Happy first snow!
We were lucky to have a group of Old Town Firefighters visit us this week to help during lunch blocks, talk, and eat with our students. The kids loved having them!
These fourth graders are practicing their fluency with fun reader's theater scripts. Reader's theater is a small play which students practice, but don't memorize, in order to read with accuracy, appropriate speed, and expression to build a better understanding of what is being read. These skills then carry over to other reading as well.
Thank you to our PTC for purchasing these parent resources! OTES school counselors, Mrs. Lunn and Mrs. Wilcox, will have them available as needed for families to sign out. Please feel free to reach out via phone or email. Mrs. Lunn and Mrs. Wilcox are also working on adding a tab/link to Mrs. Reesman’s library page, https://sites.google.com/rsu34.k12.me.us/rsu34-library/home with links to parenting resources. Finally, be on the lookout for a parent Book Talk about Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy coming in January!
Shared from our community: Husson Occupational Therapy students are hosting a sensory friendly trick or treat next week on October 26th.
Hope you will join in for our District Spirit Day on October 27th! We will all be wearing PINK in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. A $1.00 donation can be made here at OTES and the proceeds will go to the Layfette Center.
Shared from our community: Check out this event to support our local food cupboard. Tonight, Monday, October 16th at Governor's.
Shared from our community: Here are a few area Trunk or Treats!
Do you need a pumpkin for the book character pumpkin decorating contest? UMaine's farm donated these beautiful pumpkins today. Come grab one for free, decorate it with your student, and bring it into school no later than this Monday, October 16th!
The OTES Civil Rights Club has stated for this school year. The 4th and 5th grade group is 75 students strong! Their mission is to make sure everyone feels SAFE, WELCOME and RESPECTED at OTES.
A favorite fall OTES tradition is back! Decorate a pumpkin as a favorite book character with your student and drop it off at school on or before October 16th. Pumpkins will be displayed in the library and all students will vote for their favorites! Prizes will be awarded.
Information on the P-EBT cards you may have received recently in the mail can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/programs-services/food-supplement
OTES fundraisers are due tomorrow, Wednesday, October 4th. Please send completed paper order forms and payments in with your student or drop them off in the office. Thank you for supporting OTES!
10/02/2023
Dear RSU #34 Families & Staff,
Some of our families have received or will be receiving P-EBT cards (known as SNAP) from the State of Maine. We were not aware this was going to happen and received some questions today; we are passing along information that we have found. The short version is that the state of Maine has changed how it gathers information about what percentage of students in communities would qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. These changes have resulted in widespread distribution of the cards in many communities.
Here is a link to the state's website explaining eligibility for the program, and why you may have received these cards.
https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/programs-services/food-supplement#:~:text=To%20be%20eligible%20for%20this%20program%20individuals%20must%20meet%20the,19%20for%205%20consecutive%20days
There is a "Frequently Asked Questions" section on that website that includes information about other benefits, how to use the cards, and what to do with the cards if you do not wish to use them. There is also an email address for Maine DHHS on that website if you have further questions.
If we learn of more important details we will send them out to families.
Sincerely,
Jon Doty,
Assistant Superintendent
Shared from our community: free supper next Friday, September 29th
Wear your Old Town Pride Swag on September 22.
GREAT turn out tonight for our first PTC meeting of the school year. If you were unable to attend the meeting, here are the minutes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T4kY6q6J1AokCdPWNncHlmRgqQr789JDxXiI6D1h8K4/edit?usp=sharing
We'd love to see you at next month's meeting on October 4, 2023
While we don't miss the heat, we miss the sunshine! Last week our second graders kicked off their annual "Pollinator Protectors" theme by painting in the butterfly garden.
Jasper was the first student this school year to earn a token for the book vending machine for outstanding behavior in the library! He even cut the ribbon!
We are hoping many parents and staff members can join us for our first PTC meeting of the school year on September 13, 2023, at 6 p.m. in the OTES library.
Here's the link to the agenda:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T4kY6q6J1AokCdPWNncHlmRgqQr789JDxXiI6D1h8K4/edit?usp=sharing