The Owl Newsletter
OTTO PETERSEN ELEMENTARY
One School. One Book.
Introducing "The Ogress and the Orphans"
Listen.
This is a story about an ogress.
She is not who you might think she is.
(But really, is anyone?)"
And so begins our journey with Kelly Barnhill's The Ogress and the Orphans.
Discussion Question for Families:
Bartleby, who enjoys philosophy, says, “Everything is a both-ways situation. All situations contain multitudes” (27). What do you think he means? Do you agree with Bartleby? Why or why not?
If you send Ms. Ticer your family's answer, she will publish it in next week's newsletter!
Sixth Grade Outdoor School - The week of April 2nd - 5th
Dangerous Driving in Parking Lot
Unfortunately, we experienced a close call in the parking lot yesterday. This car blew through the crosswalk and narrowly missed students and a staff member. I am purchasing handheld, lighted stop signs and I will be increasing the amount of adult bodies in this area.
We have cameras in this area of the parking lot, and we are working with law enforcement. I can't stress this enough. Drive safely in the parking lot. Be aware of the humans who are existing in this space. My biggest fear is that an accident will occur.
-Principal Ticer
Mrs. Veach' s Fifth-Grade Class
On Friday, March 8th, we had a guest speaker come to talk to our class about engineering. Selu Stearn, from Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL), has 22 years experience in the field of engineering. He brought several "hands on" items from robots so students could have the experience of seeing the many parts that are involved in the industry. He also brought several computer chip wafers to show students how computer chips have changed over the past two decades. It was a great experience for the class!
Health Advice from "Nurse Brenda"
Let’s face it, sometimes it can be difficult to feed kids healthy meals and snacks. Packing lunches can be time consuming as well as leave you wondering if they will even eat it! In case you find yourself needing some ideas to give your student the brain food and energy needed to strive and succeed through the whole school day without that energy slump from a bit too much sugar and not enough protein, read on:
Sandwiches ( bread, pitas, tortillas, lunch meat, cheese, egg, tuna, chicken salad, PB&J,)
Cheese and crackers, boiled eggs, salami, meat sticks, whole grain crackers, goldfish, and pretzels.
Soup, mac and cheese, or leftovers (warm in a small insulated container) Salads
Trail mix, granola bars, nuts, mini rice cakes (they come in yummy flavors), graham crackers, bagels, muffins, pickles, jerky,
Kids like to dip? How about hummus, guacamole, cottage cheese, ranch, yogurt, peanut butter, or other nut butter?
Cut up veggies; celery, cucumber, carrots, broccoli, peppers, olives, avocado, beans, snap peas etc.
Fruit; apples, oranges, grapes, melon, bananas, fruit cups, peaches, pears, berries, pineapple, kiwi, etc.
PS: Don’t forget breakfast!!
OPE Families,
We are looking for some food trucks for an event on April 11th at the school! If anyone has contacts for one, we’d love to talk to you about it!
Chelsea Murphy ottopetersenpresident@gmail.com
Interested in helping with a yearbook? Contact Chelsea Murphy ottopetersenpresident@gmail.com
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 9th, at 4:00 pm.
So Much to Celebrate!
THIS WEEK IN THE LIBRARY!: March is Music in our Schools month! We are so lucky to have amazing music teachers throughout our entire district who inspire our students! We are so lucky to have Mr. Wilkins in our school–he helps our brains grow in beautiful ways! If you see him around, please tell him thank you for all his hard work and remember we have music books available in our library and if you are interested in learning more about music, instruments and musicians!
This week we celebrated Harriet Tubman–her birthday was last weekend. We shared a story called Before She Was Harriet–Harriet was an inspirational woman with so many gifts–ask your children all the things she accomplished in her lifetime! We also talked about why we have Women’s History Month and the importance of celebrating the accomplishments of everyone EVERY day!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS–SPRING BOOK FAIRS ARE COMING: Because of the generosity of our entire Scappoose community, we have been able to host successful Scholastic Book Fairs and add 100s of new books to the shelves of all our elementary libraries!! THANK YOU! Book Fairs are the biggest source of funds to support updating our collections! Please mark your calendars for our spring fairs:
Warren Elementary ~ April 15-20
Otto Peterson ~ April 29-May 3
Grant Watts ~ May 20-24
Thank you!!
PLEASE LOOK FOR THOSE BOOKS AT HOME!: We currently have 65 overdue books and 29 lost books at OPE–please remember that our library days are Tuesday and Wednesday each week. With this many overdue and lost books, we have over 90 books that are not on the shelves for others to check out. Please look for your books–they usually are not lost, they are just hiding so you just need to use your detective skills to remember where you had them last and please look on ALL the bookshelves in your house (or at grandma’s or the babysitter), they love to hide there! Thanks for your help!
Happy Reading ~ Mrs. Nudo
No Toys, No Tails
We make it a point at Otto Petersen to have fun each day while we are learning. However, it does take some effort to cultivate an environment of authentic learning and academic achievement. Otto Petersen 4th-6th grade scholars do need some boundaries at school so that they can focus on learning.
There are some items that are coming from home that disrupt the learning environment. As you send your students off to school in the morning, please make sure that they are not bringing:
- Wearable tails, ears, or paws
- We will have fun costume days (yes, even I get dressed up!) during the year, so please save those items for these events
- Hoodies that zip all the way up to cover the face.
- Stuffies/stuffed animals of all sizes
- Blankets
- Action figures
- Slime
- Copious amounts of fidgets
- Portable video game consoles (I do, sadly, have to leave my Nintendo Switch at home)
You may have noticed that "fidgets" are on that list. Sometimes, the fidgets that were originally meant to help students concentrate, become toys in the classroom. Fidgets should help provide students with a small movement break so that they can increase their concentration and provide better access to their learning. There are "fidgets" out there that are noisy or messy and are not best for use in the classroom. If you have questions about which fidgets are best for increasing concentration in the classroom, please reach out to Ms. Ticer, Mrs. Kinsman, or Mrs. McKedy.
-Principal Ticer
Parking Lot Safety
It pains me to have to keep writing about safety in our school parking lot. On my end, I am going to work with our staff to have a bigger adult presence in the parking lot itself to direct the flow of traffic. An ask that I have of the community is for any parent volunteers who would be willing to volunteer on a Drop-Off/Pick-Up Safety Team. I am looking for volunteers who would be willing to don crossing guard vests and help to direct car and pedestrian traffic.
I would need parents/guardians who are interested in sitting with me and developing a plan for safety in our parking lot during these times. Please email me if you are interested.
Toys at School
This is a friendly reminder that all toys, including stuffed animals and blankets, must stay home. We supply students with fidgets to use during instruction time if required. However, those fun little toys starting to pop up this time of year must wait patiently at home to be played with.
OPE Famlies,
Thank you again for your support in lowering our total building tardy rate over the past two weeks. We know that mornings can be tricky! We hope your students feel a sense of routine and connection by being here each morning for our announcements and Character Strong lessons.
If you have difficulty getting your students out the door in the morning, please feel free to reach out. Classroom teachers, our counselor, Ms. McKedy, and our Dean of Students, Ms. Kinsman, are happy to work with you and your learner to build strategies to make mornings go more smoothly. You can click the flyer below to read about the suggested guidelines.
Attendance Reminders & After School Change of Plans
Also, if you have to change your students' after-school plans, please try to do this one hour before students are released so that we have enough time to communicate with teachers and staff.
- Sue MacLachlan: smaclachlan@scappoose.k12.or.us
- Mary McNabb: mmcnabb@scappoose.k12.or.us
- Your child's teacher
We appreciate your support in making sure we know where your students are during the school day. Thank you!
Personal Electronic Device Policy
(Cell phones, Smart watches, Earbuds)
As an upper elementary school, O.P.E. will align with the Middle School policy concerning electronic devices. A personal electronic device is defined by the district as any “device capable of electronically communicating, sending, receiving, storing, recording, reproducing and/or displaying information and data.” The new policy will ask that students have their devices “off and away” while on campus. A private warning will be given if a student uses the device while at school. A second infraction will lead to the device being turned into the office for pick-up at the end of the day. Parents will be asked to pick up the device after a third infraction. The school is asking for parent support with this policy as we focus on building a positive learning environment.Here is the testing schedule for the rest of May.