June is here and, I want to thank you for your continued partnership and support throughout the school year. This has been a year of growth, achievement, and community, and we are proud of all that our students, staff, and families have accomplished together.

Okeechobee County Schools 2024-25 Year in Review

I encourage you to enjoy this time with your children, rest, explore, and make lasting memories. We’ll be hard at work preparing for an even better year ahead, and we look forward to the coming months and all that we can achieve togther.

Wishing you a safe, joyful, and restful break.

Sincerely,

Dylan Tedders

Superintendent of Schools

Just Right Readers

First grade and VPK students recieved Take Everywhere Literacy Packs from Just Right Readers. These packs are designed personally for each student, aligned to each students reading assessment and will reinforce skills and motivate students to keep reading, even over summer break.

You can learn more about your students Just Right Reader Pack here: https://www.okee.k12.fl.us/article/2230823

Footsteps to Brilliance is an amazing resource to utilize over summer break to continue learning and and a life long love of reading.

There are many exciting events coming up, mark your calendars for these important dates:

• Student enrollment is open for the 2025-26 school year. You can find the enrollment packets here: https://www.okeeschools.org/o/ocsb/page/new-student-online-enrollment
• VPK Registration for the 2025-26 School Year is now open https://bit.ly/okeevpk
• Summer School June 3rd- June 26th
• Report Cards June 27th

The Last Day of School= Science Olympic Competition!

On the last day of school, South Elementary students celebrated the year with fun and engaging Science Olympics! Teams from each class, in every grade level, competed in individual events from launching paper rockets to building the strongest bridges, each event sparked creativity, teamwork, and curiosity. It was the perfect way to wrap up the year, full of hands-on learning, laughter, and a love for science!

Every week we take the time to feature one of our fantastic team members who are making a difference in their community and the lives of our students.

Our latest Employee Spotlight featured Mrs. Hollin from Everglades Elementary. Mrs. Hollin said "After more than 40 years teaching, I can say that being an educator is one of the greatest privileges of my life. I’ve taught students, their children, and grandchildren. The relationships I’ve built and the lives I’ve touched are my greatest accomplishments. It’s been a beautiful journey."

Summer Feeding Bus Routes Start June 3rd

Drive up and grab and go food available!

Free breakfast and lunch for all children 18 and under.

Bring a list of the children's names, addresses and school they attend each day.

The Osceola Middle School Dairy judging team placed first at the middle school State FFA judging contest. The team left to right, is made up of Addyson Lyng, Jenna Walpole, Lexi Bishop and Brylynn Diaz. Lexi Bishop was the top high individual in the state.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses help students explore, select, and define a career or field of interest, but they also can support students in learning and developing soft skills which are highly critical in the job market and ultimately help students find success in their carreers and communities.

This school year 918 students earned an industry certification.

223- 9th Graders earned an industry certification in Environmental Science

603- High school students earned an industry certification

62- Middle school students earned an industry certification

30- Elementary school students earned a certification in digital tools

OMS Student Riley Thomas represented Osceola Middle School at the Florida State Science and Engineering Fair. Riley's project focused on the longevity of ice in different types of cups, testing out the type of materials and structure of each cup and how it kept temperatures cold.

🥇 AR Reading champions were recognized at the June Board Meeting. AR stands for accelerated reading and these students had the top AR points in their school and were recognized by Mr. Tedders and the School Board.

4th Grade Claire Butler- North Elementary 341points

3rd Grade Montserrat Hernandez- Seminole Elementary 380 points

5th Grader Ryker Soto- Central Elementary 240.6 points

2nd Graders Kayden Standifer- Everglades Elementary 410 points

3rd Grader Mckenzie Stanley- South Elementary 283.2 points

Throughout the month of May, 94 graduates of our VPK program were able to graduate, take tours of their Kindergaten classes and meet their new Principals. As familes, friends and school staff applauded them they sang songs, announced what they want to be when they grow up and showed much of what they learned throughout the year.

In May the team members of the OCSB participated in the first of many upcoming fitness challenges. The On Fire for Fitness challenge was a weight loss challenge that included healthy outings, tips and commraderie. Central Elementary was the school with the most participants and the winner of the competition was Ashley Watson from Everglades Elementary.

We are excited to invite vendors to participate in our “Giddy-Up Go-Round: Lasso a Better You –

Body, Mind, & Money”.

This is a health and wellness fair for our employees that includes finance,

nutrition, fitness, education, mental health, and other community vendors. Our goal is to create a

healthy culture among our district employees. This event will coincide with our Open Enrollment and New Employee Orientation. This is a great opportunity for your business or organization to

potentially gain exposure to over 600 of our employees.

The event will be held at Osceola Middle School Gym located at 825 SW 28th St in Okeechobee, FL.

The dates will be Thursday, July 31 and Friday, August 1st from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Vendor setup

will begin at 8:00 am both days. Register here: https://forms.gle/Ys573ajRShqLCdVp6

Are you a Brahman Alumni or know a Brahman Alumni who would want to be featured in our "Where are they now?" campaign? Contact us directly for alumni information: careers@okeeschools.org