May 2022 Edition

Ottawa Elementary School

Field Day is upon us! We are asking for your help with items for games and our Snack Shack! Below are the specific items we are asking each class to contribute. Please send in donations to the office by Wednesday, June 1st. We will be organizing most of the items the night before for easy set up Thursday morning.

Kutemeier/Lolmaugh- Goldfish Crackers

Mabry/Sears- Pretzel Sticks

Calvillo- Mini marshmallows

Seddon/Stacy- M&Ms

Beck/Traeger/Smith- Wrapped Candies for Games

Want to volunteer? Please fill out the volunteer form using this link:

https://forms.gle/waH2gRtHKDyAze7W6

All volunteers must have a background check clearance on file.

Dear Little Bucks Families,

How can we possibly be nearing the end of the school year! I can't believe it went by so quickly. We are wrapping up the year with our end of year assessments in the next two weeks. As it stays light longer in the evenings, please make sure your little ones continue to get to bed early so they are rested and ready for each day!

We want to thank our PTO and families for the gifts, food, and snacks during Staff/Teacher Appreciation Week! Buchanan truly has the best staff around!

If you are dropping your little one off, please park in a parking space and walk them to the door. There is a no parking zone in the fire lane, which is right by the sidewalk in the visitors parking lot by the office. If it is after 8:40, please walk your child in and sign them in for the day.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Stacey Denison, Principal

sdenison@buchananschools.com

Our school office is open 8:00am-4:30pm

Phone: 269.695.8409

Mrs. Stacey Denison, Principal

sdenison@buchananschools.com

Mrs. Hurd, Administrative Assistant

mhurd@buchananschools.com

REGULAR DAY OF SCHOOL

8:35am-3:43pm

ECSE/Preschool AM 8:35am-11:50pm

ECSE/Preschool PM 12:25pm-3:43pm

WACKY WEDNESDAYS

8:35am-3:10pm

HALF DAYS OF SCHOOL

8:35am-12:05pm

No Preschool or ECSE Classes on these days!

10 PTO Meeting 6:30pm Ottawa Library

10-12 NWEA Reading Testing Begins

11 Wacky Wednesday- Early Dismissal at 3:10 pm

16 DELTA Math Assessments K-1

16 Board of Education Meeting 7:00 pm
17-19 NWEA Math Testing Begins

18 Wacky Wednesday- Early Dismissal at 3:10 pm

19 Kickstart to Career Deposit Day (K-1)

24 Kindergarten At The Commons 7:00 pm

25 1st Grade End of Year Trip

30 Memorial Day- No School

31 Board of Education Meeting 6:00 pm

June

1 Wacky Wednesday- Early Dismissal at 3:10 pm

1 Mrs. Chase/Mrs. Monsma Final Day of Preschool

2 Field Day (Kindergarten/1st Grade)

3 Ms. Gmeiner's Class Extra Friday

6 Ms. Gmeiner's Class Last Day of School

7 Half Day of School for Students- Dismissal at 12:05

8 Final Day of School- Half Day- Dismissal at 12:05

13 Summer School Begins

20 Board of Education Meeting 6:00 pm

The past few years have been anything but normal and brought along many changes. This year we are going to celebrate the conclusion of Kindergarten a little differently, with a fun large-scale gathering of all the kindergarten students with a singing program downtown at the Buchanan Commons. All classes will attend at one time and perform songs for their family and friends. Refreshments will be served and families will be able to capture pictures of their child and their friends regardless of what class they were in. We think this will be an exciting new event to celebrate the conclusion of the year that all students can participate in!

Students may bring in their deposits on Thursday in a sealed envelope with the following information: Student Name, Grade, Graduation Year and Account Number found in their personal savings account register booklet. If you have questions regarding deposits, please contact the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation at 695-3521.

Jordan Haynes: President

Sarah Scrimshire: Vice President

Liz McGinnis: Secretary

Zach McGinnis: Treasurer

Mrs. Hurd is what keeps our school ticking! She is the face on the other end of the line when you call our office. She handles everything that passes through the office. Parent questions and phone calls, a student that loses a tooth or needs their temperature taken, and welcomes guests with a smile. We don't know what we would do without her! Thank you Mrs. Hurd for all that you do for our Little Bucks staff, students, and families!

Our Arbor Day event was a success and we are eagerly taking care of the 20 new trees that were planted at our school. Thank you to Superintendent Robinson and Mayor Denison for speaking, Ms. Prestine, Elementary Music Teacher, for leading us in several songs, and Mr. Frontczak and the Jr. Herd for lending their helping hands! We received watering cans and I Am A Tree Friend tag with ways to use the Buck 3 when taking care of our trees. Thank you to Mr. Richard Martin and Ms. Beth Murphy from the Tree Friends for leading the ceremony.

We want to make sure every single student gets out the door and home safely. Please remember the following:

• You MUST contact our school office by 2:00 pm if you need to make changes to your child's transportation routine.

• If you need to make changes involving a bus, these changes must be communicated to our office by 1:30 pm, before the buses leave for their middle/high school routes.

• Please do not message or email teachers as they are often in session and do not receive the messages until it is too late.

• If you need a numbered car tag for the pick up line, please come into our office.

• If you are picking your child up as a walker, they will be dismissed at the doors by our front office.

• Only car riders with parents in the pick up line will be dismissed at the north parking lot doors.

269.695.8402

Nate Will, Transportation Director

nwill@buchananschools.com

• May 16th (This meeting is following the End of Year Reception beginning at 7:00pm)
• May 31st

Meetings will be called to order at 6:00pm unless advertised differently.

We work hard every day to make our school the best it can be. Please tell us how we’re doing!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedhHzyguA0_cCpd2Ue17lUTG5bV9LXzCoe6sP2f_BJrovA1Q/viewform

269.695.8400

Superintendent

Mrs. Patricia Robinson probinson@buchananschools.com

Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent

Mrs. Michelle Munyon mmunyon@buchananschools.com

Assistant Superintendent

Mr. Mark Kurland mkurland@buchananschools.com

Business Office Specialist

Mrs. Carrie Brunsting cbrunsting@buchananschools.com

Director of Special Education

Mrs. Karin Falkenstein kfalkenstein@buchananschools.com

Director of Technology

Mr. Philip Place psplace@buchananschools.com