September 21, 2026

Important Dates…

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.

Friday, October 16: School CLOSED for Teacher Professional Development/Conference Preparation.

Saturday, October 17: Autumn at Overfield. Games and food will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Pumpkin Glow walk will be open from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Monday, October 19-Friday, October 23: Visiting artist, Jake Lockwood of Muse Machine, at Overfield for week-long residency; celebration of the residency will be on Friday evening.

Letter from Leadership

Thank you to everyone who came to the Overfield Family Partnership meeting last Thursday! It was wonderful to get to meet and talk with some of you about what and why we do what we do here!

At the meeting we encountered some of the foundational aspects of our program, which is inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy. We always begin our discussion of our approach by reflecting on our Image of the Child, which is where all teaching begins–whether that teaching takes place at school or at home. At Overfield we draw inspiration from the educators in Reggio, who describe a view of children as strong, capable, and deserving of a voice in their own learning. We, too, believe children are competent at forming relationships with each other and the world around them, and that they are active, critical, and capable of producing change in their families, schools, and cities. We think children are born researching their world, using all of their senses to investigate; they participate in gaining knowledge about their world, and they have their own ideas and theories about life. We believe and witness that children use a hundred languages; they have a hundred ways of listening, thinking, playing, marveling, and loving. And because we believe in this image of children, it follows that children are citizens from birth, with the right to be listened to, cared for, and autonomous.

In addition to this strong image of the child, one of the other main features of our pedagogy which we share with the educators in Reggio is our image of families. We place great importance on teachers, children, and parents listening to each other, meeting, and sharing perspectives. We believe that families have the right to meet, and to exchange ideas which enable the family unit to grow and develop. We assert that schools are places of connection; they are places of life and relationships, a part of the community and a reflection of the community. They are one of the places where we practice the values of democracy. This is a cornerstone of our approach–listening, sharing, and collaborating to build community and to foster learning and understanding.

We look forward to partnering with you in myriad ways this year. Whether it is through a conversation at pick up or drop off, at your child’s individual parent-teacher conference, during a class meeting, through your time spent in the classroom on your child’s birthday, at one of our Overfield Family Partnership meetings this year, or just chatting together at a school event–we want to be in dialogue with you. You are your child’s first and most impactful teacher, and we are here to listen, support, and connect with you in a reciprocal way, for the betterment of your child, our school, and our world. We are a program built on relationships, and we are looking forward to continuing to building a solid and meaningful relationship with you all!

Beth Poronsky – Program Lead