PTA Positions for 2023-2024 School Year

The PTA nominating committee is looking to fill the following positions for the 2023-2024 school year. If you are looking to get more involved at O. Henry or know someone that you think would be great for a position on the PTA please contact Melanie Dow by April 7th with your nominations.

  • President Elect
  • Treasurer Elect
  • Secretary
  • VP Communications
  • VP Ways and Means
  • VP Support
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New Science of Well Being Course for Teens

A recent survey found that 37% of teens say they have poor mental health. The Science of Well-being for Teens is a new online class created specifically for middle and high school students and will teach them strategies they can use to reduce stress and feel happier. And it’s totally free!

The six-week course brings together the best insights from Dr. Laurie Santos’ popular Yale course Psychology and the Good Life.

In this course, you will explore what the field of psychology teaches us about how to be happier, how to feel less stressed, and how to thrive in middle and high school and beyond. The lessons along with short weekly ‘happiness homework’ assignments will ultimately prepare you to put these scientific findings into practice. The ultimate goal is for you to feel better and build healthier habits. Parents, teachers, and other professionals supporting teenagers may also find the course beneficial.

You can learn more and enroll here.

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Join our Nominating Committee

The PTA is looking ahead to the 2023-24 school year and people to join the nominating committee to find next year’s leadership.  It’s an easy way to help provide direction and support the PTA as we look ahead, with short meetings in March to help identify and reach out to those who will serve on next year’s board. It is an important way to get involved and support the school.  Email Rachel Elder at rachelreit@gmail.com to learn more and/or join the committee. 

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New Virtual Academic Coaching

The O. Henry PTA is excited to share information about a new program where families support families with parent/community member volunteer-led, free, VIRTUAL ACADEMIC COACHING for students! 

This program will provide students nominated by their family or teacher with access to one-on-one virtual support with navigating BLEND, managing schedules, turning in missing assignments and coaching on executive functioning tools and applicable assistive technologies to help them reach their academic goals.

This program is supported by O. Henry parents and community members for O. Henry students!

Interested in learning more? Please read our FAQ!
Interested in volunteering? Please complete this volunteer form!
Interested in nominating your student? Please complete this student nomination form!

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Sign up to be a Staff Secret Pal


Our goal is to connect every faculty and staff member that wants to participate with a parent Secret Pal so that the great people who run our school and teach/coach/advise our students feel our love and appreciation.  If the teacher/staff member you hoped to adopt is already taken, PLEASE consider adopting one of the many teachers/support staff who provide special education, keep our school clean, run the front office, and coach our athletes.

We suggest the following: 

  • Your anonymous gifts to your pal(s) can be emailed or dropped off in the school office.
  • Be delivered as frequently as monthly but with a minimum of 4 times a year.
  • You be the judge on what you can spend on gifts. $50 over the course of the year is a suggested amount but some people spend more, while others do mostly homemade gifts, keeping costs to a minimum.

Once you adopt a Secret Pal, we will email you with details and information about your recipient’s like and dislikes to get started.  We will email gifting reminders only four times during the school year (November 1, January 10, March 6, and May 1). The May reminder will encourage you to reveal your identity with your last gift.


Thank you for your participation and making our O. Henry faculty and staff feel our appreciation! For questions and link on how you can sign up please contact Alana Lillie.

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PTA Meeting 10/03/22

Come learn more about the 2022 AISD Bond tonight, Monday, October 3rd at 6:00 p.m., at O. Henry Middle School. We will hear directly from Lynn Boswell, AISD Trustee for District 5, and learn more about how this bond will support our students, schools and community. For more information about the 2022 bond in general you may visit www.austinisd.org/bond. Specifics on the proposed modernization of O.Henry may be found here.

Hope to see you there!

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2021 Get Connected Events

O. Henry Middle School is offering two opportunities for you to “Get Connected.”

On Tuesday, May 4 there will be an in person event on the front lawn of the school. You’ll be able to meet staff members, get important information about OHMS, meet PTA officers and learn about volunteer opportunities, and get answers to your questions.

You can RSVP for this event here: May 4-Let’s Get Connected Front Lawn Event

On Tuesday, May 11 a virtual version will be offered as a Zoom video session.  

You can RSVP for this event here: Virtual Let’s Get Connected Event

We look forward to meeting you and helping you get connected with our great school!

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Welcome to O. Henry Videoconference

Due to the unique circumstances surrounding COVID-19 restrictions, the annual PTA Welcome Coffee for incoming parents was conducted via teleconference this year. If you weren’t able to attend on May 12, or would like to review the recording, you can view a YouTube video here.

We look forward to getting to know all of you and having you and your students join the O. Henry Middle School family!

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Support our Community

In these challenging days, we want to remember the local businesses who have been generous to OHMS and are part of our community. If you are ordering in, please consider these restaurants and check their websites to make sure they’re available for carry-out:

Rosewood
www.rosewoodatx.com		Lee’s Meat Market
www.leesmeatmarket.com		Maudie’s
www.maudies.com
P. Terry’s
www.pterrys.com		Guero’s Taco Bar
www.gueros.com		68 Degrees Kitchen
www.68degrees.com
Food!Food!
www.foodfoodaustin.com		Mozart’s
www.mozartscoffee.com		Cookies del Mundo
www.cookiesdelmundo.com
iFratelli Pizza
www.ifratellipizza.com		Kebab Shop
www.thekebabshop.com		Chick fil A
www.chick-fil-a.com
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2020-2021 Slate of Officers

The O. Henry PTA Nominating Committee submits the following slate for the 2020-2021 PTA Executive Board. The slate and the 2020-2021 PTA budget will be voted on at the next general meeting (date and time TBD).

 

PresidentSherrill Deering
President-Elect (First VP)Nikki McCormick
SecretaryRachel Elder
TreasurerLauren Whelan
Treasurer-ElectNatalie Maloney
VP Fundraising / Ways and Means (Second VP)Delaine Teeple
VP Support / Services (Third VP)Nancy Nesbitt
VP Communications (Fourth VP)Michele Murphy
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TESTIMONIALS

“Sometimes middle school parents feel like their kids don’t want them up at school or there are not many opportunities to get involved like in elementary school. The O. Henry PTA provides a variety of ways to support our school and stay involved in your child’s education. Stay involved even if your child rolls their eyes at you for being there … you are sending a powerful message that their school is important!”

“I love having PTA parent volunteers in our front office, screening visitors, fielding phone calls and being a part of our office family.”

“I love the OHMS PTA because they are friendly, welcoming and supportive of our kids in all ways.”

“Due to the amazing support of our PTA, we are able to serve our students in so many ways. They support us in our Annual College and Career Fair, our counseling initiatives to help motivate our students to do their best in class, and help us support the Whole Child.”

“My kids love getting to see performances at school by amazing artists such as Blue Lapis Light aerial dancers and Outspoken Bean, an award-winning slam poet. It means a lot to me that the OHMS PTA supports the arts in our students’ educational experience.”

“Because so many parents donate via the PTA to the library, we are able to buy more copies of the books your students want to read! We need to capture the reading excitement when it happens … when parents, teachers, and students buy books at our author visits, we are able to keep bringing the rock star writers to O. Henry via BookPeople. THANK YOU!”

“The PTA gave us money for new classroom computers in our history classrooms. These new laptops were the breath of fresh air that we needed to fully invest in technological innovation in our classrooms. As the district pushes new uses for technology, these new laptops helped our students take the needed steps in that direction!”

“We are SO grateful for the PTA. In photojournalism and yearbook, we strive for a 1:1 student to technology ratio and the PTA has helped us get closer to that. With the help of the PTA, we now have four Mac laptops, which give students experience using technology that photographers use in the real world. We now also have enough cameras in the classroom for every student to get hands on experience.”

“When my older daughter started sixth grade at O. Henry, I couldn’t believe how active the PTA was! There are so many opportunities to get involved in this special community. I have volunteered during lunch at the Mustang Mall, been involved in the Coffee Angels program, helped teachers with afternoon tutorials, served on the Round Up Committee, and helped support the many sports teams on which my daughter played.

I encourage all families to get involved! You’ll not only make lasting friends, but also you’ll help fulfill the teachers’ wish lists and amazing field trip opportunities that enrich every student’s three years at O. Henry.”

“The You Are Loved mural would not be possible without the support of the PTA. Everyone is welcome at O. Henry no matter where you come from, your skin color, who you love, your gender, your religion, or your resident status. Students, faculty and community members helped design, create tiles, mosaic and grout this mural that was dedicated to Karen Aidman for her service to the O.Henry community.”

“As the O.Henry Cheerleading program has grown to be a nationally competitive squad, the PTA has been instrumental in that growth! Last year, they bought us a complete floor of tumbling mats to help our cheerleaders stay safe while learning new and more difficult stunts and skills. This year, they bought us new pom poms to help us look sharp and professional at our national-level competitions!”

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    Austin, TX 78703 USA

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