Otsego Middle School
September 30, 2022
Mark Your Calendars
Sept. 30 - Purple Game vs. Gull Lake - 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 3 - OMS Fundraiser Kicks Off
Volleyball vs. Edwardsburg - Home - 5:00 p.m.
Oct. 4 - Football vs. Niles - Home - 5:30 p.m.
Choir Concert - 7 p.m.
Oct. 5 - Delayed Start - 1st hour starts at 9:15 a.m.
Guest Speaker for Leadworthy Classes
Volleyball vs. Plainwell - Home - 5:00 p.m.
Oct. 6 - Cross Country at Three Rivers - 5:00 p.m.
Oct. 7 - 7th Grade PE Field Trip to Revel & Roll - 9-12:30 p.m.
Oct. 10-14 - Safety Week
Oct. 11 & 12 - Parent-Teacher Conferences - 5-8 p.m. (see sign up below)
Oct. 17-21 - Intersession Week
OMS Raises $915.80 for Purple Week!
Art Show a HUGE Hit!
Parent-Teacher Conferences
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0945a4ab29aafc1-fall3
If you need to adjust your conference time, there is a button at the top of the sign up to adjust it.
Mrs. Starr, OMS School Social Worker, will be hosting parent/family meetings during Parent-Teacher Conferences on 10/11 and 10/12. You can enjoy a protected time to talk about school issues, friendship issues or family stress. These confidential meetings will be scheduled in 30 minutes increments. Spots are still available! Please email her at astarr@otsegops.org to reserve a spot today.
Tuesday, Oct 11, 2022, 05:00 PM
Classrooms at Otsego Middle School
8th Grade PE Field Trip to Red Arrow Golf Course for Frisbee Golf & Foot Golf!
Attention 8th Grade Parents......
Fall Intersession
Parents of eligible students received an email today with registration information. If an email address was not provided in Infinite Campus, letters will be sent home with eligible students on Monday.
October's CKH Word of the Month.....Self Direct
AIM Class Takes Field Trip to Pretty Lake Camp
AIM students wrapped up a unit on exploring their Learning Zone and getting out of their Comfort Zone with a trip to Pretty Lake Camp's high ropes course. Every single student made it up the ladder to the platform over 30 feet in the air. Students worked hard to push themselves to new limits and had a blast. A special thank you to the OPS Foundation for sponsoring this trip!
Student Support Services Spotlight (aka social/emotional health)
Validation
Did you know that you can support your child's feelings even when you disagree with the feelings? Validating an emotion is a way to let your child know they are heard and understood. When they feel validated by you, they will be more likely to talk to you about important things in their lives. Validation is an important tool in social/emotional development. Alyson Orcena, LMFT, Executive Clinical Director of Evolve Treatment Centers offers six ways you can validate your teen:
1) Non-verbal validation. We can communicate validation by making eye contact and nodding as though we are paying attention. This is a great place to start!
2) Accurate reflection. This means that you are reflecting back to them what you heard. It is also known as "emotional mirroring." Phrases such as "Let me see if I understand this" or "Sounds like...." is a great way to check in for meaning.
3) Mind Reading. This technique is where you look beneath the surface of what is being shared. Example: "You said you are nervous about a test, but is there more?"
4) Validation based on experience. Sometimes your child's feelings are based on past experience. Honoring that is important. "I remember that you fainted before in class after having your blood drawn, it makes sense that you would worry about having that happen again."
5) Validation based on human experience. This is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the "normalcy" of your child's feelings. Saying something like, "A break up is distressing...anyone would feel that way!"
6) Radical genuineness. Start by remembering how much you genuinely care about your child and their feelings. Then listen with that in the front of your mind.
As always, feel free to reach out if you need any help with your child's social/emotional growth. Contact Anna Starr at 269-694-7510 or astarr@otsegops.rog. We are in this together!
Be NICE is Up & Running!
Orders Being Taken for Be Nice Gear Until Oct. 14th
The Scoreboard
Cross Country
The girls cross country team took first place at the Cougar Falcon Invite on Saturday against 15 teams! From a field of 225 runners, scoring points for Otsego and earning top 15 medals were: Skylar Mejuer, Eve Weaver, McKenna Wesseldyk, Brenna Yocum and Adelyn Verhage.
This week the ladies were at home against Niles & Sturgis. The team came away with another win! Scoring for the bulldogs was Skylar Mejeur, Adelyn Verhage, Madeline Goodwin, Brenna Yocum, and Sydney Timmons. Season best times were run by Adelyn Verhage, Madeline Goodwin, Brenna Yocum, Sydney Timmons, McKenna Wesseldyk, Taylee Fox, Alayna Verhage, Victoria Sparks, Addelyn Sabatke, Addison Maisel, Juniper Sisson, Abigail Gallup, Sydney Miller, and Rori Chapman. The ladies are back in action Saturday at the Bulldog Invitational.
At the Cougar Falcon Invite on Saturday, the boys cross team finished 5th out of 14 schools. Scoring for the Bulldogs were Dillon Slemp, David Patin, Trevor Meyer, George Whitaker, and Blake Mathieu. George finished 13th and Blake came in 9th place out of 237 runners! Congratulations to the following boys who also PR'd at the meet: George Whitaker, Destin Dykstra, Archer Wilson, Callan Davis, Jaxon Brown, Jack Deboer, Emmett Wilson, Kingston Lennan, and Kelan Brady.
The boys took on two very tough teams at home this week and ended up in 2nd place, losing to a very fast Niles team, but defeating Sturgis. Leading the way for the Bulldogs last night and scoring were David Patin, Dillon Slemp, Trevor Meyer, Kaleb Koestner, and George Whitaker. George finished 5th place overall. The team continues to improve weekly, as many athletes had PR's last night. Congratulations to the following runners for PR-ing: George Whitaker, Kaleb Koestner, Dillon Slemp, David Patin, Archer Wilson, Navene Town, Jack DeBoer, Callan Davis, Quinn Sheridan, Jaxon Brown, Sam Cook, Kingston Lennan, Gunnar Djerf, Logan Loftis, Emmett Wilson, and Kelan Brady. Tomorrow, Otsego will host many teams at the Bulldog Invitational, with middle school races beginning at 1:15 p.m.
Football
The middle school football team traveled to Vicksburg this week. The game opened up with Otsego taking charge right from the start with a good defensive stand finished off with a Brody Smith interception. The Bulldogs then marched down the field to score to make the score 8-0. Vicksburg answered back and the game went back and forth for the remainder of the first half. Merrill Bailey ran back a 68 yard kick return before half, but Vicksburg was up at halftime 22-16.
The second half was dominated by Vicksburg. Otsego could not get anything rolling on offense and Vicksburg defeated our Bulldogs 37-16.
Carson Brooks led the way for Otsego with 116 yards on 15 carries. Leeland Longcore had 76 yards on 6 carries. Zeke Andrina picked up 40 yards on the night.
In the air for the Bulldogs, Owen Santman connected with Jack Cook for 11 yards, while Reid Anderson Connected with Merrill Bailey for a 15 yard reception and Alex Babin for a 19 yard catch. Zeke Andrina also threw a 27 yard pass to Jack Cook.
On defense, Carson Brooks and Ethan Wilson both had 4 tackles. Alex Babin, Zeke Andrina, and Leeland Longcore all had three tackles. Merrill Bailey and Brody Smith both intercepted the ball for the bulldogs.
Otsego is back at home against Niles Tuesday, Oct. 4th at 5:30 @ Bulldog Stadium.
Attendance Line - 269-694-7580
RESOURCES FOR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT:
988--Suicide Prevention HotlineThe 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 160 crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress
Gryphon Place: 269-381-4357 (HELP). Gryphon Place is a 24/7 service for immediate emotional support or crisis.
Text Hotline: Text the word HOME to 741741. This is a resource for texting support when someone is in emotional distress.
Otsego Middle School
Email: mkoenig@otsegops.org
Website: www.otsegops.org
Location: 540 Washington Street, Otsego, MI, United States
Phone: 269-694-7500
Twitter: @mkoenig72