Okoboji Community Schools

We are one week away from SPRING BREAK at OCSD! All OCSD school buildings will be closed and on break from March 11-15. Whether you will be travelling or staying local, we hope the time off gives all a chance to recharge and refresh for the last ten weeks of the school year!

March 1st is Maintenance and Operations Appreciation Day! Today we take a moment to thank Derek Chappas, OCSD Maintenance Director, and Tim Blair, OCSD Head of Grounds, for all of the hard work they do each and every day. Derek and Tim work tirelessly in ways seen and unseen to ensure our facilities and grounds are safe, operational, and in top condition to support the learning of all OCSD students. Thank you, Derek and Tim!

Concert season is upon us! You don't want to miss the chance to see these wonderful upcoming performances from both Okoboji Middle and High School students! Admission is $5/person with activity passes accepted. Tickets can be purchased with card at the door or ahead of time through the Bound App at this link: https://www.gobound.com/ia/schools/okoboji/tickets

February 22nd is National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Today we want to salute our Director of Transportation, Steve Clayton, and ALL of the outstanding drivers who get our students to and from school and activities every day safely! Through wind, snow, and rain, they always keep our kids safe and get them where they need to be to learn, perform, and grow! Thank you to all of these outstanding OCSD Bus Drivers! Steve Clayton Rod Blau Tom Sporrer John Walters Pam Trosin Daniel Clements Michal Schoning Michael Umscheid Don Nolan Aaron Sloan Brett Simpson Adam Quail Brett Ferguson Doug Otto Heidi Wittrock Tiffani Reese Dennis Houseman

Do you have a child that is ready for our PK Programming next year? Or, do you have a child ready for KG that is currently not at Okoboji Elementary? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, please join us for our PK/KG Parent Night on Tuesday, March 19 at 6:00 PM! See the flyer below for more information!

The Okoboji High School Student Council will be hosting their 3rd Annual Inclusion Fair at Okoboji Middle School on Friday, March 1st from 6:00-8:30 PM. The fair includes activities and games, coloring, a bake sale, and more! Cost is $3 for kids 3-12 and $5 for those 13 and above. Kids under 3 attend free! All proceeds go to the Okoboji Special Olympics Team. Make plans to come and join us in the fun while supporting these awesome athletes and students!

Today is National School Resource Officer Day! We are celebrating our SRO, Keaton Verner. Keaton has been a part of the Milford Police Department for several years and began his role as SRO for the Okoboji School District this year. Keaton works each day to ensure safety and develop positive relationships with students, staff, and families. Keaton also serves as a great connection for increased partnership between MPD and OCSD. In his first few months in the role he has helped identify and lead training opportunities for our staff, informative assemblies for our students, and much more. We are grateful for Keaton and all he does every day for our students, school, and community!

There may be snow on the ground but soon we will be trading our shovels for sandals to enjoy another amazing Okoboji summer! If you or someone you know needs an outstanding worker, or two, or more, sign up now to participate in the 8th Annual Okoboji Summer Job Fair! Last year we connected students from several area school districts with over 50 different local businesses and organizations looking for summer and year-round team members! This year's fair will again be held in the Roof Garden Ballroom at Arnolds Park Amusement Park on Friday, April 12th. More information and a form to sign up, share contact info with our organizer, and ask questions, can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBnMW6B9JpkY7ai5RKQxhdahhJauWNudLfIBOW94u8O6pX3A/viewform

All OHS students engage in our Senior Internship Program during their senior year. It gives them a chance to get a glimpse of daily life in a career field they are interested in. We are a little less than halfway through the school year and OHS Seniors have already logged over 600 hours of on-the-job internship experience so far! Eight seniors have already completed their Senior Internship program and another 21 have begun logging hours. The experiences they have already shared in their reflections have been AMAZING and we look forward to the rest of the class getting started soon!

We are all keenly aware of the tragic events that occurred on Thursday at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa. As a district, we stand with and grieve with the students, staff, and community of Perry. Parents and students should never have to feel unsafe at school or worry if their kids will come home safe at the end of the day. As we continue to process this situation, we want to share some of the proactive measures we have taken over the last several years and continue to use to prevent and respond to such a situation. I've attached a letter outlining some of the steps and programs we have implemented to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Please read the attached letter for more information. You can access a clickable version of the letter at the link below. That version will allow you to follow the links for more information. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AcpSZtPvDQ0FEj6JGJLYhjhj2jlqVxT2/view?usp=sharing

Okoboji Community School District stands with the students, staff, families, and community of Perry as they walk through this terrible tragedy. Educators in Perry and across Iowa work hard every day to make school a safe place for kids to grow and flourish. We will continue to offer our support in any way we can. Hug your kids tonight and every night.

Two of our very own have been nominated to be University of Okoboji Winter Games Cheerleaders! Congratulations to Katie Luinstra and TJ Simington for being recognized for this awesome community honor! It is well deserved! Voting opens today and closes by 5 PM tomorrow! https://www.uofowintergames.com/cheerleaders/

Final grades for the first semester have been released by Iowa Lakes Community College and once again, Okoboji students have done an outstanding job of taking advantage of dual credit opportunities! As you can see from the image, hundreds of OHS students have earned hundreds of college credits that can be used at ILCC or other community colleges or transferred to four-year schools like Iowa, Iowa State, or UNI, potentially saving them thousands of tuition dollars! The dual credit program enables students to take college credit classes at no cost to them. Okoboji also provides the print and digital textbooks necessary to take these classes making them completely free to our students and families. Just another way we are Pioneering Pathways for Every Student!

OMS Marketing Team Press Release -- Milking Memories: Jones Dairy Farm Field Trip Delights 5th Graders https://www.okobojischools.org/o/oms/article/1346727

🎉 Congratulations, Okoboji Middle School! 🎉 We are thrilled to announce that OMS has been named one of the Top 10 (out of 700) middle schools for 2024 in the state of Iowa by the prestigious U.S. News and World Report. This incredible achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the educators, families, and students in Okoboji! Your commitment to academic excellence, innovative teaching methods, and nurturing environment is admirable. This recognition is well-deserved, and we couldn't be prouder of this outstanding achievement. Congratulations again on this remarkable accomplishment! 🎉🎓🌟

The Okoboji School Board recognizes that it takes a community to Pioneer our youth. Through two programs, Board Salute and Pioneer Student Recognition, we want to hear from you about those exceptional individuals who stand out. For November, please take a moment to honor those that go above and beyond! Below is the link to access the programs. https://www.okobojischools.org/o/ocs/page/board-recoginition-programs  Thank you for your ongoing support for our school district!

We will have a send-off at ALL THREE buildings on Thursday afternoon to send our State-Bound Esports Team off in style and wish them luck! They will walk through the halls of OES at 2:40, OMS at 2:55, and OHS at 3:10 before heading for Des Moines! They will compete on Friday for a state championship! If any parents or community members want to join the send-off, please come to OHS via the main entrance before 3:10 on Friday!

We encourage all eligible voters in the Okoboji Community School District to cast their vote in today's election! Polls are open from 7 AM - 8 PM.

Congratulations to our swimmers on great performances at the state qualifying meet this weekend! Emily Quanbeck, Ella Kasperbauer, and Brooklyn Ferguson were part of the 5th place 200 medley relay which qualified for STATE. Brooklyn Ferguson got 2nd in the 50 freestyle and qualified INDIVIDUALLY for STATE. Emily Quanbeck and Brooklyn Ferguson were also part of the 3rd place 200 freestyle relay and 5th place 400 freestyle relay which also qualified for STATE. Ella Kasperbauer and Anna Quanbeck swam the 200 individual medley with Ella placing 10th and Anna placing 15th. Emily Quanbeck swam the 100 backstroke placing 11th. Ella Kasperbauer also swam the 100 breaststroke placing 11th. State will be next Friday and Saturday in Marshalltown, IA. There is only one class in swimming and only the top 32 qualify in each event. This means that each state qualifier is within the top 32 in the state.

Congratulations to Okoboji High School Esports on qualifying for the Fall State Tournament as the second seed! They will get a first-round bye before heading into state competition!