“A ninja”Daniel Ayers – 1St

Emerson

“A doctor”Elizabeth Sailor – 1st

Emerson

“A teacher”Jaidan Vanderlip – 1st

Emerson

“An architect”Anders Spannagel – 4th

Emerson

“In the military”Jackson Salander – 4th

Emerson

The Argus-Press n Owosso, Michigan n Thurs., Oct. 25, 2018 7

TROJAN TIMESOwosso Public Schools • www.owosso.k12.mi.us • Ready for the World!

“A firefighter”Claire Burnett – 4th

Emerson

“A police officer”Chloe Austin – 1st

Emerson

“A gymnastics teacher”

Kennedy Buza – 2nd

Emerson

“A doctor”Makenna Schutt –

2ndEmerson

“An artist or veterinarian or a

clothes artist”Jillian Welz –

2ndEmerson

“A YouTuber”

Zia Bruckman –

2ndEmerson

“A firefighter”Emma Thompson – 1st

Emerson

Tuttle’s Thoughts

Andrea TuttleSuperintendent

One year seems like a long time unless you are planning for a $45 million construction project at which time one year flies by. When the bond passed for Owosso Public Schools in November of 2017, a new door of excitement and the unknown opened. Some believed, and

understandably so, that once the bond passed, the district would be ready to start building soon after. However, there are many action items that need to occur long before a shovel touches the ground. So, what happens after a bond passes and before con-struction begins? Well, as I live in that world today, I can assure you that there are more decisions to be made and questions to be answered on a daily basis than ever before. I have had people ask me why it is taking so long from the time of passing the bond until we begin building. The simple answer is two-fold: 1.) The bonds need to be sold so that the dis-trict has the means to pay for the experts (architects and construction managers) to design the building and; 2.) The detailed planning occurs after a bond is passed because it requires many experts and vast human resources all of which cost money and take an immense amount of time. A quote from Basil Castaldi in his book Educational Facilities: Planning, Remodeling, and Management (1977) still applies to-day, “The best-developed plans of a much-needed school building are useless unless the public provides the necessary funds for its construction, furnishings and equipment.” A school district would not be pru-dent in spending money on planning as it would be wasted if the bond did not pass. Once a bond passes, the next step is to sell the bonds so the district has the monetary resources to pay for surveys, design teams, permits, etc. Once the district has the monetary resources, design teams from various expertise areas are formed. Architec-tural experts who specialize in auditoriums, food service, gymnasiums, classrooms, technology, safety and security, etc. are brought in to ensure that the district’s needs are met and that the district remains within the budgetary parameters. Other logistical items need to be performed as well including but not limited to: obtaining site surveys; estimating project scope and alignments of program and bud-get; ensuring that laws, rules, and codes pertaining to school construction are followed; obtaining per-mits; planning schematic designs; making decisions regarding technology, electrical needs, interior and exterior traffic flow, number of parking, green spac-es, heating ventilation and air conditioning, floor-ing, paint, acoustics, etc. It takes months before the team has a plan that meets both the needs and the budget requirements. Once the building plans are solidified, the district creates several requests for bids (RFB). RFB’s are publicized on many forums in the hope that several companies will submit sealed bids. Once bids have been received for the various aspects of the project (flooring, masonry, paint, windows, etc.) the Board of Education awards the bids to the lowest reliable bidder (subcontractor). Once the subcontractors are established, the con-struction manager coordinates all the subcontractors in preparation for the groundbreaking. The ground-breaking for the elementary portions of the bond occurred last Wednesday, October 17 at Emerson

Elementary. This event signified the groundbreaking for all three of the elementary schools that will have an approximate 5,400 square foot multi-purpose room addition built on to the existing buildings (Go to www.owosso.k12.mi.us, select Bond Projects on the left to view drawings). We hope to complete all three elementary school additions in the summer of 2019. At that time, we will host ribbon-cutting cere-monies at each elementary school and we will invite the entire community to celebrate this monumental moment. The planning for the secondary campus, which is much larger in scope than the elementary buildings, is in progress. In the spring of 2019 a groundbreak-ing ceremony for the secondary campus will occur and if all goes as planned, a ribbon cutting celebra-tion will take place at the new/renovated secondary campus in the fall of 2021. It is always a great time to be an Owosso Trojan, but now more ever, it is a very exciting and transfor-mational time. Thank you again to everyone who supported the bond. We are all incredibly fortunate to live in a community that supports our youth and supports public education.

Proud to be a Trojan,

Superintendent

What do you want

to be when you grow up?

National School BusSafety Week

The third week in October is National School Bus Safety Week. This week is designed to promote safe-ty and educate communities on the importance of school bus safety. Owosso Public Schools’ buses travel 1,060 miles a day to transport 1,100 students on average. The OPS bus fleet has a total of 20 buses. “During the 2017-2018 school year, we were able to offer Owosso students over 700 field trips and athletic trips,” reports Transportation Supervisor Steve DeLong. “Safety is always our drivers’ num-ber one priority. The Owosso transportation team is comprised of highly skilled and experienced bus drivers with an average of 10 years of experience. Our drivers also do an outstanding job of building positive relationships with students which helps with our safety goals.” The Transportation Team reminds drivers that red flashing lights on a bus mean stop. When the lights are flashing yellow, please use caution. Thank you bus drivers for safely transporting our students!

The team that safely transports 1,100 Owosso students to and from school, to field trips, and to athletic compe-titions are (standing left to right): Mike Hartsell, Steve DeLong, Paul Clark, Mark Smith, Dennis Tomlinson, Janice Coppersmith, Vickie Tobey, Dave Goodrich, Deb Desser, and Nathan Struble. Seated in front are (left to right): Lori Pelikan, Pam Will, Alyne Rubelman, and Art Ash. Not pictured: Mary Lou Essex, Denise Hud-son, Joyce Malzahn, and Renee Secor-Jenks.

The Owosso High School Choir students who qual-ified to compete in the Michigan School Vocal Music Association Regional Honors Choir are (left to right): Alex Elford, Jake Hall, Hailie Taylor, Olivia Mehay, Abigail Christian, Autumn Weir, Wes LaVigne, Ava Fett, Gareth Blankinship, Kenneth Hickmott, Madi-son Kregger, and Ericka Durfee. Not pictured: Cayden Whiteherse.

OHS Varsity Wrestlers Gideon Millar (left) and Colton Blaha show middle school students the athletic stance. OMS Physical Education Teacher Mrs. Marley Apsey said, “It is always great to provide positive recognition to our student athletes as they share their passion with our youth.”

Exploring Who We Are Second graders at Bryant Elementary are working on their International Baccalaureate unit with the central idea of “Who We Are”. In Mrs. Crego’s class, students began this unit by playing games to get to know each other and exploring the similarities and differences they have with classmates. Then students learned the definition of perspective and all about the ten IB Propensities: inquirers, thinkers, princi-pled, open-minded, balanced, reflective, communi-cator, risk-taker, caring, and knowledgeable. Once they had a solid grasp on the IB Propensities, it was time to begin creating a project that would represent “Who We Are”. Using the lids of boxes, students created a visual representation of who they are. They selected an IB Propensity that they felt best represented them and then added items that further conveyed who they are as individuals. A variety of items such as drawings, photographs, and stickers were used to complete this project. Once the box lids were filled with artis-tic and colorful representations, the second graders shared their project in front of their class and also led a parade through the school.

OHS Choir Students Are Looking Sharp

In early October, Owosso High School choir students recorded and submitted an audition for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association, Re-gional Honors Choir. The Regional Honors Choir consists of the top 100 vocal students in the region. Owosso belongs to Region A, which is a very com-petitive area consisting of much of the lower penin-sula. Less than half of the students who audition are selected to perform. “We are very proud to have 13 Owosso students chosen for this ensemble,” exclaimed OHS Vocal Music Director Ms. Jessica Nieuwkoop. The next step is for these 13 students to perform at Flushing High School on December 1st. This day will consist of an all-day rehearsal culminating in an afternoon performance. From the regional event, students will  have the opportunity to audition for both the State and the All-State Honors Choir. Con-gratulations to the following Owosso High School students:

Gareth Blankinship, Bass 2Abigail Christian, Soprano 2Ericka Durfee, Alto 1Alex Elford, Tenor 1Ava Fett, Alto 2Jake Hall, Bass 2Kenneth Hickmott, Tenor 2Madison Kregger, Alto 1Wes LaVigne, Tenor 2Olivia Mehay, Soprano 2Hailie Taylor, Soprano 1Autumn Weir, Tenor 1Cayden Whiteherse, Tenor 2

OMS Students Learnfrom Our Best

Since beginning the wrestling unit in physical ed-ucation, Owosso Middle School students have en-joyed learning from guest teachers who are passion-ate about wrestling. Owosso High School Varsity Wrestling Coach Ryan Clevenger, Owosso Middle School Wrestling Coach Zeb Perrin and Owosso High School wrestlers Colton Blaha and Gideon Millar spent time with the physical education classes teaching them the basics of wrestling.

The IB Propensities are large concepts for young students but it was evident that Mrs. Crego prepared her stu-dents well. Abbigail Dibean is pictured with her com-pleted project where she highlights being open-minded and caring.

Lyric West (left) and James Kelly work together on their Who We Are project. Many of the second graders shared their stickers and decorations with one another to create colorful representations of themselves.

Groundbreaking at Emerson Elementary on October 17th.