OTSEGO LOCAL SCHOOLS
Superintendent's Weekly Update - August 15, 2018
Open House Information – TOMORROW, August 16th
Elementary School – 6:00 to 7:00 pm
Junior High – 6:30 to 7:30 pm
High School – 7:00 to 8:00 pm
1st Day of School Information
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL GRADES 1-6 and 9th MONDAY, AUGUST 20th
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL GRADES 7, 8, 10-12 – TUESDAY, AUGUST 21st
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN – TUESDAY, AUGUST 21st
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL PRESCHOOL – THURSDAY, AUGUST 23rd
Reminders and Changes
Lunch Changes:
We are excited to announce that we will be switching from styrofoam trays and plastic silverware in the cafeterias to washable trays and real silverware. I would like to thank last years 4th-grade students for analyzing our trash usage and negative impact on the evironment that our styrofoam trays had. We are excited to be able to reduce our carbon footprint this year. Our trash consumption will decrease significantly as a result of this change. We are excited to announce a partnership with WLI - Work Leads to Independence to help us wash our dishes. wli is made up of several different components, working as one comprehensive coordinated system delivering services to people with disabilities throughout Northwest Ohio. We have been in business since the early 70's and just recently became a fully independent provider of services. wli has always prided ourselves on providing quality services with meaningful results to each and every individual we serve.
Otsego App:
We have discontinued the use of our app. Our website redesign that we completed a few years ago is mobile and tablet friendly, making the app not as valuable. We also did not have a lot of downloads and financially it was not worth the investment. Please bookmark our website www.otsegoknights.org to your smartphone or tablet and I believe you will find that it has an app feel to it.
PBIS:
Otsego Local Schools has always strived to create a safe and stimulating learning environment for all students. In an effort to continue to improve our school climate, staff at Otsego have worked together to form a Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS) Plan. The focus of this plan is to create a positive school climate that fosters being respectful, responsible, and safe (at the elementary) and respectful, responsible, honest, and accountable (at the junior high and high school).
The ultimate goal of PBIS is to increase student academic performance, decrease problem behavior, increase safety, and establish a positive school climate through research-based strategies and systems. With your continued support and involvement, there is no question that Otsego Local Schools will continue to be a place where students can excel in a safe and stimulating environment!
Student drop off and pick up location is in the FRONT of the HS and JH. Parents, please do not pick up or drop off your child(ren) in the back of the building. The bus parking area is for BUSES ONLY.
JH AND HS Drop off and pickup video tutorial
There will be administrators in the parking lots the first week of school to help direct traffic as well.
Advertising Opportunity
Job Openings
The Otsego School District has an opening for the 2018-2019 school year for the following position:
Elementary
Cook
5 days/week, 3 hours/day 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Anyone interested and qualified should apply in writing to the Superintendent's office not later than August 24, 2018.
Send to:
Lisa Austin, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent
Otsego Local Schools
18505 Tontogany Creek Road, Suite 1
Bowling Green, OH 43402
Or email Lisa Austin at laustin@otsegoknights.org
SUBSTITUTE BUS DRIVERS, AIDES, CUSTODIAL, FOOD SERVICE EMPLOYEES - NEEDED IMMEDIATELY on an as-needed basis
Anyone interested should apply in writing to the superintendent’s office.
Send to:
Adam Koch, Superintendent
Otsego Local Schools
18505 Tontogany Creek Rd., Suite 1, Tontogany, OH 43565
SUBSTITUTE TEACHING position applications are handled by:
Wood County Educational Service Center
1867 N. Research Road, Bowling Green, OH 43402
Phone: 419-354-9010
*Substitute Bus Drivers A CDL license is required for any school bus driver.
*The school district will provide the actual bus training.
Important Transportation Information
Elementary Bus Passes: We will no longer be able to accept bus passes for grades PK-5 for your child to ride home with a friend on another bus route. We have seen our transportation numbers increase over the past several years and in order to continue to operate the most efficient way possible, we will no longer be able to accept bus passes in the elementary.
If you have any questions, please contact the elementary school office or Eva Vasher.
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Sign up to receive text messages from our Transportation Department!
Using the directions below, sign up for one or more of the notification groups.
You may opt-out any time by texting ‘unsubscribe’ to the appropriate group.
High School & JH Buses (Bus Routes for grades 6-12 & Penta)
Text: @otsbus6-12 to 81010
Elementary Buses (Bus Routes for grades PK -5)
Text: @otsbuspk-5 to 81010
If you have any questions about bus routing information, please contact me at evasher@otsegoknights.org or 419-823-4381 ext. 3156
Important Food Service Information
To better assist our parents, we have implemented an online free and reduced meal application. This will eliminate having to get a paper application, filling it out and returning it to your child’s school.
Fill out the online application under www.lunchapplication.com , just as you would the paper application. Once the application is completed we are notified so we can complete the application process. This will reduce your notification time.
Please make sure you have a correct mailing address on the application, so the notification letter gets to you.
- Lunch Menus
- High School - A Lunch Menu | B Lunch Menu
- Junior High - A Lunch Menu | B Lunch Menu
- Elementary - Lunch Menu
- LunchApplication.com
- Free and reduced lunch applications
- K12PaymentCenter.com
- Add money to your lunch accounts online
Pay It Forward Project:
We will be once again helping our students out with our Food Service Pay It Forward Project. This fund will provide meals to students who do not have lunch money in their account and cannot charge anymore. We want all of our students to get a hot meal every day. If you are interested in helping with this project you can send money into the central office or any of the buildings. Just put Food Service Pay It Forward on the envelope. You can make checks payable to the Otsego BOE. Thank you so much!!
If you have any questions please give Jeanne or I a call or send us an email.
Party in the Parking Lot - August 16th
FFA NEWS
ATHLETICS
Password = otsegocc
Football Fundraiser - https://otsegofootball18.itemorder.com/sale
Athletic Boosters - It is almost tractor pull weekend! Please take a look at the information below for all the times that each sport is in charge of the cleanup. This is a great fundraiser for the athletic boosters and with everyone's help will be easy! The athletic boosters receive over $10,000 for the weekend cleanup. Please make sure to have your athletes attend for all of their sports they plan to participate in.
To help with any athletic booster event contact Karen Smoyer 419-575-9395, ksmoyer@eastwoodschools.org or any Booster member. All are welcome to help with the events so we can continue providing support for our athletes!
COMMUNITY EVENTS SECTION
THE SUNSET JAZZ & ART FESTIVAL
The Fourteenth Annual Sunset Jazz & Art Fest will be held August 19, 2018, from 2:00 p.m. until dusk in Grand Rapids, Ohio. The Grand Rapids Arts Council is pleased to announce the continuing support of Georgeann Kohn’s Optical Shop as The Presenting Sponsor for the ninth consecutive year. And the event would not take place without the local support from many Grand Rapids businesses, resident jazz lovers, and the Village of Grand Rapids. With the help of all the sponsors, this event is still FREE! Many hundreds of visitors from the region have enjoyed this exciting day in the past, and it has become a premiere event in the area.
This regional festival is held on the towpath behind the merchants on Front Street, nestled between the canal and the Maumee River in the village. The canal and the river provide a gorgeous setting for attendees to enjoy the best jazz musicians that Northwest Ohio has to offer. Suzanne Carroll, former host of The Jazz Brunch radio show Sundays on 101.5 “The River”, will be the emcee once again for the day. In addition, the Grand Rapids Boy Scouts will sell hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches and other food items, as well as water and soft drinks. The Arts Council will sell beer and wine. All downtown businesses will be open during the festival. It is a true community event!
Performers lined up for the 2017 Sunset Jazz & Art Festival are:
2:30 – 3:15 Toledo School for the Arts Glass City Steel
3:30 – 4:30 Tim Tiderman and Organized
4:45 – 5:45 Ben Maloney
6:00 – 7:00 6th Edition
featuring Kim Beuhler, Lori LeFevre and Lisa Young
7:15 – 8:15 Headliner: The Gene Parker Quintet
Gene Parker is the musical director, composer, arranger, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra. He has performed as guest artist with the Toledo and Detroit Symphony Orchestras and performed with stars like J.C. Heard, John Trudell, Dizzy Gillespie and Lou Rawls. Parker is currently teaching Jazz Studies at Ohio Northern and Wayne State Universities.
Regional juried artists will also be on hand displaying and selling fine art and hand-crafted items including pottery, books from local authors, and jewelry.
For additional festival information, please contact The Sunset Jazz & Art Festival Musical Director, Tim Tiderman at 419-283-7648. For additional comment on the presenting sponsorship, contact Georgeann Kohn at The Optical Shop, 419-536-6520. For artist information, call 419-832-5664.
Please join us in this beautiful setting for a lovely and casual day of enjoyable jazz, art, food, and drink. Please leave your coolers at home, but you are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets!
2018
Rhythm on the River
Sponsored by the Grand Rapids Historical Society
Programs at M.J. Wright Pavilion on Towpath
[In case of rain, concerts moved to Old Fire Station]
DC Taylor
Acoustic Guitar Duo – 50’s Through Today’s Hits
Dudley Yetter and Chris Watson
4:00 p.m., Sunday, June 17
Toraigh
Traditional Irish Folk Music
4:00 p.m., Sunday, June 24
Bliss
Acoustic Rock/Folk
4:00 p.m., Sunday, July 1
Quartet Bernadette
Unique Blend of Jazz, Pop and
Gems from the Great American Songbook
Quartet of Four String Instrument Players
4:00 p.m., Sunday, July 15
Buddy Love and the Coconuts
Fun, Energetic, 50’s and 60’s Rock Band
4:00 p.m., Sunday, July 29
North Coast Big Band
Jazz~Swing Music~Big Band Sound
Director: Gary Keller
4:00 p.m., Sunday, August 26
Ol’ Creek Road
Folk Band Playing Bluegrass, Gospel, Americana, 1970’s Tunes
4:00 p.m., Sunday, September 9
Otsego Swing Choir and Otsego Marching Band
4:00 p.m., Sunday, October 7
Local High School Organizations
Directors: Brien Sewell and Rich Dubler
4:00 p.m., Sunday, October 7
Questions, Concerns, Comments, or Rumors
Otsego Board of Education
President: Elizabeth Gorski jegorski@frontier.com
Vice President: Judy Snyder jasnyder715@gmail.com
Board Member: James Harter jameslharter@gmail.com
Board Member: Mark Tolles mdt814@cs.com
Board Member: Brad Anderson banderson.otsego@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
Mike Wiley, Assistant Elementary Principal
Email: mwiley@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Twitter: @PrincpalWiley
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 and Custodial
Email: evasher@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Jeanne Jeffers, Director of Food Service
Email: jjeffers@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381
Twitter: @Otsego_Cafe
Rick Haskins, Director of Maintenance
Email: rhaskins@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381