Every Friday a group of 10 4th and 5th graders don their fancy orange vests, 

grab some plastic trash bag liners and get to work. They are OFE's recycling club 

led by PTA Green Chairs Dina Medley and Suzy D'Souza.

"We collect recyclables all over the school including in the Blue, Green, and Gold pods, the office, and the library," says Suzy. "The kids collect bags of recyclables and place them into large bins. The bins are wheeled out to the large green recycle dumpster.  It can be hard, messy work but the kids are super helpful."

The school had had a recycling club in the past but it was renewed four years ago by then-Green Committee chairs Miriam Smith and Christina Amos.

"We wanted to find a way to reduce the impact of our school on the environment," says Christina. "So we decided to reduce the amount of paper we send home by sending out email communication as part of Wednesday folders and to get the students involved in helping the environment by picking up recycle paper and plastic/cans."

Suzy said that the club members learn the importance of recycling.

"I think they can see how much paper is thrown away each day and understand recycling and reusing is much better for our future than throwing it all away," she says. "The kids also love to collect boxes and other tossed away items for their home or school projects."

Club member Hannah Fucik wanted to join because she liked the idea of going all around the school and collecting recycling and then getting to go outside and put it in the recycling container. Hannah likes that she is helping to save the earth, and she gets to talk to all the teachers after school. Sometimes they get rewarded with treats. Hannah liked the gingerbread men at Christmas and the contest to make an ornament from recycled materials.

Fourth grader Erin Lang said: "I am in the recycling club because I think it is good for the community and our school. If we did not recycle we would not have as many resources as we have today. Recycle!"

I'm sure by now most of you have heard something about the upcoming kids triathlon being held on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the University of Houston. We are in the process of building our OFE team again this year. Those of you who don't know, last year our OFE tri kids team consisted of 94 students...and that was our first year participating. This year, we're hoping to have over 100 participants. As of the first week of February, we are already at 98 tri kids and growing.

If your child has raised an interest in wanting to participate but you are not sure how to go about it training them for it, don't worry, we've got the Healthy Kids Committee and a great group of volunteers to help out with organizing for the triathlon and the training for the triathlon, i.e., running sessions, biking sessions and swim sessions. The YMCA has a training course that is available as well. There will be many opportunities over the next two months to choose from to make sure your child gets the training they need or want. And, it's a WHOLE lot of fun!

From the time you sign your child up to the day of the event, there will be an almost daily communication of what is going on with making the triathlon a success for each student. No question or concerns will go unanswered. As each child registers, we will put their picture on the Healthy Kids bulletin board by the cafeteria showing that they have signed up for the triathlon. This also encourages other students to sign up knowing that their friends are doing it as well. It's not so much about winning a race, but just the fact that they cross the finish line and they are part of a team.

Being a first time parent seeing all the kids participate last year, it was an amazing experience to see them cross the finish line. It was such an accomplishment for them and you could see the pride on their faces..and the parents' too.

If you are interested, please go to http://www.kidstriathloninc.org/#houston. Please make sure to put Oak Forest Elementary as the school team. Once you have registered, please email me, Robin Day, at [email protected] . Once I know your child is registered, I will put you on the email list and you will begin receiving information about the triathlon. I can also answer any questions you may have.

For those of you who have already signed up, please continue to help get the word out.

If I haven't sold you yet on signing up your child, I'm just an email away to help you make your decision. :-)

Go OFE Bobcats!

Robin Day

Official Title: Tyler's mom

Secondary Title: PTA 2nd Vice President

PTA member Tomasha Coleman and husband Eric have two children at 

OFE: 10 year old Giovanni Coleman in Mrs. Rogers' class and 5 year old Angelo Coleman in Mrs. Robinson's class.

"My favorite thing about OFE is the family atmosphere," Tomasha says. "The parents are just as involved as the teachers and staff. That togetherness gets things done and assures our children get the best."

She thinks that the school's greatest strength is its reputation. 

"When I tell people where my boys attend school, they respond with 'great school' and 'I wanted my child there'. It's a great feeling!" she says.

Tomasha attended OFE too and says that being in the PTA is a show of support. 

"It's letting the principal, teachers and other parents know you support and appreciate them," she says. "The PTA helps keep me involved and I appreciate it."

She says the PTA was very visible when she attended school there. Tomasha remembers her parents joining every year as well as the open houses, the annual auction and the Fall Festival which she says was always the event you didn't want to miss. 

"If the PTA wasn't as vibrant and as involved as they are, I don't think Oak Forest would be the same," she says. "It really does take a village and OFE's PTA is a model of how it should be done."

PTA members: