The Weekly Star
Montessori Academy at Onesimo Hernandez #21
Principal's Corner
We begin week 21, we will have our club/enrichment for our children on Wednesday, January 29, 2020. Thank you staff for giving back to our children! We look forward to seeing staff and parents on Thursday for PTO Night.
What parents should know about our Montessori children:
Montessori children tend to become self-confident, independent thinkers who learn because they are interested in the world and enthusiastic about life. Our MAOH school gives children the sense of belonging to a family. The children in each classroom learn how to work, live and respond with other smaller human beings. The school is the children’s community — they move with freedom and respect within the learning environment and they can choose work that is interesting and stimulating. What an insatiable appetite for learning the children have and it is the work of the adult (teacher) that feeds this mental hunger!
We have seen our children grow within their community. Here are some pictures below marking their sense of responsibility and compassion to the world around them.
We thank you for choosing us, believing in us and most importantly, giving us the opportunity to make a difference with your most precious gift- your child!
Your Proud-Dedicated Principal,
Lisa Ann Vega
ST Math Data
Great job all grades for increasing from 35.1% to 36.3% for total progress!
Attendance Rate Data: Week 20
Our attendance goal is 97%.
Congratulations to the following teachers for having 97% or above for attendance in week 20:
Ms. Ratnam, Ms. Lozano, Ms. Callau, Ms. Cauich, Ms. Hodge
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Friendly Reminder Parents
If your child is absent from school, please provide an excuse note preferably within 3 days of the child's return to school. By providing an excuse note you will avoid any truancy notices and/or court appearances. Note can brought into the office directly by the parent, emailed to ancantu@dallasisd.org or faxed to 972-925-2701. Please feel free to contact the school for any questions or concerns.
Attendance Matters
For the safety of our children, if your child arrives after 8:00 A.M. We ask that you please bring your children into the building and sign them in.
The safety of our children is always our priority at MAOH. After 8am there is not anyone supervising that our children make it into the building safely once they are dropped off. Thank you parents for your cooperation.
Strive For No More Than Five
The Strive For No More Than Five campaign engages and challenges DISD students and parents to commit to limiting absences to no more than 5 days for the school year. Dallas ISD students, from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, who accomplish this goal will receive special recognition.
Ms. Cantu Updates:
APPLICATION PERIOD opens November 2.
Students that are already enrolled at Montessori Academy at Onesimo Hernandez DO NOT need to reapply. They automatically have a spot reserved for the next school year.
Siblings who are not currently enrolled will need to complete the application process.
Applications will be online. Website is www.dallasisd.org/choice
Office of Transformation and Innovation / About OTI (homepage)
Adelfa Botello Callejo Elementary School; Adelle Turner Elementary School; Alex Sanger Preparatory School; Alex W. Spence Talented/Gifted Academy; Ann Richards STEAM Academy
Applications will not be available until November 2nd. Deadline is January 31st. Students selection is by lottery. Since we are a transformation school, we do not have academic entry requirements. Parents will be informed of their student's acceptance/waitlist status first week in March. Parents are welcome to come to the school for assistance with completing applications.
Transformation schools do not have attendance boundaries; any student can apply to attend Montessori Academy at Onesimo Hernandez no matter where they live. Transportation is provided within district boundaries.
School Tours are available on Thursdays (1:00 pm) and Fridays (9:00 am) beginning January 9, 2020 . Please call Ms. Cano at 972-925-2722 to schedule a tour.
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If your child arrives after 8am, you will need to bring your child into the building and sign them in. The safety of our children is always our priority at MAOH. We want to ensure that your child is supervised at all times. After 8 am, all staff members are inside the building. Thank you parents for your cooperation.
Ms. Cantu
Self-Soothing Techniques for Children
When children are anxious or stressed, these techniques can help them relax and regain their sense of control. Practice these strategies to help discover what works best for your child.
1. Take a few deep breaths.
When people are feeling anxious or tense, they naturally tend to take rapid, shallow breaths. The simple act of breathing slowly and deeply can reduce feelings of stress. Have your child practice this move: Breathe in slowly through the nose. Hold for a few seconds. Then slowly exhale through the mouth. Repeat several times.
2. Relax
Take deep breathing to the next level. When you’re at home or someplace else where you and your child can relax, suggest that your child lie down and follow your movements.
Put one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Have your child do the same. Both of you close your eyes and relax your muscles. Tell your child to breathe slowly and deeply and imagine the tension escaping.
3. Take a mental vacation.
Help your child visualize a relaxing place, with closed eyes. It helps for your child to picture a favorite destination, like the beach. Ask your child to think about the sounds and smells of this place. Then help your child imagine the sounds of the waves crashing, the scent of the salt in the air, or other sensory details related to this favorite spot.
4. Hold tight.
When kids—and adults—feel that they’re under pressure, they tense up physically. Gripping a squeeze ball can help your child release that tension. So can squishing modeling clay or hugging a stuffed animal. These actions also encourage a shift in focus from whatever’s causing the anxiety to a new activity for your child.
5. Get moving.
Exercise can be a great way to channel nervous energy. Plus, it releases feel-good endorphins that boost your child’s mood. Suggest that your child hop up and down 10 times, do three laps around the yard or playground, or whatever works best wherever you happen to be at the time.
6. Think positive.
To help your child deal with anxiety when faced with a challenge, like an upcoming test, teach strategies for replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. Brainstorm together to come up with empowering phrases or mantras your child can think or say. “I can do it” or “I am strong” are good choices.
7. Try music
Listening to music can defuse tension in a variety of ways. Your child can listen to music that leads to a spur-of-the-moment dance party or find some soothing, calming songs. It’s always good to have more than one option.
8. Be a role model.
How you deal with stress will influence how your child learns to cope. So the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, say something like, “I’ve got so much to do today. I don’t know how I’m going to get everything finished. I need to take a minute to do my jumping jacks. Then I’ll feel better.” Then ask your child to join you.
Thank you for your efforts. It really does take a village to raise our children.
Please fill free to reach out to me, Ms. Carla Conley, regarding any concerns at
972-925-2711. I can also be reach by email: caconley@dallasisd.org
Career Day Volunteers Needed
Dear MAOH Family,
Our MAOH Career Day will be Friday, March 13th and we are already planning for this exciting day. Career Day is an event in which students have the opportunity to hear from professionals in a variety of careers as a part of exploring the world of work.
To help make this event successful and meaningful for our students, we are asking for family members or community member to volunteer as career presenters. It's fun and easy to be a career presenter. Think about your job and how you can bring it to life as a “show and tell” about your career. Presentations would be visual, demonstrative and/or hands on to help our students actively engage and learn.
We are looking for a variety of careers to be represented for this event. These are some suggestions and ideas but certainly not limited to just the following:
Medical field- nurses/doctors that demonstrate how to take pulses, listen to heart beats, etc.
Performing Arts - musician, dancer, etc.
Veterinary field - demonstrate care of animals
Engineering/Construction - bring in something students can make or design.
Truck Driver - truck
Hair Stylist - demonstrate styling hair, hair care etc.
Chef - cooking demonstration, healthy eating etc,
Military Service Member
Small Business Owner - open to the possibilities
Or any other interesting careers!
If you are interested in taking part in the exciting event as a presenter or know a family member or friend who might be interested please contact me, Carla Conley, school counselor at 972-925-2711 or caconley@dallasisd.org. I will be happy to talk with you and plan how we can make your career a hands-on, exciting experience for our students.
I have provided a link below to support me with organization. If you know of others who have careers they would like to share please let me know or share the link and I will reach out to them. Thank you for all you do to support our MAOH family. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you,
Carla Conley, School Counselor
Career Day Registration Link: Click below
GT: Ms. Haley
Dear Parents,
This week we will begin testing all kindergarten students who have been nominated for GT testing. All parents will be notified by letter sent home with students on February 5th.
Here are a couple of links with resources and information of the GT program.
- Dallas ISD Advanced Academic Services
https://www.dallasisd.org/domain/105
- Texas Education Agency http://tea.state.tx.us/gted
- National Association for Gifted Children http://www.nagc.org
- Texas Performance Standards Project https://www.texaspsp.org/
- Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented https://www.txgifted.org/
Thank you,
Khira Haley
Library: Ms. Rutledge
Dallas ISD invites you to a fun reading event. Please see flyer below.
Music: Mr. Root
Dear parents,
Our theme for this month's program with Carranza and Henry's classes is Playground songs and chants of MAOH. The following are four songs/chants I have collected from our student body. Below is a clapping game we will perform. If any parents want to make costumes, we could use them.
Please contact me at wroot@dallasisd.org if you are interested in making costumes. The performance will be on January 30th at 5:30 p.m. If your child is performing, please have them to the music room at 5 on that day.
First elevator goes up.
Second elevator goes down.
Third elevator goes side to side.
Nurse: Ms. Garcia
How the Eyes Work
All the different parts of your eyes work together to help you see.
First, light passes through the cornea (the clear front layer of the eye). The cornea is shaped like a dome and bends light to help the eye focus.
Some of this light enters the eye through an opening called the pupil. The iris (the colored part of the eye) controls how much light the pupil lets in.
Next, light passes through the lens (a clear inner part of the eye). The lens works together with the cornea to focus light correctly on the retina.
When light hits the retina (a light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye), special cells called photoreceptors turn the light into electrical signals.
These electrical signals travel from the retina through the optic nerve to the brain. Then the brain turns the signals into the images you see.
Parent Instructor: Ms. Cano
School Tours:
For the month of January, these will take place on Thursdays at 1:15 P.M. and Fridays at 9:00 A.M. for new families. After this month they will be held once a month. Our scheduled tours will be given by me, Ms. Cano.
Parent Connection: Dallas ISD Family and Community Engagement, Health Services, and SPED
Below are some of the opportunities and events that the district helps organize and provide for DISD parents.
The Special Education Department has different events through out the month of January. Please see the calendar below.
The Family and Community Engagement Department will hosting free parent workshops on February 8th from 8: 00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. at Woodrow Wilson High School.
PE: Coach
Students should coordinate movement w/others to achieve team goals.
Students will coordinating movements using scooters.
MAOH Clubs: Ms. Ratnam
When: Jan 29th, Feb 26th, March 25th, April 15th , May 20th Exhibition
Time: 3:15-4:30 Hot Supper Provided 3:00-3:15
Dismissal: In the Auditorium
If a club will be rescheduled, you will be notified by the club teacher via Remind/Dojo
If you have any questions, please contact kratnam@dallasisd.org
Big Thought:
Dear Parents,
This week in Thriving Minds After School there are some changes implemented. We have added a forth group (Purple) bringing us to four groups: Green, Yellow, Blue, and Purple
Green group - Will be in Exploration, exploring Community themes trunk
Purple group - will be in Exploration, exploring Friendship themed trunk
Blue group - will be in Theater this week developing characters
Yellow group - will be working with water color and painting landscapes
Please continue to make sure that you are signing your child out with the iPad and pin set in place. All authorized emergency contacts listed on the application will need to present an ID and access the pin. If you authorize permission for somebody to pick up that IS NOT listed on the application, please call or text us prior to pick up. The non-listed person authorized to pick up your child must present ID and the pin. This process will ensure the safety of your child.
Warm regards,
Luis Villar
Attention MAOH Volunteers
Many of you have inquired about volunteering on the campus. ALL volunteers must complete registration on the DISD VOLY site - https://dallasisd.voly.org
We appreciate and welcome our volunteers; however, for the safety of our children, we ask that your background checks, orientation and registration are completed in DISD VOLY. Once these items are completed, you are welcomed to contact Mrs. Carla Conley, School Counselor at 972-925-2711 or caconley@dallasisd.org or Mrs. Cano, Parent Instructor at 972-925-2722 or ecano@dallasisd.org and set up a time for your volunteer opportunities.
Important Dates Coming Up
- January 29- Clubs/Enrichment
- January 30- PTO 5:30 PM
- February 3-7- Counseling Week "School Counselors: Helping Build Better Humans"
- February 12- STAAR Parent Mandatory Meeting 4-5 PM
- February 14-No School for children, Valentine's Day, Teacher Staff Development
- February 17- No School-Children/Teacher Holiday, Presidents Day
- February 20- SBDM Meeting 2:00
- February 21- Principal Vega & PTO President State of the District
- February 21- End of the 4th Six Weeks, Parents Night Out 5-8 PM
- February 26-Clubs/Enrichment
- February 27- PTO 5:30 PM
- February 28- Black History Assembly 9-10 AM, parents/community welcome
Dallas ISD Student Handbook and Code of Conduct
Parents, please refer to following reference materials that are now available on-line and are no longer mass produced.
Student Code of Conduct and Handbook :https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/128
What's for lunch?
Click on Menus.
Click on Find Location.
Click on Elementary School (D-H)
MAOH PTO Updates
1. Notes from the December meeting can be found here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FPbxUhlM5fyYab4upeNYkTqQ4nfvCsDs
2. A MAOH family needs your help! A family in Ms Soto's class is battling cancer and could use your help! If you can spare a few dollars, please consider contributing to the GoFundMe campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/lymphoma-cancer-medical-costs
3. MAOH Silent Auction: Silent Auction is coming up! If you know of any businesses, restaurants, salons, spas or fun experiences that can donate gift cards/admission passes, please ask them for a donation to the auction. The solicitation letter is below. Once they have agreed to donate, we will provide them with a donation form with our tax information.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zf8qdTcemLrZ9miFSD5rv15EUD01MCSR/view?usp=sharing
4. Spirit Night at Chic-Fil-A on Jan 30th from 3pm-8pm. Go eat some nuggets and support your PTO!
5. Upcoming events:
PTO general Meeting: Jan 30th
Parents' Night out- Feb 21st, more information to come next week
Chuch-e-Cheese event- March 28th, more information to come soon!