OTSEGO LOCAL SCHOOLS
Superintendent's Weekly Update - October 16th
Another perfect week at Otsego!!!! No cases yet again.
CLICK HERE FOR THE OTSEGO COVID-19 DASHBOARD
Otsego Football Playoff Game: Kickoff is at 7 pm tomorrow and will be LIVE STREAMED HERE
Latest News from the Wood County Health Department:
Families should approach trick-or-treat differently this year in order to reduce their risk of exposure to COVID-19. Here are some suggestions for enjoying a safe Halloween:
- Avoid having children select their own treats from a bowl or common container.
- Limit the number of houses you visit and ask your children to stay as far as possible from anyone you don’t live with. Celebrate Halloween in your own community, and don’t visit other areas.
- Wipe off candy wrappers with sanitizing wipes, and allow children to eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid homemade treats made by strangers.
- If your child is at greater risk of serious illness from COVID-19, contact your doctor before allowing participation in Halloween activities. Decorating your home and hiding treats can be a fun alternative to trick-or-treating.
- A costume mask is not a safe substitute for a cloth mask. A costume mask should not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and doesn’t leave gaps around the face.
- Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth mask because it could become hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask.
If you will host trick-or-treaters at your house, take steps to make it safer:
- Make it contactless. Place treats or individual goodie bags on your porch, steps or a table in the driveway, or hang treats from a wall or fence.
- Greet trick-or-treaters from behind a storm door or window.
- Use creative decorations to create a buffer on your porch.
- Do not hold large, in-person Halloween parties. Instead have smaller parties to limit your gathering to no more than 10 people, preferably outside or in larger indoor spaces with ventilation. If you decide to have several parties, be sure to clean and sanitize between groups.
- If you will have food, it’s safer to have prepackaged single-serving food and drinks and disposable utensils. Consider having guests bring their own food and beverages.
- Practice social distancing and offer plenty of hand sanitizer.
- Avoid activities such as bobbing for apples that foster the spread of infection.
- Don’t go if you feel sick at all. Be sure to check your temperature before you leave the house and monitor for COVID-19 symptoms.
- Avoid parties that will have more than 10 people.
- Think about bringing your own food or drink. Avoid potluck or family-style meals.
- Wear a face covering, bring hand sanitizer and keep your distance from people who are not part of your household.
- Consider safer, socially distant ways to celebrate that don’t put you in close contact with other people, such as:
- Having a virtual costume party or pumpkin-carving contest.
- Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
- Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home, rather than going house to house.
Alex Aspacher
Community Outreach Coordinator
Wood County Health Department
1840 E. Gypsy Lane Road
Bowling Green, OH 43402
419-352-8402 ext. 3298
419-354-9212 (direct)
Trick or Treat in the Otsego Community:
Please be safe and practice all of the guidelines from the State of Ohio.
https://www.halloween2020.org/
Grand Rapids: October 31st from 5 to 7 pm
Haskins: October 31st from 5 to 7 pm
Tontogany: October 31st from 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Weston: October 31st from 6 to 7:30 pm
Quarantined: If a student or staff member has been in close contact with another individual that tests positive for COVID-19 the student will be required to quarantine for 14 days from the date of close contact. Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes of the positive individual. The quarantine may end only after 14 days if the student/staff member was symptom-free the entire time.
Isolated: If a student or staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 they are to isolate at home for 10 days since the symptoms first appeared. The student or staff member may return when there have been 10 days since symptoms began, no fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, and COVID-19 symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours.
Contact Tracing: We will contact trace through multiple means. We will start with all of our seating charts in classrooms and on the bus. We will also check to see what extracurriculars the students are involved in. We will also be directly communicating with the students to get a detail of their day. The contact tracing will start two days prior to a student having symptoms. For example, if a student tests positive for COVID-19 and symptoms appear on a Wednesday, we will contact trace and determine if any individual had close contact (within 6 ft. for more than 15 minutes) on Monday or Tuesday of that week.
Food Pick up for ONLINE STUDENTS: Monday, October 19th
Food pick up is Monday, October 19th from 4-5 pm. Please make sure you are there if you signed up for food and please note the change in time.
Food Service Reminder - Breakfast and Lunches are FREE all year for ALL students.
Adam Koch
GO KNIGHTS!
Eagle Scout Project Donation
Dear Otsego Community,
As a member of Boy Scout Troop of 347, Tontogany, Ohio, and a sophomore at Otsego High School, I am currently pursuing my Eagle Rank. I will be building a batting cage for the Tontogany Legion Ball Fields. This project will benefit the community by providing a recreational outlet for the youth of the Otsego Local School District communities. Baseball and softball are popular and the need for another batting cage at the field is great. Especially in these difficult times, outside recreation is extremely important. The batting cage will be 60X18. My project is to fundraise and build the batting cage with the help of my troop. The estimated cost for the project is $2,500. Any funds that are donated to this worthy project would be greatly appreciated.
Donations can be made in the form of a check to Troop 347, with the Neil Amborski, Eagle Project noted in the memo line. The donation can be mailed to 14016 Cross Creek Rd. Bowling Green, Ohio 43402. If you have any questions about the project, please contact me at the e-mail address 23namborski@otsegoknights.org . Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Neil Amborski
Otsego Food Pantry
The Otsego Food Pantry is always willing to help those in need. This service is by appointment only. Please call, text, or email to schedule.
Otsego Food Pantry
c/o Lisa Hatfield
PO Box 261
17700 Beaver Street
Grand Rapids, OH 43522
Phone: 419-830-1051
Email: otsegofoodpantryoh@gmail.com
Housed in the Grand Rapids First Presbyterian Church – Supported by our Community!
Athletics
Saturday, October 17
10:00 - JH/HS XC NBC Championships @ Fostoria HS
7:00 - V FB (H) Pleasant *Playoff Game
Monday, October 19
5:00 - V VB @ Paulding *Sectional Game
Wednesday, October 21
5:00 - BS @ Ada (War Memorial Park) *Sectional Game
5:00 - GS @ Swanton *Sectional Game
Thursday, October 22
4:30 - 7th/8th FB @ Fostoria
Friday, October 23
5:00 - BS (H) Swanton *Originally scheduled 10/10
COMMUNITY EVENTS SECTION
Questions, Concerns, Comments, or Rumors
SPONSORS
Otsego Board of Education
President: Brad Anderson banderson.otsego@gmail.com
Vice President: James Harter jameslharter@gmail.com
Board Member: Mark Tolles mdt814@cs.com
Board Member: Jessica Mehl jmehl.jd@gmail.com
Board Member: Gordon Digby gdigby44@gmail.com
Adam Koch, Superintendent
Email: akoch@otsegoknights.org
Website: www.otsegoknights.org
Location: 18505 Tontogany Creek Road, Bowling Green, OH, United States
Phone: 419-823-4381
Twitter: @AdamKoch_Otsego
Lisa Austin, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent/EMIS Coordinator
Email: laustin@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Lauri Dunham, Special Education Director
Email: ldunham@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Stephen Bihary, School Psychologist
Email: sbihary@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Luke Swartz, Technology Director
Email: lswartz@otsegoknights.org
Website: www.otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Katrina Baughman, Elementary Principal
Email: kbaughman@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Twitter: @KBaughman723
Becky Buchman, Assistant Elementary Principal
Email: bbuchman@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Twitter: @buchman_becky
Kevin O'Shea, High School Principal
Email: koshea@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Twitter: @KosheaOHS
Jon Rife, Junior High Principal
Email: jrife@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Twitter: @OJHS_Principal
Tom Ferdig, High School Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Grades 6-12
Email: tferdig@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Eva Vasher, Director of Transportation, Custodial, and Maintenance
Email: evasher@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Emily Bires - Director of Food Service
Email: ebires@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Twitter: @Otsego_Cafe