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BOBCAT BEAT
A PTA Publication
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It's been a great year!
Principal Jenny Thomas 
At the close of yet another productive year for Oak Forest, I would like to take a moment to thank the people who make it possible. A sincere thank you goes out to Oak Forest parents, volunteers, students, teachers, staff, and community partners. It is your focus on what is best for children that makes this an amazing place to teach and learn.
As we begin to think about summer, please remember that one of the best ways to maintain the progress students have made is to read, read, read! We encourage you to keep your child reading and learning throughout the summer months. They are also invited to OPEN COMPUTER LAB Monday-Thursday in June from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. to keep their Math and Reading skills fine-tuned with ISTATION, Think Through Math, and Dream box.
Enjoy the final days of school and have a safe and relaxing summer! We will see you back ready to learn August 24, 2015.
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Last PTA Association meeting of the year is May 21
The PTA Hospitality Committee is providing Chick-fil-a Sandwiches, a side of fruit, and a bottle of water for dinner at Thursday's History Fair, Science Solutions Expo and PTA Association Meeting. Since we are expecting a larger than usual crowd, we would like to plan accordingly and order the right amount of food. If you are planning to purchase dinner from the PTA (estimated price for the dinner is $6), please RSVP to this event on Living Tree. We will use the RSVP count as an estimate for our order. Reservations accepted through lunch-time on Thursday.
The evening events begin at 5:30; Dinner will be served beginning at 6:00; the Association Meeting begins at 6:30.
You are in for a treat for the showcase activities for the night... 
History Showcase Legacy and Leadership
5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Our students have been researching famous Americans who have impacted our lives. Come see these famous Americans come to life in the Wax Museum or learn about them through different presentations.
The Science Solution Showcase
5:30-6:30 p.m., Blue Pod
Our First Graders have been researching endangered animals. They have studied the animals in five different biomes and one class studied the flight pattern of the monarch butterfly. We invite you to come learn from our scholars!
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Bobcats in the community
by Kirk Zihlman
Big Ups to the ladies of San Jacinto Council Troop #122007
These OFE pupils are not only proud Bobcats, but also Brownies who take pride in serving their community. Recently the girls posted stickers on neighborhood storm drains in the Oak Forest/Candlelight Park area. These stickers informed citizens and residents that the local storm drains flow into Galveston Bay. Well residents of Houston, how could you work against the advisement of these conscientious young ladies? The stickers bring awareness to local residents and advise against pollution and littering.
NICE WORK LADIES! YOU HAVE MADE THE BOBCAT COMMUNITY PROUD.
Pictured: Back row, L-R; Megan W., Caroline C., Katie H., Lily J., Ava R.
Front row (kneeling) L-R; Rachel O., Lily E., Sophia M., Alexis S.
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OFE honored as parent friendly school
The Parents for Public Schools of Houston
"Guiding Star Award"
honors superstars in education. Oak Forest Elementary received a 2015 Guiding Star Award in the category of Parent Friendly Community/School at a luncheon on May 20. OFE was nominated for the award by Rhonda Skillern-Jones (below, far left), representative for HISD's District II and HISD board President. PTA President Amber Caver was on hand to receive the award with incoming president Betsy Denson, incoming secretary Julie Osterman and outgoing environment co-chair Merin Noonan.
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Triathlon a Success!
By Second Vice-President Robin Day
We had 167 students participate on the Oak Forest Elementary Triathlon Team. Congrats to all the athletes.
Thank you to everyone - from committee chairs and board members to all the people who helped with training sessions, sponsors, t-shirt delivery, poster hanging, serving food at triathlon, setting up and cleaning up at triathlon, etc.:
- Joey Hunter and Sandra Cruz, Healthy Kids Committee Chairs
- Principal Thomas
- Ms. Folse
- OFE Teachers and Staff
- Justin Gordon Homes
- New Era Mortgage
- Pengu
- Studio Fitness
- Signature Smiles
- Sweet Frog
- Mambo Seafood
- Amber Caver
- Emily Leffler
- Betsy Denson
- Leah Salinas
- Elyssa Horvath a/k/a Core Landing Marketing,
- Sandra O'Guynn
- Jen Sudduth
- Allison Spencer
- Maria Tyra
- Mitchell Damm
- Victor Martinez
- Micaela Flores
- Jarrod Marrs
- Black MS Principal Mr. Castagnoli and Assistant Principal Ms. Pollard
- Michelle Kelley
- Dianne Murata
- Debbie Fleming
- Merrin Noonan
- Courtney Adkins
- Angie Santuario
- Rachel Marie Lloyd
- Carrie Bryant
- Herman Lam
- Candice Croker
- Mindy and Matt Mitchell
- Carrie and Tony Botello
- Maureen Marcon
- Charles and Laura Carter
- Kelly Matula
- John Erwin
I know there are so many more who helped out. And last but not least, my husband and my son, Tyler, for putting up with me and all the craziness that goes along with making this event happen.
So from the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you. And most importantly, I want thank all the kids who had the courage to take this challenge and see it through to the end and cross that finish line. And for those of you who couldn't make it this year, there is always next year.
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Kindergarteners do their part for the rainforest
The Rumpus in the Rainforest was a big hit at the last PTA Association meeting. Sloths, monkeys, snakes and more put on a very special performance which was the culmination of a special unit on the rainforest. Special thanks to the kindergarten teachers and music teacher Mr. Glickfield who rehearsed with the students. And the best part? Thanks to the generosity of donors, Oak Forest raised a total of $2,170.27 to donate to the Rainforest Trust, which purchases and protects the most threatened tropical forests, saving endangered wildlife through partnerships and community engagement.
https://www.rainforesttrust.org/
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Field Day 2015 - we beat the rain...
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PTA Member Spotlight
The Miranda-Abghary family
L to R: Sally Miranda, Lauren Miranda-Abghary, Stephen Miranda and Sharlene Abghary.
Sally Miranda said that her college age son Stephen attended OFE back in the day and now she and Sharlene Abghary have daughter Lauren in second grade. "Stephen has very fond memories and wonderful years at Oak Forest Elementary," says Sally. "It gave him a great start and he also made very good friends along the way with students and teachers."
Sally says that her favorite thing about the school are the "caring" teachers. She also likes the parent involvement and the diversity.
"The school has amazing community support and a very pleasant environment conductive to learning," she says. "The variety of programs offered to students is great. Lastly, Oak Forest is a very cozy and pretty place for my daughter to go to everyday."
Being a member of the PTA keeps Sally connected with the school to know what is happening.
As a volunteer it is has given me opportunities to meet other parents and teachers, building rapport and discussing issues that are on my mind," she says. "You can share ideas, concerns, and experiences. It demonstrates to my daughter the importance that I place on her school and education. It makes her smile when we give our time and/or money for something or someone at Oak Forest. She often begs me to stay after school with her on Fridays to help with recycling. She also loves the Book Share program."
Sally says that the PTA benefits the school by their enthusiastic and energetic leadership that pulls the students, community, and staff together and organizes everyone into action.
Thank you to all who joined the PTA this year and look to re-up in the fall.
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LSU flag raising
You may have noticed the LSU flag flying on the pole at OFE. Thanks to some die hard LSU fans, led by parent Shawn Holzhauser, who bid at the OFE auction on the right to fly their school flag - the flag will be around until next spring. Longhorns, Aggies, Sooners, get ready, next year's auction will be March 4. Start planning your take back now.
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We are on FACEBOOK!
By Carolina Chavez and Jennifer Hess
2014-2015 OFE Social Media Committee
Parents,
This is a reminder that you can also get daily updates via the OFE PTA Facebook Page. Check your Smart phones or internet browsers and log in to join our group.
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Show Your Support
Support Oak Forest Elementary when you use your Kroger Plus card.
Kroger Community Rewards Program
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!
www.kroger.com/communityrewards
Either create an account or enroll 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: www.oakforestpta.com.
Sign-up grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends, etc. Let's start earning money for our school!
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Box Tops for Education
By Maureen Marcon and Cara Ramelow
2014-2015 Box Tops Committee Chairs
Great work Bobcats! In April you collected a RECORD 6,469 box tops.
April marked the end of our box top contest for this school year. Bobcats collected a total of 24,709 box tops during the contest period (August 2014 thru April 2015). With each box top worth 10 cents, you earned $2,471 for OFE this year! 
Congratulations to our contest winner, Ms. Ficke's class. Their class collected over 2,000 box tops this year. They celebrated with an ice cream party at Baskin-Robbins.
We will still be collecting box tops in the month of May, so keep sending them in! Also, don't forget to keep collecting them over the summer! You can turn them in at the start of school in August. Please consider collecting box tops if you don't already - they really do add up quickly.
Congratulations to Caroline Croker and Alisah Ramirez! They were the winners of the monthly drawing for a free Baskin-Robbins ice cream cone. For every 10 box tops submitted, you are entered into the drawing once.
The following Bobcats collected Box Tops during April and received a prize just for submitting! Names in bold submitted 100+ Box Tops.
| Aceves |
Isabella |
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Giaquinto |
Jarod |
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Patel |
Rahi |
| Adian |
Pitzer |
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Gielow |
Lula |
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Payan |
Alyssa |
| Anzaldua |
Ean |
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Griffith |
Benjamin |
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Pennington |
Catherine |
| Anzaldua |
Mya |
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Griswold |
Emerson |
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Pina |
Gabriel |
| Arroyo |
Rudy |
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Guthrie |
Christopher |
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Powis-Case |
Dylan |
| Barefield |
Jackson |
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Hansen |
Tanner |
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Pratt |
Audra |
| Barrett |
Sarah |
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Hardin |
Inarah |
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Ramelow |
Aydin |
| Barrett |
Jake |
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Harrison |
Evan |
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Ramelow |
Carsten |
| Beck |
Zakaria |
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Hickman |
Thomas |
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Ramirez |
Alisah |
| Benesch |
Shaun |
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Horvath |
Tyler |
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Ramirez |
Ava |
| Bertrand |
Liliana |
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Huff |
Katie |
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Ramirez |
Conlan |
| Branum |
Grace |
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Hunt Cantu |
Noah |
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Reina |
Brynn |
| Braun |
Sophia |
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Jacobs |
Taylor |
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Reyes |
Douglas |
| Brungardt |
Madison |
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Johnson |
Wyatt |
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Robledo |
Alexandria |
| Bunge |
Kirin |
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Johnson |
Elizabeth |
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Rodriguez |
Andrea |
| Buss |
Sofia |
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Juarez |
Renata |
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Romeo |
Stella |
| Bustamante |
Daniela |
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Lightfoot |
Dylan |
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Romero |
Connor |
| Carrette |
Andres |
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Lo |
Cynthia |
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Saha |
Alexis |
| Caver |
Drew |
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Madi |
Ella |
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Salinas |
Adrian |
| Channell |
Hannah |
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Magdaleno |
Daniela |
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Sanders |
Alexandra |
| Chavez |
Paola |
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Malveaux |
Elijah |
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Shepherd |
Isabella |
| Cheshire |
Jaxon |
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Marcon |
Sophia |
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Shields |
Marlowe |
| Comeaux |
Louis |
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Masek |
Jake |
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Siarski |
Kailyn |
| Contreras |
Itzak |
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Matula |
Jacob |
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Sterr |
Vincent |
| Cook |
Keegan |
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May |
Ashton |
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Steveken |
Robert |
| Croker |
Caroline |
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May |
Allison |
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Tamez |
Andreyana |
| Cruz |
Gabriel |
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Mendez |
Reggie |
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Thomas |
Lucia |
| Cruz |
Gianna |
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Menzel |
Gabriel |
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Thompson |
Marcina |
| Dahlmeier |
Carson |
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Miranda-Abghary |
Lauren |
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Tinoco |
Aden |
| David |
AnaCorynn |
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Mitchell |
Andrew |
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Tomp |
Antonio |
| Denson |
Natalie |
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Moore |
Chase |
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Torres |
Natalie |
| Denson |
Everett |
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Mueller |
Isabelle |
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Trevino |
Isabella |
| D'Souza |
Cecilia |
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Munoz |
Kalyan |
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Tristan |
Ricardo |
| Dudley |
Wyatt |
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Nguyen |
Tenchi |
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Van Walleghem |
Andre |
| Eichenlaub |
Lillie |
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Nguyen |
Han |
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Velasquez |
Gia |
| Espinosa |
Jesse |
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Niederlitz |
Audrey |
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Vera |
Hailley |
| Faulk |
Kinley |
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Nunnelly |
Ian |
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Waters |
Megan |
| Fleming |
Miles |
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Ordonez |
Henry |
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White |
Audrey |
| Flores |
Karla |
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Osterman |
Rachel |
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Winfield |
Camryn |
| Flores |
Katya |
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Parman |
Lexington |
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| Galdamez |
Melissa |
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Parman |
Dylan |
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*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.
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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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THANK YOU OFE and OFE PTA!
The Newsletter Committee would like to thank the OFE Community for a great year of the Newsletter. Especially, the Rookie Committee Members want to thank Incoming OFE PTA President, Betsy Denson, for her advisement and behind-the-scenes editing and publication of The Beat. She is tireless in her efforts for our school and we were proud to help her in 2014-2015, and aide her with random, obscure attempts at humor. 
Thanks,
Emily and Kirk
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