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Pony Express
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF O. HENRY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Week of April 24-30, 2023
In this Edition
NEW featureed items will be in BOLD
- Quick News-Save the Dates
- STAAR Bell Schedule and Testing Schedule-8th grade Science and Socail Studies
- School Calendar for the week
- National Junior Honor Society- New and Returning Members
- Counseling Center Corner-Course Verifications, New Lunch Hangout, , GSA Club restarting this week.
- Athletics-Congratulations Track and Field, Spring Physicals, HS Athletics 23-24
- Grade Level News-This Week in ACES, End of the Year Field Trips,
- Fine Arts News-Spring Band Concert, Guitar/Choir Field Trip, Art in Action-Highlighting Student Art each Week
- Campus Advisory Counsel-Budget Meeting this Tuesday, April 25
- PTA News-PTA Meeting, Friday, 4/28, Volunteer Appreciation, SAVE THE DATE- Cornhole Tournament
- Registration for 2023-2024 school year
- FREE Summer STEM Camp, Girls Empowerment Network Event.
QUICK NEWS
Week of April 24-30
7:00 Tennis Practice
4:00 HW Club
Tuesday, 4/25 "B" Day
7:00 Tennis Practice
4:00 CAC Meeting
Wednesday, 4/26 "A" Day
8th Grade Science STAAR Test
4:00, HW Club, GSA Club, Strengthening Club
Thursday, 4/27 "B" Day
8th Grade Social Studies STAAR Test
6:00 Tennis vs Murchison at AHS
Friday, 4/28 "C" Day
8:30 PTA Volunteer Appreciation Coffee
Saturday, 4/29
Orchestra Solo and Ensemble at AHS
National Junior Honor Society Updates
Save the date UPDATE
NJHS induction ceremony has change to Tuesday, May 9th at 6:00pm
Induction ceremony meeting
We will have a NJHS meeting for all current members and new applicants on May 4 during Aces in the cafe.
Members Reminders
Membership dues required for current members - pay @ https://www.schoolcashonline.com/
Service hours for current NJHS members are Due April 24 (30 hours)
- turn in your paper log to Mrs. White's box in the office or fill out the Google form
NJHS New Applicants
Keep an eye out for email notifications on NJHS acceptance First of May.
Service hours for new applicants to NJHS are Due April 24 if you have not submitted them already (5 hours)
- turn in your paper log to Mrs. White's box in the office or fill out the Google form
O. Henry Beautification,
Thank you to all NJHS members who came out Saturday and helped beautify our campus.
Becky White
O.Henry Middle School
Theatre Director and Art Teacher
NJHS Sponsor
COUNSELOR CORNER
Where are the Course Requests?
Course Verification Instructions
The email system to send out course verification forms is still delayed. We are trying something different to help you access your courses. Please make sure to read all of the important information and instructions below to access your course listings.
Course Verification listings are the course requests that we will attempt to schedule for you for the 2023-2024 school year. This is not your class schedule: you will receive that on the first day of school.
It is very important that you review this list carefully and make sure to read the entire document. We will not be making “change of mind” class changes in August since student’s choices affect staffing and the master schedule. If you find any errors or would like to make a change, parent/guardians should complete the Course Verification Changes form included in the links below.
When requesting a change please indicate what course(s) you want to drop and the course(s) that you want to add. Please review the important information further below before submitting a course change. If you have no changes, no response is required.
Due date to submit a course change(s) to counselor:
Sunday, Apr 30, 2023
If "ACES" is the only course listed: this indicates that we need a completed choice sheet as soon as possible. You can find this information at www.smore.com/ftmhc. If your child does not plan to attend O. Henry next year, please email our lead counselor, cristina.torres@austinisd.org with the school you will attend next year.
Important Instructions to read BEFORE accessing your courses.
Instructions to access your list of courses.
New Lunch Hangout
We know that the cafeteria isn't for everyone. While many kids enjoy the library or brain lab we thought another space would be welcome. The counselors have set up room 401 for students to eat and hang out in a smaller setting. It continues to be a work in progress but it's ready to host students! At this time students can speak to the counselors about getting a pass.
Donations requested for 401 (used items ok!):
Microwave
Board Games
Playing Cards
Precut Tennis Balls (Amazon link, 4 sets needed)
GSA is starting back up!
Genders & Sexualities Alliances, or GSAs for short, are student-run organizations that unite LGBTQ+ and allied youth to build community and organize around issues impacting them in their schools and communities.
We are excited to bring GSA back to O. Henry. Students do not need to sign up in advance. This is a safe space for all students who identify as or support the LGBTQ+ community. GSA will be held on Wednesdays from 4-5pm in room 401 starting this week!
ATHLETICS
Call for Uniforms
Congratulations Track and Field
Check out how our track & field athletes performed this week at our zone championship meet and give out high fives where they're due! 🏅
Monday Night:
Carly Vaughan - 2nd place in 8th grade 200M
Nora Bettis - 5th place in 8th grade 800M and 3rd place in the 1600M
Nora Bettis, Katherine Thompson, Ivy Stone, and Carly Vaughan - 4th place in 8th grade 4x400M relay
Lila Begley - 5th place in 8th grade 300 Hurdles
Eva Flint - 6th place in 8th grade 300 Hurdles
Julianne Flint - 6th place in 8th grade 100 Hurdles
Will Rhoden - 2nd place in 8th grade Long Jump
Alijah Jablon - 3rd place in 8th grade Long Jump
Miles Puthoff - 3rd place in 8th grade Discus
Iggy Ferry - 5th place in 7th grade Triple Jump
Austin Buscaglio - 6th place in 7th grade Triple Jump and 4th place in Discus
Tuesday Night:
Iggy Ferry - 1st place in 7th grade 300M Hurdles and 3rd in 7th grade 110M Hurdles
Omar’e Dawson - 1st place in 7th grade 110M Hurdles
Trey Moreno, Austin Buscaglio, Hunter Hodgson, and Omar’e Dawson - 6th in the 7th grade 4x200 Relay
Iggy Ferry, Jonah Rodriguez, Austin Buscaglio, and Bryce English won 2nd place in 7th grade 4x400M Relay
John Wilson- 4th place in 8th grade 1600M
Frankie Salinas - 6th place in 8th grade 1600M
Alijah Jablon - 5th place in 8th grade 100M Dash
Alijah Jablon, Hugo Smith, Aiden Martinez, and Will Rhoden - 4th in 8th grade 4x100 Relay
Isabella Alvarez - 5th place in 7th grade Shot Put
Weezie Watkins - 5th place in 7th grade High Jump
Julie Rodriguez - 5th place in 8th grade Shot Put
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
8th grade girls who are interested in participating in athletics at Austin High, please check out this important information:
8th grade girls who are interested in participating in athletics at Austin High, please check out this important information:
FINE ARTS NEWS
BAND NEWS
All OHMS band students will participate in this event. The concert will take place at 6:00 PM in the O.Henry Gym. Students should report to the Gym at 5:30 PM in uniform for warm up. We will be celebrating a great year of music making!
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.
Art in Action
Grade Level News
This Week in ACES
- Competition in Big Gym- Finish the Lyrics
- Intramurals- Kick Ball
- Mustang News, Study Hall, Back-Pack Clean Out
- Outside Time
Next Week: Student Council Lesson
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
Speaking at a CAC Meeting
Our next CAC meeting will be TUESDAY, APRIL 25 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)
Meeting Agendas and Meeting Minutes can be found on our campus web page.
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
Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast and General PTA Meeting - Friday, April 28th at 8:30 a.m.
Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast and General PTA Meeting - Friday, April 28th at 8:30 a.m.
Please join us to celebrate all of our amazing volunteers with a brief meeting for end-of-year PTA business.
Agenda:
- Vote for PTA Officers for the 2023-24 School Year
- Proposed Budget for 2023-24 School Year
- Mustang Mixer and Cornhole Tournament on Friday, May 5th
- OHMS School Budget for 2023-24 School Year
- OHMS Updates for remainder of the 2022-23 year and 2023-24 Projections
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 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.
FREE Summer STEM Camp
Austin Community College is partnering with Verizon and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) to offer a free STEM learning summer opportunity. The VIL STEM Achievers program is a FREE four-week STEM camp for middle school students. The Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers program will empower students to discover new skills and learn about careers in different technology fields through hands-on activities, mentorship, and technology. The camp will occur from June 6 - June 30 (Mon - Fri) and be held in person at our ACC Rio Grande Campus.
We will host several informational sessions via zoom. Please use the link below to sign up for an info session to learn more about the VIL STEM Achievers program.
RSVP here for an information session
Join Zoom Meeting
https://austincc.zoom.us/j/91933915628?pwd=UEZ5UTZJWDNaSzlTY0JYdFFlWnhYdz09
Meeting ID: 919 3391 5628
Passcode: 004147
Registration is now open for the camp; all middle school youths are welcome. Here is the link to register https://naccemeets.nacce.nacce.com/vil/home.
All in For AHS
Parents of Future Maroons are invited to get a jump start on impacting your student’s high school education by attending ALL IN for AUSTIN HIGH, the only school-wide fundraising event supporting academic and experiential programming at Austin High, including:
Our innovative four-academy structure
Travel and field trip opportunities for all students
Challenging and diverse academic experiences for all students
A wide variety of electives and extracurricular opportunities
Join us for a sneak peek at ALL the great things happening at Austin High, connect with current parents, teachers, staff and alumni and help ensure ALL Austin High students have excellent academic opportunities. It will be a fun night of friends and fundraising where 100% of the proceeds will go to academic and extracurricular programming at Austin High School that benefits ALL students in ALL academies.
ALL IN for AUSTIN HIGH
Saturday, April 15, 2023
6-9pm
Lions Municipal Golf Course
2901 Enfield Road
Ticket and sponsorship information is available at www.austinexcellence.com. Any and every level of participation by our parents and community makes a difference and we can’t do this without ALL of you! Questions? Contact Shannon Grethel at shannon_mullen@yahoo.com We hope to see you there!