![page background](https://cdn.smore.com/_fr/heartfelt-07.693f1b5a.jpg)
![page background](https://cdn.smore.com/_fr/heartfelt-07.48c6ad78.jpg)
Ozona Elementary
Parent Update: February 2024
A Message from Principal Freeman
Dear Ozona Families,
Your kids are continuing to move their learning forward and that is certainly exciting to see! I hope you too are seeing growth at home in the areas of reading, writing, math, and problem solving!
February is the month that we emphasize the importance of kindness, although we talk about it all year long. Let's focus on "sweetening" each other's Ozona experience by reminding our students to greet others with a smile, use kind words, and encourage everyone to do their best.
As we move towards the end of February often the kids start to have an early case of “spring fever.” With that, this is an important time of year for us to continue encouraging, motivating, and stressing the importance of working hard. That grit to persevere through what is difficult will no doubt be one of the most important life skills for our kids. We have a lot of learning time remaining in the year, and we are excited to keep that positive growth going up to the final day of this school year. We appreciate your help so that our students can continue their learning and continue to follow our behavior Guidelines for Success.
Mid-term Progress reports were sent home on Feb. 6th. These are for students who are performing below a "C" or "S" level. I encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher anytime you have concerns, questions, or are curious about what they are experiencing at school. I am super proud of the work that occurs between 8:15 AM and 2:55 PM, but also know what an impact it can have when all adults are “in the know” about how a child is doing. As always, my door is open, and I welcome you to email or call anytime that you have questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you for being amazing parents who care about Ozona. We could not have a better school community!
Go Ospreys!
Lisa Freeman
Principal
A few reminders:
- Visit our PTA websites for information about Membership, upcoming events and much more!
- Stay tuned to our school marquee, our school website, and our PTA Facebook page & PTA Instagram page to keep updated with school information throughout the year.
No School for Students Feb. 16 & Feb. 19
Please plan accordingly. We could also use your help in making sure the students reach their iStation and Dreambox goals the next two weeks. K-2nd grade students need 5 Dreambox lessons a week and 3rd-4th-5th grade students need 10 lessons a week. iStation minutes range from 30-40 minutes. Both Dreambox and iStation are in Clever. Thank you!
No Student Drop Off Prior to 8:15 AM
Parents,
We are having a major issue with students being on school property prior to 8:15 AM. If you arrive prior to 8:15 in car line, the student is to stay in car with you. If you walk or ride a bike, please adjust your schedule so that your child arrives between 8:15-8:45 AM. The school does not provide supervision for students prior to 8:15 AM. Club students & Patrols are the only exceptions. We need YOU to adhere to this safety concern. Thank you!
FAST Assessment Updates
We have finished our Progress Monitoring Cycle 2. Your teachers now have current data as to where your child is functioning at this time of the year for their grade level. Make sure to reach out to your teacher and ask questions about your child’s progress so you are able to continue helping support from home.
Our next major testing cycle will be our Progress Monitoring Cycle 3 testing. K-2 will take the STAR assessment the weeks of April 16th-May 3rd and 3rd-5th students will take the Cambium testing for Reading May 6th-10th and Cambium Math May 20th-24th. 5th grade students will take their online State Science Assessment around May 14th. Our 4th and 5th graders will be taking the BEST State Writing assessment between April 1st-12th.
Please mark your calendars with these testing windows now so that you plan your appointments around these dates. We hope to ensure all students are present for testing.
FAST PM2...Way to Grow!
PBIS
Thank you for your support of our PBIS system. All students are working hard to earn their points for demonstrating the Ozona Guidelines for Success. Students earn points and purchase raffle tickets as well as School Store items during specific weeks of each month. For February, the raffles week will be Feb. 5th-9th and the School Store week for PBIS will be Feb. 20th-24th. March raffle week will be March 5th-8th and School Store week for March will be March 18th-21st. Ask your child to show you how they purchase items on our School Store. When working with your child, you will see our PBIS Rewards system is really neat and you will be helping to support our positive school climate from home.
Congratulations Boys Read Team!
A shout to Ms. Hedman and the Boys Read Team who advanced to the District competition. We are so proud of you!
Team: Cameron B., Silas B., Ronin M., Owen O., and Fynn T.
This program is in partnership with the Pinellas Education Foundation focusing on creating engaging reading opportunities for boys. Boys are selected to participate in this club and read the program books for this year.
A Message from Mrs. Moncrieff
Mark your calendar for our Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon March 27th at 11:30 am in our media center. More information to come as the event gets closer.
Don't forget to log your volunteer hours. If you are unsure of your log in information, please email Jenny Moncrieff at moncrieffj@pcsb.org
Spring Pictures are February 27th. Vernon Photography will send home information material to purchase packages as the date gets closer.
Sincerely,
Jenny Moncrieff
Family and Community Liaison
Ozona Elementary
Learning Style
During this time of year, we begin to plan for the upcoming school year. We gather and utilize a variety of data and information as we begin the process of creating next year’s class lists. If you would like to provide input into your child’s learning style and classroom environment, please write a letter via email to Assistant Principal Downes no later than Monday, April 15th. Her email is downesj@pcsb.org
Submissions after this date will not be considered.
While we do not take specific teacher requests, we understand that your prior experiences, successful (or not), would provide additional information in determining the best setting for your student’s success. If your child will not be attending OES next year, or you have an address change, now is the time to inform the front office with the school he/she will be attending. Thank you!
PE Reminders
Greetings Everyone,
We hope you all had an amazing break! As a department we are continuing to introduce new skills and movements to our K-2 students and are helping our older students hone their abilities in various sports of their choosing.
A couple of housekeeping matters we wanted to address, please remind your students to bring their jackets and water bottles on days they have PE and most importantly make these items identifiable. We have a plethora of jackets and water bottles being left outside. To the point where we will need to start bagging and donate them.
In other news we are looking forward to the Mega-Thon (March 8th) and ending the school year on a high note!
All the best,
The PE Department
Go Ospreys!
Coach Boychuk, Coach Ruffino, Coach Starck, Coach Hanna & Coach Richards
A Colorful Note from Art-
Ozona artists K-2 have been learning clay building techniques and paper weaving skills. Grades 3-4 were working on printmaking and 5th grade learned one-point perspective and now painting our Chihuly inspired paintings. Congratulations to these 5th graders that received an Award of Excellence for their license plate design from the Kids Tag Art Pinellas art contest: Aiyvah R., Alyssa M., Caden F., Coleston K., and Molly H. Also, celebrating 4th graders, Jameson B., Catalina H. and Madison S., who have their artwork on display at the Word and Image “The Hero I Know” exhibition at the Morean Arts Center in St. Pete. Please remember to wear art friendly clothing on art days.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Elizabeth Keller & Mrs. Romney Coleman
Visual Arts Teachers - Ozona Elementary
Keyed Into Music
In Kindergarten, we had our annual concert on Wed., February 7th at 6:00 pm. The students demonstrated the standard that they can sing simple songs in a group and that they can respond to a steady beat in music.
In First grade, we had our concert on January 30th and the students showed the standard of being able to sing songs that change verses by memory using appropriate vocal technique.
The Second graders have been learning about the instruments of the orchestra and beginning work on their songs for our upcoming concert, Journey Into Space, which will be performed on Thursday, March 7th at 6:00 pm.
The Third Grade has been learning to play the recorder and read simple music scores.
The Fourth grade has begun our ukulele unit. They are learning about the parts of the ukulele and how to play simple 1 and 2 finger chords and strum.
The Fifth Grade has just finished our ukulele unit and will be starting on keyboards next.
The Ozona Band played its first concert at PHMS on Thursday, February 1st. The Osprey Chorus is preparing for our annual singing of the national anthems at the Toronto Blue Jays stadium on Saturday, March 23, 2024. Flyers will be available with ticket purchase information for this great family event and fundraiser for the music department.
We love all the Osprey support!
Tammy R. Folstad, Music teacher
Mr. Ben Jarvis, Itinerant Music teacher
PTA
We welcome you to join us for our next PTA general membership on Monday, February 12 at 6:30pm.
Take a night off from cooking and let our local Westshore Pizza provide dinner on Thursday, Feb 22! Flyers will come home with students - present your flyer at checkout and portion of the orders will come back to our school!
We are excited to kickoff our Move-a-Thon MEGA event season! Our rockstar event committee is busy planning a great day for our students, packed full of movement, music and fun! Watch for the flyers to come home as well as our social media pages for volunteer opportunities for the fun event! All students will receive a free 2024 Ozona Move-a-Thon t-shirt. Thank you for your support of our largest fundraising event!
Thank you,
Ashley Gonnelli
Ozona Elementary PTA
Want to Live the Ozona Life?
Special Attendance Request: wait to hear from Student Assignment (it's ongoing)
Breakfast & Lunch Menus
Experience PCS
Experience PCS is on March 2nd, from 10:00-2:00 at Clearwater HS: STEM ACTIVITIES, ATHLETICS & BUCS FAN ZONE, ART & MUSIC ACTIVITIES, CAREER PROGRAMS, COMPETITIONS/GAMES, CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT.
Registration is currently open to enroll a team of students in the cornhole tournament. If you are interested in the tournament or other information related to this event, please let me know and I can forward you more information.
Summer Enrichment Camps
Over 40 enrichment camps will be offered to students in July. Applications for PCS Summer Camps open Monday, Feb. 12. Options include STEM, visual arts, movie making, mural painting and 3-D printing. Families can apply for camps by visiting Focus and accessing the Student Reservation System. Camp representatives will contact families the first week of March to invite students who have secured seats. Most summer camps will take place in July.
Are You In the Know?
Ozona Elementary Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OEPTA?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Ozona PTA Instagram https://instagram.com/ozonapta?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
Ozona Elementary Website https://www.pcsb.org/ozona-es
Ozona Elementary
Email: freemanl@pcsb.org
Website: https://www.pcsb.org/ozona-es
Location: 601 Tampa Road, Palm Harbor, FL, USA
Phone: 727-724-1589