Category: DistrictNews

Change in Meeting Location

The Oswayo Valley School District in Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania hereby gives notice that the Oswayo Valley School Board of Directors has changed their meeting location for the Monday, August 8, 2022 Board Work Session and Voting Meeting. The meetings will now be held in the Oswayo Valley Elementary Gymnasium located at 277 S. Oswayo St., Shinglehouse, PA 16748. The Work Session will begin at 6:00 p.m. with the Voting Meeting to follow at 7:00 p.m.

OV Wellness Committee

The Oswayo Valley Wellness Committee is looking for new members!  Over the past few years, the Wellness Committee has had several of their active committee members retire and they are now in need of additional volunteers.   Membership is open to school board members, administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents, and community members to ensure a well-rounded committee.  The committee usually meets once a month in the Elementary School Library. The group supports a variety of activities in both the Elementary and Middle/High School.  In the past, they have sponsored grant funded employee wellness activities as well.  The Wellness Committee is looking forward to many planned activities as well as fresh new ideas from committee members. If you are interested in joining, they would love to have you!  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer on the Wellness Committee, please contact Ms. Nicole Matthews or Ms. April Mashensic at 814-260-1702.

Summer Office Hours

The Oswayo Valley School District will operate on summer hours from June 6 through August 19, 2022.  The offices will be open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and closed 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. for lunch, unless otherwise posted.  Please note, the offices will be closed July 1-July 5, 2022 in observance of the holiday.  If you need assistance outside of normal business hours, please contact the respective building to make an appointment.

Sports Physicals and Impact Testing

Once again, the Oswayo Valley School District has contracted with the UPMC Shinglehouse Health Center to provide students with the opportunity to obtain a sports physical at the cost of $18 per student.  Physicals will take place on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. and Thursday, July 28, 2022 from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

 

Students participating in sports as well as Marching Band and Trap must have an impact test before being permitted to participate in practices.  Impact testing will take place on July 19, 21, 26 and 28.  There will be a 1:00 p.m. and a 2:00 p.m. session on each of those days.

 

Please contact Mrs. Amy Unverdorben at 814-260-1701 ext. 225 as soon as possible to schedule a sports physical and impact test.

Proposed Special Education Plan

Please click on the link below to view Oswayo Valley’s proposed Special Education Plan.  A printed copy of the proposed plan is on display at the Oswayo Valley District Office located at 277 S. Oswayo St., Shinglehouse, PA 16748.  The Special Education Plan will be presented to the Oswayo Valley School Board of Directors for final approval prior to July 30, 2022.

Proposed Special Education Plan

Statement from the Oswayo Valley School Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the Oswayo Valley School District is aware of the criminal charges filed against the Superintendent, Jed Hamberger, relating to an incident on April 15, 2022.  Mr. Hamberger has been placed on administrative leave effective April 19, 2022 while the Board reviews the matter and the criminal case further develops.

Potter County Drug and Alcohol Program Survey

Potter County Drug and Alcohol Program is conducting a community survey of adults residing in Potter County in order to assess levels of use and community attitudes about key issues related to alcohol and drug use. The results of this survey will help us address those issues that are most concerning to people in our county.

The survey is to be completed by county residents 18 yrs. of age and older and it is important that we are able to have as many survey responses as possible. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions in the survey – it should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Your responses will be extremely helpful to us as we strive to improve our services.

You may access the survey by clicking on the link below. You can complete the survey from any computer, tablet, or other device that is connected to the Internet. The link to the survey is:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PotterAdultSurvey

Masking Update

Please be advised that the masking in schools as a health guidance measure has been lifted. Oswayo Valley’s current Health and Safety Plan indicates that the district will follow CDC & DOH recommendations. Based upon the new guidance and because we are currently in low transmission for Potter County, we will remove the masking requirement in schools effective tomorrow, Wednesday, March 2, 2022.  Please note, we will continue to take precautionary measures such as increased sanitization and cleaning and continue to make changes to our plan as needed.
Stay safe and well OV.

Substitute Teacher Shortage

Check out this article from our friends at WPSU featuring our very own Ms. Emerick, Mr. Schlosser, and Mr. Sherrard. The article addresses the ongoing substitute teacher shortages that our schools are facing. This is a problem that all districts across the nation have faced for years and is continuously growing.
In response to the crisis, Governor Wolf signed Act 91 into legislation. It adds temporary flexibilities for the use of certain teaching permits and creates a new Classroom Monitor Permit for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. Classroom monitors provide coverage and deliver preplanned assignments in classrooms.
The requirements to be a classroom monitor include the following:
* 60 semester hours or the equivalent of courses at a regionally accredited college or university located in Pennsylvania or have at least three (3) years’ experience working as a paraprofessional in a school entity and is currently working as a paraprofessional in a school entity.
*Met requirements for background clearances, citizenship, and good moral character under the School Code and Child Protective Services Law.
*At least 25 years of age
*Completed training on classroom management
If you meet the state’s requirements and are interested in participating in the necessary training and obtaining your Classroom Monitor Permit, please contact Mrs. Christi Stedman in the District Office at 814-260-1700.

Free COVID-19 Home Testing Kit

The federal government opened the COVID-19 at home test kit ordering site and it is available at: https://special.usps.com/testkits

 

Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com. Here’s what you need to know about your order:

  • Limit of one order per residential address
  • One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests
  • Orders will ship free starting in late January

Given our community specific challenges with accessible testing, this may be a good option for many residents in the OV Community.

Act 66 of 2021

On June 30, 2021, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Act 66 of 2021 which gives parents/guardians the option to request that their student(s) be permitted to repeat a grade level during the 2021-2022 academic year due to COVID-19. Parents/guardians must inform the School District by July 15, 2021 at the latest in order to make this election. School Districts must allow students to repeat a grade if a parent makes this election, even if the student satisfactorily completed the grade during the 2020-2021 academic year.

In addition, Act 66 of 2021 allows special education students who turned 21 during the 2020-2021 academic year or during Summer 2021 to continue to attend the School District during the 2021-2022 academic year. Any special education student who elects this option shall continue to receive services in accordance with their IEP under IDEA.

If you wish your child to repeat a grade level during the upcoming 2021- 2022 school year, please complete the following form and submit it to the District by July 15, 2021.  If you have any questions, please contact your child’s school.

Act 66 Student Grade Level Retainment Notification Form

Act 66 of 2021

Oswayo Valley School District (c) 2022