Overlook Middle School

Overview and Operations

Arrival and Dismissal from School 

The Overlook Middle School building opens for breakfast at 7:20 am.  Students should not arrive at school prior to this time as there is no supervisor on duty until 7:20 am.  Walkers and students traveling via personal transport should report to the cafeteria if they are having breakfast or the gym for grade 6 and the team room for grades 7 & 8.  Students arriving at school on busses will be allowed access to the cafeteria for breakfast upon arrival.   First period starts for all students at 7:35 and marks the official beginning of the school day.   School dismissal is at 1:50 pm. For your safety, you may not run through the lines of buses nor may you go into any of the parking areas.  

Conflict Resolution

One of the main goals that we all share is to provide every student with a quality education.  At times we may not agree on the processes used to attain that goal.  If, as a parent/guardian, you have a concern that relates to your child and his/her teacher, please use the following guidelines to obtain a resolution:

1. Contact the teacher at school by phone or in person to discuss the problem;
2. In the event that the problem cannot be resolved by Step 2, then the parent should contact the school administration;
3. At this stage, if resolution has not been reached, then the next contact is with the superintendent of the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District.

Lockers

You will be assigned a locker for your coat, books and school materials.  Only you, your homeroom teacher and the main office will know the combination to your locker.  Don’t give your combination out and check to be sure that your locker is closed and locked and cleared before leaving.  Lockers are school property and should be treated as such.  Combination locks are assigned for gym lockers.  If you lose your lock or if it is stolen, you’ll have to pay a $5 replacement fee.

Lost and Found

The school will not assume responsibility for lost or stolen items under any circumstances; lockers and desks are provided as a convenience and are used at the student’s own risk. However, lost or stolen items should be reported to the Administrative Office. Items found around the school building are brought to a "lost and found" area. Students may check for lost items in this area; articles not claimed will be disposed of periodically.

No School Announcements

If school is to be canceled it will be published to channels 4, 5, 7 and Fox 25 in Boston.  The Superintendent of Schools will utilize the District's notification system to announce a cancellation or delay of school.  Please do not call the school department.

Parent Notification System

The Ashburnham-Westminster Regional Schools will use the District's information dissemination system to facilitate school-to-parent communication in order to notify parents of school events and activities, and to disseminate accurate, time-sensitive critical information in a crisis situation.  The system is not intended for use in notifying parents of homework assignments, project due dates, classroom tests or weekly status updates.  Parents should notify Overlook as soon as possible if there is a change in their contact information.

Parent/Guardian Observations in Classroom

The Overlook Middle School believes parents/guardians are important partners in educating students.  To that end, we open our classrooms to parents, or their designee, who want to observe the child in the classroom context. The following criteria below shall be followed when an observation is requested:

• All observations must be scheduled through the building principal;
• The parent or designee and principal will discuss the parameters of the observation prior to the observation taking place;
• The observation must be scheduled on a mutually agreed-upon date with the parent, principal and teacher(s);
• The parent or designee must report to the school office (as do all visitors) as part of our safe schools program. Parents or their designee will be directed to the classroom by the administration;
• The parent or designee must sign a confidentiality statement so that both the School District and other classroom parents have assurance that information concerning other students’ education remains in the classroom and is not discussed in public;
• The parent or designee may only observe a classroom in which the parent’s child is enrolled and in attendance that day or in a specific program proposed  by the School District for the child;
• The parent or designee must be a silent observer at all times and not interrupt or disrupt the educational process of the class; 
• The parent or designee must refrain from using the observation to critique or evaluate teacher performance;
• Given the inherently disruptive nature of observations, more than one observation each quarter is strongly discouraged.

Parking

The parking lot is located at the front of the building.  No vehicles may be parked in front of school from 7:00-7:35 am or from 1:30-2:00 pm because of bus schedules.  Please do not park in the fire lanes.

Safe Schools Notice to Parents

Schools and parents share a common concern and responsibility for the safety of students. Each school year schools encounter problems where students are left remaining after hours unsupervised in school buildings.  Students remaining on school grounds must be in a supervised activity. All other students must leave the campus promptly after the dismissal bell. Students are not allowed to wait for other students who are in supervised activities, nor should older students be designated to supervise other students. This practice is unsafe. Furthermore, students exiting one campus should not trespass onto any other school campus. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping all our students safe.

Visitors 

Students wishing to bring a guest to school must obtain permission from the administration 24 hours prior to the visit. 

• Written requests from the visitor’s parents and school must be submitted 24 hours in advance of the visit. 
• Unless there are extenuating circumstances, guests will be limited to persons who have legitimate business with the school, i.e., those students who are looking at Overlook as a future school choice.
• Visitors should in no way interfere with the school’s program or disrupt the educational process. 
• No visitors will be allowed in September, on days preceding a vacation period, on release days or in June. 
• Overlook will not accept visitors when the visitor’s school is in session. 
• Visitors and their sponsor are to report to the Main Office to complete the sign in process and receive a visitor’s badge. 
• Visitors who have not checked in with the Administrative Office may be asked to leave the school immediately.