Ottawa News
Information and Updates for Ottawa Families
Principal's Report
Dear Ottawa families,
We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable summer vacation. As the principals of Ottawa Elementary, we are extremely excited to begin the 2023-24 school year with our Ottawa family. We honestly can’t wait to see the smiling faces of our students and work with our wonderful staff, parents, and Ottawa community.
Some of you may be new to our family and many of you have been members of our family for years. Once at Ottawa, you will quickly realize that each person your child comes in contact with, no matter their role, will be working to make this the most memorable school experience that we can. Our goal is to make school a welcoming and comfortable environment for our students and families.
Throughout the year your child will engage in many different experiences that will have a positive impact on their education. We encourage our students to always try their best and celebrate even the smallest successes throughout the year. At Ottawa, some of the most important things that we will do each day is build relationships with our students.
Helping your child to understand the importance of their character will be done on a daily basis. Through a focus on utilizing a growth mindset and reinforcing the importance of character each day, we are confident your child will have an extraordinary year of growth both academically and socially.
Thank you for choosing Ottawa and joining us on this wonderful journey with your child.
Mr. Lockhart and Mr. Johnson
Principal and Assistant Principal
Ottawa Elementary School Hours
- The first bell rings at 8:50 a.m. At this time buses will release students to enter school. Students who walk to school or get dropped off can also enter the building.
- The second bell rings at 8:55 a.m. Students should be in their classroom at this time, as the school day begins. If your child arrives to school after 8:55 a.m., please enter though our main office doors.
- Our end of school day bell rings at 3:39 p.m. However, students who attend afternoon SACC, walk to school or get picked up will be dismissed at 3:35 p.m. Students who ride a bus home will be dismissed at 3:39 p.m. or when their bus arrives.
Half School Day Schedule:
Our school day begins at 8:55 a.m. and ends at 11:50 a.m.
Half School Days for 2023-24:
- September 5 (1st day of school)
- October 18, 19, 20, and 31
- December 22
- February 16
- March 13, 15, and 28
- June 11 (last day of school)
New Staff Members at Ottawa
- Assistant Principal: Mr. Johnson (split with Fox Elementary)
- Second Grade Teacher: Mrs. Wykes
- Third Grade Teacher: Ms. Campbell (long-term sub for Mrs. Castillo)
- Third Grade Teacher: Ms. Jaworski
- Third Grade Teacher: Mrs. Lockemy
- Fourth Grade Teacher: Ms. Rizzo (long-term sub for Mrs. Kelly)
- Fifth Grade Teacher: Mrs. Wilber
- Resource Room Teacher: Mrs. Weiss
- Resource Room Teacher: Ms. Scully
- EL Teacher: Mr. Comilla (split with Clinton Valley Elementary)
- Social Worker: Mrs. Gonsler
- Psychologist : Mrs. Skowneski (split with Chippewa Valley High School)
We look forward to the great things these team members will do for our Ottawa Family!
School Age Child Care (SACC)
New SACC (Childcare) Hours
SACC is available before school starts from 6:45 a.m. and after school until 6:00 p.m. each day school is in session. This includes half days. You may contact them directly at (586) 723-6687.
*Parents must re-register each year in order for children to use the SACC program: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
Parent Portal Changes
There has been a district-wide change this year as to how parents of returning students will update emergency contact information and sign all of the district/school policies. This will now all be done electronically through your Parent Portal. Directions for completing this process are attached below. This process MUST be completed by a parent/guardian for every child. The forms are open in Parent Portal, so you can complete this process at any time.
23-24 Accessing Student Forms in Parent Portal.pdf
* IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO PARENT PORTAL OR FORGOT YOUR LOG-IN INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT OUR MAIN OFFICE AT (586) 723-6600.
* ALL FAMILIES MUST HAVE ACCESS TO THE PARENT PORTAL. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IN YOUR ACCOUNT IS ACCURATE. PLEASE TRY TO DO THIS THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL.
Breakfast and Lunch
Chippewa Valley is excited to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students starting this school year thanks to the Michigan Healthy School Meals Program!
Even though meals will be provided for free, it is important for families to continue sharing household income information in order for our schools to receive full access to federal and state funding for educational programs that our students are entitled to.
Please scan the QR code on the attached Application Flyer to see if your family qualifies for any additional benefits, or go to https://chippewavalley.familyportal.cloud/.
*Please note that elementary students will be served breakfast in their classroom.
From our Transportation Department
With the start of school just a few weeks away, the transportation department is hard at work making bus routes more efficient. Route numbers may change, and some bus stops have been moved. Please know that while stops may be different, safety is our first priority. It was necessary to adjust these routes for efficiency to make sure we could get students to school on time and safely.
We encourage you to visit the district transportation web page which will have a link to InfoFinder. This new program will show you where your stop is located and the stop time estimate. In the first few weeks of school, as drivers navigate construction and as traffic patterns change in and around the schools, bus stop times may need to be adjusted.
Soon you will be receiving an invitation link through email to download the StopFinder app. Please make sure your email is correct with your student’s school. Stopfinder will provide busing information and allow you to track the bus.
This is the platform that will be used for all transportation notifications for late arrivals or delays. There are links posted on the transportation page to help parents utilize the StopFinder app to its full potential. If you have any routing questions, please email the department at transportation1@cvs.k12.mi.us and we will answer you as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Chippewa Valley Schools
Transportation Department
InfoFinder Introduction
Upcoming Important Dates
- Parent/Teacher Conferences 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- Parent/Teacher Conferences 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Oct. 31st - Half Day
Nov. 3rd - End of Trimester 1
Nov. 7th - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
Nov. 22nd through Nov 24th - Thanksgiving Break
At Ottawa we are ALL IN on improving reading/literacy instruction for ALL of our students. We are looking at every aspect of our teaching, our schedule, and how kids learn to read. In our classrooms, all of our teachers and grade levels use strategies and practices supported by the Science of Reading.
When you hear a school talk about the Science of Reading, what does it even mean? Well, first, it is important to know that kids don’t just learn to read by being given books. Kids don’t learn to read by guessing or looking at the pictures on a page. In fact, guessing and relying on photos on a page are not good habits at all because they don’t put any emphasis on sounding out or other research based strategies.
Although some children catch on quicker than others with reading, ALL children need specific instruction each day focusing on the five components of reading:
- Phonemic Awareness
- Phonics
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
Click Here to read an article on the Science of Reading and some things you can do at home to support your child with reading and learning to read.
Tardy and Absence Update
Getting to school in the morning can be a hectic time. Please remember though that tardies can negatively impact the learning of your child. It is also disruptive when many students consistently continue to trickle into the classroom throughout the morning. Please remember that our first bell rings at 8:50 a.m. and class begins at 8:55 a.m.
Our school is working very hard to improve literacy and reading skills in all of our students and beginning our daily lessons right away in the morning is very important. When students are continuously tardy, they miss a considerable amount of crucial instruction time.
Here is something that we may not always think about: If a child is tardy every day by 10 minutes, that is 50 minutes of lost instruction per week. This is 200 minutes a month of instruction time that is lost. Adding up these minutes over the course of a school year can truly have a negative impact on learning.
Absences are another concern when they become chronic. Macomb County has a truancy department that keeps track of tardies and absences for school age children. Chronic absences are a big deal and it is against the law to have a child not attending school on a regular basis.
The loss of instruction time that takes place resulting from chronic absences can result in learning gaps over the years. We fully understand that children will get sick, go on vacation, or have other places that they need to go and will have to miss school at various times during the year. The main concern is chronic absences that continue to occur throughout the year. Unfortunately, if the pattern of continued absences is the same for the child the following year, the loss of learning continues to increase.
Again, we know that students will arrive late to school from time to time. Of course, children will also need to miss school from time to time. Please do your best to make sure your child is at school on time and in school as much as possible. It truly does have an impact on their learning.
Parking Lot Etiquette and Procedures
Please remember there is no parking in the bus lane, which is located along the curb in the front of the building. This lane is designated for busses only to allow students to safely exit and enter the bus.
Please drive with caution as you enter and exit our school parking lots. The traffic flow at all schools is slow and that is the safest for our kids. We have many children and families crossing the streets from our surrounding neighborhoods. Please try not to be in a hurry when dropping off and picking up your children.
Please be cautious and also respectful to each other, our students and staff. We ask that you refrain from confronting each other with issues. If you have any questions or concerns you may reach out to our administrative team.
Clinton Macomb Public Library
Chippewa Valley Schools has partnered with the Clinton-Macomb Public Library (CMPL) to offer students FREE virtual book checkouts through the CMPL online or the CMPL app for smartphones and tablets, regardless of residency.
Students just need their student ID number and PIN (typically this is the last 4-digits of the phone number of the parent who enrolled them in school).
Then, they can easily log into the Overdrive page or Hoopla page to access all eBooks and Audiobooks from their computer. There are also apps available which are viewable on a phone or tablet.
Trendy and timeless titles are available for checkout now!
CMPL website: https://www.cmpl.org
Office 365 Access for Students
Assistant Principal
Fox Elementary & Ottawa Elementary
Chippewa Valley Schools