Overton Newsletter
October 3-9
Monday, Oct. 3 is an A Day!
(Blue= A Day, Yellow= B Day)
First Quarter ends on October 6!
Fall Break
No school for students Oct. 7-16
Fall Break begins on Friday, October 7 for students (faculty still reports), and extends through the entire next week for everyone. We will see everyone again on Monday October 17 which is an A Day.
ACT Day October 4
Tuesday, October 4th is the ACT retake day for the Seniors. Juniors will be taking the practice ACT, Sophomores will be participating in a GearUp led Adulting 101 Simulation and College and Career exploration, and Freshmen will participate in an employment professionalism day. All tests will be taken online so make sure that your laptop has been fully charged and updated! Cell phones will NOT be allowed during testing. We will be running on an alternative testing schedule so students make sure that you know what classroom you are testing in before Tuesday.
Just a few reminders for seniors on test day:
▶️ Update or create your MyACT account to make sure all your personal information is correct. myact.org
▶️Be on time to school that day.
▶️Make sure your laptop is fully charged for testing day.
▶️Your 3rd block teacher should have told you which room you are testing in on October 4.
▶️No cell phones or other electronic devices.
Shout Outs
Congratulations Debate Team
The Debate Team had a strong opening tournament on Saturday, September 24th, facing off against 5 other Metro high schools. Aubrey Patton and Ashley Ma placed 5th, Freshman maverick Lucy Bouth placed 4th, Mitchell Leander and Aaralyn Davis placed 3rd, and Daniel Caciedo and Maria Velasco placed 2nd in the novice division. Congratulate these bobcats when you see them!
Homecoming Game/Spirit Week/Cluster Night
We had a blast last week celebrating OTown for Homecoming! Thank you so much to Ms. Hagengruber and her amazing SGA students for arranging multiple fun activities throughout the week culminating in a raucous pep rally and 33-22 Overton win over the McGavock Raiders on Friday. JOHS hosted Cluster Night at the game for all of our feeder schools who showed out in high number to enjoy all the festivities. Dr. Pittman provided Overton swag to our rising Bobcats as well as carnival games to enjoy. Thanks to all the teachers and students who manned the academy booths. Congratulations to Trinity Flemmons, OTown's 2022 Homecoming Queen! What a great week to be a Bobcat!
Metro Marching Classic
Overton hosted the Inaugural Metro Marching Classic On Saturday October 1, and it was a raging success! Even Mayor John Cooper attended the event. Thank you band directors Ms. Miller, Mr. Barna, and Mr. Simek, for all your hard work and dedication, Dr. Pittman for her continuous support of art and music in our school, and Mr. Fabie for lending his announcing voice at the Classic, the HoCo game, and the pep rally. Go Bobcats!
Conference Day
October 28
October 28 is parent/teacher conference day. Students will not report to school. Parents will have the option of meeting with teachers in-person or virtually for 20 minute conference increments. There will be a sign-up genius link sent out in coming weeks, so keep an eye out. In the meantime, save this date on your calendar!
Counseling Corner
Counseling Department Newsletters
Class of 2023 September 30 Newsletter https://www.smore.com/jf4bs
Class of 2024 September 30 Newsletter https://www.smore.com/vku2c0
Class of 2025 September 30 Newsletter https://www.smore.com/zfjk3
Class of 2026 September 30 Newsletter https://www.smore.com/2y0km
JOHS Scholarship Connection: https://www.smore.com/crhzu
Class of 2023 FAFSA Help Parent Night
We will be hosting FAFSA Night for parents and students on Wednesday October 5th from 5-7pm in the Overton library. FAFSA stands for "Free Application for Federal Student Aid" and is the form students must complete each year to get financial aid for college or technical school. The FAFSA is required to be eligible for Tennessee Promise and any other state lottery scholarships like HOPE or Wilder-Naifeh. Volunteers and counselors will help parents complete the form. Spanish, Arabic, and Kurdish interpreters will be available. The FAFSA deadline to stay eligible for TN Promise is March 1st. Please see the attached photos for the items parents need to bring to complete the FAFSA.
College Representative Visits Week of October 3
Monday, Oct. 3: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Wednesday, Oct. 5: Rhodes College (TN)
Thursday, Oct. 6: Mississippi State University
Oasis College Connection Fall Fest
Oasis College Connection is offering programming for juniors and seniors during fall break. Please register using the QR code in the attached flyer.
College Application and ACT Fee Waivers
Many college applications and ACT (national test dates) offer fee waivers for students who meet certain income guidelines. To see if your student may qualify, parents should complete the MNPS Fee Waiver Form at https://www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict Once the form is processed, counselors have access in Infinite Campus to verify whether a student qualifies for a fee waiver. Students should see their academy counselor for national test date ACT fee waivers (only available to juniors and seniors per ACT policy) and the appropriate form for college application fee waivers. Parents should complete the MNPS Fee Waiver every year their student is in high school. Information from this application also connects families to other services and discounts and qualifies students for additional programming.
Possip
Thank you to all the parents who participated in the Possip survey! These surveys will continue throughout the year and we encourage you to continue taking part. We want to hear our "Glows and Grows" so that we can make the best possible high school experience for every student.
Academy Showcase
Learn About Academies
Questions about any of our academies? You can find the information here: Academy Showcase
Senior Spotlight
Senior Newsletter
Everything you need to know this week about being a senior is in the Class of 2023 Newsletter. Click it and check it out!
Class of 2023 Fall Break To Do List
Here is a list of things you can do over fall break to keep your college-ready journey on target:
Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept.15-Oct. 15
Join us in celebrating Hispanic Heritage this week with spirit week!
¡Únase a nosotros para celebrar la Herencia Hispana esta semana con la semana del espíritu!
Monday: Flag Day Tuesday: Jersey Day
Wednesday: Favorite Artist Thursday: College Merch
Athletics
Our Varsity Football team plays at Cane Ridge on Thursday October 6; Girls' Soccer plays on Oct. 4 at Overton at 5:45.; and Cross Country has MNPS championships on October 6. The bowling team competes against Hillsboro on October 3. Use the QR code to the left or click HERE to visit the GoFan site to buy tickets to events. For any questions about athletics, please email Lisa.Gaines@mnps.org.
For entire season schedules, please click the links:
Clubs
If you are interested in finding out more information about a club, their activities, the sponsor’s information and/or their meeting schedule, please visit https://bit.ly/JOHSclubs2022-23. Questions regarding clubs should be directed to the appropriate sponsor. If a club is not listed on the spreadsheet, it is not currently active for this school year. The spreadsheet will be updated as new clubs form.
Threads of Care
New Threads of Care Chapter at Overton! This club collects gently used clothing from students and donates to homeless teens in Nashville. Partnering with The Oasis Center, this club is brought to you by Miranda Kincaid and Vania Ahmed. Sponsored by Mrs. Galbraith, Coach Broome, and Coach Allison. Click this link or scan the QR code if you're interested in joining.
Highlights
Repeats from previous newsletters.
Campus Portal
Campus Portal allows families to see real-time class and assignment grades, homework, test scores, upcoming due dates, attendance information, and discipline incidents.
To create your Campus Portal account, email Lori Bervoets for your activation code: lwbervoets@mnps.org.
Once you have a Campus Portal account, you can receive notifications through the mobile app. For step by step instructions follow this link: Receiving Notifications.
Schoology Parent Account
Student work also can be reviewed in Schoology, the district's learning management system. Families can sign up to receive an update on student work via email from Schoology. To create your Schoology Parent account, email Lori Bervoets for your activation code: lwbervoets@mnps.org.
If you’re having trouble with your account, Ms. Bervoets can contact the appropriate providers for help.
MNPS has a new online payment system
Parents can create an account by visiting the SchoolCash Online webpage on our website. They can then attach their student(s) to their profile.
How to view the Newsletter in additional languages.
To translate the newsletter into another language, click anywhere on the newsletter so that it opens in a browser. At the top of the screen will be a "translate" dropdown box where you can choose which language and have it translated (see picture).
Para traducir el boletín a otro idioma, haga clic en cualquier parte del boletín para que se abra en un navegador. En la parte superior de la pantalla habrá un cuadro desplegable de "traducir" donde puede elegir qué idioma y traducirlo (ver imagen).
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