Otsego Junior High

Otsego Families,

Happy Friday!

Congratulations to our February Students of the Month!

Congratulations to Kendall Mehl for winning our local Spelling Bee competition held on 02/08/2024. She now qualifies to move on the next round to complete against students from around northwest Ohio.

Don't forget to sign up for Coffee with the Counselors if you want to know more about scheduling, services, or the role of our school counselors. More information below.....

Please familiarize yourself with the Homework Calendar located on our website. I have enclosed a link below for quick reference. This is the location where homework/classwork will be posted for you to view.

Here is the link to our Homework Calendar:

HomeWork Calendar

Non-emergency/crisis Referral Form

If you have an emergency/crisis school situation and need to speak to someone at the school please call the office at 419-823-4381 ext. 3100

February 13th: Coffee with the Counselors 6:45am-7:30am

February 14th: Coffee with the Counselors 7:45am-8:30am

February 20th: All Scheduling Forms due

February 19: President's Day - No School

March 10: Otsego Music Boosters Ice Cream Social, 2:00-5:00

March 16: Otsego Athletic Boosters Reverse Raffle, 6:30 (Tontogany Legion)

March 19: Election Day - No School

March 21-24: Shrek the Musical (info on flyer below)

March 29 - April 8: Spring Break - No School

April 9: First Day of Classes after Spring Break

April 16: 8th Grade State Testing (Science)

April 17-18: 6th-8th Grade State Testing (ELA)

April 24-25: 6th-8th Grade State Testing (Math)

May 21: Choir Concert, 7:00

May 23: Band Concert, 7:00

May 27: Memorial Day - No School

May 31: Last Day of School (half day)

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America is a youth lead, Career Technical Student Organization (CTSO) that encourages confidence, discipline, creativity, public speaking skills, poise and integrity, all which build future leadership and career skills. Otsego is fortunate to have two chapters, one at the Jr. High and one at the High School levels. Students may participate in competition or complete a service learning project. Some of our 7th through 12th grade students are presently preparing for competition at the Regional level which takes place on Saturday, March 2nd, at Penta Career Center. Other students are fulfilling their service learning requirements throughout our community.

Next week, February 12th through the 16th is National FCCLA week. Students in the jr. high and high school may show their FCCLA spirit each day by participating in the theme for that particular day. The link is attached. To learn more about FCCLA, click on the link to learn how FCCLA is ONE way at for students to build their career and leadership skills.

Stay tuned to future, weekly newsletters for updates on FCCLA.

If you are interested in meeting with school counselors from the Junior High or High School regarding any scheduling questions or questions in general, please sign up for Coffee with the Counselors using the link below. Dates are 2/13, 6:45-7:30 am and 2/14, 7:45-8:30 am.

Coffee with The Counselors

Otsego High School is hosting 2 blood drives during the spring semester, with the first one being held March 12th from 8:00-12:30 in the high school gym. The importance of donating blood cannot be stressed enough. One pint of blood has the potential to save 4 lives. Donors must bring ID and, if they have donated blood before, a Red Cross donor card. Donors should make sure to drink plenty of water and iron-rich foods a couple days before the drive. Students need to see their assigned teacher; sophomores go to Mr. Welker, and Juniors/Seniors go to Mrs. Danko. Community members sign up with this link; https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/donation-time. Happy donating!

The 8th Grade Washington DC trip for 2024 has some welcome changes to the itinerary. In previous years, we have traveled through the night, but next year we will be daytime traveling! We will be leaving from OJHS at 5:30 AM on Tuesday October 22, 2024 and returning Friday October 24, 2024 at 11:30 PM. This change will allow for some additional activities as well as one more night in the hotel, rather than traveling on the bus. Please see the attached information for registration forms. The registration process is all done online through Student Adventures. Please reach out to me if you have any questions. (jrife@otsegoknights.org). If you register early, please take advantage of the payment plan. We apply fundraiser money towards the last payment (s) of the trip, depending on amount of money we have and the number of students attending. Please DO NOT pay in full, I will be applying funds towards each paying student's account. I can not apply funds until I know how many students are going. In past years I have put anywhere from $100 to $175 dollars towards each student's registration fees. The total amount for this year's trip is $898.00. If we meet our goal of 78 students and 10 adults, each student will receive a $35 discount. With this discount and the money I apply from our fundraiser account, this should decrease the cost of the trip by at least $135, if not more.

Shrek the Musical

Public Tickets ON SALE starting Monday February 5th!

Thursday March 21 - 7:00 PM

Friday March 22 - 7:00 PM

Saturday March 23 - 7:00 PM

Sunday March 24 - 2:00 PM

7th Girls Basketball vs. Maumee (at Maumee HS), 9:00 *NBC Tournament Game

8th Girls Basketball vs. Fostoria (at Fostoria JH), 10:30 *NBC Tournament Game

6th Grade:

February 12 @ Elmwood Middle School, 4pm

February 22 Home, 4pm

March 4 @ Elmwood Middle School - Final Tournament, 4pm

7/8th Grade:

March 6 @ Elmwood Middle School - Final Tournament, 4pm

This year's school fees have been assessed and invoices were emailed out October 9.

You can pay fees via Payschools (info below) or by sending a check into the office. You will also have an option to purchase a yearbook if you pay through Payschools.

You can use Payschools to pay for fees and lunches online.

Quick Setup Guide:

Payschools Quick Setup Guide

Manage your account:

www.PaySchoolsCentral.com

Payschools Signup Information:

Payschools Introduction and Information Letter

CLICK HERE to View/Order School Pictures

A couple of days after school pictures you can go onto Jostenspix.com and view/order your child's school pictures. Just go to their website and enter the Event Code provided below.

Junior High Pictures

Event Code: FE134623

Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

Recent polls show that parents’ first concern about schools today is their child’s safety. That is my concern as well. Fortunately, the Otsego is very safe. However, no community is immune from the threats of violence and drugs that endanger public schools nationwide.

We are introducing a Safe School Helpline® to help prevent such actions. It is designed to assist you in reporting any wrongdoing that impacts our schools, our students, or our staff – anonymously, so as to protect your privacy. For example, you may wish to report acts of violence, theft, drug or alcohol use, weapons, or sexual harassment.

Just call from a touch-tone phone to 1-800-4-1-VOICE, ext. 359 (418-6423) to leave your information. Or TEXT: 614-426-0240 Then type: TIPS Your message will not be traced, and you will not be identified. The Safe School Helpline® team will transcribe and fax your message to school officials, so appropriate action can be taken.

Thank you for your continued support to provide a better education for all Otsego students.

800-418-6423 (800-4-1-VOICE ext. 359)

TEXT: 614-426-0240

Then type: TIPS

www.safeschoolhelpline.com