ORHS - Parent & Community Updates

Greetings!

Despite a week delay due to the weather, we have successfully completed our first semester. Many thanks to everyone who helped with the clean up and with getting the roads reopened.

With now SIX snow days already, the current tentative last day of school will be Monday, June 26th.

Our winter sports teams are already nearing the end of season and we have several teams that look promising to do well in District playoffs and even qualify for states. Stay tuned!

School Counselling has been busy getting ready to review next year's program of studies and begin the course recommendation and selection process for 2023-2024. This will begin with Sophomores next week.

If you have not checked out the Oakmonitor, please do! The Oakmonitor is full of great articles written by our students and gives good insight into things happening here at Oakmont.

Thank you for reading this month's newsletter and updates.

Most Sincerely,

Jeff Lizotte - Principal

February 1st & 2nd - Biology MCAS testing

February 6th - Grade 10 course selection meeting

February 8th - 1/2 day Professional Development

February 20th-24th - NO SCHOOL - February Break

• Congratulations to Declan Leclair on his performance with the Central District Massachusetts Music Educators Association Orchestra at Mechanics Hall in Worcester on January 14, 2023.

• Congratulations to Declan Leclair on his acceptance to the Massachusetts Music Educators Association All State Orchestra. Declan will rehearse with the ensemble in early March and perform at the world famous Symphony Hall in Boston on March 4, 2023. Great job Declan on representing Oakmont and our communities.

• The Music Department is preparing for "Music In Our Schools Month" this March with many public events. All events are free and open to the public.

Oakmont Winter Concert - Thursday March 9, 2023 7:00pm. Featuring the Oakmont Concert Band, Concert Choir, Select Choir, Jazz Band, Winter Percussion, and Winter Guard.

AWRSD Band Night - Wednesday March 15, 2023 6:30pm. Featuring the Concert Band from all schools.

AWRSD Choir Night - Wednesday March 22, 2023 6:30pm. Featuring the Choirs from all schools.

• Throughout March the Jazz and Winter Ensembles will travel to competitions and festivals. Best of luck to all of our groups.

Do you shop at Hannaford at Timpany Plaza in Gardner? Be sure to collect yout "school dollars" from the associate you check out with and drop them into the Oakmont slot on your way out. It only takes a few seconds but the funds we receive help us with many things. THANK YOU!

SHOP – Look for shelf tags on over 1,500 participating products.

CHECK OUT – Collect your School Dollars from an associate at checkout.

DEPOSIT – Drop your School Dollars in the Hannaford Helps Schools collection tower in-store.

As we begin our winter sports season, this is just a friendly reminder to all students, parents, staff, and anyone attending our games that we follow MIAA policies with regards to fan behavior and additionally hope that everyone is familiar with the OAKMONT HIGH SCHOOL FAN EXPECTATIONS. Please read through them so you are familiar with our expectations. ~Thank you!

Congratulations to Avery Hewitt and Sophia Wolanske on being recognized as the January 2023 Spartans of the Month. Avery and Sophia were nominated by Mr. Napolitano for going out of their way to recognize a teacher who was dealing with some health concerns. They got a poster board on their own and had over 100 students sign it and gave it to the teacher.

Seniors:

End of semester 1 grades/transcript will automatically be sent to each of the colleges where

students applied.

Many colleges set a priority date of mid-February for filing the FAFSA form. Make sure you beat

those deadlines for financial aid at the particular colleges you are applying to as well.

Scholarships are posted on Naviance. Parents can log on as a guest to view the scholarship list.

Juniors:

A “Junior College & Career Presentation” will be given to students on March 3rd during an

extended homeroom. Students will also complete a draft of their course selections for senior year.

“Junior Conferences” will begin shortly after with individual students. At the beginning of

March, a Google Form will be emailed to parents/guardians to join these meetings, if they’d like.

Sophomores:

A Course Selection Presentation will be given to 10th graders on February 3rd during an extended

homeroom. During this session, students will fill out a draft online course selection form, which

parents can view/comment on in their own plusportal. During the following several weeks,

counselors will conduct individual meetings with students to review and edit their course selections

to meet graduation requirements, pursue long-term goals, and explore academic areas of interest.

Freshmen:

The course selection process will begin during the month of April.

• Please continue to send nurse updated physicals and vaccination records as they are updated yearly.

• Second Meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) is a requirement for students at 16 years of age. If there is medical or religious exemption must be submitted each school year.

• Sports physicals are valid for 13 months from physical date; these must be on file for students to participate in athletics.

Any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact school nurse.

Also, In March 2020, the federal government declared a public health emergency (PHE) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the PHE and consistent with federal continuous coverage requirements, MassHealth put protections in place that prevented members’ MassHealth coverage ending during the COVID-19 emergency.

The federal government has decided to end the continuous coverage requirements. In response to this decision, MassHealth will return to our standard annual eligibility renewal processes. Starting April 1, 2023, all current MassHealth members will need to renew their health coverage to ensure they still qualify for their current benefit. These renewals will take place over 12 months.

In order to reduce the number of qualified members that lose their coverage, MassHealth is working with the Massa- chusetts Health Connector, Health Care For All, and other partners to make sure members know how to renew their coverage and are aware of other affordable health coverage options if needed. For more info about MassHealth, please click this link.

Jessica Heffernan RN

jaheffernan@awrsd.org

NHS is starting off the new year strong! Most afterschool days consist of NHS helping out middle and high school students during Learning Lounge at the Oakmont library. Aside from Learning Lounge, members have been consistently volunteering at Forbush Memorial Library, aiding in many duties and activities. Our Environmental Committee has now expanded beyond the state, recently collaborating with Surfrider to help clean Hampton Beach, NH! NHS members have also shown acts of service by helping in churches and mosques, aiding in special olympics practice, and helping with the middle school performance of Alice in Wonderland. We look forward to our spring food drive, and continuing to find ways to serve our community.

The Thomas Anderson Collection was created to honor Tom Anderson’s years of teaching and of providing outstanding resources to students and faculty in support of Oakmont’s educational mission. Tom inspired and promoted curiosity and a love of learning. Tom was never alone in this pursuit, and

through the Honor Fund, we similarly recognize those teachers who shared in Tom’s inspiring work. Donating to the Thomas Anderson Collection to honor a beloved Oakmont teacher on their retirement or at their passing will help keep their legacy in the building and inspire new generations of readers, just as Tom envisioned.

Click here for more information on how you can help support this collection which has benefited, and will continue to benefit Oakmont students.

2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

Emerging Young Artists 2023 Juried Exhibition

CONGRATULATIONS to Senior Artist Tyler Boyce for being accepted into The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) Emerging Young Artists 2023 Juried Exhibition at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth! The exhibition received submissions from 591 young artists, from which the juror, CVPA’s Dean Lawrence Jenkens, selected 120 works for the exhibition. We are thrilled with the creative work Tyler submitted! The CVPA is celebrating EYA’s 10th birthday and the exceptional artistic merit of New England’s high school students through this highly competitive online exhibition and its awards. The online exhibition opens January 27 at: www.umassd.edu/cvpa/explore/emerging-young-artists/ Enjoy!

CONGRATULATIONS to Visual Arts students Junior Ava Bjorkman and Senior Jada Sibley for their outstanding achievement in the 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards! Ava’s photograph titled “Frozen Glow” has earned an Honorable Mention, and Jada’s mixed media charcoal drawing titled “Bring Back the Bison” has earned a Silver Key Award. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards along with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University will host an award ceremony and exhibition of Gold and Silver Key artworks at the Tufts Medford Campus in March. With thousands of entries submitted from across Massachusetts, students’ work was judged on originality, craftsmanship and an emerging voice/style. Congratulations Ava and Jada!

NY Times Coming of Age in 2022 Contest

CONGRATULATIONS to Junior Visual Art student Renee Caisse for earning an Honorable Mention in the New York Times Coming of Age in 2022 art contest. Renee submitted a colored pencil drawing titled "An Odd Fish in the Sea". Last fall, the contest posed the question, What can you show us that might help explain what it’s like to be a teenager right now? Nearly 3,000 students from around the world answered with their artwork. Read the NY Times article and see the top twenty-four artworks, as well as the listing of Runner’s Up and Honorable Mention awardees. Congrats Renee!

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)

Presenting her memorized speech again in mid-January, Stickney was named the Regional Representative for the Lions Club Speech Contest. Cameron will now move on to the state semi-final round, presenting her speech in Sturbridge on February 18th with an opportunity to move on to the Massachusetts Final round in March. Congratulations Cam!

The School Council consists of school administrators, parents, teachers, students, and community representatives who serve as an advisory committee, assisting in the identification of educational needs of the students and making recommendations to the principal. Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month from October to May. The 2022-2023 School Council representatives are...

Administration:

Jeff Lizotte (Co-Chair)

Jennifer Spear (Ex-Officio)

Brian Cote (Ex-Officio)

Parent Reps:

Sarah Fichtel,

Holly Garlock,

Deborah Hooper (Co-Chair)

Katie Kamenski,

Jessica Mulhall

Faculty Reps:

Amy Dubovick,

Dan Dufour (Secretary),

Lincoln Stiles,

Jakki Therrien

Community Reps:

William Waight(West.)

Open (Ash.)

Student Reps:

(Student Council and Class Presidents)

Helen Yan(Student Council President),

Ani Seppelin(Sr. Class President),

Cooper Carignan(Jr. Class President),

Harris Fagan(So. Class President), and

Brian Sandjong(Fr. Class President)

Tardy

• Parent note upon entry

• e-mail to main office (oakmainoffice@awrsd.org) at start of day

• Call to main office at start of day

• Medical or Legal note trumps all and verifies missed time

Absences

• Parent note upon entry

• e-mail to main office (oakmainoffice@awrsd.org) at start of day

• Call to main office at start of day

• Medical or Legal note trumps all and verifies missed time

Dismissals

• Parent email or note brought to office at the start of the day

• Student can meet parent outside for pick-up

• Parent may call but written notification will be needed for record. (email or notes)

• Medical or Legal note trumps all and verifies missed time - They can be brought in after or faxed to 978-827-1413. (future appt. reminder cards do not qualify)

Any questions: please visit Attendance policy in the handbook

• Any student absent more than 10% of the time from a semester class will receive no credit for the course unless documentation is provided showing that the absences should be considered excused. This means that students who have more than 9 unexcused absences in a full semester course will not earn credit for the course. Likewise, students who have more than 5 unexcused absences in an every other day course will not earn credit for the course. Seniors are allowed no more than seven (7) unexcused absences in a full semester course and four (4) for an every other day course during the second semester of senior year.
• For students who transfer during the semester the maximum absence limit will be ten (10) percent of the remaining days of the semester.
• In the case where a student loses credit for a course, the course grade earned will be put on the student’s transcript but no credit will be listed.
• In the case where a student receives a passing grade but no credit for a required course (e.g. U.S. History), as a consequence of excessive absences, the graduation requirement will be considered fulfilled. The student may have to repeat this course or pass some other course in order to achieve the minimum credits required for graduation from Oakmont.
• If students change their classes during the semester, the total accumulation of absences will be carried over into the new class.
• Any student not present for one half (1/2) of the school day (2 complete blocks) is ineligible for any athletic or co-curricular activities that day. This includes attendance as a spectator at sports or co-curricular events after school hours.
• A student is tardy to school if a student is not present in their assigned class when the 7:30 A.M. tardy bell rings. Students are expected to report immediately to the main office when they arrive at school tardy and complete the necessary tardy procedures for signing into school.
• Students will be granted two (2) 15-minute tardies a semester for extenuating circumstances.
• Parking privileges may be revoked or suspended for excessive absences, tardiness, or dismissals.

Appeal Procedure

Students with extenuating circumstances may appeal the credit loss to an Attendance Review Board comprised of an administrator, school counselor, and a faculty member. Students and parents/guardians should file an appeal for waiver of absences with the assistant principal within ten (10) days of notification of loss of credit; the appeal should contain an explanation of the extenuating circumstances and/or documentation that would excuse the absences. The Review Board will be permitted to waive or modify the attendance policy where, in their judgment, reasonable grounds for the absences exist. The appeal decision of the committee will be presented to the principal for final approval. Final decisions approved by the Principal may be appealed to the Superintendent.

Making up Missed Work

Students are expected to make up all work missed when they are absent from school or not present in class. Students and/or parents must communicate with teachers to receive assignments and arrange for the submission of assignments. Previously assigned long-range reports or projects are due on the established due date.