NES Parent Newsletter 1/26/26

Dear NES Families,

We have so many exciting things happening in the next few weeks! Next week we have Celebrate Literacy Week. Make sure to wear Red, White, and Blue on Wednesday, January 28th for our schoolwide outdoor read! We are welcoming families to participate in a brief PTO overview and read with their students at 8:15AM on Friday, January 30th. Visitors must be on the student's skyward list and provide a government issued photo ID. We had a great turn out for grandparent's day and our students were so excited that we wanted to give other family members the same opportunity! We look forward to seeing you and building that love of reading with our students.

APTT and our book fair is coming up the week of February 9th. These are the individual 15 minute APTT meetings, please be on the lookout for invitations to set up a time to meet with your child's teacher. We are excited to include our students in these data chats as well this year so that they can share with you all the amazing things they are learning and the growth they have made so far. After your APTT meeting, we are offering families the opportunity to visit the book fair with your student before you leave. This is a great way to peruse all the book fair has to offer and help your student make decisions on what they would like to purchase.

Our Love for Literacy event will be the evening of February 12th and we are looking for Valentine's candy donations (similar to our Spooktacular) or any Valentine's decor you may have laying around to help us make this event super festive for our students and families! We are excited to offer another opportunity to visit our book fair with your students at this event as well!

Thank you for your continued support and for helping us build a love for learning with your students each day.

With gratitude and positivity,

January:

1/26-1/30: Celebrate Literacy Week

1/30: Generations of Readers - Families read on campus with students Check in begins at 8:15AM, Instruction resumes at 9:00AM

1/30: “Read Under the Lights” Event @ 6PM at OHS

February:

2/4: Progress Reports

2/9-2/13: Book Fair (Parents can visit the book fair with their student after their APTT meeting!); Quarter 3 PBIS Mini Bash for eligible students

2/9: 5th Grade and 1st Grade APTT (individual meetings by appointment only - more info to come)

2/10: 2nd Grade and Kindergarten APTT (individual meetings by appointment only - more info to come)

2/11: 3rd Grade and 4th Grade APTT (individual meetings by appointment only - more info to come)

2/11: Group Picture Day

2/12: Kids Heart Challenge; Love for Literacy event 5:30PM-7:00PM

2/13: Early Release Day; STEM Day; SRO Appreciation Day

2/16: No School/Holiday

2/23: School Bus Driver Appreciation Day

2/27: 4th Grade Field Trip

Get Ready for Dunkin!

We are excited to invite parents to get ready to read with our Dunkin's Reading Challenge initiative! Students should come home with a reading log with a parent letter on the back. Parents can sign the log for every 15 minutes the child spends reading at home. When the log is full, students will turn it in to their teacher. Every time a student turns in a full log, their teacher will give them a mystery pack of Dunkin-themed Trading Cards. Students collect Dunkin Trading Cards in order to win prizes through drawings and other events. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher or our Instructional Coach, Mrs. Bockoras at candace.bockoras@okeeschools.org .

Check out this promotional video to understand the basics.

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming! SAVE THE DATE for 2/9-2/13 and get your reader psyched to pick out their own books! Create your child’s Book Fair eWallet starting on January 19th so they can shop cash-free, worry-free, and independently! It’s easy to set up and easy for others to contribute funds! Start here: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/northelementaryschool.

North Elementary School Families,

I am excited to help create a community of lifesavers and invite you to join us for this year’s Kids Heart Challenge!

Sign Up Today

Be the first to sign up under our school: North Elementary – Kids Heart Challenge.

Families who sign up will receive a wristband just for joining the team.

You can also sign up by downloading the free AHA Schools app for iPhone or Android.

Our Big Goal

This year, our goal is 100% of our families learning Hands-Only CPR. It only takes a few minutes to learn and can make a life-saving difference in an emergency.

Why Participate?

• Raise funds to help kids with special hearts

• Complete Finn’s Mission: Finish all 7 steps, learn Hands-Only CPR, and be entered to win two Super Bowl tickets!

School Incentives

• If 50% of our families sign up, our school earns a $500 gift certificate for physical activity and recess equipment.

• We will host a Kids Heart Challenge Field Day on Thursday, February 12th.

  • To attend the Field Day event, students must donate at least $5 to the American Heart Association.

Student Rewards

• Really awesome prizes with a minimum $5 donation

• $50–$74 raised: Prizes + Entry into to Slime Challenge- Get to slime a teacher

• $75 or more raised: Prizes + Entry into to Slime Challenge-Get to slime administration

On January 6th, students were sent home with a Kids Heart Challenge donation form. Please place all donations you receive in the envelope provided and return it to Coach Hackett. Extra forms are available in the front office if needed.

Let’s work together to build a healthier school and create a community of lifesavers. Thank you for your support and enthusiasm—we can’t wait to get started!

Coach Hackett - North Elementary School

Okeechobee County Schools is inviting families, staff, and community members to participate in our School Start Times Survey. Your feedback will help guide the district in determining whether adjustments should be made to elementary and high school start times.

Florida law now requires school districts to shift middle and high school start times later in the morning, unless a report is submitted outlining how students, employees, families, and community members may be affected and what they believe about the change. This survey is a critical part of that process.

Research continues to highlight the importance of adequate sleep for middle and high school students, and later start times may support healthier sleep patterns. However, any potential change also comes with important considerations, including transportation logistics, multiple school levels riding the same bus, impacts on after-school activities, athletics, and family or student work schedules.

Under the proposed model being reviewed, elementary schools would begin earlier than middle and high schools, making community input especially important.

💬 Your voice matters. Please take a few moments to share your thoughts and help shape this important decision for our district.

Lunch:

Monday - cheeseburger / chicken bites / yogurt plate

Tuesday - burrito / grilled cheese / salad / Pbj

Wednesday - Tangerine chicken / bosco sticks / yogurt plate

Thursday - spaghetti / chicken + mozz sandwich / salad / Pbj

Friday - pizza / chicken patty Sandwich / Fish Sandwich

We now have an online option to pay for these shirts in RevTrak, the link is below.

This is the mockup for the school jerseys similar to our staff shirts that some of you requested for students. These will be sold as pre-orders only, the RevTrak link is below. These DO NOT have a name/number on the back. The cost of these shirts will be $25. If you are paying with cash, the amount must be EXACT CHANGE turned in to the front office. Orders are currently open and we will run the preorder for 2 WEEKS prior to ordering and will reach out once we receive the order.

Click below for the NES Student-Parent Handbook. Printed version is available in the front office upon request.

🎉We are loving our new app! ✨Access documents, news updates, and even emergency notifications, right from your pocket. Download for Android https://aptg.co/hJj62B Download for iPhone https://aptg.co/b6Km3j

FortifyFL is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows you to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials.

By accessing FortifyFL, students can provide a description of the threat, share pics and videos and optionally submit their contact information.

Click the button above to access the online reporting link.

Systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or psychological distress on one or more students or employees. Bullying includes instances of cyberbullying, as defined in Section 1006.147(3)(b), F.S. Bullying may include, but is not limited to, repetitive instances of teasing, social exclusion, threats, intimidation, stalking, physical violence, theft, harassment, public or private humiliation, or destruction of property. If the physical harm or psychological distress is not the result of systematic or chronic behavior, evaluate for Harassment.

SESIR Bullying must include 3 elements: It must be 1) repeated; 2) intentional; and 3) involve a power imbalance.

Examples

• Student uses a cell phone to take a picture of a student using the bathroom at school and shares it electronically.
• Student repeatedly spreads nasty rumors at school about another person.
• Student repeatedly teases another person in a mean way, calling him/her inappropriate names, making fun of his/her appearance, or the way he/she talks, dresses, or acts.

Non-Examples

• Student calls another student an inappropriate name once.

For more information visit: https://www.fldoe.org/safe-schools/sesir-discipline-data/bullying.stml

NES Mission Statement:

Driven by our love for kids and passion for teaching, we provide a safe, structured, and joyful space where every child feels connected, cared for, and empowered to learn. Through collaboration and purposeful planning, we make learning fun, build strong foundations, and prepare students for their futures.

NES Vision Statement:

At NES, every student is known, loved, and empowered in a joyful, trusting community that builds strong foundations for lifelong success.

NES Core Values

Connection • Community • Safety • Growth