OV Family Notes November 28

December 12 - OV HS Art Show (6-8:30) and 7-12 Concert (7-8:30)

December 15 - Early Release Day

December 22 - January 1 - Winter Break, no school

January 19 - Early Release Day, last class day of semester

January 22 - 23 - Final exams (SCHEDULE)

January 23 - MS Celebration of Learning (6-8 pm, see below for details)

January 24 - Crossover Day, No school for students

As I've communicated previously, our middle school team is in the process of reviewing our program, curriculum, and schedule. We will be meeting to discuss our plan for this survey in early December. If you are interested in providing your feedback on the experiences of your middle school student at OV, please take 5 minutes to complete this survey. That will be critical in having your voice heard on what our middle school can be!

This is a reminder to families that Friday, December 15 is an Early Release Day for students. Busses will depart OV at 11:35, and run three hours ahead of normal schedule.

Our last day of school prior to winter break is Thursday, December 21. Then, school resumes on Tuesday, January 2. Please note that important teaching and learning happens on every school day, so attendance in the days leading up to and after break is as vital as any other day. If you have a planned absence near the holidays or at any other time, please contact your school counselor well in advance so that (a) the absence can be approved and (b) as much work as possible can be completed while absent.

We had the opportunity to celebrate all the good work happening at OV with our first quarter schoolwide celebration, which took place on November 17. The event, organized by Ms. Nitka, Ms. Keith, Mr. Perta, and Ms. McCartney, included our honor roll celebration, prize drawing for Otter Bucks (recognition for going above and beyond on meeting our PRIDE values), and the finals of our minute to win it competition. It concluded with some dancing and levity. We will have a celebration of some sort each quarter.

Thanks to the organizers for helping us all have some fun together, and all students who participated. Check out a couple of photos from the event!

Our winter concert for all music students in Grades 7-12 and our art show for high school students will take place on December 12. The art show will begin at 6, and the concert begins right at 7. It should be an engaging and enjoyable evening for the arts at Otter Valley. Please consider attending. If you are an art or music student and have questions about what you need to do for the event, please contact your teacher.

I wanted to let families know some information about end-of-semester dates at Otter Valley. Final exams and projects will be taking place on Monday, January 22 and Tuesday, January 23 for high school students, while middle school students will be taking their winter STAR assessments and preparing for their Celebration of Learning (more on that below). Both days will run from 8:00 – 12:30 for students, with makeups in the afternoon. Busses will run at 12:30 and again at 2:30. Wednesday, January 24 will be our crossover day for all students, and no classes will be held on this date. Students needing to make up work during this time will connect directly with teachers to set up a time to be in the building on that date. If we have a number of inclement weather days prior to these days, we MAY push the end of the semester back. That will be communicated as early as possible.

This time of year, our school boards and administration are busy preparing our budget for the 24-25 school year. I encourage you to participate in our public process to hear more about what is in our school budget. There is a board meeting focused on the budget process on 12/5, in person at OV or virtual. Please consider attending to learn more and ask questions!

I wanted to give you some information about our next VeggieVanGo event, which will be taking place on the OV campus on 12/22 from 10-11. Any individual associated with RNESU Supervisory Union (staff, parent, grandparent, etc) may participate AND may pick up for another family as well.

Please consider coming to get some free and healthy produce if it is a need for your family!

As I indicated earlier this year, our middle school celebration of learning will take place on Tuesday, January 23, from 6-8 pm. All middle school students will use the time to present work that shows their growth as learners and how their work connects to who they are as a learner. We will also have our middle school art show and a brief concert from our middle school band and chorus. Note that this event is required for middle school students, and there will be a window in which learners are asked to stand at their presentation and present their work. If there are exigent circumstances that prevent your student from attending this evening, please discuss the situation with the administration and alternate arrangements will be made to give your student the opportunity to present. Please also note that we are working on providing transportation from our sending towns. I should have more information on that next newsletter.