Mary A Otondo Elementary School

09/23/2026

We have been selected for Yuma Dentistry 4 Kids--Caring4Community Voting.

Voting opens next week (September 28) and will provide you all with the link but we want you to get those devices ready to vote!

09/12/2026

09/11/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our amazing teachers who have been selected as winners of the APS Supply My Class program!

Each winning teacher received a $500 gift card to purchase classroom supplies and resources to support their students and learning environment. 📚✏️💙💛
We’re so excited to celebrate our teachers and the amazing work they do every day!

Our winners so far are:
⭐️ Mrs. Reese from Palmcroft Elementary School
⭐️ Miss. Gomez from McGraw Elementary School
⭐️ Mrs. Parrish from Mary A Otondo Elementary School

Our teachers make a difference every day, and we’re so grateful to Arizona Public Service - APS for supporting the educators and students who make our classrooms thrive! ✨

🎊 Stay tuned for more winners to come!

☀️

09/01/2026

September Newsletter!

Please be sure to note:
September 4, 2026 early release at 12:30 P.M.!

08/29/2026

⏰ 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘, 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟰𝘁𝗵 - All students dismiss at 12:30pm (Price Elementary will dismiss at 11:45am)
No half-day preschool September 4th

⏰ 𝗡𝗢 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟, 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟳𝘁𝗵 - Labor Day

Coming up on September 4th, all schools will dismiss early while our teachers receive valuable professional development to support classroom instruction and student success. Additionally, all schools and offices will be closed on September 7th for Labor Day.

08/24/2026

08/24/2026

A friendly school bus safety reminder as you find yourself on the road approaching buses!

🚌 SCHOOL BUS SAFETY REMINDER | KNOW THE LAW 🚌

With students back in school, the Yuma Police Department would like to remind our community to use extra caution around school buses and understand when Arizona law requires motorists to stop.

Arizona Revised Statute § 28-857 — Stopping for School Buses
Under A.R.S. § 28-857, when a school bus is stopped with its STOP arm extended and alternating red lights flashing, motorists approaching the bus are required to STOP before reaching the school bus and remain stopped until the bus begins moving again or the stop signal and flashing lights are no longer displayed.

Remember these:
Two-lane roadway: Traffic traveling in BOTH directions must stop.

Multi-lane roadway without a physical divider: Traffic traveling in BOTH directions must stop.

Roadway with a center two-way left-turn lane: Traffic traveling in BOTH directions must stop. Under Arizona law, a two-way left-turn lane does not make the roadway a separate roadway.

Physically divided roadway: Drivers traveling on the same roadway as the school bus must stop. Drivers traveling in the opposite direction on a separate roadway are not required to stop.

⚠️ Passing a Stopped School Bus Has Consequences
A violation of A.R.S. § 28-857 carries a minimum civil penalty of $250 for a first violation. A second violation within 36 months carries a minimum $750 penalty and may result in a driver's license suspension. Three or more violations within 36 months carry a minimum $1,000 penalty and a license suspension of six months to one year.

When you see a school bus slowing down or activating its warning lights, slow down, stay alert, and be prepared to stop.

Children may be crossing the roadway from either direction, and a few extra seconds of patience can prevent a life changing event.

Please help us keep Yuma's children safe. When the red lights flash and the STOP arm comes out... STOP! 🛑

Arizona Revised Statute: A.R.S. § 28-857

07/29/2026

A friendly reminder that this Friday, July 31st is Open House.

We would like to make you aware that AWC has recently been issuing parking citations to vehicles parked in the dirt lot across the street. Please note that this lot is owned and managed by AWC and is not part of the Otondo property. If you choose to park there, please be aware that you do so at your own risk, as Otondo is unable to prevent citations issued in that area.

07/27/2026

August Newsletter

01/13/2026

We cannot thank our Otondo Community for all of your support and nominations for our Teacher of the Year!

After reviewing the nominations both from our own team and families we are excited to share that Ms. Gonzalez is our First Year Teacher of the Year and Ms. Schmidgall is our Teacher of the Year! We are so lucky to have them on our team!

Best of luck to Ms. Schmidgall as she moves on to compete for Yuma County Teacher of the Year!