
eagle news
Oak Harbor Elementary | December 2023

A Message From the Principal
Hello OHE Families!
We have so much coming up in March! We'll kick off the month with our Family Reading Night on the 7th, followed by High-Five Friday on the 8th.
Did you know that March 11-15 is Classified Appreciation Week? At OHE, we love the amazing support our paraeducators, office staff, custodians, food services, and bus drivers provide for our students every day! They work hard to build strong relationships and encourage our kids!
We have many exciting events coming up such as, Spring Picture Day, a multi-district elementary music festival, the PTA Book fair, and Applebee's take-over! Be sure to check out messages from teachers, our office, and the OHE PTA to keep up with all the great things happening!
Sincerely,
Christina Merritt, M.Ed., NBCT
Principal, Oak Harbor Elementary
360-279-5102
Dates to Note:
March 7: Family Reading Night
March 8: High 5 Friday
March 11-15: Classified Staff Appreciation Week
March 12: PTA Meeting
March 13: Spring Picture Day
March 14: Second Grade Music Concert
March 18: No School Teacher Work Day
March 21: PTA Book Fair
March 22: PTA Book Fair
March 28: PTA Applebee's Takeover
March 29: Pajama Spirit Day
April 8: Kindergarten & New Family Enrollment Begins
April 10: K Orientation at OHE
Last Day of School is Now June 21, 2024
Snow Days Calendar Update
Due to the two snow day closures in January, the new last day of school for Oak Harbor Public Schools will now be June 21, 2024. June 18 will now be a full day and June 21 will be a half day for students.
Government Issued ID Required to Enter OHE
As part of an ongoing effort to strengthen campus safety, we are pleased to announce we are now using a new visitor management system called “SafeVisitor Solutions” at our school to add another layer of security.
Keeping our students and staff safe means knowing who is in our school buildings at all times in the unlikely case of an emergency. The new visitor management system will allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers entering our schools electronically. The system replaces the old paper visitor sign-in sheets.
All visitors at OHE will be asked during regular school hours (8:45 to 3:05) to present a government-issued form of identification to enter school grounds or to check a student out of school. Accepted IDs include U.S. government-issued licenses, identification cards, permanent resident cards, or active military cards. Staff members do not need to use this system.
If no such identification is available, the parent or guardian will not be allowed past the front office.
Attendance Matters
No Pets Allowed On Campus
Reminder regarding dogs and other pets on campus:
Any live animals on campus should be pre-approved by the principal unless they are service animals. If your pets are accompanying you to pick up or drop off your student, please keep them in your vehicle or on the sidewalk off campus (not on campus in the parent loop area).
This is for the safety of our students, as well as your pets. If you have any questions, please direct them to the main office or the principal.
High 5 Friday Volunteers Needed
We will have staff and local community members line up at arrival time (8:15 am to 8:40 am) offering high fives, fist or elbow bumps, and words of encouragement to students on their way into the buildings.
The High Five Friday is intended to allow community members to make connections with our students, build positive relationships, and gain a greater sense of friendship with students in our community. If you would like to volunteer to greet our students, please contact our office at 360-279-5100.
Staff Spotlight
Ms. White, School Nurse
Nurse White has worked at OHE since 2004. She was born and raised in Kirkland and Lynnwood, WA. She went to the University of Washington and to Lesley University for Nursing School. Her favorite thing about working at OHE is how friendly and supportive the staff is. When she is not working, she enjoys meeting up with friends, going to the gym, walking her dog, and working in her yard. In 10 years she will be retired and traveling the world.
Ms. Curran, 3rd Grade Teacher
Ms. Moses, Multi-Language Specialist
This is Ms. Moses's 3rd year working with us at OHE as our Multi-Language Specialist. She graduated from Bremerhaven American High School in Germany, WSU, and City University. She was born in St. Louis, MO, but raised on a military base in Germany. She speaks German and is a big Cardinals Baseball fan. After work she likes to take her dog for long walks. Her favorite part about working at OHE is the people-big and small. In 10 years she hopes to have lots of grandkids!
Eagle Photo Gallery
News from our Nurse
Keeping Kids Hydrated
Encourage and enable regular hydration
Dehydration in children is relatively common. Drinking water isn’t the first thing on a busy child’s mind. If a drink isn’t in front of them, children may not notice how thirsty they are until they are nearly dehydrated. So keep water handy when you’re with your child and offer it periodically — every couple of hours, or more often when the air is especially dry in the winter.
Send your child to school with an easy-to-carry refillable water bottle. Research suggests that regular hydration improves children’s energy level, focus, and thinking.
Some creative ideas:
· Make hydration fun for younger children by offering water in colorful cups or with silly, curly straws.
· Make infused water to add flavor and variety. Fill a pitcher with water and a few slices of fruit — such as apple, melon, strawberry, or orange — and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving. Experiment with different fruits, as well as vegetables and herbs. Cucumber-infused water has a refreshing taste, as does water infused with fresh mint. A cinnamon stick adds flavor to fruit infusions.
· We also get water through some of the foods we eat, especially fruits and vegetables. Make sure hydrating foods like fruits and vegetables are a regular part of your child’s diet — for both nutrition and hydration.
How much hydration is enough?
To stay well hydrated, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers guidelines that children between ages 1 and 3 years drink 4 cups of beverages per day, including water and milk. Children 4 to 8 years old should aim for 5 cups per day, and older children 7 to 8 cups per day.
So how do you know when a child is dehydrated or when they’ve had enough fluids?
While there’s no single number of drinks that will meet every child’s needs, there is one very easy measure of healthy hydration: the color of their urine.
· Urine that has only a slight hint of color indicates a healthy level of hydration.
· Yellow urine is a sign that your child needs to drink more.
· Dark yellow or brown urine is a sign of dehydration — a signal that your child needs to drink quite a lot, and soon, to restore the water balance in their body.
You can teach your child to look at the color of their urine when they pee, and adjust their water intake based on what they see.
Other signs of dehydration include headache, nausea, fatigue, and even dizziness. But you don’t want your child to wait for those signals to drink more. At that point, they’ll be teetering on the edge of a health emergency.
Pay attention to your health, too
As you work with your child to build healthy hydration habits, you’re likely to find yourself changing your own habits, too. That can be a great side benefit of paying attention to your child’s hydraMarch Library News
March Menu
Breakfast $2.30
Lunch $3.20
Milk $.40
Leading Our School Today | Leading Our Community Tomorrow
Oak Harbor Elementary
Email: oheinfo@ohsd.net
Website: www.ohsd.net/ohes
Location: 151 Southeast Midway Boulevard, Oak Harbor, WA, USA
Phone: 360-279-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oakharborelementary