Hello Overlook Families!

2023 is here! Check out the rainbow captured on December 23 by Ms. Toomey! We really have been experiencing some unseasonably warm weather - and that rainbow hopefully sent everyone off to a good break.

We hope everyone had some quality time with family and friends over the holiday!

December went by at lightning speed! We had a lot going on at Overlook - be sure to check out some of the pics at the end of the newsletter - from our spirit week to many of our parents volunteering their time to serve hot cocoa to our students for a PTO fundraiser.

This month there is a lot of activity please be sure to check our "Dates to Remember" outlined below. A highlight of January will be our school-wide food drive and our student dodge ball tournament - details to come!

Most importantly, is that it is that time of year where our grade 8 students will be getting ready to select courses for high school. See letter from the high school below about this procedure and other info under "Grade 8 Course Selection Process".

Have a wonderful January!

Kristina Bogosh and Kathryn Miville

We see the school and home as a partnership. We ask to review these expectations with your child in an effort to create unified expectations from both the school and home fronts. Please see the matrix attachment below to review with your child.

January 11th - 6:00pm 8th grade family course selection night

January 12th - 8th grade tours and course selection presentation in Oakmont Auditorium

January 13th - Oakmont counselors push into 8th grade classrooms to complete course selection form

January 17th - All forms should be submitted

Students cannot enter the building before 7:20am as there is no supervision.

Classes begin at 7:35am.

Dismissal is at 1:50pm.

Please be sure to not park in the general parking areas to let students off or pick them up. Use the line that goes behind the school. This is a safety concern with students running through parking lots and parents disrupting traffic patterns.

Also, please pay attention to staff members directing traffic. Do not drive-by when they ask you to stop.

Passing busses with flashing lights is a $250 traffic citation.

See letter sent to grade 8 parents on January 3, 2023 below.

Thank you to all who are up to date on their Washington payments! 4th Washington payment due January 17th. Please note: There is $475 cancellation penalty between Jan 1st-Jan 31st

Please Remember...

1-Payment is in the form of checks ONLY

2-Please make sure you are writing the checks to Bennett Student Travel ONLY

3-Please make sure you have signed the check

4-Write the student's name in the memo of the check

If you decided not to go to Washington, you needed to cancel BEFORE Nov 30th. If you cancel AFTER Nov. 30th there will be a penalty and you will not receive all of your first payment back.

We are still looking for donations until February 1st. If you are interested in making a donation towards the Washington trip please contact overlookmspto@gmail.com. Our sponsorship letter is attached for more information. Thank you to all businesses and families that have already donated/sponsored our trip.

First, we are frequently posting announcements on our Facebook page and Instagram page. If you have not checked out these resources, make sure you like and share. You can search us using the tag Overlook Middle School PTO.

https://sites.google.com/awrsd.org/overlookmspto/home-You will find our sign up form here if you still have not become a member of the PTO yet.

Our next meeting is January 10th at 6pm in the Overlook Library.

We are always looking for volunteers to help come up with creative ideas for events/fundraising committees. We are looking for volunteers for the following committees:

Winter Event

Spring Event

Teacher Appreciation Week/Lunch

General Fundraising

DC Fundraising Overlook DC Fundraising Committee

If you have any other ideas for committees, let us know. Please fill out the "Committee Volunteer" form below if you can help. PTO Sub Committee Volunteer Form

General membership to the Ashburnham-Westminster Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is open to all AWRSD parents/guardians of children with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and Section 504 Plans and other interested parties. We are in need of volunteers to help plan workshops, staff tables at local school and community events, become future leaders, assist other parents, and plan new activities and projects. We welcome you to learn more about SEPAC and our work on our website, https://sites.google.com/view/ashburnham-westminster-sepac. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ashwestsepac. Please contact the current co-chairs about getting involved with SEPAC at awrsdsepac3@gmail.com (Kim Caisse's email) and awrsdsepac4@gmail.com (Dorene Francis' email).

Students learned about the conditions on Mars. Based upon their knowledge and research, they had to design a prototype of a base for astronauts to live on Mars and study its surface. They had to consider plans that would protect astronauts against extreme cold, lack of oxygen in the atmosphere, and the absence of liquid water.