SEM Newsletter: Week 28

To ensure high levels of learning in a safe, respectful environment where all achieve personal and academic success. ALL means ALL.

It's the final week before Spring Break! With the Fair in town and the excitement of a week off ahead, we know this will be an eventful time for our students. Just a reminder—only students who are showing animals at the Fair will have excused absences, and only for the days they are actively participating in showing their animal. Let’s make it a great week!

Mrs. VanderMolen, Principal

Mrs. Drazick, Assistant Principal

📢 Attention Parents and Guardians:

Don't miss out! Yearbooks for the 2024-2025 school year are on sale for the final week. Order now to secure this special keepsake for your child!

📖 How to Order:
1️⃣ Order online by clicking here.
2️⃣ Send payment directly to the school.

💰 Price: $15
🗓️ Deadline: March 15th (no orders will be accepted after this date).

Don’t wait—grab your yearbook before it’s too late! 🎉

Parents, we invite you to join us for our next School Advisory Council (SAC) meeting on Wednesday, March 13th, at 5:30 PM in the Media Center. This is a great opportunity to share your input, stay informed about school initiatives, and be part of important discussions that impact our students. We look forward to seeing you there!

As a reminder, Friday marks the end of Quarter 3! Encourage your child to finish strong by completing any missing work before the deadline. This is the final week to catch up and give their best effort!

We are delighted to inform you that our community has access to a wonderful program called Footsteps2Brilliance® that can help your child develop reading and writing skills in English and in Spanish. Footsteps2Brilliance® provides a comprehensive curriculum of over 1,000 English and Spanish books, songs, and games that are fun for children and easy for you to access on any smart device or computer. No internet access? No problem! The app works even without an internet connection. Once the device is connected to Wi-Fi again, all the data will automatically upload to the teacher. Best of all, the program is proven to help children learn to read!

Check out the flyers below to learn more!

Spring Break is so close! Spring Break will be from March 17th to 21st. Also, there will be no school on March 25th for a teacher workday. Enjoy the break!

Do you have a child turning 5 before September 1st? If so, it’s time to register for Kindergarten! Check out the flyer below for more details and schedule your appointment for April 15th.

In an effort to increase the security and safety on campus, all visitors must have a photo ID to enter the front office.

Florida is leading a first-in-the-nation approach that empowers students to persevere and overcome life’s inevitable challenges. The Florida Department of Education developed state education standards and resources to equip students with skills that build resiliency.

These are the 11 resiliency characteristics to help your child overcome any challenge:

Perseverance, Responsibility,Self-Awareness & Self-Management, Grit, Responsible, Decision-Making, Mentorship, Gratitude, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, Citizenship, Honesty, and Empathy

Explore the skills by going to buildresilency.org and clicking each word to learn its definition and access downloadable resources.

A read-at-home plan is required to be provided to parents of any K – grade 3 student who has been identified with a substantial deficiency in reading. The Just Read, Florida! Office at the Florida Department of Education has compiled resources that each school district must incorporate into a read-at-home plan provided to the parent of a student who is identified as having a substantial

deficiency in reading. A read-at-home plan includes information and resources connected to the essential components of reading: oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. These resources are available in an electronic format that is accessible online, and a hardcopy of such resources must be provided by the school upon parent request. To access these resources digitally, click on each link provided.

Just Read, Florida!

Parents, please use the roundabout towards the back of the school when dropping off or picking up your student. This helps us avoid congestion and issues with traffic back up. Do not use the driveway before the roundabout to turn around. This creates a very dangerous situation for cars that are driving to the roundabout or turning into the school.

Also, please do not exit your vehicle during drop off or pick up times. We have staff that will assist the students exit or enter the vehicles as necessary. This limits pedestrian traffic in the road and near our opened gates.

Thank you!

Parents, take a look at our Parent Family Engagement Plan here! This plan provides an overview of the ways we aim to foster strong partnerships between families and our school.an overview of the ways we aim to foster strong partnerships between families and our school.

Parent Family Engagement Plan English

Parent Family Engagement Plan Spanish

Take a look at the flyers below for the upcoming Treasure Coast Food Bank dates.

AfterCare is being offered at Seminole!

Please use the QR codes to learn more information and register your child for AfterCare!

Below is a link to the District Policy on Bullying and Harassment. In order to be classified as bullying, the physical threat or emotion distress must be continuously inflicted towards the student. A one time occurrence of teasing would not fall under bullying.

SEM takes bullying seriously! If your child is being bullied, please have your child tell an adult at school or call the office to inform administration of the situation.

Link to District Bullying and Harassment Policy

At Seminole, we are committed to Read Aloud A Lot. Students spend time daily reading aloud in class. Students daily are required to read 20 minutes at home for homework. Students K-2 should be reading the fluency passages sent home by the teacher and grades 3-5 should be reading books at home.

Stay Informed About Meals at Seminole! 🥞🍎

Access the March Breakfast and Lunch Menus on our District Website by clicking here. These menus are packed with delicious and nutritious options to fuel our students for success!

Remember, breakfast and lunch are completely free for ALL Seminole students. Make sure your child takes advantage of these healthy meal offerings every day! 🥪✨

Parents, please check out this wonderful free resource! Even if your family is not eligible to receive books, there are still free resources available to help your child with reading!

Link to New Worlds Reading Website

The Florida Department of Education has recently updated their Just Read, Florida! initiative. Click here to learn more about the updates!

Parents, does your child need additional assistance?

Okeechobee County School District has partnered with Varsity Tutors for Schools! All students now have access to the Varsity Tutors learning resources like live classes, chat tutoring, and more. Some students may have been assigned tutoring by your school, ask your teacher or school office if this has been provided to you. All Okeechobee County School District families can sign up for paid supplemental private tutoring for their students at a discounted rate!

Click here to learn more information about what it is, how to login, and so much more!