News
Now Accepting K Registration for Fall of 2021
We are now accepting registration applications for our Kindergarten students turning 5 years old prior to October 15, 2021. Please contact Betsy Clark, our school secretary...
OTES Learning Garden Work Days
Volunteer opportunities have been few and far between this year, but we are looking for some help preparing our OTES Learning Garden for the growing season! Our garden work...
Support Local: Orono Brewing Company
We continue with our Support Local campaign in March with Orono Brewing Company. Any order placed this month by an OTES family qualifies you for a gift card drawing. Just...
Events
LIVE FEED
Maggie Mitchell
OTES Family Update March 25, 2021 🔗View this Newsletter as a Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yzi1Pxh1iq0ac7YfCREKFtN6dcYXMhjWsYdhMmHBfb0/edit?usp=sharing 🌱UPDATED: Garden Volunteer Work Days Volunteer opportunities have been few and far between this year, but we are looking for some help preparing our OTES Learning Garden for the growing season! Our garden work days will be Friday, April 2nd, 16th and 30th from 2:30 to 5pm and Saturday, April 3rd and 17th and May1st from 9:30am to12pm. Sign up for one session or more, any help is appreciated! Direction, support, and any tools necessary will be provided! COVID safety protocols will be in place. Please call the school at 827-1544 with any questions and we will connect you with a garden committee member or simply sign up here: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/9969872324461680120/false#/invitation 📫Usborne Cards for a Cause Fundraiser Extended to Monday, March 29th The PTC is hosting a brief fundraiser from now through Monday, March 29th. In-person students have been given an order form and remote-only students have been emailed a .pdf or can pick up an order form here at school. Each card box contains 30 cards for $30. That is a great price for cards and better yet, OTES receives $13 from each sale! Thank you for your continued support! 🖍PreK and Kindergarten Registration is Open! Please Help Spread the Word! We are now accepting registration applications for kindergarten students turning 5 years old prior to October 15, 2021. Please contact Betsy Clark, our school secretary at 827-1544 ext 3602 or Betsy.Clark@rsu34.org for more information or questions. Parents can drop by between 8 am and 4 pm to pick up a registration packet at school. If you have a child that attends OTES already, let us know and we can send the packet of information home with your child. Children registering must have an original birth certificate, up to date immunization record, and proof of residency (a bill with your name and address indicated works). We can make a copy of any original paperwork at school. Our screening dates will be set for June and further information will be shared at a later date. PreK locations have yet to be determined. 📚Reading Fun! Remember to Fill Out Student Reading Bike Sheets For a Chance to Win a Bike! We have had so much fun celebrating reading this month! The first week, we held themed Dr. Seuss days and dropped everything to read each day. The second week, we were virtually visited by Maine author Stephanie Mulligan. The third week, we had a mystery book door decorating contest. Finally, this week, and all month really, students tracked the books and chapters they read to earn strips of duct tape to stick Dr. Tuell and Mrs. Mitchell to the wall in a “Stick with Books” event. Be sure to check out our Facebook page and website for pictures! Students should all have a bike sheet to track their home reading. Returning this complete sheet by Friday, April 16th will earn them an entry into a drawing for one of many bikes provided to us by the Kenduskeag Masonic Lodge. More sheets are available at OTES. 📸Picture Day Orders Still Available We held two school picture days on March 9 and March 11 and all students present were photographed. If you missed ordering, the online should still be open for a time at www.mylifetouch.com. Our Picture Day ID is EVTQ28RZ8.
Maggie Mitchell
OTES Family Update March 12, 2021 🔗View this Newsletter as a Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/.../1aQ6.../edit... ✉️Report Cards Sent Home Today, Friday, March 12th Your student’s report card was sent home today. Please take some time to review it and any documents included in the envelope. Please sign the envelope and return it to school so that we know you have received it. Remote-only students will receive report cards through the mail. No return signature is necessary. If you have any questions or concerns about your student’s report card, please reach out to their teacher. 🧦Lots of Socks Day on Friday, March 19th in Recognition of World Down Syndrome Day World Down Syndrome Day is March 21st. The purpose of this day is to create public awareness of Down Syndrome. We celebrate this day on the 21st day of the third month to represent the triplication or trisomy or the 21st chromosome. This year, the RSU #34 Civil Rights Team will be participating in the Lots of Socks Campaign to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. It is the mission of the Civil Rights Team to decrease biased behaviors and create an environment where all students feel safe, welcome and respected. Please join us on Friday, March 19th. All you need to do is choose some socks that are going to get noticed - they might be mismatched socks or your craziest and most colorful socks, whatever takes your fancy! We will be collecting money to support Camp Capella that day if you would like to donate. 📸Last Minute Picture Day Orders We held two school picture days on March 9 and March 11 and all students present were photographed. If you missed ordering, the online should still be open for a time at www.mylifetouch.com. Our Picture Day ID is EVTQ28RZ8. 📚Author Visit We were so excited to virtually welcome Maine author Stephanie Mulligan to OTES today! She shared two of her great books, How to Catch a Keeper and How to Tap a Maple. Both of these books are available to purchase at a discounted rate through OTES. An order form was sent home and extra forms are available at school. Orders will be accepted through Tuesday, March 16th. Visit Stephanie’s website https://stephmulligan.com/. As well as view her appearance on The Green Outdoors here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShywaZQlQAs. Special thanks to our PTC for sponsoring this visit! 📬Usborne Cards for a Cause Fundraiser The PTC is hosting a brief fundraiser from now through Monday, March 22nd. Students have been given an order form to take home soon and remote-only students have been emailed a .pdf or can pick up an order form here at school. Each card box contains 30 cards for $30. That is a great price for cards and better yet, OTES receives $13 from each sale! Thank you for your continued support! ⏰ Don’t Forget to “Spring Ahead” Your Clocks This Weekend!
Maggie Mitchell
Here are some further details about Picture Day: All students present at OTES on Tuesday, March 9th will be photographed that day. On Thursday, March 11th from 8-10am, we will photograph any students who missed pictures on the 9th and any remote only students who would like to have their picture taken. Order forms will be sent home soon, if they have not been already, or are available at school and online ordering is open now at www.mylifetouch.com. Our Picture Day ID is EVTQ28RZ8. view image
Maggie Mitchell
You'll notice more than a few familiar faces and places in this video. Thank you to all our student, staff and families, who have supported us in having happy, healthy WinterKids! https://youtu.be/1p3vmbCqKPs
Dr. Jeanna Tuell
Dear Parents of 5th Graders: The 5th Grade Team has been working on a plan to bring all of our 5th graders back as of March 1st. We have developed plans to address the numbers of students that are in one class at a time, a schedule for lunch and breakfast that addresses 6ft distancing, and creating a new schedule for other opportunities to address extracurricular activities and academic interventions. We believe that bringing our students back to school and trying to make up for all the loss time is absolutely necessary and we are committed to making this plan work. One big stumbling block is the limited number of seats available on the buses. We are asking parents, if possible, to provide transportation to and from school during this last trimester to help with the limited bus capacities. If bussing becomes an issue, we have a few other options we are exploring in order to get our students to school 5 days a week and in a safe manner. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. March 5th is the end of the 2nd trimester at OTES and we would love to finish off our school year with our 5th graders here everyday and celebrate their transition from OTES to LMS in all the traditional ways. If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to email me at Jeanna.Tuell@rsu34.org Enjoy the rest of your vacation and stay safe.