We are kicking off March Madness literacy month with a Read-a-thon this Friday, March 1st. All pledges and donations will stay right here to benefit OTES kids!
You can still join Mrs. Wilcox and Mrs. Lunn live in the OTES Library or remotely this Thursday, February 29th for a book talk around the text Good Inside. Check out an audio preview here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hUOc8IbONAets6Pxc3A8D?si=F1g2IgvrTwG1I-Y-eM53LQ OnThursday, February 29th from 6-7 pm they will cover Part 2 Connection and Addressing Behaviors Chapter 11-18, and Thursday, March 29th from 6-7 pm they will cover Part 3 continued Behaviors Chapters 19-end. Please email Mrs. Lunn (trysha.lunn@rsu34.org) or Mrs. Wilcox (vicki.wilcox@rsu34.org) to let them know you want to be included and get a copy of the book. It is OK to join part way through and copies are still available!
Mrs. Palmer is excited to announce that OTES will be welcoming Maine artist Kim Bernard to our school in April. Kim is a sculpture artist and champion of the environment. During her week-long visit, students will work with Kim to create a collaborative art sculpture for our school made out of recycled plastics. WE NEED YOUR HELP! To prepare for Kim Bernard's visit, we need to collect clean and clear #2 plastics (e.g. milk or water containers). Please send these plastics in with your student or drop them off during school hours. Thank you in advance for your support of the arts! If you would like to learn more about Kim Bernard's work, visit her webpage at https://www.kimbernard.com . A huge thank you to our PTC for sponsoring this week-long artist visit!
Dear Families of RSU 34 Students,
We are excited to announce the anticipated opening of our School Based Health Clinic in RSU 34, located at Old Town Elementary School. PCHC staff are set to start seeing patients on March 21 and want to make sure you are aware of the support and services you and your child can take advantage of even if you are not affiliated with PCHC.
We are currently offering School Based Counseling in RSU 34. Starting in March, Medical services will be added. For example, students can be seen for
Drop-in care for sick visits and injuries
Primary Care (if requested, check the box on the form provided)
Immunizations
Students in our district can only access the School-Based Health Center if enrolled using these forms. We are hoping this clinic can be a great resource to our families and remove some of the stress involved in scheduling appointments, missing school due to illnesses, and/or avoiding loss of work time for parents. The School-Based Health Center will NOT take the place of our current Nursing Staff and Services.
A copy of the attached form was sent home before the February Break. PCHC would like to start processing these forms as soon as possible if families wish to return them this week. Please fill out the forms and return to your child's school to participate.
If you have questions or concerns, please call the office and we will be happy to support you in this process or help from PCHC is available by contacting Valerie Scanlon at 207-404-8004.
Enrollment forms are available in the Documents section of our website:
https://www.rsu34.org/o/otes/documents
We clean out our Lost and Found each vacation, so claim these items while you can! Let your student's teacher know if something belongs to them or check-in at the office to look through yourself.
Some of the services RSU 34 provides are funded federally, such as those provided under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and those funded via ESSER / ARP (covid-relief funds, which conclude Sept. 2024). Planning for the use of federal funds is underway in parallel with the RSU 34 planning and budgeting process for 2024-2025. For more information about how to provide input or be involved in the process, please contact Dr. Jon Doty (https://www.rsu34.org/page/superintendents-office)
Mrs. Keane's second graders treated kindergarten and first grade lunch to a Chinese New Year parade to celebrate the year of the dragon.
Pictured: the wild Saturday nightlife of a school district Facilities Director. Thanks, Mr. Fournier, for fixing the leaking roof drain discovered at Saturday's OTES event!
Our kindergarten teams have set a goal to collect 100 food items, especially baking goods, in each community by the 100th day of school, which is Wednesday, February 14th. If you would like to contribute, send items with your student or drop them off at the office. Thank you!
Families with children birth to five, check out this free book offering from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Maine! https://imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/
OTES Civil Rights Team rocks! We continue to work hard to have people feel safe, welcome and respected.
Join us this Wednesday, February 7th at 6:00pm in the OTES Library or via Google Meet. We will discuss Parent's Night Out, our outdoor inclusive space fundraisers, solar eclipse day, teacher appreciation, and other updates. The meeting link, agenda, and minutes for the year can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T4kY6q6J1AokCdPWNncHlmRgqQr789JDxXiI6D1h8K4/edit
In honor of Groundhog Day, the fourth graders struck a groundhog day pose during our yoga mindfulness practice in classroom guidance time.
What do you predict will happen tomorrow?
Don't forget to wear your flannel tomorrow, January 26th. It's a district Spirit Day and we are collecting $1.00 for our selected Charity, NFR
Join Mrs. Wilcox and Mrs. Lunn in person or remotely starting this Thursday, January 25th for a book talk around the text Good Inside.
Check out an audio preview here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hUOc8IbONAets6Pxc3A8D?si=F1g2IgvrTwG1I-Y-eM53LQ
We plan 3 evening chat in-person and via Zoom: Thursday, January 25th 6-7 pm to cover Part 1… Parenting Principles Chapters 1-10, Thursday, February 29th 6-7 pm to cover Part 2 Connection and Addressing Behaviors Chapter 11-18, and Thursday, March 29th 6-7 pm will cover Part 3 continued Behaviors Chapters 19-end
Please email Mrs. Lunn (trysha.lunn@rsu34.org) or Mrs. Wilcox (vicki.wilcox@rsu34.org) to let them know you want to be included and get a copy of the book.
Gracias Señora LePard for sharing the great things happening in our Spanish program! Her article was recently published in the Educators for a Multilingual Maine newsletter. It will also be published in our upcoming district newsletter, Community Connections.
Looking back at this past fall in the art studio, fifth graders learned more about puppetry and created their own rod and arm puppets.
The art studio is looking for donations of recycled materials and craft supplies. We are especially in need of cardboard tubes, corks, and plastic bottle caps of all sizes. Please make sure all plastics are cleaned. Donations can be dropped off anytime during the school day. Thank you in advance for your support of the arts!
From Mrs. Marquis: I had the privilege to have Nora spend the entire day with me in the music room and she got to play her flute the entire day! (…other than our snack and lunch time…and a math test 😁). She was the online auction winner for “spend a day with the music teacher”, and boy was she happy 🥰🎶
