Ottawa Newsletter

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through February and it has already been a busy month. Before we know it, it will be spring break! The weather has been interesting this month, with high temperatures, but it looks like we still have cold days coming. Please continue to send winter gear to school with your child. There might not be a lot of snow, but it is cold!

During the first two weeks in February, students have enjoyed a few field trips. Kinder, First, and Second graders visited Great Lakes Center for the Arts to see "Rainbow Fish" and our Third, Fourth, and Fifth graders went to Nubs Nob. So many great experiences for our students happening! A huge thank you to GLCA and Nubs Nob for the continued support in providing amazing experiences for our children. Everyone was smiling ear-to-ear with excitement while learning to ski and experiencing a great way to get outside in the winter. Likewise, the lower elementary students were thrilled to see a live show.

As we head into the last couple weeks of February and beginning of March, please keep an eye out for important reminders in your child's Thursday Folders. Parent Teacher Conferences are right around the corner and we look forward to seeing you.

Kindly,

Jodi Schreiber

Last week we celebrated Mrs. Monan, our Student Support Specialist. We are so lucky to have her at Ottawa! All of the students took time to write her a note and shared all of the ways she is important to our school!

The topic this month for SEL lessons (and our focus for PBIS) is cooperation. Mrs. Monan has been leading activities, games, and crafts focusing on positive communication that leads to successfully cooperating and working as a team. Students in PreK- Fifth grade have learned about “I” statements. “I” statements empower students to explain how they are feeling and what they need. These statements are used to connect and cooperate with others. “You” statements place blame on someone else, which can cause others to become defensive and often make the situation worse. The steps for “I statements are:

1. I feel_____

2. When_____

3. (My needs)

• I would like…

• Next time could you…

• Could you please…

This year our student council's goal is to organize 3 community involvement events/fundraisers. Their first event was our Veteran's Day assembly in November. We are currently in the process of our fundraising event, Penny Wars! Keep bringing in the coins to support a great cause! The last day to bring in coins is Friday, February 23rd.

During the month of January, Mrs. Mainland has been busy with the students. The 3rd and 4th grade classes went to the Harbor Springs Community Pool. While there, they learned about pool safety, practiced floating, and learned three different swimming strokes. They then enjoyed an hour of free swimming and diving from the diving board.

Mrs. Mainland also brought her expertise to gym and had students in grade 2 through 5 learn about CPR. Students in all grades learned about what to do in an emergency. The students also learned about the Olympics the last week of January. They talked a lot about the Winter Olympics and a little about the summer. They also learned where the torch originates for each Olympics, a few meanings behind the Olympic rings, about the different sports, and about good sportsmanship and teamwork.

On February 2, we had our school wide PBiS Assembly to celebrate our Superheroes of the Month. We had four special guests join us at our celebration. We wanted to honor our School Board and it was great to have them celebrate and join the fun to honor our Superheroes. Our Superheroes were recognized for showing "PERSEVERANCE" during the month of January. This month we are looking for Superheroes that show "COOPERATION".

Congratulations to our January "Perseverance" Superheroes:

• Kindergarten: Lilly, Tobias & Maple

• 1st Grade: Autumn & Brielle

• 2nd Grade: Abby & Abigail

• 3rd Grade: Georgia & Jacob

• 4th Grade: Ariana & Teagan

• 5th Grade: Johnny & Nico

• Art: Matthew

• Music: Natalie G.

• PE: Zander

• Technology: Thomas H.

On February 2nd, we hosted our annual Winter Carnival. It was great to see everyone on Friday. What a great turn out. A huge THANK YOU to all of the volunteers, the PTO and Ashley Maginnis, Event Chair, for putting together an amazing event for our families!

Mrs. Ivie’s third graders were very excited to receive letters from their penpals in Scotland at the end of January! Our penpals told us about themselves and about how they were looking forward to Christmas. They even made us each a calendar for 2024!

The fifth graders spent some time with their Kindergarten buddies. They engaged in literacy activities and read books to one another.

A HUGE thank you to Nubs Nob for an amazing experience for our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. This year Nubs reached out to us to sponsor a "Learn to Ski" field trip. We were lucky enough at Ottawa to have all three grade levels participate and thrive. Our "superpower" during the month of January was perseverance and all of our students definitely showed their SUPERPOWER of PERSEVERANCE. At the end of the day, everyone expressed how much fun they had learning something new or helping someone learn!

Thank you to everyone involved in the field trips, especially Stephanie Kimball and Ben Doornbos for providing this experience through the "Scott Skiers" fund, which was established in memory of Scott Stillings, longtime owner of the Nubs Nob Winter Sports School. "Scott Skiers" has a hope to help children learn about a lifelong winter sport right here in our backyard.

Month of February: Black History Month

February 13 - 23: Penny Wars

February 16 - 19: Mid Winter Break

March: Reading Awareness Month

March 4: Kinder & 1st Grade Music Performance at PMS

March 4 - 14: Read-a-Thon

March 8: Northmen Night

March 12 & 14: Parent Teacher Conferences

March 22 - April 1: Spring Break

April 2: Back to School

April 18 - 20: Enrichment Play Performances