Paw Prints

We had a great first week back to school! It was so nice to see everyone back in the building again after the summer away. We want to thank all the students who are following our new cell phone policy. We’ve had very few issues with the new policy and we appreciate your support, parents.

With the new cell phone policy in place, the lunch room is now a little louder and more animated. Many students were engaged in conversation and smiling during lunch. Speaking of the lunchroom, I also saw many students inviting new students to join them for lunch this week. It warmed my heart to see our students being so welcoming.

- Ms. Maxwell

August 26-28 - NWEA Testing (Adjusted Schedule, see below)

August 26 - First Day of Tech Center

August 30 - No School

September 2 - No School

September 4 - First Delayed Start

September 13 - Homecoming

September 14 - Homecoming Dance

Most 9th, 10th, and 11th-grade students will be NWEA testing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week. This allows us to set a baseline for academic growth over the school year, both as a school and for individual students.

Seniors and students attending Lake Michigan College or the Allegan Tech Center will have adjusted schedules. Please see the graphic below for their schedule.

Otsego Public Schools engages in various drills and practices to keep our students, and their learning environment safe. One of those safety measures is contracting with Interquest Detection Canines to inspect areas on our school campuses in order to help every student and staff member feel safe and secure at school.

Interquest Detection Canines train their dogs to find and identify substances that are of concern to the school environment including Illicit drugs, alcohol, gunpowder-based items, and over-the-counter medications. Their program is set up to be a friendly, unintimidating, yet effective presence with a focus on keeping contraband off campus through inspections and education.

The dogs are trained in live school environments to ensure they are absolutely safe around students, yet have the focus to work effectively. There is no need to lock down a campus or prevent students from being in the vicinity of the working dog, in fact, the visibility factor is a big piece of the deterrence. The goal is not to scare students, but instead to be a positive presence to help everyone on campus feel safe.

Commonly inspected areas include school parking lots and school lockers. We stress to students that even if the dog detects a substance, it does not mean a student has done something wrong. In most cases, items detected are not cause for concern nor do they typically violate our school policy. Common items detected in searches are empty cans that contained alcohol, over-the-counter medications - including ibuprofen, gun powder residue from empty rounds of ammunition, energy drinks, vape pens, and dab pens to name a few. With all this in mind, we’d like to remind students that parking at school is a privilege and requires the purchase of a permit, and students should be aware that their vehicle is subject to these searches as part of this safety measure.

Because these dogs are not associated with a law enforcement agency, any detection is reported to our school administrators and any consequence would follow the guidance of our handbook.

Cell phones and wireless headphones need to be kept in lockers from 7:45 AM - 2:46 PM during school days. Any parents needing to reach their students can call the OHS office at 269.694.7400. Thank you for your support in helping us shift school to a place centered on student growth and learning.

Please take a few minutes to review the OHS dress code below with your student. As a reminder, these guidelines are also required to be followed at after-school events like football games.

The Tech Center will start on August 26. The AM bus will depart OHS at 7:40 AM from the bus loop, and the PM bus will depart from OHS at 11:20 from the front entrance. A few reminders for tech center students:

• Attendance at the Tech Center is required, even when OHS is not in session.
• Students may pick up driving forms from the Tech Center. Until these are processed, students are required to ride the OHS bus to and from the Tech Center.
• When students return from the Tech Center, they should report to the Media Center until classes have started or the day has ended.

Purple Week is coming up at the end of September and the time is now to get your purple apparel! We have short and long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants and more! All proceeds go directly to cancer and Parkinson’s disease research at Van Andel Institute. Wearing your purple shows your support for the cause - we hope to make this the most successful Purple Week fundraiser yet!!!

https://tinyurl.com/purpleapparel2024

To learn more about the ways to get involved with Purple Week, visit https://www.otsegops.org/purpleweek.

Attendance line: 269-694-7480

Athletic Office: 269-694-7405

Email: treed@otsegops.org
Website: ohs.otsegops.org
Location: 550 Washington Street, Otsego, MI, USA
Phone: 269-694-7400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/otsegops