Dear Little Bucks Families,

March is my absolute favorite time of the school year! Just as we move into spring with the grass growing and flowers beginning to bloom, our students are also growing and blooming as well! When I was a first grade teacher, this was the time of year when I would see incredible growth, not only academically, but emotionally and socially.

Another reason I love March is that during this month reading and literacy are celebrated! Any day of the year is a great day to read, but this month especially, we focus on the importance of reading and that it matters at any age. Foundational reading skills build the framework for young children to become strong, fluent readers. That is one of the important jobs we have at Ottawa, to lay the foundation and build the framework for your children.

Conferences are around the corner! If your classroom teacher is not recommending a conference, please feel free to continue to reach out via email, Class Tag, or by phone if you have any questions regarding your child's progress. We are here to support you and your child's learning.

Have a wonderful break and here's hoping for warmer recess days!

Stacey Denison, Principal

sdenison@buchananschools.com

February 2022 Edition

Ottawa Elementary School

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!

1 PTO Meeting 6:30 PM

2 Wacky Wednesday- Dismissal at 3:10

9 ECSE and Preschool Classes are in Session

9 Wacky Wednesday- Dismissal at 3:10

13 Daylight Savings (Turn clocks forward one hour)

17 Kickstart to Career Deposit Day for Kindergarten/1st Graders

17 St. Patrick's Day

17 CONFERENCES: 12:15pm-8:15pm

18 No School- Spring Break Begins

21-25 Spring Break

28 School Resumes

You should have received a paper indicating whether your child requires a spring conference. We are providing these virtually, in-person, or by phone. Please make sure if you have a conference scheduled that you communicate with your child's teacher about which mode you prefer, so they know whether to get online, meet you in-person, or call you by phone.

If your child is not recommended for a conference, you may still reach out to the classroom teacher to arrange a time to talk about your child's progress.

Any questions, please contact our Office and we will be glad to assist you!

Ticket Tuesdays: Tickets are drawn from our PBIS bin and the winners receive a free book!

Special Reader Thursdays: Each Thursday a special guest reader will visit Ottawa and read to our students!

DEAR Fridays: On Fridays there will be times throughout the day where we will stop what we are doing and Drop Everything And Read with a favorite book!

Other Special Days:

7th- Story Carousel

9th- Riddle Scavenger Hunt

14th-Teacher Swap

16th- Book Show and Tell

17th- Wear Green

28th- Word Shirt Day

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.

We have had an amazing response to family members being guest readers in our classrooms! These visits really get the kids excited and encourages reading at all ages! Thank you to those that have visited our schools! We appreciate you taking the time to share a good book! There is still time left if you haven't signed up with your classroom teacher! We will continue our guest reading through the end of March!

Way to go Ottawa! We exceeded our goal of $4,200! You have given to a great cause that will help many! Thank you for helping others through giving!

Jordan Haynes: President

Sarah Scrimshire: Vice President

Liz McGinnis: Secretary

Zach McGinnis: Treasurer

Thank you Ottawa PTO for the lunch and dinner from Martin's! It was delicious and helped get us through a long day!

Thank you to all the families that donated snack items and pop!

We appreciate your thoughtfulness beyond words!

A flyer went home with information on how you can 'give back' to Ottawa by ordering takeout, buying a gift card, or dining at Hacienda on Tuesday the 29th! All you need is one of the tickets at the bottom of the flyer or you can take a screenshot of the ticket! 20% of every purchase will given back to our school to help fund future trips and activities! You can stop by Hacienda anytime between 11:00am and 10:00 pm on Tuesday the 29th!

Our fantastic food service team makes sure that we get the best breakfast and lunch each day! Miss Mary (center) is our head cook, Miss Michelle (left of center) is the cook's assistant. We also have three great lunch supervisors that help during our four lunch periods. Miss BJ (far left), Miss Cassie (right of center), and Miss Ashley (far right) move through the lunchroom to assist students with opening food packaging, wiping down tables after each lunch, and offering a helping hand wherever needed!

Thank you all for making breakfast and lunch a student favorite each day!

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

• March 14th
• April 18th

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