Okaloosa Celebrates American Founders' Month
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It’s that time again! Time to Celebrate our Freedom and the architects of the American Republic! The entire month of September is American Founder’s Month. Teachers in all subjects and grade levels are encouraged to coordinate instruction related to the Founding Fathers. The instructional focus should center around Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. Additional Founders of note are Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.
We will never forget the attack on our nation that occured on 9/11/2001. While it feels to many like the tragedy just occurred because the horrific visuals we have ingrained in our memory. The reality is, that it happened before any of our students were born. That means it is more important than ever that our schools and students observe Patriot day in remembrance of the victims of 9/11. We will never forget!
One of the more exciting celebrations in September occurs on Constitution Day. On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document creating our great nation. Since September 17 falls on a Saturday this year, we will observe Constitution Day September 16, 2022. This national observance also includes reflection on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. There are ample resources for teachers at the National Archives Website, the Library of Congress, and the National Constitution Center.
And lastly, we observe Celebrate Freedom Week September 26-30. During this week, students will recite the following at the beginning of each school day.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”
If you have any questions or need resources for any of the celebrations and remembrances listed above, please reach out to Lynn Kozak at Lynn.Kozak@okloosaschools.com. We would also ask that you contact Hilary DeMers at HIlary.DeMers@okaloosaschools.com with any dates or activities that she could record our students participating in activities celebrating our nation and remembering our heroes.
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The Choctawhatchee Bay chapter of the DAR is hosting an Essay Contest for 5th - 8th graders. Please contact Kathy Kiser for more information: kiserk@rbcs.org.
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Students in 6-8th grade are invited to participate in an Essay Contest hosted by the Elks Lodge. More information can be found on their website.
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Resources to Support September Holidays & Observances
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The month of September brings many holidays and observances that will be recognized in K-12 classrooms across the nation. Florida educators even get to celebrate a few extra that are unique to the state. LFI/FJCC has numerous resources to help you honor these dates and the required instruction.
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Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15- October 15
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Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th through October 15th. It has been established to celebrate the cultures, histories, and contributions of American citizens who have ancestral lineage from Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. President Lyndon Johnson initiated the observation in 1968, which was enacted into law as a 30-day celebration by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. The month begins on the anniversary of Independence of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras. Also, it includes Indigenous Peoples Day or Dia de la Raza, which is on October 10th. The Okaloosa County School District will celebrate by encouraging students and teachers to participate in our 2nd annual Door Decorating contest and/or Art Contest, as well as the state's Essay Contest. We will also highlight facts and influential Hispanic Americans on our social media platforms!
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ICYMI: Catch The Wave *Bonus Edition*
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Last week we distributed a Bonus edition of the Catch The Wave Newsletter that focused on F.A.S.T., the State's new Progress Monitoring Program that has replaced the ELA and Mathematics Florida Standardized Assessments (FSA). If you missed that e-mail or didn't have a minute to read it, click the button below!
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The following employees are enjoying a milestone this month based on their continuous service date. Congratulations and thank you for your loyal service and commitment to excellence!
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5 years of continuous service
Ms. Turner, Bob Sikes Elementary
Mr. Vickers, Crestview High
Mr. Batcho, Fort Walton Beach High
Mr. Patrick, Maintenance Central/ South
Mr. Walther, School Safety
Ms. Martinez Harvard, Shoal River Middle
Ms. Wilson, Southside Primary
Ms. Riggs, Transportation- Central
Mr. Tiller, Transportation- North
10 years of continuous service
Mr. Stakley, Crestview High
Ms. Christy, Davidson Middle
Ms. Waldheim, Destin Middle
Ms. Watkins, Elliott Point Elementary
Ms. Sutton, Elliott Point Elementary
Ms. Mueller, Fort Walton Beach High
Ms. Pickett, Lewis School
Mr. Bledsoe, Maintenance Central/South
Ms. Lopez Torres, Mary Esther Elementary
Ms. Karnes, Northwood Elementary
Ms. Duncan, Purchasing
Ms. Adams, Riverside Elementary
Ms. Kopf, Riverside Elementary
Ms. McLaren, Transportation- North
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15 years of continuous service
Mr. Washington, Choctawhatchee High
Ms. Caro, Food Services
Ms. Hamilton, Food Services
Mr. Cosson, Shoal River Middle
Mr. Roberts, Transportation- South
Ms. Riexinger, Wright Elementary
20 years of continuous service
Ms. Lefevre, Antioch Elementary
Mr. Moberly, Baker School
Mr. Cope, Destin Middle
Ms. De Leon, Longwood Elementary
Ms. Holloway, Riverside Elementary
Ms. Gaines, Shalimar Elementary
Ms. Germundson, Transportation- South
25 years of continuous service
Ms. Simmons, Crestview High
Ms. Mayville, Human Resources
Ms. Brunson, Riverside Elementary
Ms. Miller, Student Services
30 years of continuous service
Ms. Kronmiller, Walker Elementary
35 years of continuous service
Ms. Murphy, Longwood Elementary
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Effective September 1, 2022, your dental coverage will be provided by UnitedHealthcare. This plan change will take place automatically so no enrollment is required.
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Your ID card: Find your digital ID card anytime on your mobile app or myuhc.com. Your card lists the subscriber but everyone enrolled in the plan can use it. Be sure to bring it with you each time you see the dentist.
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Estimate your costs: Use the Dental Cost Calculator on myuhc.com to see your out-of-pocket costs ahead of time.
- Select Coverage & Benefits
- Select Dental
- Select Dental Cost Calculator
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Deductible:
For services other than preventive care, you may have to pay a deductible, a set dollar amount, before your coverage kicks in. Deductibles are $50 for Single & $150 for Family coverage.
Cost-sharing:
When having restorative services, you and your plan share the costs of services after you pay your deductible. (This is known as coinsurance, the percentage of costs you pay for covered dental care after you’ve paid your deductible.)
Annual limit:
Your plan pays for services up to a set dollar amount, an annual limit of $2,000. Preventive services, including routine dental checkups, may count toward your annual limit. If you reach the limit, you’ll need to pay the entire cost of any additional dental care you receive that year.
Out-of-network services*:
If you use a dentist outside the network, you may need to pay the difference between what the plan covers and what your dentist charges for the services.
For customer service, please call UHC Member Services Contact Phone (877) 816-3597
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Culture of Safety
Featuring Elliott Point Elementary
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Don't be this guy!
@standuprandazzo
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Safety Tip:
Always use appropriate and acceptable equipment when placing something on a shelf, wall, or ceiling. Never use a piece of furniture to stand on to complete a task. Workplace accidents resulting in an employee standing on furniture NEVER have a good outcome. The injuries from a fall are severe and costly. Think and use your resources before standing on furniture to accomplish a task.
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For the 2022-2023 school year, the Student Services Department and our mental health providers have developed a monthly Mental Health Matters focus. Each month our mental health team, along with school administration, faculty, staff, and students, will focus on one specific component of mental wellness and practice self-care activities and resources to develop that area of focus for the month.
Resilience
The month of September’s Mental Health Matters focus is RESILIENCE. Resilience is the ability to bounce back quickly from difficult or tough situations. According to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threat, or significant sources of stress.
Famous examples of persons that demonstrated resilience are Michael Jordan and Walt Disney. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He went home and cried in his room, then returned to the basketball court and did not quit. Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because they said he lacked imagination and did not have any original ideas. He did not give up and went on to develop what we now know as the Disney empire.
Resilience is built by working through challenges. You cannot build resilience if you don’t go through challenging or difficult things. Dr. Ginsburg, a pediatrician, and human development expert, says there are seven integral components to being resilient. These components are competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping, and control.
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1. Competence is the ability to know how to handle stressful situations effectively which takes experience in challenging situations to develop the skills to face challenges.
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2. Confidence is believing in your own abilities and comes from competence in dealing with real and challenging situations.
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3. Connection is those relationships with friends, family and community that give a sense of security, belonging and support.
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4. Character gives a strong sense of self-worth and confidence. A person with character is in touch with their values and are comfortable sticking with them.
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5. Contribution is giving personally to the world around you, which tends to give a powerful sense that the world is a better place because you are in it. The appreciation and “thank-you’ s” that come from contribution, increases the willingness to take action and make choices to improve the world and enhances competence, character and connection.
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6. Coping skills help you more effectively overcome life’s challenges and deal with stressors.
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7. Control is realizing that you have control over your decisions and actions. When you recognize this you are more likely to know how to make choices in a way that can help you bounce back from difficult situations and challenges.
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Elementary Math: enVision Resources
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There are numerous features and products in the enVision B.E.S.T. textbook resources to engage families as partners in supporting students’ mathematics learning. Below is a family engagement letter to share with families to introduce them to the Savvas Realize platform. In addition, share with families how they can use the QR code to view lessons and resources that students are using in class.
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Elementary Math: Mathematical Thinking and Reasoning (MTRs)
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One way to engage students in mathematical thinking is using the Mathematical Thinking and Reasoning (MTRs) resources in the enVision online platform. Teachers can access these MTR resources to promote deeper learning and understanding of mathematics. In addition to grade-specific posters, there are animations that engage learners in understanding and application of the MTRs during instruction. The MTRs are in the student Math Thinking and Reasoning Handbook located at the front of their textbooks.
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Elementary Music: Carnegie Link Up Program
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Elizabeth Dunn, Eglin Elementary Music Educator, provides support for academic vocabulary and the fundamentals of music.
OCSD elementary music educators and students have the opportunity to participate in Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program, which is provided free for students in Grades 3-5 around the globe.
Carnegie Hall’s Link Up partners with more than 100 orchestras in the US and around the globe, including Canada, China, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, and Spain. In Okaloosa County, the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia Gulf Coast Orchestra offer Link Up educational resources and concerts. Students learn to sing and play an instrument in the classroom and perform with a professional orchestra from their seats during the Link Up concerts in the spring.
Fine Arts Educators make vital interdisciplinary connections with other core subjects daily. Elizabeth Dunn, Eglin Elementary teacher, says, “Elementary music provides an important foundation. My students at Eglin Elementary are some of the best kids you’ll ever meet. They’re unique and come from all over the globe…quite literally.” Eglin ES serves military students and families from all over the world and represents many different language backgrounds. “It’s incredible to see how quickly they adjust to new surroundings,” said Dunn.
For more information about the Carnegie Link Up program, please email Lisa.Tucker@Okaloosaschools.com or visit the Carnegie website.
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Middle School ELA
Thanks to all of you who attended Central Message professional development in August. We are two-thirds through the rollout of the new BEST benchmarks! I look forward to seeing you in November to complete the process and calibrate our new writing rubric. Sessions will last from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- 6th Grade Teachers will calibrate on November 3 at OTC.
- 7th Grade Teachers will calibrate on November 7 at the Training Room in Niceville.
- 8th Grade Teachers will calibrate on November 8 at the Training Room in Niceville.
High School ELA
Thanks to all of you who attended our final BEST benchmark rollout! It’s time to focus on writing and new teacher training. Sessions will last from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- 9th Grade Teachers will calibrate on November 9 at the Dining Room in Niceville.
- 10th Grade Teachers will calibrate on November 10 at the Dining Room in Niceville.
Middle School IR
If any IR teacher needs further training on phonics and phonemic awareness or the i-Ready program itself, there are professional development days that your administrator may schedule.
- The next Central Message PD will be held at OTC in FWB on September 23, 2022, from 8-3.
High School IR
Professional development days are available if any IR teacher needs further training on phonics and phonemic awareness or the Achieve 3000 program. Please contact me at Lynn.Kozak@okaloosaschools.com if you have any additional training needs or questions.
- The next Central Message PD will be held at OTC in FWB on September 23, 2022, from 8-3.
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Half-Cent Sales Tax Update
Capital Projects in the Okaloosa County School District
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Thanks to the Half-Cent Sales Tax that Okaloosa Voters approved in November of 2020, the Okaloosa County School District has undergone many structural improvements. Some are easier to see than others (like roofs). Last month we shared some before and after pictures of roofing projects so you could see the much-needed improvement. If you are interested in tracking the progress of these projects, you can visit the Capital Improvement Dashboard on our website www.okaloosaschools.com or by clicking the button below!
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The Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation is hosting their 2nd Annual BBQ and Bingo Fundraiser Tuesday, October 25th, at The Clubhouse Grill in Fort Walton Beach! The event starts at 5:00 pm with a social, and Bingo starts at 5:30! We also invite you to participate in the Silent Auction and 50/50 Raffle! Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased on Eventbrite or from your favorite OPSF Board Member! All proceeds go to the Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation for their efforts in supporting and extending the educational opportunities of all individuals within Okaloosa County.
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- September (All Month): American Founders Month
- September 11: Patriots Day
- September 15- October 15: Hispanic Heritage Month
- September 17: Constitution Day
- September 26-30: Celebrate Freedom Week
- October 3: National Custodial Workers Day
- October 5: International Walk to School Day
- October 7: Last day of the First 9 Weeks Grading Period
- October 10: Columbus Day/ Indigenous Peoples Day/ Teacher Work Day/ Student Holiday
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