January 2023 Edition

Ottawa Elementary School

Dear Little Bucks Families,

We are excited to welcome back our staff, students, and families on January 9, 2023! It's a brand new year and we can't wait to get it started!

Michigan has passed Public Act 261 which requires a Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment for all kindergarten students. This act was passed due to dental cavities leading the cause of 51 million missed school hours nationally. A letter will be going home tomorrow explaining this in detail and Ottawa will be offering screenings on January 11th and 12th of this coming week during the school day to meet this new requirement.

Next week, we will be starting our mid-year assessments. The three assessments we administer to kindergarten and first grade students are the NWEA (math/reading), DIBELS (reading) and DELTA Math. We use these assessments to structure our intervention programs and how we determine whether students need to be placed on an IRIP (Individual Reading Intervention Plan). Specific testing days will be shared in this newsletter and in my Sunday Updates. If you are not receiving the updates that I send every Sunday, please contact our school office so we can update your email and cell phone information.

If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to reach me by Class Tag, phone, or email and I will be happy to speak with you.

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. Elizabeth Johnson, Administrative Assistant

ejohnson@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!

JANUARY

9 School Back In Session

13 Report Cards will go home with students

10-11 Dental Screening

11 Wacky Wednesday Early Release at 3:10 pm

16 No School-MLK Day

17 Board of Education Meeting 6:00pm

18 Wacky Wednesday Early Release at 3:10 pm

19 Kickstart to Career Deposit Day

19 NWEA Math- Kindergarten/First Grade

20 No School- Staff Professional Development

24 PTO Meeting 6:30 pm

25-26 NWEA Reading- Kindergarten/First Grade

25 Wacky Wednesday Early Release at 3:10 pm

27 ECSE Mrs. Hendrick's Class in session! Extra Friday!

31 BCHD Vision and Hearing Screening

February

1-2 BCHD Vision and Hearing Screening

The state of Michigan is requiring as of 2023 that all kindergarten students receive an oral health assessment. These screenings were provided to students and screening information was sent home along with a small bag of dental supplies. If you have further questions regarding this screening, please call our school office.

Report cards were sent home with students on Friday, January 13th. If you did not receive your child's report card or you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher.

Michigan Gateway Community Foundation and Honor Credit Union will be collecting deposits on Thursday, January 19th! 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 model and teach what we expect to see from students with the Buck 3. Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. Next week will be our first week to choose students that have been working hard at following the Buck 3. Pictures will be displayed on our wall for the entire school to see on their way to lunch and names announced during our announcements.

A signed certificate will come home at the end of the week and their names will be shared in Ottawa's Update over the weekend for families!

Congratulations to this week's Little Bucks of the Week! We are so proud of you and appreciate the example you lead for others at Ottawa! Keep up the phenomenal work!

Preschool: Colton F. and Gunnar M.

Kindergarten: Colton S., Sadie L., Avalyn L., Hudson M. and Alaska G.

First Grade: Madison Z., Payton B., Lily U., Marceline L. and Camber V.

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

• February 21st
• March 13th
• April 17th

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

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

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