Important Dates
Friday, October 9: School CLOSED for preparation for parent-teacher conferences.
Monday, October 12: School CLOSED for teacher professional development.
Friday, October 16-Sunday, October 18: Autumn at Overfield, 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the Overfield Campus.
Cold Weather Clothing
As you know, the weather is beginning to change and we are feeling the cool winds of fall more and more. Please remember the children spend extended amounts of time outdoors each day, so they will need appropriate gear to keep them comfortable and safe.
Please send your children in warm jackets, suitable clothing, and shoes that are good for hiking and climbing. If you have not done so already, please send in rain boots for those foggy and rainy days. Snow boots will come later, hopefully! Also, if you haven’t replaced their extra clothing with cold weather items, please do so. It is always a good idea to also send a hat and gloves/mittens.
As we love to say around here, “there is no bad weather, just bad clothes!” Thank you for making sure your children are properly clothed, so they can enjoy all nature has to offer.
This year’s Autumn at Overfield is fast approaching! We are excited about the opportunity to offer a more relaxed environment during this year’s autumn celebration. Families are invited to walk through our beautiful campus that will be filled with the colors, sounds, and scents of the fall season at Overfield! We will also have a trail of illuminated pumpkins to guide your way. To make this a success we need your help!!
Pumpkin Sale. One way to help Overfield is to buy a pumpkin from the Overfield Pumpkin Patch! These pumpkins were grown by one of our alumni parents and current board members, Allen Jones, to benefit our school. All money raised goes right back to Overfield!
Pumpkins are $5 each, and can be found in front of the vegetable garden if you want a quick “grab and go” purchase. If you’d like a longer stroll and more selection, you can walk in the meadow behind the playground to choose a pumpkin from our “pumpkin patch.”
To purchase, please put your money in the box labeled “Pumpkin Sale” outside the vegetable garden, or put your money in an envelope marked “Pumpkin Sale” and give it to your child’s classroom teacher. Exact change only, please.
Pumpkin Glow. Once you’ve paid for and picked the perfect pumpkin, carve your favorite design and bring it back to campus the week of the event to add it to our 3rd annual Pumpkin Glow–an illuminated trail of carved pumpkins.
This is an event that is open to Overfield families–current and alumni–as well as friends of Overfield. Feel free to invite non-Overfield families to experience this luminous fun alongside your family. We are looking forward to lots of creative pumpkins to guide us through the playground and tree-dotted meadows that provide the lovely backdrop Autumn at Overfield. See you there!
We want to extend our thanks to the volunteers who helped pick, load, and unload pumpkins for Autumn at Overfield! Our school would not be the place it is without all of the support we receive from both our parents and board members.
Thank you for all that you do!
If your child will be absent for any reason, please call the office at 937-339-5111 or email office@overfield.org. It is important that all absence reports come through our office; we will notify the relevant classroom teacher(s). Thank you!
Lost and Found
Please check with your child’s classroom teacher if you are missing any items, such as face masks, gloves, hats, jackets, etc. Shown here are the current items that we have found around campus. Please respond to this email if any of these items belong to your child, and remember to label all items that you send in to school.
Nature News
The weather has been cooperative so far this school year, and the children have been able to spend more time in the great outdoors. Every class has staked its claim on a piece of the Overfield grounds, creating their own open-air classroom. Canopies popped up, hammocks have sprouted from trees, and there are logs for seating. Teachers and troops of children are a common sight hiking around the “O” campus and Hobart Preserve.
At this time, the vegetable garden is still giving us flowers, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, peas, parsnips, radishes, and herbs. We will plant our 2021 crop of garlic, and harvest sweet potatoes very soon.
The Honey bees are taking advantage of fall flowers. We have seen them busily harvesting nectar and pollen from the last of the golden rod and asters in the pollinator garden. Monarch butterflies have taken flight and hopefully arrive safely in Mexico.
I hear people say that fall is their favorite time of year; I know that I have professed it many times. What’s not to love about cool crisp air to kick off a new day, accompanied by a warm sunny afternoon? October is a great time to take your senses on an unhurried walk: treat your eyes to the altering colors in the landscape; watch for the changing of the birds that inhabit our woodlands, ponds and yards; open your ears to the montage of insect sounds, the crunch of fallen leaves, or the intermittent plop of black walnuts. The fragrances of fall are a special blend Mother Nature creates to celebrate the past and prepare for the future–take a deep breath. Deb – Overfield Naturalist
As levels of COVID-19 are again on the rise in Miami County, we wanted to remind everyone of our plan in response to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System. We plan to operate in our current fashion as long as Miami County is at a Level Two or Level Three according to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System. To reiterate, there will be no changes to our current operation if Miami County is changed to a Level Three (red) county. In the event that we enter a Level Four situation, we will likely be closed and move to online instruction, since this Level mandates a stay at home protocol for our county. We will be sure to notify everyone with the utmost speed if there are any changes to our current mode of operation
The environment as an additional teacher
“The environment should act as an aquarium which reflects the ideas, ethics, attitudes and culture of the people who live in it. This is what we are working towards.” –Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio philosoph
At the Overfield School, we are inspired by the fundamentals of the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Every morning we look at our classroom spaces with fresh eyes to see how we can use the environment to capture the attention and curiosity of the children. What elements of surprise can they find that encourage deeper investigations, encounters, and interactions? How can we encourage the building of relationships, both among children and between children and their environment?
Unfortunately, because of COVID-19 restrictions, parents aren’t able to see the inviting spaces that welcome the children each morning. In an effort to bring families into the classrooms as we would normally be doing in person, we will be sharing photos of classroom environments in this newsletter. Please enjoy these peeks into the learning spaces of Overfield.
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