This Week @ OPS
Good News & Highlights from across the District!
December 13, 2019
Be Nice Presents at the Board Meeting
Monday's Board of Education meeting was held at the middle school which gave the staff an opportunity to highlight the Be Nice program - which has grown from 10 members to 75 members (and counting) in its 4 years. Several students were a part of the presentation, greeting attendees at the door, then speaking to the crowd. Kids talked about their organization, led board members in a gratitude activity and shared a video about their group. Be Nice aims to create a positive, inclusive culture. NICE is an acronym for Notice, Invite, Challenge, Empower.
Be nice at OMS
The Be Nice Team
Grinch Day!
Grinch Day is a big one this time of year! The kids - and staff - get dressed up and enjoy books and activities all about the Dr. Seuss classic "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas". Dan Bushouse is a frequent visitor on these days, also, to lend his vocal talents in the reading of the book. Alamo 1st graders wrote letters to the Grinch to help him grow his heart. Kindergartners at WSE wrote their own stories on how to make the Grinch grin! There are red & green math games and snacks and tons of fun!
Students go all out to dress up for Grinch Day.
The Grinch gives fist bumps as students go to the media center to hear the story and enjoy a treat.
Kids laugh as Mr. Bushouse reads them the story.
Buried in Books
Found her:) We want to give a shout-out to Heather Kortlandt who has been surrounded by boxes of books for weeks coordinating delivery of orders to fill teachers' classroom libraries. It's exciting to get new books and it's been fun at Central Office to see all the wonderful selections teachers have chosen for their students!
Demonstrating Their Knowledge
AP Biology students have been learning about nerve impulses. To show what they know, students used an app called Stop Motion Studio to create animations showing the transmission of nerve impulses. Check out one of the videos below!
Nerve Siganling
Teacher Auction Raises $2677!
The annual teacher auction took place Friday at OHS for the National Honor Society's toy drive fundraiser. Teachers volunteer to be auctioned off and dress up however the winning bidder decides on the day before winter break. All the money raised goes toward the toy drive which serves the Otsego Christmas Basket Project. NHS members use the money to buy gifts for children on the list and make sure they have a happy holiday! This year, they will buy gifts for 135 kids! They area also holding a pancake breakfast to raise money. (see below.)
NHS Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser is Tomorrow!
Bring any donation and enjoy a great pancake breakfast to help out the National Honor Society's annual toy drive. NHS collects money to then shop for families who benefit from the Otsego Christmas Basket Project. There are 135 students to buy for this year.
Pancake Breakfast
- Saturday, December 14th
- 8:00am - 11:00am
- OHS Cafeteria
Team Spirit
Teachers are having at school, too, with their own theme days! This week, Dix Street teachers grouped together by grade levels and dressed alike! The DK, Kindergarten and office staff teamed up as snowmen while the upper el came as reindeer. (We also caught Mr. Rollandini in the office door set up as the Grinch!)
Diver of the Year
Sophomore Abie Sullivan earned the Diver of the Year honor this week for Zone 6 in Michigan. The state has nine zones and include a geographical region, regardless of the size of the school. Zone 6 covers all of Southwest Michigan. Abie placed 3rd this year at state! Congratulations, Abie!
Holiday Band Concerts
This week, the 7th grade, 8th grade, concert and symphonic bands, along with the MS & HS jazz bands and the woodwind quintet performed at the holiday concert. The music was fabulous and they performed before a packed house! See more pictures on Facebook.
Deck the Halls!
The hallways are definitely decked out for the holidays and the AP Chem class had some fun with it putting up their Chemistree!
From Lessons to Lansing
In 3rd grade, our students learn Michigan history. Then in 4th grade, they get to see those lessons in action with a field trip to Lansing. This week was Alamo's turn for their trip to the state capital. They toured the capitol building and also visited the Michigan Museum that is a timeline through Michigan history.
DSE Rings the Bells
The tradition continues for Dix Street families to give back to the Salvation Army by ringing the bells in December. Eight different groups collected money for the organization last Saturday outside the Walmart in Plainwell.
A Sticky Situation
The MS student council president and vice president found themselves in a sticky situation at lunch, but it was all a part of the school reward for their efforts in the food drive. OMS had a goal of 8,000 food items for their drive and collected more than 9,000 through can and money donations! Dozens of donors helped tape the kids to the wall, all for fun and a good cause! The MS food drive benefits Christian Neighbors.
Tacky, Ugly, Creative!
Call it tacky or ugly Christmas sweater day, we'll call it creative! These students got crafty for the dress-up theme! They made their own!
All Aboard!
The Polar Express stopped for 1st graders at Dix Street this week. Each child received their special ticket for the movie and snack:)
Be Nice Welcome Lunch
With the middle school Be Nice group growing to more than 75 members, they have developed different teams so that each person has a place to contribute and the group as a whole can do more across the school. One of those teams is the welcoming committee where they plan a lunch with new students that joined OMS in that month. They have pizza and play games and connect with new students. It's been a lot of fun and a great addition to welcome our new students!
In case you missed it...
OPS Connection Fall 2019 Newsletter
Check out the OPS Connection district newsletter for great highlights from this fall!
Have something to share for our new "Weekly Good News"letter?
Let me know! Email or text me!
Have a great weekend and #GoDawgs!
#OtsegoPride
Holly McCaw, Director of Communications
Email: hmccaw@otsegops.org
Website: otsegops.org
Location: 400 Sherwood Street, Otsego, MI, United States
Phone: 269-694-7910
Facebook: facebook.com/otsegops
Twitter: @OtsegoSchools