How to Properly Wear a Mask

Mask Up! Students and staff will be required to wear a mask this year at all times while in the building. This video link demonstrates how students should wear their masks at school.

Social Distancing at School

Back Up! The following video illustrates the social distancing expectations for students at the bottle filling stations, restrooms, and in the lunch lines.

Otsego Hand Sanitizing Procedures

Wash Up. Students will be sanitizing their hands every time they enter a classroom and exit. This video demonstrates what this will look like in the High School.

Sanitizing Desks & Work Spaces

Wash Up! This video demonstrates how students will sanitize their desks at the end of each class before they leave.

Please remember to bring a water bottle or container that you can re-fill daily. The office was providing some water bottles to students that did not have any, but we are out. Due to Covid precautions, our drinking fountains are not in service, but our water bottle filling stations are open and operable.

Otsego Parents:

Last week, Wood County moved to level 3 (red) on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System. The numbers in Ohio and locally continue to rise. We believe strongly that our students benefit from in-person learning and we want to continue this schedule. In the Otsego Local Schools Reopening Plan, we stated that if Wood County rises to an Alert Level 3, we would collaborate with the Health Department to determine if we should switch models. We are in constant contact with the Wood County Health Department and Ben Robison, Wood County Health Commissioner. At this time we are NOT changing our plan. We will continue 5-day in-person learning on the Otsego Campus.

Our Governor stated last night in the press conference that K-12 schools are doing a fantastic job and that most children are better off in school than learning remotely. We believe this to be true and the data that we have supports this. Turning red does not increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 in our schools and Otsego continues to consistently implement the public health guidelines. Locally, Wood County and Otsego are not identifying significant cases within our schools due to in-school exposures.

The updated numbers as of today can be FOUND HERE. We currently have 2 staff members and 30 students quarantined and 1 student that is isolated. From the start of the school year, Otsego had 6 students and 5 staff members that were in isolation as a result of COVID-19. We take our responsibilities to keep our students and staff safe seriously and believe that our entire community is doing their part. We must continue to practice this as we move into the holiday season. If we want to keep our schools open, we have to follow the public health guidelines as consistently in our private lives as our kids do when they are at school. Please continue to stress the importance of wearing a mask to your children.

Finally, we take this virus very seriously. The health and safety of our students and staff is our top priority. I want to assure everyone that we are constantly assessing our COVID-19 data. We will continue to be transparent and communicate how the virus is impacting our district through our dashboard and make the appropriate decisions based on what is happening in our buildings. Our combined efforts thus far have proven we can do this. We will continue to require students and staff to wear a mask; we will continue to practice safe social distancing; and we will continue to sanitize and clean our hands and workspaces constantly.

Thank you all for your continued support. Our efforts this year have been a shining example of what can be accomplished when a school and community work together for the interest of their students. We have been able to provide a safe and clean learning environment that has impacted our students mental, physical, and social development and well-being in a very positive way; and we hope to continue this critically important work with all of you in the weeks and months to come.

Thank you and GO KNIGHTS!

If you and your family need some extra help this holiday season please fill our the form below and return it to the Junior High office no later than December 3.

Knight in Shining Armor is working with the High School and the Junior High to set up an Angel Tree program for this year.

If you would like to help a child in need, please use the following link to choose an Angel "virtually". You will be asked to provide your name and contact information when you choose a child in need, so we can privately send more detailed lists of clothing sizes and interests.

Angel Tree Adoption Sign Up

We would like to have all donations of gifts in the respective offices by Friday, December 11th to ensure that we get them delivered to the students before Christmas Break. Please wrap items, and indicate the student number provided above. You may do this with post it notes, or a removable tag so we can keep the gifts separate for their respective students.

We want to stress the importance of keeping an open line of communication between families and school. This is especially true in regards to the health and welfare of our students, parents, and families as well as our teachers and staff.

1. Please contact our school nurse, Jane Gray, directly at (419) 823.4381 ext.4002 to report any COVID related symptoms, questions, and/or concerns related to quarantine, and/or isolation.
2. If your student or a family member experiences any COVID -19 related symptoms or has been in contact with anyone who has symptoms, please call Jane Gray.
   
3. This is the time where it is imperative we remain honest in reporting any symptoms a student or family member may be experiencing.
4. If you aren’t sure it is necessary to report, please call, we can help you through decision-making on how and where to proceed.
5. If a student comes to school and tells a staff member that someone at home has COVID-19, or is sick at home. We must take a student’s word seriously regardless of age. In such a situation, calls will be made to those parents/guardians to clarify this information. It is our job to look out for the best interest of our staff and students.

Missing School

1. Students will not be punished for missing school because of illness.
2. Make-up work can be provided.
3. We realize that in the past we have discouraged students from missing school due to minor symptoms of a cough or sore throat, but unfortunately, we cannot take the chance of infecting others.
4. The symptoms of COVID – 19 are so vast that we need to act cautiously. Health is our number one priority.

We are all in this together. The staff at Otsego Schools will remain open and honest with all of you and expect the same in return. This is the only way we can get through this is to work together for the good of everyone in the community.

Jane Gray

jgray@otsegoknights.org or 419-823-4381 ext. 4002

What it means to be Quarantined...

*A person being quarantined does NOT mean they have COVID. This is being done as a precautionary step in accordance with health guidelines. They may never become sick.

**We will only quarantine students and or staff when we know they have been in contact inside of 6 feet for longer than 15 minutes with a confirmed COVID case.

***A student and or staff member that come into contact with a person that was in contact with a confirmed COVID case does NOT need to be quarantined. This is considered a secondary contact. A quarantine will only happen if you were in contact inside of 6 feet for longer than 15 minutes with a confirmed COVID case.

Quarantine Rules for Students: Quarantine occurs when a student has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

If a student has been in close contact with another individual that tests positives 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 individual that tests positive can be anyone. It can be a co-worker, family member, or a fellow student. This is where the communication mentioned on the first page is extremely important. We need to know if your child has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

For example, a fellow student tests positive for COVID-19. Otsego Administration will start the contact tracing steps. It was determined that your child was within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes of the student that tested positive. We will directly contact the parents of the student(s)who will have to quarantine. The quarantine will start the day after last contact with the student who tested positive. Let’s say the last contact was on September 1st. The 1st day of quarantine would be September 2nd and the student can come back to school on September 16th. The student will be treated as being absent from school for illness and be able to make up the work missed.

Isolation Rules for Students: Isolation occurs when a student tests positive for COVID-19.

If a student tests positive for COVID-19 they are to isolate at home for 10 days since symptoms first appeared. The student may return when the following occurs:

1. 10 days since symptoms began
2. No fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
3. COVID-19 symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours.

For example, a student tests positive for COVID-19 and they get their results back on September 6th. Their symptoms started on September 4th. The first day of isolation would be September 5th. The student may return to school on September 15th if they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and the symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours.

Contact Tracing Information:

When we conduct contact tracing through multiple means. We will start with all of our seating charts in classrooms and the bus and ask if they are involved in any extracurricular activities. We will also be directly communicating with the student to get 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 appeared on Wednesday, September 2nd, we will contact trace and determine if any individual had close contact (within 6ft for more than 15 minutes) on August 31st or September 1st.

We need to remember that the beginning of the school year brings sickness every year. Not every student’s illness is COVID-19. We always recommend communicating with our school nurse, Jane Gray, and contacting your medical provider to discuss your child’s symptoms.

We will be following a mandate from the Governor’s office and be posting our student and staff data on our website and in the Superintendent’s Weekly Update.

Thank you for your continued flexibility and understanding

Attention all registered and interested 8th graders attending the Washington DC Trip:

The DC trip has been postponed until Spring 2021. Due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic, travel has been postponed. The dates of travel will be May 18-22, 2021. Due to the postponed trip, this will allow you to stretch out your payments and allow for an extended period of time to pay off the trip. If you have any questions regarding payment, please contact Student Adventures and they can explain the payment details or check you Student Adventures account for information.

Here is some new information regarding the payment schedule if you need some extra time:

01/20/20 – Deposit $100 (may have already made this payment)

09/11/20 – 2nd Payment of $130
11/20/20 – 3rd Payment of $130
1/20/21 – 4th Payment of $131
03/19/21 – Final Payment of Balance

All current 8th grade students will have the opportunity to travel to Washington DC in the Spring 2021. They received a packet explaining all of the details. Parents, keep a lookout for the information packets today. Included in the packet will be the itinerary, how to register, and frequently asked questions. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions that you may have. We have been working on some fundraisers to offset this trip, as well as to assist with other field trips. Last year we were able to reduce the cost of each student's amount by $100.00. Next school year we hope to reduce the cost even more! Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks. Registration is now open. When registering use the code OJH2008.

Click HERE for the Student Adventures Website

11/25 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

11/26 - No School - Happy Thanksgiving!

11/27 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

12/23 - 1/01 - Winter Break

1/04 - No School - Teacher Workday

1/04 - End of 2nd Nine Weeks

Mr. Rife - @OJHS_Principal

JH Office - @OtsegoJHS

JH Athletics - @OtsegoJH

Miss Zender- @OtsegoJrHigh

Deputy Brian - @DeputyBrianSRO

Mr. Lehman - @MrLehmanELA

6th Grade - @otsego_Grade6

Mrs. Hamrick - @amhamrick1

Mrs. Duhamel - @mgduhamel

Mr. Bressler - @ScotBressler

Mr. Rohn- @MisterRohn

Ms. Hildreth @katehildreth15

Mrs. Duhamel @mgduhamel

Mrs. Heyman-@8thOtsego

Replacement agenda books can be purchased for $5 in the office.

Yearbook order forms will be sent home in the Spring. Yearbooks will be handed out the last week of school.

The link to access Online Grades is on the Parent tab on the Junior High page of the Otsego website (otsegoknights.org). Your child's username is their Student ID #. Their password is the first 3 letters for their first name with the first letter capitalized. For example: 12345 Joy

Yes. In your app store search for Powerschool. The username and password is the same one you use to access Online Grades. Our school code is CJCX.

Click Here