May 4 , 2018

Please do not let your child bring a

cell phone or any toys to school,

including RUBIK’S CUBES. If they

come to school, the teacher will

take them and return at the end of

the year.

Car riders may be dropped off

starting at 7 am. At 7:40, students

must be accompanied to the office

by a parent/guardian to be

signed in tardy.

Always drop your student off

with an adult in the car rider line.

For everyone’s safety, we ask that

you do not let them get out of the

car before reaching an adult. (page

12 of your child’s agenda book)

Parents, please remember that

birthday parties for grades 2-5

should be celebrated at the end of

the month during the school’s

“Birthday Celebration.” Please do

not plan to bring in goodies for your

child’s birthday on any other day,

even if you plan to do it at lunch

time (Please refer to page 20 of

your child’s agenda book for more

information).

Okatie Elementary students participated and attended the

annual Special Olympics Event held at May River High

School today. We are so proud of our student's courage,

efforts and support of others. The "Spirit Squad" showed

owlsome school spirit cheering on the many students who

competed in the events. More pictures of our students will

be posted later today or tomorrow once I receive them.

Thank you Mrs. Roxanne Newton for organizing and coor-

dinating the day's events for our Owls! Also kudos to

Nikki Davis, Stephanie Eaton, Diane King, Melissa Lane,

Michelle Mahaney, Meghan Mchale, Ethel Mitchell,

Reeves Montjoy, and Corey Slater

for all of your hard work with our students today.

What’s Up at the Nest

May7-11– Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7– Pep Rally for grades 3-5, 1:45 p.m.

May 8– SC Ready Testing starts

May 9– SC Ready Test

May 10– SC Ready Test ends

May10– GT Drama Stars Performance, 6 p.m.

May 11– GT Drama Stars Performance, 8:15 a.m.

May 15– SCPASS Testing starts

May 16– SCPASS Testing ends

May 18– Field Day and Pre-K Water Day

May 21– 5th Grade field trip to Mighty Eighth Airforce Museum

May 23– Taste of the Garden

May 23– Book Fair Starts

May 25– WINGS Celebrations

May 25– Character Breakfast, 8 a.m.

May 25– End of the Year Picnic, 5:30-7 p.m.

May 28– No School! Happy Memorial Day!

May 29– WINGS Ceremony for 1st-4th grade, 8:15 a.m.

May 29– Pre-K Awards Ceremony, 1:30 p.m.

May 30– 5th Grader Moving Up Ceremony, 8:15 a.m.

May 31– Book Fair ends today

May 31– Kindergarten Graduation, 1 p.m.

May 31– Report Cards go home

May 31– Last day of school! Today is a full day and students will be dismissed at regular

time! There is no after school OWL program.

Acosta, Nailea

Adkins, Ryan

Aguilera Lagos, Jona-than

Aguilera, Aylin

Ahmann, Carter

Aiken, Dominic

Allbee, William

Altman, Gavin

Alvarez, Kevin

Amaya Ayala, Ashley

Andreoletti, Julia

Arroyo, Felix

Back, Sadie

Baez, Orlena

Balmaceda, Matthew

Banks, Amalia

Banks, Magnolia

Banks, Thomas

Beaton, Alaya

Beaton, Chaise

Beaton, Kyri

Beaver, Xander

Bender, William

Bennett, Samia

Bentz, Summerlyn

Berquist, Quinn

Blackmon, Ethan

Bliss, Isabella

Boston, Liam

Boyles, Finn

Boyles, Ross

Brooks, Nicolas

Brown, Quinton

Burbage, Henry

Burke, Brooke

Camacho Maldonado, Juan

Camacho, Juan

Campbell, Naomi

Canela, Aaron

Carbajal, Arlette

Castellano, Olivia

Catlett, Brayden

Catlett, Ryan

Chaneyfield, Clevion

Chapman, Bella

Chufo, Michayla

Church, Kinsley

Claffy, Kaley

Clark, Lukas

Clark, Presley

Cobb, Mia

Cooler, Emory

Cooler, Russell

Cooper, Antonio

Costlow, Ayden

Creech, Iler

Cruz, Jazleen

Darlak, Addison

Davis, Avery

Davis, Baylor

DeWeese, Ellie Kate

Dewey, Andrew

Downey, Olivia

Dunn, Braxton

Eayrs, Donovan

Elliot, Nicholas

Emsley, Alex

Erickson, Alison

Ernst, Drew

Espinoza, Avner

Farland, Lillian

Farmer, Addison

Fermin, Lindsay

Fernandez, Edgar

Franco, Seven

Fries, Sarah

Gamble, Jayden

Gammon, Owsley

German, Caleb

German, Giana

Gomez, Leslie

Gonzalez, Vyctoria

Goodwin, Cameron

Goodwin, Jenson

Gordon, Malcolm

Gourley, Addison

Gurganus, Abbey

Hammons, Sabrina

Harper, Isaiah

Hasan, Elias

Hawley, Kaiden

Hayes, Haylee

Heaton, Jordan

Hemmann, Sophia

Henderson, Parker

Henley, Layla

Hernandez, Eduardo

Hicks, William

Hinson, Bryce

Holley-Stewart, Kordell

Holmsten, Cole

Holmsten, Maci

Hoover, Emaley

Hotchkiss, Carter

Housey, Arianna

Howard, Noah

Huddleston, Karolyna

Hunt, Emily

Jacob, Grayson

Jaklitsch, Kenny

Jenkins, Oleatha

Jimenez, Kamyla

Johnson, Ayana

Johnson, Christopher

Johnson, Cialee

Johnson, Kaycie

Johnson, Maisie

Kasner, Jordan

Kent, Meghan

Kleckley, Griffin

Kleckley, Hudson

Klink, Bryson

Koblitz, Elizabeth

Kuehn, Hudson

Kuehn, Jackson

Kulas, Lucy

Lauffer, Braylon

Lawson, Hudson

Leitti, Emma Grace

Leroux, Max

Leroux, Moss

Lopez, Leo

Lovsness, Bella

Lowe, Dakota

Lowe, Willow

Luc, Nicolas

Magee, Eliana

Maine, Molly

Major, Dallas

Manrique, Adrian

Maria, Matthew

Maroney, Ethan

Matits, John

Maxwell, Paige

McCullough, Benjamin

McCullough, Chevelle

McCullough, Kacy

McElroy, Reese

McInish, Charlie

McKenzie, Logan

McManus, Kaleb

Medina, Marla

Meissen, Tommy

Mellott, Liam

Melton, Emily

Merck, Mackenzie

Millar, Aleecia

Mole, Camdyn

Molina Leyba, JJ

Montgomery, Kamryn

Morazan, Zac

Morgan, Ian

Moss, Tyler

Najar, Inesia

Natal Reyes, Jose

Nelson, Tucker

Newell, Sharionna

Nickolite, Hope

Nickolite, Kyrstin

Nimmer, Reeves

Oliphant, Braylon

Olsen, Emma

Olsen, Peyton

Partridge, Caydence

Partridge, Damien

Patterson, Hailey

Paul, Rylan

Pfuhl, James

Phillips, Harmony

Phoenix, Chandler

Picasso, Brianna

Pierre, Johanna

Pope, Cooper

Potter, Riley

Potter, Tyler

Privette, Kaylee

Ramirez, Jaritzy

Regan, Quinn

Reyes, Aimee

Reynolds, Cameron

Rimsnider, Kyler

Rios, Charlotte

Rios, Elizabeth

Rodabaugh, Firasa

Rodabaugh, Parsa

Rodriguez, Allisson

Rodriguez, Bella

Roller, Kaylie

Roller, Kylie

Rollins, Jahmell

Romeo, Nevaeh

Romero, Massiel

Rosales, Marla

Rosshirt, Maddison

Rossillo, Abigail

Rossillo, Allison

Rubio Aguilera, Aylin

Saleeby, Mary Kathe-rine

Salyer, Daisy

Schoenberger, Annie

Schoenberger, Cate

Schoenberger, Lucy

Schweyer, Mia

Schweyer, Zara

Scott, Caralynn

Scriven Ramos, Ada-lyse

Seabrook, Ethan

Shuford, Dietrich

Shuford, Nicholas

Shyblosky, Emily

Simmons, Quentin

Smeraldi, Marissa

Smith, Marley

Snyder, Brayden

Snyder, Karlie

Snyder, Katie

Solis, Calvin

Stager, Liam

Stager, Skylar

Star, Parker

Sweigart, Mason

Telfort, Paris

Thacker, Brennen

Thacker, Ethan

Tinoco, Ana

Toirkens, Emarie

Tourout, Brayden

Tran, Dat

Tran, Quoc

Trice, Gia

Trifari, Brady

Trifari, Shaine

Turner, Jackson

Tuzzo, Nicholas

Walker, Isabella

Walker, Morgan

White, James

White, Mason

Willis, Fasika

Willis, Kamiyah

Willis, Laila

Woods, Connor

Worley, Charlee

Yang, Jerry

Yemec, Mia

Zepeda, Cynthia

The following students showed great character in the month of April! We are proud of you!

Kindergarten took a trip to Driessen Beach on Hilton Head Island. Groups

were led by the staff of the Coastal Discovery Museum. Children learned about various plants and animals that

make the beach and ocean their home. Students braved the unusually cold weather and cheerfully enjoyed

searching for items and playing in the sand. They also enjoyed a picnic and

some playtime at the beach play-ground.

The 2nd and 3rd grade students, along with the OES Chorus, put on a

wonderful musical presentation based on children’s literature. The books that

were featured were Alice in Wonderland, Horton Hears a Who, Green Eggs

and Ham, Peter Pan, The Wonderful Wizard of OZ, Little Orphan Annie, and

many more. The students had a wonderful time dressing up as their favorite

book character and connecting what they are learning in their ELA classes to

what they were learning in music class. Great job boys and girls!

Pre-K students took a trip to the Island Playground. Students explored many

gross motor activities like bouncy houses, rock wall climbing, net

climbing, and more. The students enjoyed exploring through play.

Congratulations to the following students for

demonstrating compassion and Forgiveness daily

with staff, friends and peers.

Eisley Jamison

Alex Najar

Isabella Walker

Dat Tran

Ross Boyles

Emily Shyblosky

Cynthia Zepeda

James Matits

Joanna Eaton

Noah Woods

Hayden Lewis

Maisie Johnson

A group of Lady Owls along with Mrs. Alicia Brown, 5th

grade teacher, got together to work on a project to give

back to our local community. They worked to design,

decorate, and stuff bags for local foster children. The

girls held discussions about how to solve their personal

problems through communication and the importance of

staying positive. After they finished their bags, they took

“staying positive” to the next level by asking if they could

include personal notes in the bags to remind the new

owners of the bags to stay positive as well. These beau-

tiful bags are now ready to be delivered to children right

here in the Low Country. The girls walked away with

many smiles and learned the lesson that lifting others up

also lifts us up and the best way to feel positive is to

spread positive. It should be noted this was Mrs.

Brown's birthday gift to self, to purchase items and to

donate those items to an identified charity to spread

kindness and to help others.

Thank you Mrs. Brown for your big heart.

Sunset Family Science Night was enjoyed by fifty plus owls!!! Everyone had a great time looking for

mollusks, crustaceans, building sand castles and tasting the ocean for the first time this year! Many thanks

to Mrs. Lauffer for organizing the event, as well as Mrs. Tuzzo for capturing the special moments. A special

thank you to Mrs. Heaton, Mrs. German, Mrs. Clossman, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Gonzalez, Ms. Hull, Mr. Lauffer,

Ms. Lauffer and Mrs. Montjoy for joining our families for the learning and fun! Parents thank you for coming

out too, we appreciate your time and support!

The 2nd and 3rd grade students were treated to an amazing

performance by the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra on

April 30th. The students learned about the members of the

string family and what made each instrument in that

family different. They also discussed that music is more than

just fast and slow, but that it has an emotion and every

person can interpret the feeling of the music differently.

Thank you to Mary Briggs and the whole orchestra for

allowing us the opportunity to hear such great musicians and

also to Ms. Underhill and the 2nd and 3rd grade teachers for

taking them on this great trip.

Okatie will hosted its final ESOL night of the year. This year’s theme is a Luau! Students and their families enjoyed refreshments, learned about

summer programs, and celebrated this year. Students also performed a hula dance for their

families. The hula was chosen as a way to

embrace all languages, as it is a language of gestures. Thank you for joining us for this fun

family evening!

Thank you to all the family and friends that came out to enjoy

Muffins for Mom the past two days! It was so wonderful to see all

of your happy faces enjoying some quality time together! We

would like to thank our amazing PTO for putting this event on

again this year!

First graders went to Oatland Island in Savannah this week. They had a chance to tour the wildlife preserve and see many species of animals. Some of the favorite animals are the bobcats, the cougars and the alligators. They learned about predators and prey. They also

had a picnic lunch after their two-mile hike through the forest. It was a lot of fun!

In honor of Earth day, Mrs.

German's fifth grade students went

outside and collected beautiful

natural materials to make art.

“Morning altars" are colorful

mandalas that combine nature, art,

and meditation. Making mandalas

are a way of incorporating the

natural world into the everyday,

which encourages positive well-

being, even with the simplest of the

earth's gifts, such as leaves,

flowers, berries, feathers, and

stones. The students created such

beautiful pieces of art that are a

peaceful and creative avenue to

express gratitude for nature, to

practice mindfulness, and to add

meaning to daily life. They had so

much fun making them!

Pre-K Students in Mrs. Woods’ Class

celebrate Earth Day!

Mrs. Martin's first graders recognized Earth Day by

reading the book Miss Rumphius. In this book, the main

character is given the challenge as a child to find a way to

make the earth a more beautiful place. As she grows old,

she never forgets her promise so she begins to plant

flowers everywhere she goes. The students followed the

example of Miss Rumphius and planted flowers outside of

our classroom to make our Okatie world a more beautiful

place.

Mrs. Heaton’s Block 1 and Block 2 went

for a nature walk and collected leaves,

pinecones, sticks, rocks, and even

some litter to create a natural piece of

art! We talked about lines of symmetry

and how many of these items are

natural resources. These beautiful

creations are sometimes called

mandalas or morning altars.

In 1st and 2nd grade STEM lab, stu-

dents took cans from the cafeteria that

were otherwise going in the trash and

reused them as a classroom planter.

The kids were proud to know we saved

some much space in our landfills!

The Rewards for Excellence Program recognizes outstanding communications and public relations efforts by schools, school districts, and educational agencies and associations. The SC/

NSPRA awards program is designed to recognize excellence in every aspect of the public relations effort. The Rewards for

Excellence Program features three awards programs: Medallion, Golden Achievement, and

Publications and Electronic Media. This year, OES was the recipient of two awards for Publications and Electronic

Media. The “Okie Brand” received an Award of Excellence, and our SIC Report to Parents 2017-2018 won an

Award of Merit. Mrs. Leslie Bauer, School Counselor, wrote and submitted the entries, and Mrs. DJ Wilson, Mrs. Laura

Waddell and Mrs. Bauer attended an April luncheon in Columbia, SC to accept the awards on behalf of the school.

Teacher of the Year:

Mrs. Nikki Davis

Mrs. Davis is a second grade teacher and proud moth-

er to two owls, Baylor and Aubrey! Mrs. Davis has

been an employee at OES for the past 15 years! She is

consistently seeking ways to improve her teaching

practices, as well as helping with school events, even

spearheading and organizing the annual "Fun Run".

She is loved and respected by her students, peers,

administrators and parents.

Support Staff of the year:

Ms. Siobhan McCann

Ms. McCann is the computer lab instructor and has

been an owl for two and half years. She is currently

completing her Master’s program to become a

Media Specialist. Ms. McCann is full energy, joy and

creativity. She runs the WHOOT morning program and

assists with team and grade-level events. Ms. McCann

is 'zany' and likes to challenge her students to push

themselves and to reach their goals. She is also

admired and loved by staff, students and parents!

Volunteer of the Year:

Mrs. Ellen Andreoletti

This year, Mrs. Andreoletti has served on both

the PTO Board as president, and the SIC as

co-chair. In addition to having two owls at OES,

she finds time to organize and shop for our many

school, grade-level and classroom functions/

events. It has been an extremely successful year

with our PTO fundraisers due to

Mrs. Andreoletti’s efforts and support.

Thank you!

Okatie Elementary

OFF SITE CAMP

Okatie Elementary will host a traditional YMCA camp with the exact same themes and schedule as the Wardle Family Y Traditional Camp

(see YMCA website for more info).

Activities: All camp groups are arranged by educational activities include computer virtual learning, literacy/ mathematics instructions

implemented by certified teachers and outdoor classroom activities focusing on science. Camp components include, field and gym

games, camp songs and skits, arts and crafts, camp assemblies.

Camp Dates: June 11 – July 26, 2018, Monday—Thursday

Ages: Rising Kindergarteners — Rising 5th Graders

Drop-Off: 7:30-8:15am Pick-Up: 3:45—4:30 pm

Fee for Traditional Day Camp: $50/child per week

Registration Fee: Online registration $10/child. In person registration: $15/child

Meal Program: In partnership with BCSD all campers will receive breakfast and lunch. Sample breakfast is Blueberry Muffin, Orange Juice,

Nonfat Chocolate Milk, or Lowfat Milk. Sample lunch is Baked Penne, Sweet Grapes, Creamed Spinach, Nonfat Chocolate Milk or Lowfat

Milk.

Field Trips: Campers will participate in field trips every Thursday. All field trips are no more than $10 per child so please plan accordingly.

You will be notified of each field trip location the first week of summer camp.

Payment: All Y Summer Camp payments are made through a pre-authorized checking account or credit card draft. New this year is

choose your own draft date! All draft dates must be chosen at least 7 days prior to the draft date. THERE ARE NO PAYMENTS MADE AT

THE Y FRONT DESK after the initial registration (no ex-ceptions). If you do not wish to provide us with your bank information, you may

pay all camp fees at once at the front desk or online.

Cancellations: Cancellations must be made a minimum of 10 days prior to the start of the camp. There is a $10 cancellation fee per child

per session. There are no refunds or credits for camps registered for, but not attended.

For a complete list of Y Summer Camp Locations & Offering’s, please visit our website beaufort-jasperymca.org

WARDLE FAMILY YMCA

1801 Richmond Avenue, Port Royal, SC 29935