Otsego Junior High
November 20, 2020
FROM THE DESK OF MR. RIFE
Happy Friday Otsego Families,
I have attached the link to the Homework Calendar. This is a place that most teachers post their daily assignments and due dates for upcoming assignments. Parents and students can use this to track their assignments and stay up to date with their work. The menu on the right side of the page is used to select appropriate grade level.
Just a couple reminders as we move forward toward the cold and flu season:
If you are not feeling well, please do not come to school. This is not the year to "push it" and force yourself to come in when you have symptoms such as a cough, fever, sore throat etc. Please wait until you are symptom free before returning to school.
If you do have to be quarantined or stay home due to illness, please check your email and complete the homework that you can. This is imperative so you do not fall behind, especially if you are home for an extended period of time.
Thank you for your cooperation during this challenging season. I hope everyone remains healthy and that we return to "normal" as soon as we can.
Please click HERE for the District Covid 19 Dashboard to see the latest information related to the Covid 19. You can also find this on our district website at www.otsegoknights.org and click on the Covid 19 tab.
Jon Rife, Principal
Continued Success
It is easy to become complacent or become "relaxed" about the measures, but let's keep Masking Up, Backing Up, and Washing Up in order to remain in school and have our extra curriculars.
Mask Up, Back Up, & Wash Up.
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.
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.
Drinking Fountains
Message from Mr. Koch regarding Wood County's "RED" status
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!
Online Book Fair
OTSEGO CHRISTMAS BASKETS

Otsego Junior High Angel Tree
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.
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.
ATHLETICS

5th/6th BOYS BASKETBALL

Communication & COVID-19
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- This is the time where it is imperative we remain honest in reporting any symptoms a student or family member may be experiencing.
- 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.
- 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
- Students will not be punished for missing school because of illness.
- Make-up work can be provided.
- 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.
- 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
Being Quarantined
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.
Quarantining/Isolation Rules
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:
- 10 days since symptoms began
- No fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
- 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
Otsego Jr. High School Counseling
Hello Families!
What a great first few months of school we have had! There has definitely been challenges but students have been doing a great job at working through them! We are now getting to a point in the school year where stress can be very prevalent for students. With the completion of the first quarter grades, trying to improve grades for the 2nd quarter, holidays with the family no doubt looking different this year, and then the ever changing social life of a teenager. Stress can play a huge part in student success in and out of school. One technique that can be very helpful in coping with stress is mindfulness. Mindfulness is essentially being aware of the present moment and acknowledging your thoughts, feelings and sensations without judgment. I have attached a few exercises that you and your student can do together. Some of these are exercises that students could do in the classroom when they are feeling stressed and/or overwhelmed. One thing to keep in mind while practicing these exercises is that mindfulness takes practice. It may take 5 or 6 times to really see some benefit from an exercise, but keep at it!
Each quarter I like to give students a needs assessment and see how they are doing/feeling. Please have your student fill out this short assessment if they have not done so already.
Second Quarter Needs Assessment:
Mindfulness Resources:
2020/2021 8th Grade Washington DC Trip- ****UPDATED****
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
Click HERE for the Student Adventures Website
2020/2021 School Calendar

Important Dates
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
OFFICE STAFF
Jon Rife, Principal 419-823-4381 ext. 3101 | Kristen Laudick, School Counselor 419-823-4381 ext. 3006 | Joyce Wright, Administrative Assistant 419-823-4381 ext. 3100 |
Deputy Brian Ruckstuhl | Mya Instagram @mya_doodle | |
Follow us on Twitter
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