Dix Street Press
Dix Street Elementary Weekly Newsletter - March 30, 2018
How will you show your P.R.I.D.E. today?
Building P.R.I.D.E. at Dix Street
R-Responsible Actions
I-Integrity Within
D-Determination to Succeed
E-Expect Excellence
Monday Mission - Week of April 9, 2018:
Student & Staff Mission: Each day this week, select at least one student and tell them what you missed about them over the break.
Parent Mission: Talk with your child about what they missed most about school over the break.
Upcoming Events
Apr. 2-6: SPRING BREAK!
Apr. 9: OPS Board of Education meeting, 7:00 p.m. @ Alamo
Apr. 10: PTO meeting 3:50 p.m. @ DSE Media Center
Apr. 11: Delayed Start, school begins at 9:50 a.m.
Apr. 17: Tots N Tunes 9:30 a.m.
Apr. 18: Delayed Start, school begins at 9:50 a.m.
ATTENTION-Parents who pick up students after school
School Quality Survey for Parents
Every voice matters in Otsego Public Schools. That’s why we’re asking every parent and guardian to take our School Quality Survey. (Staff, and students - in grades 3-12, will also be taking a survey.) The survey asks for feedback on student and academic support, safety and behavior, school leadership, and family involvement. The survey takes about 10 minutes; it will be open until April 10th.
We are hoping for 100% participation to get a full picture of the district. Thank you for helping us better understand our community’s needs, determine our strengths, and identify opportunities for improvement. Please click the link below to begin the survey.
Otsego Public Schools School Quality Survey for ParentsM-Step Testing Begins April 9th
Otsego Public Schools
2018 Michigan Department of Education Testing Updates
Students in grades 3-5 will be assessed on Michigan’s current content standards in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and social studies. This year, the M-Step (Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress) will be given April 9th through May 25th in an on-line format.
The following is important information regarding this test and your child’s participation.
· All components of the test will be given on–line. It is a computer based test.
· Grades 3, 4 and 5 will be tested in ELA (reading, writing & listening comprehension) and Mathematics.
· Grade 5 will be tested in Science and Social Studies.
Testing will consist of on-line tests:
· The Online Test Session may be administered in 1 session with a scheduled break (not to exceed 20 minutes) or in 2 separate sessions of equal length (45 minutes each for grades 3‐5) on the same day.
· Breaks may be provided during test sessions using the software’s pause feature.
· Although the Online Test Session is not timed, schools allow about 1.5 hours of testing time for students in grades 3-5.
· The 5th grade Science assessment will consist of one 45 minute session.
· The 5th grade Social Studies assessment will consist of two 30 minute sections (total of 1 hour).
The State testing windows for the M-Step assessment is as follows:
o Grade 5....... April 9 – May 4, 2018
o Grades 3 & 4...... April 30 – May 25, 2018
· Each school is scheduling these assessments individually
· The test will be administered in the computer lab, on Chromebooks and/or on laptops.
For further information on this upcoming computer based assessment of student achievement, please visit: http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-22709_70117---,00.html. A Practice Test for students can also be found at: https://wbte.drcedirect.com/MI/portals/mi/
It is very important students be in attendance for the testing.
March 2018 "Dog Chow" Honorees
Watch D.O.G.S.
The staff and parents at Dix Street Elementary believe in providing a safe quality educational environment for our kids. WATCH D.O.G.S. is a one of a kind, school-based father involvement program that supports education and safety. If you are interested in being a Watch DOG or would like to make a financial donation to support this program please contact Dr. Rollandini mrollandini@otsegops.org. The first step is to register in the Dix Street office. Once registered, you can sign-up to volunteer at THIS LINK.
Girls on the Run!
Parent Forums on Safety
Thank you to all of the parents, community members and law enforcement who joined us for our Parent Forums on Safety. We had great discussions and appreciate you sharing your ideas and getting involved in the process to improve school safety. Now that the meetings are complete, we are compiling all of strengths, concerns and opportunities listed from each of the five meetings and will bring those to our District Crisis Team on April 13th. The team will discuss those items and create potential action steps for now and in the future. These steps will go before the board at the April workshop. We plan to communicate back to parents by the end of May.
Attention 5th graders!
Camp will be held on Mon., Aug. 6th from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
· The cost is $20. Money should be turned into the classroom teacher by June 1st. Scholarships are available.
· Registration will be done online this year. The link is on our webpage at THIS LINK
RECESS DRESS CODE REVIEW
There have been some issues with the dress requirements for recess. As we begin to ride the temperature roller coaster (mostly down!) that is the norm here in West Michigan, it is a good time to review the recess dress code.
All students must wear snow pants, coat, and boots to go off the paved areas of the playground when there is snow on the ground or if it is muddy. Also, as the weather and temperature fluctuates our policy for outdoor gear is as follows:
50’s-Jackets are suggested, but optional
40’s-Jackets, coat, sweatshirt, or sweater required
30’s-Coat, hat, gloves, boots, & snow pants required.
We use the wind chill temperature to determine the dress requirements. The office will inform the students when the temperature is questionable.
Emergency Contact Information
OPS Compliment Box
Support Dix Street Literacy!!
Peachjar
Cell Phones
Delayed Start Wednesdays
Every Wednesday, through May 30, 2018 (except January 3 & March 7, 2018), Dix Street will begin the day at 9:50 a.m. If you will need B.A.S.E. services on these Delayed Start Wednesdays, please sign up now to reserve your spot. If you have questions, please call the office.
Volunteers Needed!
Throughout the year, it is quite a job getting the Kindergarteners through the lunch line and then out to recess after lunch. If you are willing to give an hour or so one or more days a week to help our littlest Bulldogs it would really help. Thank you for your consideration.
Otsego Public Schools Website
Morning Student Drop-Off
As you may know, the driveway often gets clogged & backs up onto Dix St. To alleviate the problem, three parking spots, on each side of the crosswalk in the loop have become no parking zones. The driveway has been repainted to reflect this change and to help direct parents when dropping off in the morning. Our hope is these no parking zones will be used as places to pull through & drop students while allowing folks to pass safely on the left. If you need to enter the building, please park in the lot. Thanks for your patience and please let us know if we can improve the procedure.
Student Arrival
Students should not be arriving to Dix Street until after 8:05 am unless they are going to B.A.S.E. There is no supervision available for students until after 8:05 am (9:35 am on Delayed Start Wednesdays), so students who arrive before then will be sent to B.A.S.E..
After-School Pick-Up Procedure Reminder
It is very important that the office knows what your child needs to do at the end of the day. Please inform the office before 3:00 pm if there are changes to your pick-up routine. If you have any questions, please contact the Dix Street office.
All parents who are picking will wait in the new secured vestibule inside the main entrance doors. The vestibule will be opened around 3:30pm.
Attendance Procedures
Please remember to call in for your absent student every day during an absence. The attendance line, 692-6110 should be called prior to 9:00 a.m. After 9:00 a.m., you can call the main number. If you are emailing the information to your student’s teacher, please copy the email to apiper@otsegops.org as well. Thanks for your attention to this procedure, it really helps us maintain our records and keep track of absent students.
Dix Street Parents
Follow Us On Facebook: There is a new Dix Street Elementary Parent’s group on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/502857119910811/ join today!
Dix Street Elementary
Email: mrollandini@otsegops.org
Website: http://dse.otsegops.org/
Location: 503 Dix Street, Otsego, MI, United States
Phone: (269) 692-6099
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/502857119910811/
Twitter: @otsegoschools