OVA Connector

Here are the 5 important news items you need for this week!

1. Each week, your two way communication with your mentor is the way we track attendance. The attendance week begins on Wednesday and ends on Tuesday. Each week you will need to have two back and forth communications with your mentor or teacher. You will be marked absent for the week if you do not complete at least two two-way communications.
2. Please be sure to communicate with your mentor teacher in order to be present for attendance. Remember you must complete two different two-way communications with your mentor. It could be done through the Wednesday Assignment, email, or phone call.
3. Be sure to keep up weekly in your classes. While attendance is important, so is completing your work in Edgenuity!
4. You can keep up to date on things happening all over the district by reading the newsletters to the different schools in the district. There is a button at the bottom of the page that will take you to all the newsletters in the district.
5. Please see below for our in-person SEL opportunity for 5-12th grade students!

Study hard & dream big!

September 30-October 4 Purple Week Activities

October 18 No School

October 21 No School

What: Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) is an important life skill! Tasks that fall under this category include: self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship building. Research shows that people who have mastered these four skills do better in school, careers, and relationships. OVA is now offering a twice-weekly resource for students who want practice in these areas. We know life for students can be challenging, we’d love to help. Some examples of topics would include:

• Empathy: possibly doing a community service project

• Mindfulness: Learning our body cues for anxiety and ways to cope

• Being Kind To Yourself: Learning about our unique qualities and celebrating them!

• Stress Management: How can we deal with the stressors of everyday life?

• Goal Setting: What is important to us in and out of school? How can we get there?

Who: This opportunity is for students in 5th - 12th grade.

When: Tuesday/Thursday 9:15 am-1pm

Where: OVA Room is located in the back of Otsego Middle School. Coming from downtown Otsego, go West on M89. Turn left on Grant street. This street empties into a parking lot. The middle school is across from the tennis courts. Our room has an exterior door right near the green dumpsters. We will be outside to greet you!

Details:

Mr. Matt Eldred, retired middle school teacher, will be the teacher on-site. He will interact with students, help them set goals and help with work completion.

Mrs. Anna Starr is the District Behavioral Health Coordinator & School Social Worker. She will be onsite to help social/emotional learning groups.

Both Mrs. Starr & Mr. Eldred are so excited to have fun with OVA secondary education students!

Lunch will be provided (for free) from our food service department. If you child does not want a school lunch, feel free to have them bring their own lunch!

Kick Off Event:

Thursday, 10/10/24 from 930-1030 am: Meet Mr. Eldred and Mrs. Starr, see our location, and enjoy some snacks. We want to make this your best year yet!

Questions? Feel free to contact Anna Starr at astarr@otsegops.org.

Below are links to slideshows to help you navigate the online learning platform. If this program is new to you, please look through these slides (and save them for future reference) to help you and your child get started with his/her learning. Please note that the elementary slideshow is different than middle and high school.

• For anything in an online course you have questions about, please contact the online teacher of the course.
• For questions about two-way communication or how to log-into courses, please contact your OVA mentor teacher. For K-8 students, please contact cmcevoy@otsegops.org. For HS students, please contact either aleneway@otsegops.org or mscott@otsegops.org.
• For problems with your OPS email address or your Chromebook, please contact our director of technology, Michelle Triemstra, at mtriemstra@otsegops.org.
• If you are a high school student and have questions about your credits for graduation, dual enrollment or tech center, AP exams, or post-high school information please contact your school counselor. See picture for information on who your counselor is.
• For any other questions, you may contact the OVA coordinator, Ms. Maxwell, at tmaxwell@otsegops.org.

Every OVA student is assigned a mentor teacher. Every Wednesday, the mentor teacher will reach out to the students they are working with with a short assignment. Students are expected to communicate back with their teacher or mentor. Each week, each student must respond to at least two communications with their teacher or mentor. The week starts on Wednesday and ends on Tuesday. This is a requirement and how attendance is taken at OVA. Attendance plays an important role in the success of the student in the OVA program. Please be sure to communicate with your teacher and/or mentor teacher.

Please see the dress up days for Purple Week Sep 30-Oct 4.