Otsego Elementary Extra

If there are dismissal changes for your child, please send a note to school OR call the office by 2:30pm. This allows us time to accommodate that change and ensure all personnel involved are aware. Thank you for your assistance in ensuring each student gets home safely everyday!

October 22 - End of 1st Quarter

October 23 - NO SCHOOL - Staff Professional Development Day

October 27 - ELA State Test, Part 1, 3rd Grade

October 28 - ELA State Test, Part 2, 3rd Grade

November 3 - NO SCHOOL - ELEMENTARY ONLY - VOTING DAY

November 4 - Parent-Teacher Conferences 4pm-8pm

November 5 - NO SCHOOL - Parent-Teacher Conferences 10am-8pm

November 6 - NO SCHOOL

November 10 - 5th Grade Music Program, 6pm, HS Auditorium

November 20 - Dress Up for Dana Day - Wear PJs for $1

November 23-27 - NO SCHOOL - THANKSGIVING BREAK

1. Go to ptcfast.com/schools/Otsego

2. Select the box next to your child’s homeroom teacher name. If you have more than one child, you can select both of their teachers. Click submit.

3. Follow the prompts on ptcfast. You will need to enter your email address and confirm your email to select a time.

4. From the email, click the link to select a conference time. If you entered more than one student, you will see the schedules for all the teachers you selected and can schedule all at one time.

5. When you have selected your times, click “Confirm Selections and Exit” at the bottom of the page.

6. Appointment times will be emailed to you, and you will receive email reminders prior to conferences.

Class Celebrations will be on Friday, October 30th.

Students are encouraged to bring their costumes to school to change into for the class celebrations.

Halloween costumes for school should NOT include:

-scary masks

-full face paint or any body paint

-weapons of any kind

Thank you for your support so far! We’ve already raised over $7000 and a few classes are well on their way to earning their donut party! If you’ve got questions about your student’s individual progress contact the PTO.

Attached is the form to fill out if you are interested in signing up to receive an Otsego Christmas Basket. Every year, local churches work together to put Christmas Baskets together for families in need. We encourage families to sign up to receive a basket if they are in need.

In order to receive this basket, families MUST do the following:

1. Please fill out the attached form and return back to the school by 3:00PM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11TH, 2026.

2. If you need a copy of the form sent home to you, email mgase@otsegoknights.org and the form will be sent home in a discreet envelope with your oldest student.

3. The form must be filled out completely if you are interested in receiving a Christmas Box.

4. The deadline to turn in the form is: 3:00pm FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11TH, 2026. You can return the form to any Otsego School office by this deadline. We will then send it to the committee.

5. You will then receive a letter from St. Patrick's Church with more information. The Box pickup will be December 19th from 8:00am-10:00am at St. Patrick's Church in Grand Rapids.

Attachment: St. Patrick's Christmas Box Form

Otsego Angel Tree – Family Sign-Up Now Open

The holidays are a special time of year, but we know they can also bring added stress for many families. The Otsego Angel Tree Program is here to help. If your family is in need of assistance this holiday season, we invite you to fill out the confidential form below to be included on our Angel Tree. All information will remain completely anonymous, known only to the organizers of the program.

Angel Tree Form Link

Please complete the form by Friday, November 6th, 2026.

If you have any issues accessing the form, please call Otsego Central Office and ask for Mary Gase. Or you can contact Mary Gase, mgase@otsegoknights.org or . She will be happy to assist you in filling it out.

We want every family in our community to know everyone needs a little help sometimes, and we’re here for you. Together, we make Otsego stronger.

#OneHeartbeat Go Knights!

The Otsego Local School District and the Hall of Fame Committee are accepting nominations for the 2026-2027 Otsego Hall of Fame Class.

The Otsego Hall of Fame is designed to recognize individuals who have brought honor to themselves by making significant impacts or contributions to the school, community, or students. The Otsego Hall of Fame also exists for all alumni who have earned distinction beyond graduation. These individuals have made noteworthy achievements as successful adults in their chosen careers and/or have served as benefactors of mankind. The Otsego Hall of Fame also recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Otsego Local Schools as a staff member, coach, or friend of Otsego.

To nominate an individual, please complete this form.

Nominations are due November 1, 2026.

Awards Reception and Recognition will be Friday, January 15, 2027 at 6:00 pm at Otsego High School.

For more information, contact Mary Gase at 419.823.4381 ext 3404 or mgase@otsegoknights.org

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and we want to say something simple: every day matters—and we know some days are genuinely hard.

Students who attend consistently are more likely to succeed, not because of any one lesson, but because school is cumulative. Showing up is a big part of it.

Recent updates to Ohio attendance law have also changed how schools address absences. The accompanying graphics explain important terms—including excused and unexcused absences, chronic absence and habitual truancy—and show what families can expect as missed hours add up.

The key distinction: all missed instructional time, whether excused or unexcused, counts toward chronic absence. Habitual truancy is based only on unexcused hours. Otsego begins notifying families at 35 total absence hours so we can communicate and offer support early.

If your child will be absent, please call (419) 823-4381. It takes a minute and saves everyone a phone call.

If getting your child to school has become a real struggle—transportation, illness, anxiety or anything else—please reach out before it becomes a bigger problem. Our counselors and building secretaries would much rather help early.

We are very excited about this opportunity for our students! Dana (Facility Dog), and Cali & Oakley (Therapy Dogs) will be used on our campus, always in the presence of a handler, to provide animal assisted interventions as well as provide reward based incentives to students.

Please fill out this form out ONLY if you DO NOT want your child to have contact with Dana, Cali and Oakley, or if your child has allergies to dogs.

If you are okay with your child having contact with Dana and Cali during the 2026-2027 school year, you do not have to fill out this form.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Katrina Baughman, principal, or Lauren Miller, school counselor.

Thank you for your attention to this exciting new initiative!

District Website

Our district website serves as the primary hub for Otsego news, updates, calendars, announcements, forms, and other important information. The site is updated throughout the year, so we encourage families and community members to visit it regularly to stay connected with what is happening across the district.

ParentSquare - Instant Alert Messaging System

The School District typically communicates with families via email, but will send out Instant Alerts for emergencies and school closings/delays.

Instant Alerts are set up to push out Emails, Text Messages, and Phone Calls based on the information provided to the district from families in FinalForms during enrollment. Meaning, you should be receiving these alerts as a phone call, email, and text message unless you have opted out of these options or information was not provided to the district during enrollment.

If you believe your are receiving alerts in error or do not receive any alerts, you can report the issue to our central office using the following Instant Alert Support Form. If you have trouble accessing the form, you can also call our Central Office to report an issue (419) 823-4381 ext. 1100.

Powerschool Parent Portal

The PowerSchool Parent Portal provides parents with direct access to their child's academic progress, attendance records, and other important information, all in one convenient place.

If you have questions accessing Powerschool please reach out to the elementary office.

Morning Drop-Off

1. Please use the entire length of the drop off zone (even past the crosswalk) to keep the line moving. If all cars pull up as far as they possibly can we can fit more vehicles along the sidewalk and more students can exit at a time. This will make drop-off go quicker while maintaining safety.

2. Students should only be let out on the side of the car that is next to the curb. This is to avoid students being hit by a moving car in the lane farther away from the curb. If your student needs to get out on that side of the car, please park in a parking spot and have your student walk into the building using the crosswalk.

3. Please do not stop in the crosswalk. If you are dropping a student off, please do not stop your car in the crosswalk. This is a safe place for students to cross, and when there are cars in the crosswalk it creates a safety concern.

4. The second lane is for driving only. No students should be let out of the car in the lane farther from the curb. Students should only be exiting cars onto the sidewalk so that we can ensure their safety.

5. Please remember to NOT park your car in front of the school! The line needs to keep moving to efficiently get students into the school in a timely manner, and when there is a parked car in the drop-off line, the whole process gets backed up. If for some reason you need to leave your car, please use the available parking spaces.

Afternoon Pick-Up

1. Please use the entire length of the pick-up zone (even past the crosswalk) to keep the line moving. If all cars pull up as far as they possibly can we can fit more vehicles along the sidewalk and more students can get into their vehicles. This will make pick-up go quicker while maintaining safety.

2. Please do not stop in the crosswalk. If you are picking a student up, please do not stop your car in the crosswalk. This is a safe place for students to cross, and when there are cars in the crosswalk it creates a safety concern.

3. The second lane is for driving only. No students should get into their car in the lane farther from the curb. Students should only be entering cars from the sidewalk or by using the crosswalk so that we can ensure their safety.

4. Please remember to NOT park and leave your car in front of the school! The line needs to keep moving to efficiently get vehicles out of the pick-up zone in a timely manner, and when there is a parked car in the line, the whole process gets backed up. If for some reason you need to leave your car, please use the available parking spaces. If you are parked while you are waiting for your student (and you are IN the car), that is fine.

5. Students must be picked up by 3:35pm. At 3:35pm, students will be taken to Otsego Extended Care at the cost of the parent/guardian (unless previous arrangements have been made).

THANK YOU so much for your understanding and compliance with these procedures to ensure our students’ safety. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Katrina Baughman, Elementary Principal.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BAXgcR1Dz2Ea5zo95wuRCiCrEpYacIpQAZUzmJWwV8k/preview?tab=t.0

At OES, we celebrate ALL student birthdays by providing cupcakes at lunch for ALL students who have birthdays during that month! (June and July birthdays are also assigned a month).

This means that we do NOT allow birthday treats in the classrooms. So, please keep the birthday treats at home!

Dana, Cali and Oakley will all be returning for the 2025-2026 school year. IF your student has allergies and/or fears related to dogs (and you did not already make us aware last year), PLEASE fill out the form below!

212 Farnsworth Road

Waterville, Ohio

419-266-4636

OES Extended Care Registration packets for 2026/2027 are available on paper and on the website. Everyone will need to fill out a New Registration form for each child. This must be turned in before using the program.

OES Extended Care is available for students aged 5 through the summer before entering 6th grade. There is a $10.00 per family yearly registration fee for the OES Extended Care Program. The registration fee will be applied from June 1 to May 31 each school year and will be charged to the credit card on file. If you are registering your child for the summer program you will not be required to pay an additional registration fee for the coming school year.

OES Extended Care CLOSED August 10 - 18, 2026

First Day of OES Extended Care for 2026-2027 School Year

Wednesday, August 19, 2026 6:30 am-school / school-6pm

Contact Info and Hours

phone: (419)823-4381 ext 4408

email: extendedcare@otsegoknights.org

School Year 2026-27: August 19 (first day)

The program follows the school calendar

• Before School ~ 6:30 a.m. to THE START OF SCHOOL
• After School ~ END OF SCHOOL to 6:00 p.m.

In the event of a school cancellation after a two-hour delay, OES Extended Care will remain open. If school closed before 6:30, Extended Care is closed also.

Pricing and Registration Info

The hourly rate charged is $3.50 per hour for the first child, $2.00 per hour for the second child, and $1.50 per hour for the third child and any additional children. The hourly rate is billed to the quarter-hour. The Credit Card form in the registration packet MUST be filled out in order to register.

The Credit Card Form will be used to pay your Extended Care amount.

Please print out the registration form (all 5 pages MUST be completed in their entirety) and send it to the elementary school office, attention: Becky Hatfield.

Questions may be emailed to:

Billing: Steve Carroll 419-823-4381 extension 1101 or scarroll@otsegoknights.org

Becky Hatfield 419-823-4381 extension 4401 or bhatfield@otsegoknights.org

Registration: Becky Hatfield bhatfield@otsegoknights.org

Please use the following form to inform OHS Student Council about a family in need within the school district. While the family does not need to have students in the district, we do ask that they are a member of the Otsego Community. Please use this form to share information about their current situation as well as how they can best be assisted.

Please be sure to understand that while Knight in Shining Armor (KISA) would love to help all community members in need, we are still a new program, and may not have the funds to do so. With that being said, we will consider each request on a case by case basis. Filling this form out does not guarantee that we will be able to assist the family, but we will try our hardest to do so!

These funds are not for routine expenses such as utilities, bills, rent, etc. It is designed for assisting community members in an emergency situation. This can include, but is not limited to unforeseen medical expenses, medical related travel expenses, and household emergencies such as a fire, water leaks, etc. Please keep this in mind when submitting a nomination.

Please refer to this link at any point during the year as a need arises, and KISA will do their best to help out!

https://goo.gl/forms/mG7IctP7q8ZAaQOX2

The Otsego Local School District provides this space as a community bulletin board in accordance with Board Policy 9700. Materials posted are not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with the District. Community organizations are welcome to submit events and information for consideration. The District reserves the right to review, approve, or deny any submission in accordance with Board policy and established guidelines.

Triple P: Supporting Parents Across Ohio

Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) is an evidence-based program that gives parents and caregivers practical tools to build strong relationships, encourage positive behavior, and reduce everyday stress. Focused on prevention and skill-building, Triple P helps families create consistent routines, improve communication, and support children’s emotional development—from early childhood through the teen years. The program builds on what caregivers are already doing well, offering simple strategies that work in real life.

In Ohio, Triple P Online is available at no cost, allowing parents and caregivers to learn at their own pace with flexible, on-demand resources. Ohio parents and caregivers can access Triple P Online for free. Click here to learn more or sign up.

Want to help raise some money for the school but hate cutting out all the box tops? Or forget they are there and throw them away? Well now you don't have to worry about that; box tops have gone digital! You just need to download the app, set up Otsego as your school, scan your receipt and we will receive the credit. Check out the Box Top website for more information- we will be adding more as well when we get it.

Don't want to download ANOTHER app?

Just send your receipts into school with your kid and we will scan them for you. Please make sure you put them in a bag or envelope labeled box tops for PTO so the teachers know where they go.

Email: kreyna@otsegoknights.org
Website: www.otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381 (4005)

Email: bbuchman@otsegoknights.org
Website: www.otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381 (4009)
Twitter: @buchman_becky

Email: lmiller@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381 (4010)
Twitter: @OEScounselor

Email: ksnyder@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381 (4105)

Email: jhelberg@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381 (4001)

Email: anorman@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381 (4003)

Email: kyeuler@otsegoknights.org
Phone: 419-823-4381 (4002)