American Legion Essay Contest Winners

Three (3) Oswayo Valley High School students were recognized on Wednesday night at the Shinglehouse American Legion Post 530 for their outstanding essays submitted to the annual American Legion Essay Contest. This year’s first place winner, Sophomore Mia Shaffer, received a check for $750. Earning second place and $500 was Junior Maddison Austin. Third place and $250 was awarded to Senior Maddison Gietler. Congratulations, ladies!

Big 30 All-Star Charities Classic Marching Band

Congratulations to OV Senior Holden Turek who was recently chosen to participate in the 51st Big 30 All-Star Charities Classic Marching Band. His hard work, dedication, and musicianship has led to this accomplishment.

Holden was a standout for the Otto-Eldred Marching Band last fall and that led to his recognition and accolades which were recognized with selection for this tremendous honor. Only the finest musicians from the Big 30 area are considered for membership to this elite group.

The Big 30 Football Game will be played on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at Parkway Field in Bradford, PA.

Congratulations, Holden!

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Brooke George Signs Letter of Intent

Oswayo Valley Senior Brooke George is shown signing her letter of intent to play softball at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford next season. Brooke is a four-year starter at Oswayo Valley and has played outfield, shortstop, and catcher for the Green Waves. She hopes to be a utility player with the Panthers.

Shown in the photo are: (Front row) Tim Morey, Oswayo Valley Head Softball Coach, Brooke George, and Bethany George, Brooke’s mother. (Second row) Bill Howard, Oswayo Valley Director of Activities, and Misty Antonioli, Oswayo Valley Assistant Softball Coach.

Congratulations, Brooke! Enjoy your senior softball season! We wish you all the best at Pitt!

OV Players Named to All-State Volleyball Team

Two members of the Oswayo Valley volleyball team were honored by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association (PVBCA) by being named to the All-State Team. Senior Olivia Cook and Junior MaKenna Manning were recently notified of their selection by the PVBCA. This marks the second consecutive year for Olivia and the first year for MaKenna. Congratulations to both girls for their outstanding season!

Vacancies

The Oswayo Valley School District has the following vacancies:

PK-12 Full-time Substitute Teacher

The District is also in need of substitutes for the following positions:

Cafeteria worker

Custodian

Instructional Aide

Secretary

Teacher

Please click on the “Employment” tab for additional information and to complete an online application.

Junior/Senior High School Updates

Hello all,

I hope that everyone has enjoyed their summer! I am very excited to welcome everyone back to a new school year at Oswayo Valley Jr./Sr. High School. We have consolidated our Middle School and High School at the state level, which now classifies us as one school instead of two. The only change you will notice from this is that we changed our official title to Oswayo Valley Junior/Senior High School.  As everyone is preparing to return, I’d like to highlight a few items of importance for both parents and students.

First and foremost, OV Jr./Sr. High School would like to start changing some communications to email instead of phone calls, so parents please take a moment to update your contact information in Focus.  You can do this yourself at home, call in to the guidance office, or stop in.  This will not be immediate, and we will give warning of any changes before they happen, but we want to be prepared for that time.

Over the past few months, we have attended multiple county-wide meetings and found many Potter County Schools are seeing attendance issues since returning from Covid.  Because of this, we have all decided to strictly follow the same policies and procedures that we have in place since they reflect the Pennsylvania School Code.  Attached, please find 2 files that define and describe all possible types of absences that can occur in a school year and a flow chart of consequences of illegal absences.

Another point of emphasis this year is the use of cellphones and other electronic devices that can connect to each other and/or social media.  We have watched these devices become an increasing distraction to student learning and a threat to student safety.  Please take a minute to read the attached letter that fully describes why and how we plan to implement a schoolwide ban on these devices.  Again, alongside the letter, there is a flow chart attached to help you understand the procedures. 

When students come back, they will also notice a few changes to the master schedule.  There will be no more flex periods, but rather 9 full periods, each of which run for 40 minutes. Students will still be offered breakfast in the morning, but now they will be allowed to move on to homeroom at 7:45 if they are not eating or if they have finished eating.  There are multiple 2-hour delays built into the schedule this year, so please be sure to check the calendar now and plan accordingly for those days. 

Please feel free to reach out to me at any point with questions or concerns.  I am looking forward to a new year and can’t wait to see everyone soon!

Thank you.

Erich Zaun

Jr./Sr. High School Principal

2023-24 JSHS Attendance Terms

2023-24 Unexcused Absence Flow

2023-24 Cell Phone Announcement

2023-24 Cell Phone Flow Chart

Kooth

We are excited to announce that Kooth is now available for ALL students ages 11-18! Students under the age of 13 will need parental consent and the parental consent process is now integrated directly into the platform.

Kooth will be offering a series of Parent/Caregiver Webinars for our school families in which Kooth’s Engagement team will introduce Kooth, walk parents through account set up, and answer any questions they might have. We encourage parents to attend one 30 minute session. Listed below are some upcoming sessions. Please click on the link to register for a session.

Thursday, March 16 at 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 22 at 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday, March 22 at 5:00 p.m.

Monday, March 27 at 10:00 a.m.

Monday, March 27 at 5:00 p.m.

New Mental Health Counseling Service for Students

We are pleased to announce our partnership with Kooth, a leading digital mental health platform to provide accessible counseling for students in the Middle/High School. This is in addition to our multi-tiered systems of support.

Students will have immediate access to self-help content, anonymous safe, moderated forums, journaling, goal setting, and therapeutic activities from their smartphones and computers. The app will be available soon for students to download and create an account.

The service has been made available to the district at no cost to students, parents, or the school thanks to a grant funded by the state budget.

Superintendent Jed Hamberger – “We have seen an increase in demand for mental health services since the onset of the pandemic. We have attempted to provide multiple in-person services and are struggling due to a shortage in certified mental health service staff. This is an added layer of support for us to communicate in students’ language through technology with the Kooth platform to address our student and family needs.”

According to CDC data:

• Of American youths aged 12-17, 1 in 3 have persistent feelings of sadness

• 4 in 10 have issues that are going untreated

• and 1 in 6 have made a suicide plan

“For too many young people, counseling has been out of reach and we see them struggling with increasing rates of mental health challenges,” said Kooth US General Manager, Kevin Winters. “Students are facing unique issues, and Kooth knew we needed to create a unique solution. We’re so proud to offer this product to Oswayo Valley School District and other schools across the state of Pennsylvania.”

About Kooth:

Kooth is a leading digital mental health platform. Our mission is to provide accessible and safe spaces for everyone to achieve better mental health. Our platform is clinically robust and accredited to provide a range of therapeutic support and interventions. All our services are predicated on easy access to make early intervention and prevention a reality.

To learn more about Kooth, please visit their website at https://us.kooth.com/

Oswayo Valley School District (c) 2023