FALCON FLYER

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Monday, November 18

5:25 PM A2 Girls Basketball Games at Pleasant Ridge vs PRMS3

4:00-8:00 PM Spin Pizza Restaurant Night

Wednesday, November 20

Matinee day during the day for 7th and 8th grade

3:25 PM Girls Basketball Home Game vs Prairie Star

7:00 PM Play Performance

Thursday, November 21

Matinee day during the day for 5th and 6th grade

7:00 PM Play Performance

Monday, November 25-Friday, November 29

NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Break

Monday, December 2

School Resumes

OTMS Families,

Earlier this week we celebrated Veterans Day. On behalf of the OTMS staff, thank you to all current and former military personnel. Your service is appreciated.

As we close out the week, it's hard to believe it's already mid-November. As the holiday season approaches, I would like to highlight a few items in this week's newsletter:

Please consider supporting our PTO Holiday Helpers program where you can donate gift cards to help families within our community. This has been a tradition here for many years. Your support is greatly appreciated. You can find details in the "PTO News" section of this week's newsletter.

Check out the new article about school attendance, and if you haven't already done so, check out the district's podcast on this topic.

Make note of the last opportunity for your child to take a school picture. These pictures are important as they are updated in our school information system, and we use them in our school yearbook. If a student does not take a picture, they will not be guaranteed to appear in this years' yearbook.

Lastly, I need your assistance. We have observed a significant increase in students bringing large bags of chips to school, specifically Takis and Flamin' Hot Cheetos. These are causing a considerable disruption to the academic day and are creating unnecessary messes in the hallways. We ask that students do not bring these items to school any longer. I wanted to make sure families are aware before we address with students.

Thank you for you continued support of Overland Trail. Have a wonderful weekend!

Dr. Stern

We understand that medical appointments are a necessary part of life, but whenever possible, we encourage families to schedule them outside of school hours. Each missed class period can result in students missing valuable instructional time, especially in subjects that require daily participation, such as math, science labs or group projects.

If an appointment during school hours is unavoidable, attending part of the school day is important so they don’t fall behind or miss key lessons.

In the latest Blue Valley Schools’ BV Unmuted podcast episode, Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by Leah Vomhof (Blue Valley Northwest principal), Stacey Sperry (Prairie Star Elementary principal) and Dr. Cory Cox (Blue Valley North assistant principal) to discuss the importance of school attendance.

🎙️ To listen to the podcast episode, visit https://tinyurl.com/AttendanceBV.

If you enjoy performing and meeting new friends inf a fun group, consider joining our Indoor Colorguard Team! This team will meet once a week plus a few evenings or weekends to work on dance and flag skills and will perform 2-3 times in February and March! Consider trying it at our Try-It Sessions, which will take place on Dec 5th and Dec 12th from 3:15pm to 4:30pm in the OTMS Commons!

Indoor Winter Colorguard Try-It Sessions

Thursday, December 6th - 3:15pm to 4:15pm, OTMS Commons

Thursday, December 15th - 3:15pm to 4:15pm, OTMS Commons

Questions? Email BVN Colorguard Coach Mrs. Babkin at SEBabkin@bluevalleyk12.org or BVN Director of Bands Mr. McCarty at PMMcCarty@bluevalleyk12.org.

Please see the flyer below for information about the Blue Valley West Middle School Math Competition.

Makeup/Retake Picture day: Saturday December 7, 2024

8:00am - 2:00pm

CLICK HERE to reserve your time slot!

SCH Photo Studio

6224 Merriam Drive

Merriam, KS 66203

This session is for:
• Students who were NOT yet photographed this school year.
• Retakes of any students needed.
• Any students who want to be photographed and place an order.

**All images of each subject will be processed and sent to their respective school’s yearbook advisor or administration team.

You may have also have your pictures retaken. To be retaken, please fill out the retake form on the back side of your picture envelope and return your portrait package to the photographer on Makeup/Retake day.

OTMS PTO NEWS:

PTO Calendar – upcoming events:

18 November: Spin Pizza restaurant night from 4-8pm

20 November: Holiday Helper gifts cards due to OTMS

22 November: Staff Appreciation coffee morning

Holiday Helpers:

Be an OTMS Holiday Helper and make the Holidays brighter for several families in our school community. Sign up to donate gift cards to be given to OTMS families identified by our school administrators as needing a little extra help this Holiday Season. You can choose gift cards from grocery stores or big box stores as an easy but meaningful way to contribute to our families in need. Your contribution will allow families an opportunity to purchase gifts for their children for the Holidays. You can also sign up to donate gift wrapping and tape.

Link to Holiday Helpers Sign-up: OTMS Holiday Helpers

Spin Pizza restaurant night

Come out and support the OTMS PTO on Monday, November 18th from 4-8pm at Spin Pizza. Spin will donate 20% back to OTMS when you mention you are there for OTMS restaurant night! Use code ‘giveback’ when ordering online. Thank you for supporting PTO!

Good morning! Please see below for an optional opportunity for interested, inspired, middle school students. The National Civics Bee “encourages young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities.” The first round is an essay competition. Then, 20 finalists participate in a live quiz round testing civics knowledge. Cash prizes are available at the local, state, and national levels. See the flyers below for more information.

Monday, Dec 30
Current Grades 3-8: 11am to 1pm
Clinic will be held at Blue Valley North High School

Join the Blue Valley North Boys and Girls basketball teams and coaching staffs for a day of offensive and defensive fundamental drills. We will work on ball handling, passing, shooting and some scrimmage games. A great opportunity to get in some practice time over the winter break and for the 8th graders to prepare for their middle school tryouts.
Cost is $25. See the flyer below for more details.

Is your student needing extra math support? Math Lab is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year both before school and after school. Attendance is taken at every session.

Morning Sessions:

Tuesday (7:10 – 7:40 AM ) in room 25 (8th grade hallway) with Ms. Hilligoss email: lhilligoss@bluevalleyk12.org

Thursday (7:10 – 7:40 AM) in room 9 (6th grade hallway) with Ms. Lintz

email: pjlintz@bluevalleyk12.org

Afternoon Sessions:

Tuesday & Thursday (3:15-4:15 PM) in the library classroom with Ms. Carter, Ms. Mills or Ms. Miller . Students must provide own transportation home and be picked up by 4:15.

emails: clcarter@bluevalleyk12.org , tmills@bluevalleyk12.org , mjmiller05@bluevalleyk12.org

Do you have questions about student expectations? These are outlined in our student handbook and our district's Code of Conduct. These documents are linked on our school website and available for students via Canvas. You may also click here for the district's current

Blue Valley Schools is committed to promoting and fostering a safe environment in and around all our schools. We are continuously working to prevent, mitigate, respond to and recover from a wide range of situations. Please check out available ways to report safety concerns.

We know there may be times when unexpected circumstances present a hardship for families in our community. Blue Valley has resources within each school available to help students through challenging times, including counselors, social workers, school psychologists and building administrators. On the District website, the Student Well-Being page provides valuable information for families who may need support outside of what the school provides.

We also want to make sure you are aware of a Family Support and Resource link under the Families heading on our school website. Information submitted on this form related to a specific situation and family need will be reviewed by the building principals and the school social worker. While we cannot guarantee that we can provide the requested resources, we will do our best to identify and recommend available support.