Falcon Flyer

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Friday, May 24

10:50 AM School Dismissed for the Summer

Monday, August 12

7:51-9:51 AM 6th Grade Transition Day

Tuesday, August 13

7:51-3:00 First Day of School

OTMS Community,

I want to thank you for your support throughout the school year and wish you a wonderful summer filled with joy, laughter and adventure. Also, congratulations to our 8th graders. Good luck with high school. I can't wait to watch you flourish over the next four years.

For our current 6th and 7th grades students, get some rest. I look forward to seeing you in the fall.

Lastly, I want to wish a fond farewell and sincere thank you to Kathy Hartsock (retiring after 34 years), Nicole Orrick (moving to ABMS to be the assistant principal), Jenn Smith, Mikaela Rittmaster, Officer Richie Vargas, Jeremy Thomas, Carla Schmidt, Leigh Swartz, Christine Mowrey, Janie Huo, Stephanie Tschirhart, Allie Spears, Katlyne Wright, and Michelle Ward-Garcia as they move on to other buildings and/or adventures.

For families returning to OTMS in the fall, please watch for communication throughout the summer regarding school supplies, Falcon Takeoff, and more!

Have a wonderful summer!

Dr. Trent Stern, Proud Principal

Student assessment scores are now available in ParentVue; for click-by-click directions on accessing the scores, please click here.

For descriptions of each test and their purpose, we encourage consultation of the interpretation guides on the district assessment page.

The end of the second semester is nearly here. Our students have had a great semester of learning and we continue to see the positive impacts of our learning management system, Canvas, in our classrooms. As we gear up for the end of the semester, please take note of the important information below regarding grades and courses in Canvas.

End of Semester Information

All assignments and work should be completed by the end of the day on May 23rd. To view Past Enrollment Canvas courses open Canvas website in a web browser, log in, and click on the Courses tab. Click View All Courses and scroll down to find the past enrollments (directions linked here).

Second semester Report Cards will be published in ParentVUE on June 6th.

Need some help?

Blue Valley has a variety of resources available for parent support on the district’s Canvas web page, www.bluevalleyk12.org/canvas.

Please see the flyer below for information about strength and speed training at BVN this summer.

Students entering 7th grade are required to receive two immunizations, a Tdap booster and the first dose of Meningitis (MCV4). Emails have been sent out to families of students that are not compliant. Please turn immunization records in as soon as possible to nurse Brittany, brpetrich@bluevalleyk12.

Summer Walk-in Vaccine Clinics through Johnson County Health Department

https://redcap.jocogov.org/surveys/?s=E84DNPPTYMFLA4XX

If your child requires prescription medication at school, a doctor’s note or a written copy of the prescription is required. All medication must be sent to school in the labeled original container. No medication will be given at school unless this procedure is followed. This includes all medications, over-the-counter and prescription. Over-the-counter medications require a note from a parent. Examples of over-the-counter medications include cough and cold medicines, and cough drops.

Brittany Petrich MSN, BSN, RN

School Nurse

​

Blue Valley families,

Early childhood, elementary and middle school registration for the 2024-25 school year is now open online for current students and families. During registration, you will review/update your child’s information (phone, email, emergency contacts, health information, etc.). Simply log in and click the registration tab to begin!

Important items of note

• Families have access to pay all required and optional fees except middle school course fees. Middle school course fees will be assigned in September.

• The Early Childhood program requires an advanced application for new students only. More information about the program and application process is available online.

• High school registration opens July 8, 2024.

Completing registration and fee payments helps the district appropriately staff classrooms. As we prepare for the new school year, we look at paid registration as a commitment from a family regarding their attendance for the upcoming year.

Thank you for providing important information through registration.

Blue Valley Schools

Students participating in athletics, dance, cheerleading and/or high school marching band/color guard for the 24-25 school year will be required to upload a completed KSHSAA physical, dated after May 1, 2024, with a doctor’s signature, and complete all the necessary forms to be able to participate. This is a new physical form for the 24-25 school year. Be sure you take the linked form to your doctor’s appointment, their office may not have the updated version as it was released in late March.

Students involved in activities that do not require a physical will still need to complete the other required forms to participate. Those activities include middle school band, high school and middle school choir, theater and orchestra, and high school Scholar’s bowl, esports, debate, forensics, BPA, and DECA.

IMPORTANT: when selecting athletics and activities on rschool that your student would like to participate in for the 24-25 school year, please select ALL areas of interest. Even if your student is "on the fence" about going out for a particular sport or activity, still check the box! (Example: if your student is thinking about possibly trying cross country, band, cheer, and girls wrestling, she should definitely select ALL of those sports/activities. It's completely ok if she completely changes her mind and only ends up participating in band). Moral of the story--check ALL areas of interest, even if your student is on the fence about participating!

The Blue Valley School District has moved to an online format to submit all paperwork needed to be involved in athletics and activities at the high school and middle school levels. The online system can be accessed directly through the link below and will start accepting new forms on May 1st.

https://bluevalleysd-ar.rschooltoday.com/

If you have an existing account from the 23-24 school year you will need to login, CLICK ON THE REGISTER BUTTON, choose your child and school then update any information from the previous year and upload the new physical forms.

Individuals will receive an email notification that confirms the online portion of activities/athletics registration. Students will be notified if they are successfully cleared to participate for the 2024-25 school year or if their registration is incomplete prior to the start of the fall season.

Thank you,

Matt Ortman

Director of School Administration

Blue Valley School District

· Pre-Order School Supplies by July 1 for 24-25 School Year (Does Not Apply to Current 8th Grade Students) - Start the school year with the exact supplies your teacher requested, and give your child the confidence they need to conquer next year! Get them today before it's too late!
Order Now --> http://1stdayschoolsupplies.com/kits.php?sid=41417

· Thank you to our Amazing Volunteers! – Thank you to our amazing 2023-34 PTO Board and Committee Chairs. We could not support our PTO programs and events without your help! We would also like to thank every parent, family member, and caregiver who volunteered at an event, donated items for staff appreciation meals, or made a financial contribution. Thank you for supporting our students and staff and helping to build a strong OTM community.

· PTO Membership – PTO memberships are now available for the 2024-25 school year. Membership supports all of the PTO funded events and programs. Please visit the PTO website at https://overlandtrailpto.membershiptoolkit.com/packet/415 or email us at bvotmspto@gmail.com with any questions!

Overland Trail Middle Parents, it's time to buy your 1st Day School Supplies. I know it seems early, but before you know it, summer will be here. It's important you order your supplies before it's too late or supplies run out. Start the school year with the exact supplies your teacher requested, and give your child the confidence they need to conquer next year! Get them today before it's too late!

Order Now --> http://1stdayschoolsupplies.com/kits.php?sid=41417

Dear 8th Grade Families,

The purpose of this email is to inform you of an upcoming option you and your child will have to transfer 2 middle school world language credits to the high school transcript. According to board policy 4340, only students who completed the entire world language sequence (6th-8th grades) in a Blue Valley middle school are eligible. This is for your information only, and there are no action items until next fall when your child is in 9th grade.

On July 20, 2020 the Board of Education approved a change to Policy 4340 regarding middle school world language and high school credit. As a result, if a student completed the full Blue Valley world language sequence in middle school, they may receive two (2) high school credits for this work. In this revised policy, the student’s semester grades, 4 total grades, from the 7th and 8th grade courses will be transcripted.

There are some important factors for you to consider in making this decision:

• Students may continue the language sequence regardless if they choose to transfer these credits or not.

• Students will be able to transcript only the full 2 credits offered. They may not transfer only a single credit.

• The middle school world language grades are factored into the student’s high school GPA.

• Once the family decides to transcript these grades, they cannot be changed or removed.

• The HS transcript will indicate that the credit was earned in middle school.

• There is no foreign language requirement for high school graduation, although many colleges require at least 2 years. Please confirm with colleges directly on their entrance requirements and if they would accept transferred middle school language credits.

You will receive details next September once your child enters high school. You do not need to make a decision at this time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your building registrar or counselor. You may also reach out to Melissa Clark, World Language Coordinator.

Thank you!

Melissa Clark

The Blue Valley Board of Education approved updates to Board Policy 3500 - Behavior and Discipline at the August 14, 2023 Board of Education meeting. As part of this approval, there is a Student Code of Conduct document. We ask all families and students within our school community to review the contents, policies and procedures within this Student Code of Conduct.

Administrative actions taken as a result of a violation of the code of conduct are determined following proper investigation, review, and/or consideration of the age/grade of the student, context, and situation in which the behavior in question occurred. The scope of authority of the Blue Valley Student Code of Conduct applies at all times when students are on school buses or other vehicles used by the district to transport students, school district property, or engaged in official school activities. Additionally, this code of conduct applies to any student whose conduct at any time or place has a direct and immediate effect causing substantial disruption impacting the order of school operations and/or the sense of student and staff safety that exists in the school or school-related environment.

OTMS students were made aware/reminded of behavioral expectations and the Code of Conduct through grade level administrator Flex talks the week of August 21, 2023.

Please call the attendance line at 913-239-5401, if your student is going to be absent from school. You will receive an automated message (see below) stating your student has an unexcused absence if you don't notify the office in advance.

💻 ✈️ This important message is for any family or staff that will travel out of the United States during school breaks. Click here to read the restrictions and recommendations for out of the country travel. Canvas, Classlink, and email are not accessible out of the country unless you have a personal device with a VPN on it.