OTES Learning Garden

The OTES staff recently spent part of an afternoon working together to help beautify our Learning Garden located near the smaller playground equipment. We did some weeding and planting. Maintenance of this garden is an ongoing project, and OTES is open to any and all support with this....including volunteer help and donations of flowers/shrubs for our garden. Stop by one afternoon and check it out!!

Spring Gotcha Party!!

This past Friday, OTES celebrated our 3rd Gotcha Party!! Over 200 students in grades K-5 stayed after school for a wide variety of activities ranging from Dancing the Cha-Cha-Slide, to the Limbo!! There was also face painting for the younger students, and ice cream sandwiches for all!! Thanks to all parents and high school students for volunteering your time to make this event a success. Also, thanks to the River Coalition for providing the awesome sound system and funding for the ice cream!! (by the way, that's Mrs. Keane doing the limbo!!!)

NWEA Testing in 5th Grade

5th Grade students at OTES are taking their spring NWEA tests in the areas of Mathematics, Reading, and Language Arts. If you recall, we took these tests in the fall. Since the first time around, students and teachers have dedicated a lot of thought and time into the development of learning goals. Within the next few weeks, we will have results of both tests--along with comparisons of the data indicating areas of growth. Students and teachers will be able to use this data to measure their individual progress, as well as monitor how well students are meeting goals. NWEA testing has quickly proven to be a valuable teaching & learning tool. Starting in the fall, OTES will be using the program in grades 3-5. Leonard Middle School also uses NWEA in grades 6-8; and, Old Town High School uses NWEA with 9th grade students. These efforts have been taken to improve transitions between grade levels and schools.

Mrs. Baldacci Visits OTES

We were excited to have Mrs. Baldacci visit Mrs. Lonko's 5th grade class and teach a lesson about the dangers of drugs and alcohol use. This visit coincides with our guidance curriculum that talks directly about the dangers of underage drinking. The students were very attentive, polite, and engaged in the lesson.