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Pony Express
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF O. HENRY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Week of May 8- 14, 2023
In this Edition
NEW featureed items will be in BOLD
Quick News- Weekly School Calendar, SAVE the Dates
Thursday- May 25th-- 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony and Mustang Day (all O. Henry Mustangs)
9:00 8th grade Promotion Ceremony
11:30 8th Grade Special Luncheon from PTA with P. Terrys and Kona Ice
10:15-3:30 Mustang Day Activities-Games, Kona Ice, Trivia, Student Awards, School Dance, Outside Games, Yearbook Signing
- Quick News and School Calendar
- Academic and Counseling Center Corner-Final Exam Schedule
- Athletics-Free Physicals, Uniform Collection
- Grade Level News-This Week in ACES, End of the Year Field Trips
- Fine Arts News-Art in Action-Highlighting Student Art each Week, Save the Day-Spring Fine Arts Showcase, Dance Team Tryouts
- Campus Advisory Counsel-Meeting Minutes, Principal Report, Next Meeting Tuesday, May 23rd.
- PTA- New 2023-2024 Board
- Registration for 2023-2024 school year
QUICK NEWS
Save the Date
Jewish American Heritage Month
Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month
National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
Save the Date
5/16: FT- Girls Outside (ABP/DMoise)
5/22 : Athletics Awards-8:30 AM
5/24 End of the Year Field Trips 8:30-3:30
5/25 Mustang Day and 8th Grade Promotion at 9:00
NEW---TECH TURN IN
All students will be turning in their Chromebooks for the summer. We will be collecting devices on Thursday, May 18th
Week of May 8-12
Monday, 5/8- "A" Day
STAAR Math Testing Day- modifed schedule
Tuesday, 5/9 "B" Day
STAAR Math Make Up Day
6:00 NJHS Induction Ceremony in Cafe
6:00 School Physicals (see flyer)
Wednesday, 5/10 "A" Day
School Nurse Day
4:00, HW Club, GSA Club, Strengthening Club
Thursday,5/11 "B" Day
Field Trip- Ms. Mann's Classes-Principals of Business
4:00 HW Club
6:00 Tennis vsMurchison at AHS
Friday, 5/12 "C" Day
6:00- Fine Arts Night
ACADEMICS AND COUNSELOR CORNER
National Junior Honor Society Updates
Dear NJHS Family,
The O. Henry NJHS 7th grade Induction and 8th grade Farewell Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 9th, at 6:00 p.m. in the O. Henry Middle School cafeteria. Students need to be there by 5:45. Families are invited and encouraged to attend this very special event.
Seating
Current Member (8th graders) will be on the PE/Gym side of the cafe
Inductees/ New members /7th graders will be on Mustang Mall side of the cafe
Remember to be polite audience member
(no talking, no phones, appropriate responses)
ATHLETICS
Call for Uniforms
FREE PHYSCIALS
Tuesday, May 2nd
All student athletes wishing to participate in free physicals must return the access and medical forms to Coach Richter (ryan.richter@austinisd.org) if they wish to get a free physical. The parents and the student athletes must sign forms in ALL the appropriate places before the coach will accept the form. This includes a completed access form, medical history, athlete contact information, and both parent and student signatures.
Monday, May 8th, CommUnity Care SE Health & Wellness Center:
Free Physical Date for Bedichek, Covington, Lively, Paredes, Small, O.Henry
Athletic Forms for 23-24 School Year
2023-2024 AISD Physicals
Parent Release Form - AISD Physical Day
Important notes:
- All current physicals will expire on June 15th 2023
- If you plan to attend AISD conditioning camps and workouts over the summer, you will need to bring a new physical before you can participate.
- All coaches encourage athletes to submit their physicals before the end of THIS school year, by May 25th 2023.
- In order for physicals to be valid for the entire 23-24 school year, they need to be completed after April 15th, 2023.
- Austin High School’s Sports Medicine program will be hosting an AHS Physical Day again this year, open to all AISD students. UT Medical doctors will be performing the exams. This is a fundraiser for the AHS program and an easy way to get your physical.
- May 9th starting at 6pm in the AHS main gym
- $20 for per student, $30 per sibling pair (siblings do not need to attend AHS)
- Cash or check made payable to "Austin High Sports Medicine"
- Must complete the Parent Release form and Pre-Participation form (medical history) and submit them the day of
FINE ARTS NEWS
Guitar/Choir News
Guitar and Choir students will be having a fun time at Six Flags in May. The 7th & 8th grade students will be going to Six Flags Over Dallas in Arlington, Tx on May 6th, and the 6th grade students will be going to Six Flags Fiesta Texas on Saturday May 13.
The students will also be traveling with the Band and Orchestra students as we celebrate our year of team building and music making. Please complete payment for the trips online - you can search "Six Flags" - or follow this link. Permission forms were distributed during class and should be returned by Weds. April 19.
If you need a new form or more information, please contact jennifer.boltz@austinisd.org This is an optional activity.
Fine Arts Showcase
Please join us on Friday May 12 as we celebrate our student artists.
Everyone is invited to hear performances by the Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Jazz Band, Guitar Ensembles, Choir, Dance, Theatre and view artwork created by our talented students.
The art opening and viewing will being at 5:30 - performances will begin at 6 PM.
Art in Action
Dance Team Tryouts
"There are short cuts to happiness and dance is one of them!"
Please be there on time ready to warm up with the current dance team. Auditions should last from 4:30-5:45pm
Grade Level News
This Week in ACES
- NO ACES on Monday due to STAAR
- The Ultimate Relay Races
- Mustang Day Final Vote
- Thank you notes to our Teachers
- Mustang News, Study Hall, Back-Pack Clean Out
- Outside Time
8th grade End of the Year Trip--Wednesday, May 24th
"We are going to Typhoon Texas this year for our EOY 8th grade field trip.
Permission forms have been handed out through science and should be returned to science teachers. They are due by March 31st. Please click on the link below for information about the field trip and payment. If you have questions, please email Crystal Gaffney or Megan Aguilar."
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b2bqlWjkK1aWR4VUfM1a-QU-PWFB-gVC386Chsk5pTA/edit
7th grade End of the Year Trip
Hello 7th grade Parents,
Last week 7th grade students received information (three forms and an information sheet) about our end of year 7th grade field trip.
Please fill out the forms (purple, blue, and yellow), and encourage your student to return them ASAP to their ACES teacher.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Amber Bass Patterson, amber.bass-patterson@austinisd.org.
Here is the information sheet:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17yhpgFVBe1LLtRiLGSU4en7agpooe4LmMEjWW4QMdto/edit?usp=sharing
6th grade End of the Year Trip- Wednesday, May 24th
Hello 6th Grade Parents,
6th Graders will be going on an end of year field trip to Epic Fun. We are looking forward to every sixth-grade student joining us on this trip.
Students have received the forms from their ACES teachers about the trip. Please return the Blue Medical Form (2 sided) and Green Private transportation forms back to their ACES teacher as soon as possible. Students who have turned in forms and money will be able to sign up for their bus starting in May. If you need a scholarship, please let us know.
Feel free to reach out to Mr. Gray or Ms. Boltz if you have any questions.
More information can be found at this link - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sAWyu5UdLUPMqarqbbQR_CmVtQFrPDy4Th_OzDMBY_Y/edit
O. HENRY CAMPUS ADVISORY COUNCIL (CAC)-- MUSTANG COUNCIL
CAC Meeting Minutes and May Meeting
Please find our CAC Meeting minutes on our campus web page linked here.
Speaking at a CAC Meeting
Our next CAC meeting will be May 23rd from 4:00-5:15.
If you are interested in speaking to our CAC using our citizen communication time, please email our CAC Co-chairs Paula Cook (paula.cook@austinisd.org) or Suzzane Perez (suzannep@gmail.com)
Citizen Communications is the first item on the agenda and is time set aside for non-members to make comments to the CAC. The co-chairs may limit the time given to individual speakers and will ensure that the districts "Citizens Communication and Visitor Guidelines" are applied. Under these guidelines, except for requests for clarification, dialogue shall not occur between the speaker and the members. If the CAC is interested in hearing more from a speaker, the speaker may be invited to a future meeting and be placed on the agenda. The CAC may also call a special meeting specifically for the purpose of open-dialogue with non-members but it must be posted for discussion on specific topics.
PTA NEWS
2023-2024 PTA EXECUTIVE BOARD
2023-2024 SLATE OF PTA OFFICERS
President - Christy Merritt
President-Elect (First VP) - Alison Darnell
Secretary - Jill Rhoden
Treasurer - Lauren Sicarelli
Treasurer-Elect - Lindsay Hadlock
VP Fundraising / Ways and Means (Second VP) - Lissa Anderson
VP Support / Services (Third VP) - Jennifer Skloss
VP Communications (Fourth VP) - Kathleen Loughlin
OTHER AISD SCHOOL NEWS
REGISTRATION 2023
Registration for 2023-2024 School Year
Hello, Mustang Parents!
I hope this message finds you and your family well.
This is a reminder to register your student to O. Henry for the upcoming school year, 2023-24. If your student plans to attend O. Henry next year, you must register him/her online as soon as possible.
Your student registration is also critical to helping us determine how many students we will have in each class, and how many teachers we will need.
Please keep in mind that student registration must be repeated each year, even if yours is a returning student. Filling out the class choice sheet does not mean your student has already registered.
Follow the link according to what applies to you (new or returning). If there are any documents that you're unable to upload, you are welcome to email them to me
(lizbeth.rodriguez-loza@austinisd.org). Please be sure to include your student's name in any emailed communications.
Also, if you run into any technical problems with the website or your login, please call our Parent Support Line at 512.414.9187.
AHS Water Polo
We will go over the basic rules, do a few drills, and then some scrimmaging. Any interested girls or boys come give it a try! Please email Coach Calver @ drew.calver@austinisd.org for more details.