The STREAK
Oregon Trail Family Newsletter-8/17-8-30
Mr. Howe's Message
Hello to all my families and supporters of Oregon Trail. My name is Justin Howe and I am the principal of Oregon Trail. I have met so many great students and our staff is amazing! I can tell you the future is bright at OT and together we will bring back the West Side Pride to OT!
Two things I want to share with the community;
1. What is "The Streak?" When researching Tigers I discovered they are a solitary animal. However when they do come together it is for one of two reasons. Either to hunt, in which case they are referred to as an "ambush." Or when they have cubs and come together as a family, then they are referred to as a "streak." We are coming together as a family once again. The name of this newsletter is "The Streak" because this community is part of the Tiger family.
2. We are looking forward to bringing back the community feel to Oregon Trail. We have so many great events coming up for all ages. From pancake breakfasts, to performances, to our first ever Tiger Fest & BBQ Competition. We look forward to not only having outstanding relationships with your children but with you as well!
I cannot say enough how excited and thrilled I am to be a Tiger, to lead Tiger Nation, and be part of this community!
Talk to you soon,
Justin Howe
The Streak Is Moving To Every Other Week
Last spring "The Streak" newsletter was published each week. This year we will be doing one every other week to cut down on emails you get but to also make sure the newsletter is full of relevant news and not just repeats.
If there is an important event upcoming between the newsletters a blackboard message will be sent and details will be given. Most events will be announced in each newsletter. Example Back To School Night. Details and dates are listed below but we will send out a blackboard message next week as a reminder with details.
The next "Streak" will be published Friday August 31st.
If you have any questions be sure to contact us.
Safety and Security
All school buildings in the Olathe School District follow strict security measures to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Parents and visitors must show Photo ID at the front door in order to gain access to the building. Even if our office staff know you well, they will still ask you to state your name and the purpose of your visit. Once inside, visitors must sign in and obtain a Visitor badge before heading to their destination. Thank you for making sure that you have a Photo ID with you when visiting our school!
Arrival/ Dismissal
Arrival:
Parents wishing to drop their students off in the morning may use the east parking lot or the front drive. The busses come in at staggered times and move faster for the arrival process which allows us to use the front drive in the morning. Walkers may use the front doors or east side doors and we ask they walk their bikes and skateboards once on school grounds. Bus riders will be dropped of in the front lane at the front entrance.
Dismissal:
Earlier in the week we sent out a dismissal location map for bus riders, car riders, and walkers. I am working on a larger map to show the traffic flow and will send out shortly.
Car riders will exit out of the east side of the building. We would like cars to line up around the perimeter of the parking lot and we will use the south side of the parking lot's entire length to line up cars. We will empty stalls that we will cone off and ask our students to walk along the empty stalls parallel to the car line so they are safe and can walk to their cars without going through the grass or mud etc. We will have an administrator there to monitor and help both parents and students.
The main front lane will be bus only until they dismiss between 3:17-3:20.
Walkers can exit from the east and west exits of the building to avoid traffic as well.
Thank you for being flexible and patient with this as we get the best pattern in place and ensure the safety for all students.
August Save The Dates
8/23- Back To School Night- 5:30-7:00 pm
8/25- Blue and White Saturday- 7-8:30 am Pancake Breakfast, 8:30-10:30 Fall Sports Scrimmage
8/27- Parent Tiger Talk- 5:30 OT Auditorium
8/31- Cheer Activity Mixer
New Tigers
Not only do we have hundreds of new student faces to OT this year but we also have several new staff members as well. You will get to meet all of these individuals over the course of the year but please join me in welcoming these great people to our "Streak!"
Sarah Ingram – Girls PE
Jennifer Zimmerman-Girls PE
Evan Hoisington- 6th Math
Lori Sapp- 6th ELA
Karen Fraley- 6th Resource
Cody Grauberger- CBR
Andrea Ortiz- 7th Math
Tamara Keal- Disciplinary Literacy
Emily Sipp- Art
Rachel Ilaria- Counselor
Margaret Twaddle-Counselor
Meghan Bird- ELL
Christine Ramus- ELL Math
Laurel Castilla- ELL ELA
Greg Hammons- Tech
Pauline Sung- 8th Grade ELA
Marie Sullivan- Morning French
Karen Stephens- Afternoon French
Leslie Banks- Lead Custodian
John Selzer- Morning Band
Aimee Garibay- Speech Pathologist
Jose Mendez- School Psychologist
Anna Lynn Morris- Assistant Principal
Denise Herman- Assistant Principal
Name Our Mascot
With our new logo we decided to get a much need new mascot suit. However the mascot needs a name. Last spring our newspaper surveyed several Tiger Times and made a short list. This is where we need your help, click on the link below to vote for your favorite name. The new mascot and name will be revealed during Old Settler's week!
Go Tigers!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdko_X2gU_xcEn9hWH1aaXecVOFUdRyvJgAboA4CRc58lZBqw/viewform
The Week That Was...
The first days of school were outstanding! A big thank you to our spirit squads for greeting students both days and performing in back to back pep assemblies!
We have set the tone for a great school year, our mission is to establish school spirit, pride, and start our march to be the best middle school in Olathe in every facet. We have started on the right foot!
Be Great, Be A TIGER!
The Oregon Trail Channel
We have created a private channel just for the Oregon Trail community. Each week we will try to share some pictures and videos of the great things happening in our school. The channel is private and only the people with the link can view.
Take a look at some of the action from our first days back!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIJho2wn-ASM2tOjKpEVvUiUbprq6r7VD
Our Spirit Squads welcoming back staff and students!
First day of class and the hands are up ready to go!
The comfort and cozy classrooms enhancing the learning!
The Weeks That Will Be...
The first full week is a nice ease into the year:
8/20-8/24- Sports Practices.
8/23- Back To School Night- 5:30-7:00- Commons open at 5:00 for juice and cookies.
8/25- Delicious Chris Cakes Pancake Breakfast from 7-8:30 in the OT Commons, $5 a plate. 8:30-10:30 Fall Sports Scrimmage.
8/27- Parent Tiger Talk- 5:30 OT Auditorium- Topics include Live School, Champions Of Character, and the 18-19 expectations for OT.
8/31- Cheer Activity Mixer for all students- 3:30-5:30
9/11- PICTURE DAY! :)
Back To School Night- August 23rd-SAVE THE DATE
Oregon Trail will be hosting it's Back To School Night Thursday August 23rd from 5:30-7:00 PM.
This will be a great event where you will get to meet your child's teachers, learn about them and about Oregon Trail. We hope to see you all there!
1st Annual Blue and White Saturday & Pancake Breakfast- August 25th
We are so excited to have our first ever and annual Blue and White Saturday!
Come help us kick off our year with a Pancake Breakfast by Chris Cakes! After a delicious breakfast feel free to stick around for our Blue/White Fall Sports Scrimmage featuring Volleyball, Football, Cross Country, Cheer, and Dance! Be Great, Be A TIGER!
It should be a great morning full of school pride! Attached is the flyer, tickets for the pancake breakfast will be sold at registration, our front office, and the morning of the event.
Tiger Talk- Parent Information Night- August 27th
Cheer Activity Mixer
School Supply List
It is that time where the stores have all the school supplies out, attached is a flyer with our school supply list. This will also be available on our school website in the parent section under parent resources, and on site in our front office.
1st Annual Tiger Fest & BBQ Competition-All School Fundraiser
We are excited and proud to announce the 1st ever Tiger Fest and BBQ Competition All School Fundraiser!
Saturday October 6th
5 am the parking lot opens for our smoking teams!
10 am the entertainment starts for our family fun Tiger Fest!
BBQ lunch available for purchase, cold treats, face painting, bags, obstacle course, merchandise and more!
Raffle for a brand new smoker!
2:00- Judging starts
2:45 - Winners announced and raffle winner gets a brand new smoker!
If you are interested in entering the BBQ competition registration starts today and individuals/teams must be registered by Friday September 21st.
Attached is the save the date for Tiger Fest, details for the BBQ competition, and BBQ registration form. Registration forms will also be available in our front office or by request.
From The Nurse
Reaching Mr. Howe
Email: jphowe@olatheschools.org
Phone: 913-780-7250
Twitter: @MrJustinHowe @OTMSTigerPride
Oregon Trail Middle School
Be Great, Be a TIGER!
Email: jphowe@olatheschools.org
Website: http://schools.olatheschools.com/buildings/oregontrail/
Location: 1800 West Dennis Avenue, Olathe, KS, USA
Phone: 913-780-7250
Twitter: @OTMSTigerPride