August/September 2022 Edition

Ottawa Elementary School

Dear Little Bucks Families,

I am thrilled to be at Ottawa working with our youngest learners and early childhood teaching staff.

For those of you that may not know me, this is my 24th year as a Buck. I began my career at Moccasin as a special education teacher for two years, followed by sixteen years as a first grade teacher, and beginning my sixth year as a building principal.

Guiding, growing, and empowering others, whether they are five or forty-five years old is why I love my job! I believe in continuous growth and learning and encouraging others to do the same!

Every individual that walks through our doors have the ability to learn and thrive. I am so proud to be a Buck and grateful for the opportunity to serve your family and this community!

If you ever have a concern, question, or comment please feel free to call or email and I will be happy to speak with you.

Stacey Denison, Principal

sdenison@buchananschools.com

• CAR LINE: If your child needs assistance buckling their seatbelt, please pull forward past the apple cone and assist your child. For liability reasons, staff is unable to buckle children in car seats.
• If your child requires medication to be administered at school, a form must be filled out by your child's physician and medication must be delivered to our office by an adult. Please do not send medications with your child to school. Medication forms are available in our school office.
• Transportation changes MUST be made no later than 2:00pm. If you have a change in your child's dismissal plans, please contact our office prior to 2:00pm. Class Tag is not a reliable source for transportation changes, as teachers are working within the classroom and may not see messages until it is too late.
• Please allow 24-48 hours for ClassTag and email responses from your child's teacher or principal. If your needs require a faster response, please call our office and leave a message.
• Students are given a backpack tag to notify staff of their after school dismissal plan and a barcode that is used for scanning at breakfast. If your child changes backpacks, please be sure to move this tag to the bag they will be bringing to school. These tags are essential to staff within the building. If your child's tag is incorrect, please let our office know.

There is no student drop off in the south parking lot (closest to Front Street) unless you are parking your car and walking your child into school. Parking along the sidewalk by the office, blocks our fire lane and cars being able to pull in and out of parking spaces. This is posted a no parking zone.

If your child arrives after 8:43am, they must be signed in at the office by an adult.

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

Phone: 269.695.8409

Mrs. Stacey Denison, Principal

sdenison@buchananschools.com

Mrs. 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!

29 First Day of School- ECSE, K, and 1st Grade

30 Wacky Wednesday 3:10 Dismissal

2 No School- Labor Day Observance

5 No School- Labor Day Observance

6 GSRP Open House 9:00-11:00am and 5:00-7:00pm

7 Wacky Wednesday 3:10 Dismissal

7 GSRP Preschool Begins- Mrs. Chase and Mrs. Monsma

13 First PTO Meeting of the Year 6:30pm (See info below)

14 Wacky Wednesday 3:10 Dismissal

14 NWEA First Grade Math

15 NWEA First Grade Reading

16 Celebrating Constitution Day (Wear red, white, and blue)

17 Constitution Day

19 Board of Education Meeting 6:00pm

19 School Farm Recycling Trip 9:00-10:15 Traeger's Class

19 School Farm Recycling Trip 10:00-11:15 Smith's Class

20 NWEA Math Kindergarten

20 School Farm Recycling Trip 9:00-10:15 Billington's Class

20 School Farm Recycling Trip 10:00-11:15 Sears' Class

21 NWEA Reading Kindergarten

21 School Farm Recycling Trip 9:00-10:15 Stevenson's Class

21 Wacky Wednesday 3:10 Dismissal

23 ECSE Extra Friday- Mrs. Hendrick's Class

28 Wacky Wednesday 3:10 Dismissal

29 NO GSRP Classes (Chase and Monsma)

30 Apple Festival Trip 10:30-2:00pm Mrs. VanDyke's Classes

At Ottawa we utilize a three-tiered behavioral system that focuses on improving the school environment with positive behaviors. We model and teach what we expect to see from students with the Buck 3. Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. We have spent the first two weeks focusing on the Buck 3 and teaching students our school-wide expectations.

There are various ways to promote positive behaviors through Buck 3 tickets and Buck High Five certificates. The tickets are collected throughout the building in classrooms, the library, lunchroom, hallways, anytime we spot consistent positive behavior. At the main entrance of our school is a large ticket bin where all tickets are collected to reach school-wide goals! When goals are reached, we reward students with incentives, such as visits from Bucky!

Information will be sent home for you to become familiar with our expectations and the common language we use each day at school. We use phrases such as 'hands and feet to self' and 'personal space'. Reinforcing this language at home helps build the consistency we instill every day at school.

More information will be coming closer to the date.

We want to take a moment to thank Mrs. Hurd for the many years she has been the glue of Ottawa Elementary as our Administrative Assistant. You will no longer hear her voice on the telephone or see her face as you enter our school office. She is moving onto the next chapter in her life and focusing on her family. She has two adorable grandsons that will be occupying a lot of her time! We love you and thank you for all the years you have given the staff, students, and families of Buchanan Community Schools!

We would like to welcome to Ottawa the following fantastic new staff members!

Mrs. Johnson is our new administrative assistant in the office. She has four children that attend Buchanan Community Schools, and is very active in attending school activities and events as her children participate on various Buchanan sports teams. She has extensive experience in customer service and is excited to be a part of the Ottawa Team!

Mrs. Stevenson is joining us as a first grade teacher. She has served as a preschool teacher in an area school system and comes with extensive background knowledge in early childhood education. Her passion for learning and reaching to meet student's needs will be an asset to our team. We are excited to have her join our team!

Mrs. Billington is also joining our team as a first grade teacher. She fulfilled student teaching assignment at Ottawa last school year in Mrs. Smith's classroom. We are excited to have her back and serving on our first grade team. Her empathy and patience for young learners will service our students well.

Mrs. Hendrick is our teacher in the early childhood special education (ECSE) classroom. Mrs. Hendrick was a teacher at Blossomland Learning Center before joining us. She brings a strong knowledge of implementing behavior plans and interventions. We are happy to have her join the ECSE team and share her teaching expertise with our youngest students.

Mrs. Hall joins us as a healthcare paraprofessional. She is ecstatic to support our Little Bucks. Her enthusiasm and patience for young children makes her a wonderful addition at our school! We are excited to have her become a part of our team!

Mrs. Paturalski is coming out of retirement to join us as an interventionist. Mrs. Paturalski will help service our students with math and reading needs. She comes with over 30 years of experience teaching in the elementary grades, primarily in first grade. Her knowledge in teaching beginning reading skills will benefit our students. Welcome back Mrs. Paturalski!

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.

• October 17th
• November 21st
• December 19th

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

269.695.8402

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