ORHS - Parent & Community Updates

Greetings!

We had a great month here at Oakmont. This week our sophomores completed their English MCAS tests and we had 98% attendance! This is fantastic. Many of our seniors are receiving their college acceptances and we are very excited to see them getting into their preferred schools!

THANK YOU to everyone who came out to our Community Night last night! It was great to see so many Middle School students, parents, and families, to get a chance to meet you and to answer questions. I was also happy to see so many High School students either helping out and presenting but also stopping into classrooms to talk to teachers about classes you are interested in.

All students were asked to respond to a form indicating whether they would be attending school during our formerly April vacation days on April 18th-21st so we can plan ahead. We are already busy planning for these days and will make them meaningful but fun and will be working to do content and activities that are worthwhile for all our students. Please be sure your child has filled out the form and be sure to let the main office know if they will not be attending for 1 or more of those days.

As we get into the warmer weather, we want to remind everyone of our dress code. Please be sure you are aware of and your students are respecting the dress code.

Click the link below to review the full dress code if you have any questions.

Senior parents! Take advantage of the annual savings and purchase a brick on our alumni walkway for your graduating senior at a 10% discounted rate. See below for more information.

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

April 1-2 - ALL TOWN Car Wash Fundraiser

April 5 - School Council Meeting - 5PM

April 6 - 1/2 day Early Release - Professional Development

April 7 - Semester 2, Term 1 grades close

April 10 - Semester 2, Term 1 - report cards available (After 3PM)

April 13 - ASVAB testing

April 13 - District JAZZ night - 6:30PM

April 17 - NO SCHOOL - Patriots Day

April 17-20 - FULL Days of school (Calendar changed to avoid attending the last week of June)

April 21 - 1/2 day Early Release

April 28-30 - Spring Musical

Mean Girls: The Musical

High School Version

Friday April 28 at 7pm

Saturday April 29 at 7pm

Sunday April 30 at 2pm

$15 Adults

$10 Seniors

$8 Students over 5

The month of March has been a successful time for the music program.

The music ensembles began the month with our annual Winter Concert featuring the Concert Choir, Select Choir, Jazz Band, Concert Band, Winter Guard, and Winter Percussion.

Congrats to the members of the Winter Ensembles on a very triumphant competition season for the month. This past weekend the groups traveled to New Bedford for a NESBA Competition where the Winter Percussion ensemble came in second in their division with a season high score of 84.35. The Winter Guard took top honors in their division with a high score of 89.34. Both groups will wrap up their competitive season in the first weekend of April. Best of luck at Finals Spartans!

Congratulations to the Jazz Ensemble on receiving a GOLD medal at the Massachusetts Association for Jazz Education State Big Band Finals on Saturday March 25th. With that performance and award the band will move on to the Gold Medal Showcase performance at the famous Hatch Shell in Boston on May 7th. This is just the third time in the past twenty years that the ensemble has received this accolade.

The musical ensembles across the district have been celebrating "Music In Our Schools Month," with district-wide concerts featuring our choirs and bands.

Thank you to alumni Sam Simahk 06' for spending some time with our drama club on Monday March 27. Sam is currently performing in a principal role with the national tour of Into the Woods, and discussed his journey into his career in musical theater with our students.

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.

Good luck to all our Spring teams!

School Counselors are in the midst of meeting with 11th graders for post-secondary planning and

course scheduling.

This year’s 9th graders will begin scheduling for 2023-2024 classes during April.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Test will be offered to interested juniors and seniors on April 13th from 9am-12pm. Students must see their school counselor to sign up.

Juniors who are planning on applying to 4 year colleges may want to take the SAT, which will be offered on May 6th or June 3rd. Register online. www.collegeboard.com

Many schools will offer test-optional admissions. Please reach out to your student’s counselor if

you are unsure whether they should plan on taking this test.

Seniors, the deadline for the General Scholarship Application is April 13th. Those may

be submitted to Ms.McLoughlin in guidance. Be sure to meet deadlines throughout the

scholarship application process!

Hello Oakmont Spartan Community!

The Oakmont National Honor Society continues its "Drive into Spring." With the dress drive behind us, we are focusing on recycling electronics. More spring cleaning! NHS is collecting the following items to be converted into cash that we will use to purchase needed technology or to donate to an environmental cause. It all depends on what we are able to raise.

What can be donated? Old cell phones, tablets, ink cartridges, aircards, hotspots, and any related accessories with these (chargers, cases, etc.).

Where can they be donated? Items can be brought to our drive up collection event at Oakmont Regional on Saturday, April 1st from 1-5pm OR they can be dropped in the main offices of Oakmont, Overlook, Meetinghouse, or Westminster Elementary.

When can they be brought in? Saturday, April 1st from 1-5pm at Oakmont Regional or in office through Friday, April 7th.

Question? Contact Mrs. Stefanakos at pstefanakos@awrsd.org.

Thank you for your support as we aim to serve our community and our environment!

The Oakmont NHS

Mrs. Paula Stefanakos

English Teacher

NHS Advisor

We are pleased to inform you of Ashburnham-Westminster’s participation in the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy Program. This seal is a recognized credential for those students who can prove they are literate in English and another language. For more information please click the link below.

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.

ORHS Students Recognized by Anna Maria College’s New England Secondary School Virtual Art & Design Competition - Click to Read more

The Visual Arts Department is proud to recognize the award winners of the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. For 100 years Scholastic has been recognizing and supporting the skills, creativity and innovations of young Artists and Writers from across the country. This year we are proud to share that two outstanding art students were recognized in the Massachusetts State regional awards hosted by Tufts University and School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Congratulations to Junior Art Student Ava Bjorkman for earning an Honorable Mention Award for her photograph titled, “Frozen Glow”. Congratulations to Senior Art Student Jada Sibley for earning a Silver Key Award for her mixed media charcoal drawing titled “Bring Back the Bison”. See their work in person at Evening with the Arts on May 5th!

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)

The School council is seeking a community representative from the town of Ashburnham. If you know of someone who would like to be involved, please have them reach out to Mr. Lizotte at jlizotte@awrsd.org.

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.

Congratulations to Sports Essay contest winners freshmen Sophie Newell and junior Gage Ahearn. Both students were awarded Honorable Mentions in the prestigious 2023 Will McDonough Boston Sports Museum Writing Contest. Both contest-winning essays are viewable in their entirety in The Oakmonitor Online. https://oakmonitoronline.com/

Are you an alumnus or soon to be alumnus of ORHS? Leave a lasting legacy by purchasing an inscribed brick that will be installed on our alumni walkway down by the football field.

Graduating Senior DISCOUNT until June 5th (10% Discount)

(Graduating Seniors can purchase the 4x4 inscribed brick for $49.50 and the 8x8 brick for $72)

Regular price is $55 and $80

An informational session on the 2024 Spain and Portugal trip will be held virtually via Google Meet on April 6, 2023. Use the following the link to find out more about this exciting experience. Click the link below to access:

Spain & Portugal 2024 EF Tour-Informational Meeting-Virtual Link
Thursday, April 6 · 6:00 – 7:00pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/wqo-zfxm-dyb