Mid-Term Feedback Forms: We are at the mid-point of the final trimester. Mid-term feedback forms will be sent home with your child this week; some went home last week. Please be sure to ask your child for these forms from most classes and return a signed copy to teachers.

Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6-10: Thank you to the PTO and parents who honored our talented and dedicated teachers with a scrumptious luncheon last Tuesday  during Teacher Appreciation Week.

I continue to be so grateful to be working with each of our teachers, assistant teachers and specialists.  I would like to extend my thanks to each one for their consistent efforts to support, instruct, and guide our students, making learning accessible and enjoyable. If you would like to recognize or thank your teachers a card, note, or email is suggested as an appropriate and much appreciated gesture. You may also want to make a contribution the Oak Middle School PTO to support our school community.

National School Nurse Day was May 8: This day of recognition has been set aside since 1972 to foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses in the educational setting. This specialized practice advances the wellbeing, academic success and life-long achievements of students. National School Nurse Day fell took place during National Nurses Week, May 7-11, ending on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of nursing.  We are fortunate to have Sue Riley as our nurse! Proactive, supportive and so knowledgeable, Sue takes care of us in so many ways – thank you, Sue!

Warm Weather Clothing Expectations: As the warm weather approaches, we ask that you please support our expectations for appropriate dress at school. Spaghetti straps/tank tops, bare midriffs, low cut pants, short shorts and bare feet are not appropriate dress for school. If  your child is not dressed appropriately, s/he will be asked to visit the nurse’s office where available sports attire will be offered or Nurse Riley will contact you to bring in a change of clothing. We appreciate your support in reminding your child of these expectations.

***Important Dates:  Please make note of these dates!

Incoming Gr. 6 Parents:

Gr. 8:  NSHS Sports Night: There will be an “Eighth Grade Sports Night” held on Wednesday May 15 at 6:30p.m. in the Field House at Newton South High School. This will be the time for students to meet coaches and sign-up for sports. This is an important meeting, because many of the fall sports begin at the end of the August. Eighth grade students and their families are encouraged to attend this event.

Gr. 6-8:  No School: on Monday, May 27 in observance of Memorial Day.

Gr. 5-8:  Step-up Day: Friday, June 7, 5^th graders will be visiting Oak Hill, 11:30-2:20.

• Our current 6th grade students will “Step Up” to 7th grade to learn about the 7th grade experience with the usual 2:30 dismissal.
• 7th grade students will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m.; school buses will be available.
  
• 8^th grade students will visit Newton North or Newton South with the usual 2:30 dismissal.

If you have any questions about next year’s program, please contact your child’s school guidance counselor at 617-559-9210.

Gr. 6-8:  Field Day: Friday, June 14, rain date, Monday, June 17. Parent assistance will be needed. If you can assist with set up, clean up or manning water stations for an hour or two, please contact Kevin Drinan: kevin_drinan@newton.k12.ma.us           

Gr. 8:

• ‘Decorate-Your-8^th Grade-Tile’ Day: Friday, June 14, Periods 5 & 6, immediately following Field Day and lunch. Parent assistance will be needed. Please contact Amy Less, PTO Co-Chair: http://oakhillpto.org/
• Our “Celebrating Success” Ceremony for 8th grade students (and their families) will be held on Friday, June 21 at 8:30 a.m. in the gym followed by refreshments in the cafeteria. Eighth graders will remain in school for the duration of the day participating in end-of-the-year activities with their teachers and peers.
• Gr. 8 Canobie Lake trip: Monday, June 24, all day; cost and permission slips are coming.

 Last Day of School:  The Newton School Committee voted to establish the last day of school for students as Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Dismissal will be at 11:30 a.m. There will not be lunch in school on the last day.

As we approach these last weeks, know that teachers use every minute of this time to maximize the teaching and learning for your children; teachers want to ensure that students are well-prepared for next year. To that end, we ask that you continue to maintain school routines including age-appropriate bedtimes, a good breakfast, timely arrival to school, and time set aside for homework completion. Working in partnership with you, we can continue to help students reach their academic goals by the end of the year.

With warm regards,

Eva Thompson

Last opportunity to order the 2012-13 Oak Hill School yearbook.

This year’s hardcover book is 56 pages of all-color photos for only $32! Deadline for all orders must be received by Friday, May 10th. Follow the easy directions below to reserve your copy today.

Any questions, please contact Ms. McCann at Maureen_mcann@newton.k12.ma.us

We need to make an adjustment to the 8th grade Math MCAS schedule.  The second session of Math will be moved from May 14th to May 16th.  Below is the MCAS schedule for all grades beginning next week.

Here is the complete schedule.

Come help us clean up for spring!   We need volunteers to help on Sunday April 28 for an hour or so from 12:30pm to 2:30pm to clean-up the front of the school and put in new plantings and fencing  for the spring.   Please sign up at NewtonServes  http://newtoncommunitypride.org/NewtonSERVES-volunteer.php.  Once you have registered, please email the PTO (info@oakhillpto.org) to let us know you are coming.

We need your help!

Please volunteer!  Thanks

Brown and Oak Hill Middle School String Orchestra Spring Concert
Tuesday, May 28th at 7:30 pm (students arrive at 7:00 pm)
Brown Middle School Auditorium
Concert Dress Required

String-A-Mania 2013!!
String Instrument concert with students from Angier, Bowen, Countryside, Mason-Rice, Memorial-Spaulding, Zervas Schools as well as Brown and Oak Hill Middle Schools.
Monday, June 3rd at 7:00 pm (students arrive at 6:30 pm)
Brown Middle School Auditorium
Concert Dress Required

Grades 6, 7 and 8 Choir Spring Cabaret Concert
Wednesday, June 19th (DATE CHANGE) at 7:00 pm. (students arrive at 6:30 pm)
Oak Hill Auditorium.
Concert Dress Required

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Mr. Cutler or check out the web site here – http://www2.newton.k12.ma.us/~caleb_cutler/

Caleb Cutler
Caleb_Cutler@newton.k12.ma.us

April 30, 7pm – 8th Grade Transition to High School

8th Grade Parent Panel – come hear from Oak Hill parents about their experiences transitioning to NSHS. Existing and former Oak Hill parents will share their experiences, stories and suggestions for navigating this transition. Bring your questions, worries or concerns and learn from those who who have “gone before you!” This is an informal evening where participation is encouraged!

May 9, 11am – 1pm – Teacher/Staff Appreciation Lunch
Let’s show our gratitude for all the hard work of 95 Oak Hill staff throughout the year with an abundance of food. We need entrees, salads, sandwiches, fruit, desserts, and other delightful edibles. Creative food is always welcomed!! Please drop off food outside the main office anytime on the morning of Thursday, May 9, or to the library by 11:00AM. We also need volunteers to set up at 11am and clean up at 1pm. Please email info@oakhillpto.org to let us know what you can bring and if you can volunteer. Thanks!

June 5, 9am – PTO Coffee
Join us for coffee with the PTO and find out ways to get involved in helping out at school or just come to share what’s on your mind.

• have trouble relating to others or not have an interest in other people at all
• avoid eye contact and want to be alone
• have trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings
• prefer not to be held or cuddled or might cuddle only when they want to
• appear to be unaware when other people talk to them but respond to other sounds
• be very interested in people, but not know how to talk, play, or relate to them
• repeat or echo words or phrases said to them, or repeat words or phrases in place of normal language
• have trouble expressing their needs using typical words or motions
• repeat actions over and over again
• have trouble adapting when a routine changes
• have unusual reactions to the way things smell, taste, look, feel, or sound
• lose skills they once had (for instance, stop saying words they were using)
• not play “pretend” games (pretend to “feed” a doll)
• not point at objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over)
• not look at objects when another person points at them
  

• Find out about the interests of the child with autism, and ask him or her about them.
• When making plans, it’s sometimes easier if you go to their house. Some children with autism are more comfortable in their own homes.
• Talk with the parents of the child with autism about the best way to explain or not explain the autistic child’s diagnosis to your own child. Not all families tell the child with autism about his or her diagnosis.
• Keep in mind that every autistic child is different.
  

(Supported by a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Ed.)

Highlights from the tournament:

Prose – merit finalist
1st place: Sophia Guan

Poetry – honors finalists
4th place: Brigitte Tang
5th place: Hannah Phan
6th place: Michelle Cheng

Poetry – merit finalists
2nd place: Elaine Wang
5th place: Hahhan Fraser

Impromptu
3rd place: Ina Beinborn

Multiple
1st place: Hannah Fraser & Kaiwen Zhou & Elaine Wang & Ina Beinborn & Rachel Gu
2nd place: Ariana Bakhtyari & Michelle Cheng & Isabella Xie

Duo
4th place: Sophia Guan and Sophia Tang

UPCOMING EVENTS:
May 5th – FOLEY at Milton Academy (largest and last formal event of the year)
May 19th – SPRING FLING – we are hosting!! Info will be coming shortly.

Well done, team!

Kim Vanaman, Robyn Steinberg, Edward Kelleher, Kathy Goldberg and Robin Clebnik
Oak Hill/Brown Speech Team Coaches

The Principal Candidate’s will meet with parents from 8:10 a.m. – 8:45 a.m in the library.  After the meeting, the three parent representatives on the search committee, Annmarie Yorke, Andy Hyams and Suzanne Freudberg, will be available so that you can provide your feedback to them.  They will then have the opportunity to pass this information along to Dr Fleishman for his consideration prior to selecting the final candidate.  If you don’t have a chance to catch up with them after the meeting, you may also email Suzanne with your thoughts at suzannefreudberg@gmail.com

We are extending the deadline to purchase Oak Hill Spirit Wear until Friday March 22nd.   If you need a order form, you can find one on the PTO website (under About your PTO) or pick one up at the office at school.   Please leave your completed orders in the gold box outside the school office.

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). It can result from any force to the head that causes injury to brain cells, such as a contact sport injury, a fall, or whiplash from a car accident. Concussions can occur in any organized or unorganized sport or recreational activity. CDC estimates that 1.7 million Americans sustain a TBI, including concussions, each year. Of those individuals, 52,000 die, 275,000 are hospitalized, and 1.4 million are treated and released from an emergency department. The injured person does not need to lose consciousness to have a concussion. Symptoms can show up right away or days or weeks after the injury.

Symptoms of a concussion may include:

• Nausea
• Dizziness or balance problems
• Double or fuzzy vision
• Headache
• Sensitivity to light or noise
• Feeling sluggish or tired
• Confusion
• Trouble concentrating or remembering

Parents and caregivers may notice additional concussion symptoms:

• Appears dazed or stunned
• Forgets an instruction
• Moves clumsily
• Shows behavior or personality changes
• Is unsure of game, score or opponent
• Can’t recall events before or after hit or fall

If you think your child may have a concussion, seek medical attention right away. A concussion often does not appear in MRI or CAT scans. A health care provider will be able to decide how serious the concussion is and when it is safe for your child to return to academics, sports and recreational activities. Children who return to sports and activities too soon risk a greater chance or having a second concussion. Second or later concussions can cause permanent brain damage.

To prevent a concussion, ensure your child follows the rules, whether they’re the rules of the game or the rules of the road. Make sure children wear the right protective equipment for their activity such as helmet, padding, eye and mouth guards or shin guards. Parents should learn the signs and symptoms of a concussion, and should keep their child out of a sports game or activity after a concussion. Remind children that it’s better to miss a game or two than the whole season.

Information from www.cdc.gov/injury and www.biama.org