September 14, 2026
Important Dates…
Thursday, September 17: Overfield Family Partnership (OFP) meeting, 6:30 p.m. in the Gathering Place.
Monday, September 21: OFP Coffee Meet Up, 7:30-9:30 a.m. in the circle.
Tuesday, September 29-Thursday, October 1: Class Photos. Please see detailed schedule below.
Thursday, October 1: Pumpkin and Raffle Ticket Sales for Autumn at Overfield begin.
Thursday, October 1: Dine to Donate, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Troy Old Scratch.
Letter from Leadership
The return to school in the fall often spurs us to reflect back on our rich history even as we excitedly welcome new friends. It is important to then bring our whole community into our story, as we write yet another chapter this school year. Overfield was founded in 1960 by Julia Hobart as The Overfield Nursery School, and was housed in the back of the Overfield Tavern Museum. That first class had just 12 students, and school was held at that location until 1989 when we moved to our current building. This house–a historic steel building from the 1930s–was the home of Edward and Martha Hobart, who were the aunt and uncle of Julia’s husband, William Hobart.
Overfield has grown a lot since that first class of 12; we now have around 160 students, 25 teachers and staff, and 66 years of experience! We serve not only preschool aged children, but also Toddlers as young as 18 months all the way up to 3rd grade children. We have added a vegetable garden, a bird blind (named The Bird Hide by the children), an apiary where we keep bees, an expanded building for our Primary aged children, and even a greenhouse–all of these built with significant parent involvement and support.
Our founder, Julia, always says: “times may change, but the needs of children do not.” Part of the culture of Overfield is working to protect the timeless experiences that we believe are the right of all children to enjoy, while simultaneously thoughtfully encountering the unique conditions of living in this present time. In the spirit of that effort, we invite you to dialogue with us this Thursday, 9/17 at 6:30 pm at the first Overfield Family Partnership meeting of the year. We will explore some of the foundational facets of our school’s philosophy, and introduce some of the traditions that make Overfield the unique community it is. We hope you will join us in conversation at this meeting–just one of the ways we hope to be in partnership with you this year!
Beth Poronsky – Program Lead
Please join us for our upcoming Overfield Family Partnership (OFP) meeting from 6:30-8 p.m.! This session serves as a practical field guide covering daily life (including gear your child will need), traditions, the Reggio Emilia philosophy at Overfield, and community building. Don’t worry veteran parents and guardians, we will also have relevant topics for each stage and grade level of students.
Childcare: Babysitting is available to encourage attendance! Available for potty-trained children ages 3 and up. Please use this link: Click Here to reserve a childcare spot!
Class Photos
Tuesday, September 29: 9:30am MTW South Side class photo
Tuesday, September 29: 9:45am MT Toddler class photo
Tuesday, September 29: 10am Kindergarten class photo and individual shots
Wednesday, September 30: 9:30am MTW North Side
Wednesday, September 30: 9:45am Wednesday Toddler class photo
Wednesday, September 30: 10am Primary (1st-3rd Grade) class photo and individual shots
Thursday, October 1: 9:30am ThFri South Side class photo
Thursday, October 1: 9:45am ThFri Toddler class photo
Thursday, October 1: 10am ThFri North Side class photo
Overfield Attendance Policy for School Age Children
We know that regular school attendance is an essential foundation of education. When children attend school regularly they build strong relationships, stay engaged in learning, and establish good habits that reinforce the importance of being present. Overfield’s programs are built upon relationships, and the quality of the instruction and learning at Overfield is predicated upon the presence of the student to ensure this continuity and quality of learning. While we understand that there are circumstances that may necessitate missing school periodically, we seek to establish the value of regular attendance with our children early in their education.
Thus, we are asking for your partnership in supporting regular school attendance with our Kindergarten-3rd grade children. This also applies to late arrivals. We have a flexible 15 minute window for drop off, which allows children and families to have a more relaxed entry into the day. Arriving beyond that time period makes children miss out on the important things offered during this part of the day. It also greatly stresses our staff to have to accommodate children who regularly arrive later than this flexible entry time. Please be mindful of the needs of your child and our staff, and arrive in this flexible entry window.
If your child is going to be absent or will be late, please email the office at office@overfield.org or send a message on Brightwheel. You may also call the Office at 937-339-5111.
Thank you for your partnership on this important matter! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Leadership Team if you have questions or concerns.
Thank you to everyone who dined at Chipotle last week in support of our fundraiser. With your participation, we raised $316 for our school!