Ottawa Newsletter

It is hard to believe it is the end of August! We hope everyone had a wonderful summer enjoying all of their favorite things and found time to relax with your families. It was a busy summer at Ottawa with PSP Elementary Summer School and the YMCA summer camp. We are putting on the finishing touches as we gear up for the start of the school year.

As the summer comes to an end and we are looking forward to seeing everyone back on campus. This year our school theme is Superheroes. We will be focusing on finding everyone's superpowers through PBiS, Positive Behavior Intervention Support, and the Full Value Agreement! Our PBiS Team has been working hard to get the school ready!

This year, we are excited to welcome several new staff members to the Ottawa Family. Please join all of us at Ottawa in welcoming our new staff members.

Mr. Tyler Spychalski - Little Northmen Pre-School Teacher

Ms. Erynne Rice - Kindergarten Teacher

Mrs. Michelle Wren - First Grade Teacher

Mrs. Kyle Hempstead - First Grade Teacher

Mrs. Erika Haas - Fourth Grade Teacher

We still have aide positions available at Ottawa. If you are interested in working at Public Schools of Petoskey, please reach out to the Ottawa Office or check out the PSP website for more information.

We are so excited to see everyone on the first day of school!

Jodi Schreiber

The FIRST DAY of school will be Tuesday, September 5th. It will be a FULL day of school. School will START at 8:10 AM and will DISMISS at 3:05 PM. Students who will be eating breakfast will enter the building at 7:55 AM and all students will enter the building at 8:00 AM.

Attendance: Regular daily attendance is a critical part of ensuring that your child is successful at school. If you need to excuse your child, please call the office at (231) 348-2130.

Transportation: Please call Johnson Bus Garage (231-487-9666) if you have any after school transportation questions and/or changes. Please communicate any changes to our office by 2:30 so we are able to communicate this to your child's teacher before the end of the day.

Medication: All over-the-counter and prescription medications must be kept in the office with a signed form on file. This includes cough drops. The district form can be found here. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Health and Wellness: When we are experiencing the typical seasonal illnesses that often arise in our schools, please follow the below guidelines. If your child exhibits any of the following symptoms they must stay at home until 24 hours after the symptoms have subsided without the use of medication.

• Temperature or signs of fever (chills/sweating/body aches)
• Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain

School Breakfast & Lunch: All students will receive free breakfast and lunch. In order for our school district to continue to receive this benefit all prior charges must be paid off by February 2023. If you need help with prior charges, please reach out to the Ottawa front office. (please see message below for more details)

Additional Cafe News & Updates:

• Breakfast will begin at 7:55AM. Your child(ren) will be able to eat in the cafeteria until the bell rings at 8:10AM.
• If your child(ren) is late (arrives after 8:10AM), they will have the option of a grab-n-go breakfast and head to their classroom.
• This year families will need to complete lunch applications to qualify for Free & Reduced Lunch.
• If students are having lunch from the Cafe’, they will have the option of a hot option or cold option.
• There will NOT be A LA CARTE MILK

Doors will open at 8:00AM. Please do not drop students off before 7:55AM, as there will be no adult supervision outside until 7:55AM. School ends at 3:05PM, which is when dismissal will begin.

Arrival Procedures (Entry Locations):

• Pre-K will enter by the media center. Parents will need to park and bring students to the doors and wait outside with students.

• Kindergarten and 1st Grade Students will enter by the Kindergarten classrooms.

• 2nd Grade through 5th Grade students will enter through the front entrance.

• Breakfast will begin at 7:55AM

• Class begins at 8:10AM

Dismissal Procedures:

• Office (Early Dismissal): If your child(ren) are leaving early, please make sure to contact the front office no later than 2:30PM. Any time after 2:30PM, you will need to pick up your child through their original dismissal procedure.

• ALL CAR RIDERS will have an “Ottawa Car Sign” that must be displayed in the passenger side of your windshield. Car Signs will be passed out at Dismissal on the first day of school. We will have several staff members to support with this procedure during the first week of school. If you need additional Car Signs, please let your child’s teacher know and we will make sure to provide additional signs for your family.

• All cars will follow the directions on the signs and pull forward along sidewalk; we will bring your student(s) to you.

• Remain in single file line - no passing. To ensure safety for everyone, please use crosswalks, as well as be aware of students using driver’s side doors and students/families crossing to the parking lot.

• No parking/drop-off or pick-up in the emergency lane.

• If parents are picking up their child(ren) in the Car Line, please make sure to stay in your car.

Walkers:

• If your child(ren) is a walker, they will exit out of the front entrance and use the crosswalk. Upper Elementary students will be escorted to the front of the building and will also use the crosswalk at the front of the school.

• If a parent is parking to pick up their child(ren) as a walker, You are welcome to park in a neighborhood or at Genesis Church and walk to the front of the building. Please be aware that traffic will be a little heavy at the 4 way stop by the entrance to the school parking lot.

Bus Information:

• Our bus loop will continue to run the same as it has in the past. Please know that if you have any questions or concerns about bus transportation, Johnson’s Buses Inc. works closely with Public Schools of Petoskey and will be able to support you in any way.

• One change that will impact our pre-school parents who also have a child(ren) in Kindergarten through 5th Grade will NOT be able to park in the bus loop until 3:30PM. We have an additional bus that will arrive prior to 3:30PM and they will need access to the bus loop prior to pre-school dismissal.

September 5: First Day of School

September 21: PTO Meeting in the Ottawa Tech Lab @ 3:30 PM

September 26: Daddy Daughter Dance

October 4: Ottawa Color Fun Run

October 6: Picture Day

October 9: Ottawa & Lincoln Annual Title 1 Night @ the Public Library

October 27: Ottawa Harvest Festival from 5 PM to 7 PM