Under the supervision of Ms. Centilli, Ms. Williamson, Ms. Wesley, Ms. Hilgers and Mr. Broadway the 6th grade Science classes and Math classes constructed our raised garden beds using their measurement skills to find the area, perimeter, and volume of the beds. Using only hand screwdrivers and their strength, the students put together the beds. The lumber was purchased by Ojeda and the soil was donated by Keep Austin Beautiful. The 6th grade classes will be growing organic vegetables and herbs throughout the year, along with wildflowers and native plants, measuring and monitoring the growth, conducting experiments and making observations in their Science notebooks. Numerous experiments will be done throughout the year, including answering the question of which is a better weed barrier: newspaper or cardboard; is square foot gardening more effective than row gardening; and will compost improve the yield of the garden. Thanks to Keep Austin Beautiful’s staff, Monica Magee and Vicki Hutto, the 6th grade Science classes also constructed a 3 bin compost system that will be used to improve the garden using food scraps from the cafeteria and collections from animals in the Science labs. |
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Gator Parents Learn English |
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At Back to School Night, parents were given a survey requesting suggestions on how the school could better serve them. There was an overwhelming request for ESL classes from parents. The request was granted when Dr. Clarena Larrotta, professor at TX State, along with her doctoral student, Arlene Serrano-Ramos, graciously accepted an invitation from OMS to teach the class. Community volunteers (Barbara Burklund, Francis Fretwell, Sharyl Woodyard, Carole Boutwell, Imogene Pacha, Hyram Reed, Robert Petty, Lori Petty, and Phillip Stevens) from Onion Creek Baptist Church donated dinners as well as helped with childcare. Parents participate in project-based learning that focuses on building a working vocabulary. In the future, the parents taking the ESL classes will meet with the teachers taking the Spanish classes to practice and learn from each other. |
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Heart of Texas Writing Project |
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On Saturday, March 27, Ojeda Writing Teachers (Jessica Beck, Jessica Steege, and Patricia Young) participated in the Heart of Texas Writing Project Spring Conference at the University of Texas. This conference, headed by UT professor Randy Bomer, allowed teachers to learn writing instructional strategies from their colleagues. The conference began with a presentation by Professor Nancy Roser on "When characters write..." The professor used characters from a wide array of literature to emphasize how the characters from the books could be used to enhance classroom instruction. The conference continued with several breakout sessions, including a session led by Patricia Young (OMS, 8th grade ELA teacher). In her workshop, Ms. Young explored the multiple roles of conversation in writing classrooms. She included excerpts of student writings as well as video. OMS became familiar with this workshop through Ms. Amber Funderburg, OMS department chair and writing teacher, who has also participated in presentations with this organization. The ELA teachers look forward to implementing strategies gleaned from the conference as well as participating in future Heart of Texas workshops that focus on technology and maintaining high-quality writer's notebooks. |
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