ken Huweitt recently tabled the proposal to cut funding for schools funded for both magnet and vanguard. This is no longer an item for the Board to vote on.

There was a lot of discussion around how the parents of OFE can make a difference: Dr. Williams brought up that grants and donations are great sources of funding.  The OFE PTA has had a Grant Board Position in the past, but the position had not been active for the last 2 years.  The PTA may need to consider opening this position and recruit families who have experience with writing grants.  If you or anyone else you know is interested in helping with writing grants, please reach out to our PTA President Betsy Denson at president@oakforestpta.com .

Dr. Williams also spent a lot of time explaining how attendance affects the budget.  OFE average attendance for the 2015/16 year is 97.1%.  That sounds really high, but the actual goal is 98%.  Budget for next year is based on attendance this year.  So far this year OFE has lost an estimated $75,000 just from lack of attendance.  Dr. Williams and the rest of the school faculty certainly understand that our children get sick and do not want infectious children going to school.  However, there seemed to be a direct correlation between holidays and absences.  It is understandable that families sometimes want to take their children out of school early for a holiday, but that one absence equates to $40 in revenue loss.  That $40 adds up quickly when we have 800+ Bobcats! 

Helpful tips:
  1. If a child is not in their classroom at 10 AM, they are counted as absent, so scheduling doctor's appointments early morning or in the afternoon may prevent them from being counted as absent.
  2. If a child misses the entire school day and brings in a doctor's excuse the next day, the absence will be excused but not changed to present.
  3. On the other hand, if a child leaves school at 9:50 and comes back the next day with a doctor's note, we can change that absence to present, thus not lose funding - same goes if they come in at 11:30 with a note. In other words, if kids have doctor's appt., bring them to school either before or after the appt. Don't choose to miss a full day of school for an appt that usually takes at most an hour because our funding is impacted as a result.
  4. Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between attendance and performance. Read a fascinating article here.
We all know that figuring out the budget cuts is a daunting task, but based on what we learned at the Coffee with the Principal, it was apparent that Dr. Williams and her team will work tirelessly to prevent any cuts from affecting our children's education.  The final budgets will not be determined until the middle of the summer.  However, if you have any questions for Dr. Williams, please reach out to her via email at awilliam@houstonisd.org .


THANK YOU to Chick-fil-A
 Acknowledgment as Suggested by OFE Staff Member, Angela Pennigton   

We would like to thank the ownership, management, and friendly staff at Chick-Fil-A on 610!

They have been generous all year in donating treats for our Teachers of the Week and also for our students who have had perfect attendance all year.


PTA Healthy Kid - Houston Kids' Triathlon was a Monumental Success
by Joey Hunter - PTA Healthy Kid Committee Chair
healthykid@oakforestpta.com 

The 2016 Houston Kids' Triathlon at NRG stadium was a huge success. We had great weather, lots of parking, and a fantastic view of the participants as they went from the pool to the transition area. Sandra and I say THANK YOU to all of the volunteers and to our generous sponsors: United Healthcare, Mambo Seafood, The Texas Tamale Co., Pengu, and Thomas Printworks. Also a big, big thanks to Robin Day!  Mambo Seafood was so generous that we had seven boxes of fresh fruit left over and donated them to Heights Interfaith Ministries Food Pantry. 

We will continue hosting the Greet the Sun Run's on Wednesday mornings from 7:20 to 7:40 a.m on the OFE blacktop. Even though the triathlon training is done, the kids are enjoying the outdoor time and it's a great way to start the day! 



     
Name That Book Finals Competition
by Julie Campbell - OFE Librarian  
 

March came and went with some amazing reading accomplishments. Our 3-5 Name That Book Team went to an extremely competitive finals competition on March 4, and after a nail-biter sudden death tie-breaker, earned a 3rd place trophy!  
Then, on March 28, our K-2 OFE 2x2 book squad competed against teams from 5 other HISD elementary schools and won 1st place medals! 

Way to go, OFE Bobcat NTB Teams! These kids can really name those books!  




     
















Name That Book Team at district finals (representing grades 3-5)                2x2 Team at preliminary round (representing grades K-2)

Treasurer's Corner - A Year in Review
By Theresa Velasquez - PTA Treasurer


The 2015-2016 OFE PTA fundraising activities have gone so far to benefit Oak Forest Elementary and have helped sustain Oak Forest Elementary PTA.  Take a look at what we have accomplished this academic year:

In the Fall 2015:

Fall Fundraiser (Boosterthon): $62,200
Book Fair (Fall) - $6,423.97

In the Spring 2016:

Auction: $98,100
Book Fair (Spring) - $4,000 - Preliminary


All Year long Contributions:

Box Tops: $1,286.67
Kroger Donation Cards: $4,406.18
Amazon Smile: $170.34

Thank you from the Newsletter committee to all of the PTA Committees, OFE Parents, OFE Staff, and community members and partners for a full school year of support and generosity!  

The PTA presented a check to the school for $15,000 to be used for SmartBoard technology at the last board meeting. Other PTA funds will be used for WITS, environmental education, playground equipment for the 3rd grade and leadership development.

 The PTA presented a check to the school for $15,000 to be used for SmartBoard technology at the last general PTA meeting. Other PTA funds will be used for WITS, environmental education, playground equipment for the older grades, and leadership development. 

Book Fair Update and Thanks to Mrs. Campbell
By Laurie Pitzer and Selena Crochet - PTA Book Fair Committee
bookfair@oakforestpta.com 
The Book Fair Committee  extends a huge thank you to Mrs. Campbell for keeping us on schedule and being a fantastic delegator!  She truly has made our job as committee chairs easy and fun.  In the fall, the book fair raised over $6,500.  We hope to have raised a similar amount this spring, if not more.  Mrs. Campbell said, " Thanks to the wonderful support of our Fall book Fair, we were able to purchase many brand new books, both fiction and non-fiction. The new books are flying off the shelves - from designer dogs, myths, and dino-detectives, to space penguins, robot racers, and superheroes.  Oak Forest students are really practicing their reading skills and having fun doing it!"   Keeping our library well-stocked, and up-to-date is expensive, and e verything purchased or donated at the book fairs goes directly to the library budget .  Mrs. Campbell has always strived to make sure we have quality, library bound, current and popular books for our students in our beautiful library.  Thank you to everyone who has helped maintain and build our Bobcat Library!   

The spring book fair was bittersweet, knowing that this is our last one with Mrs. Campbell!  We'd like to congratulate her on her upcoming retirement, and thank her for making our library such an asset to our school.  Working with her during these fairs has been a pleasure.  She is super organized and dedicated, and it should be a smooth transition as she passes on the torch to someone new.  Thank you, Mrs. Campbell!

We also owe a hearty thank you to all of the students, parents, and staff who participated in the spring book fair.  These fifth grade boys are showing their love and appreciation for literature, and for their OFE library and librarian.

 
April 2016 Teachers of the Week



_________________________________________________________________________________

 
Fifth grade teacher Mr. Warren exudes what an OFE teacher is all about by exemplifying our empathy value. He spends time  interacting with students one on one, and says that one of his favorite things to do at OFE is meet with student to discuss the books they are reading.  When he is not at OFE, you may find him riding his mountain bike on a trail with his OFE Bobcat third grader, Alba. Thank you, Mr. Warren, for all you do.  







 
 _________________________________________________________________ 


Ms. Janish is a Kindergarten teacher who has known she wanted to teach young children
since before the beginning of her career. She said, "When I was a freshman in college (go Coogs!), I was offered a teaching assistant position at the Montessori Children's  Cottage. I loved it so much that after my first day working in the Pre-K classroom, I went straight to my parents' house and told them that I wanted to become a teacher. I truly enjoy coming to work every day. My students' education is my passion."  When Ms. Janish isn't teaching, you may hear her singing around H-town.  Inspired and encouraged by her middle school music teacher, Mrs. Wiggins, Ms. Janish went from choir to singing in her own band.  Many of our parents enjoyed her band, Breakfast at Tiffany's, perform live at the OFE auction this spring.  
 
 
 
 


 
PTA Member Spotlight:The Benesh Family 

This has been the Benesh  family's first year at OFE, and according to them, it has been a huge success.  Jane is a Kindergartner, and when asked about her best memory of her first year of school, she replied, "The first day I met Ms. Robinson!"  Noah, a second grader, fondly remembers the day his class took a field trip to a play at Miller Outdoor Theater.  Mom Lauren and Dad Nathan joined the PTA this year, and Lauren says that what she has found most valuable about being a member is "Information!"  She explained, " As a family who is new to OFE, it's incredibly helpful to have access to the information we need to be successful in a new school culture.  Also, it's inspiring to see how much this community of parents cares about meeting our kids' educational needs (and helping them have fun!)." Welcome to the Benesh family this year!  We will look forward to seeing them again in the fall, and in future years, meeting Clara (3) and Abigail (1).  

 




Give back to OFE in 2016 with AmazonSmile
By Maureen Marcon and Cara Ramelow - PTA Box Tops Committee Chairs
boxtops@oakforestpta.com
 
Thanks to all Bobcats who have supported Oak Forest Elementary with Amazon Smile, Box Tops and Kroger Community Rewards. By participating in these programs, you help raise money for our school. These funds are used to purchase supplies and equipment for our classrooms and school. 

 

Bobcats can now earn money for Oak Forest Elementary 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.

Having only 1 month of Reporting, the Amazon Smile account earned OFE $170.34. We hope to report similar success in the months to come.

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. 


Support OFE: Link your Kroger Plus card  
By Cara Ramelow and Maureen Marcon - PTA Box Tops Committee Chairs
boxtops@oakforestpta.com

If you haven't already linked your Kroger Plus Card, please do!! OFE will earn money from purchases at Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana through the rest of the school year and summer! Currently, we have over 200 households linked and the potential of raising $8,000+ on an annual basis. Please link if you haven't already! This is the easiest money that OFE earns!

Kroger rewards are based on a four quarter system beginning with quarter one in September, at the beginning of the school year.  We only have half of our fundraising proceeds in for this school year. In the first two quarters (Sept-Nov & Dec-Feb) we raised $2,614.04.  We've doubled our participating households since the start of the school year, so should be pulling in about $1,700 for each of the last two quarters, which will put our estimated school year total at $6,000!
 
Every ti me 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:
 
www. kroger.com/communityrewards

Choose Oak Forest Elementary PTA / Organization No. 90142 as your reward choice!

 

 
Box Tops for Education 
By Cara Ramelow and Maureen Marcon - PTA Box Tops Committee Chairs
boxtops@oakforestpta.com
  
Thanks for collecting Box Tops, Bobcats! April marked the end of our Box Top contest for this school year. Bobcats collected a total of 20,706 box tops from August 2015 thru April 2016. You have earned $2,070.60 for OFE (with May submissions still coming in)! Congratulations to our contest winner, Mrs. Rogers' class! They have collected 1,578 box tops since the start of the school year! They will be celebrating with an ice cream party at Baskin Robbins!

We will still be collecting box tops in May, so keep sending them in!
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 Ziplock bag or envelope.

Please note that there will be no drawing or submission prizes for the month of May as we will all be well into enjoying our summer before a count has been completed. Please keep collecting box tops over the summer and you can turn them in at the start of school in August.

                 
                                                      "We are the Champions!" - Mrs. Rogers' Winning Class - OFE 2015-2016 BoxTops Program
 

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:__________________

 Available for OFE Box Tops Raffle