Owl Update

OKES Families,

We had an amazing first week back! Our Owls have done an outstanding job of seamlessly transitioning back into our instructional routines.

This is a friendly reminder that our instructional day begins promptly at 9:10 AM. We kindly ask that you plan accordingly when using our car rider line. Your partnership is invaluable in ensuring that all of our Owls arrive on time each day, and we truly appreciate your support.

As we look ahead, we are excited to share some upcoming events at OKES, including our Night Owl Reading Fluency Challenge, Son Fun Glow Night, and Winter Testing!

GO OWLS!

Jessica Fries

Proud Principal

What is Respect?

Respect is the willingness and ability to act thoughtfully with ourselves and others. Leaders can deal respectfully with opposition and provide space for both dignity and differences to coexist.

Why focus on Respect?

• Respect contributes to a positive culture. People feel safe, supported, and engaged in the context of thoughtful social, emotional, civic, and intellectual interactions.
• Respect decreases conflict. Respect helps us, and others, to be able to express ourselves without fear of being judged, humiliated, or discriminated against.
• Respect encourages empathy. Respect helps us to understand each other and put ourselves in someone else shoes.

Each week your child will bring home a grade level passage. The passage is at the expected level for independent reading at this time of the school year. While it may be difficult for some students, we want to encourage everyone to practice reading the passage each day of the week.

Here are some suggestions for helping your student become a more fluent reader:

Echo Read: an adult reads a sentence while pointing to text, then the student rereads the sentence while pointing to the text.

Choral Read: an adult and the student read the passage together.

Read and record: the student records themself reading the passage on a phone or ipad.

Please note that the goal is not to see how quickly students read, but for students to read grade level text with accuracy, automaticity, and appropriate prosody or expression. Below is a chart showing words-per-minute goals for first and second grade.

As part of our commitment to providing the best educational experience for our students, we have now reached the point in the school year when we will transition from assessments that focus on listening comprehension to those that emphasize independent reading comprehension. This change is designed to accurately measure each child's ability to meet the first-grade Florida B.E.S.T. Reading Benchmarks.

What Does This Mean for Your Child?

• 1st-grade teachers have been working diligently to prepare your child for independent reading comprehension and will ensure that students feel prepared and confident in their reading abilities throughout this transition.
• Your child will have opportunities to read texts independently and then respond to questions that assess their reading comprehension skills on the reading assessments moving forward.

• Regular updates will be shared regarding your child’s performance, as well as any areas where additional support may be needed.

Click the link below to read more about this transition as well as tips for supporting your child at home!

If you’d like to see the informational presentation shared with your student regarding reporting tips, click the link below. Thank you for helping us foster a safe and supportive environment for all Flagler County faculty, staff, and students!