Our annual Walk To School Day is set for Wednesday, October 7th. This event allows us to not only talk about road safety and biking guidelines, but it also lets us show our unity in the district. We join with the Oakmont Regional High School students to have some fun conversations and perhaps some reflection on when those kids were in elementary school.

Our walk will start around 8:35 AM at Oakmont Regional High School and end at the John R. Briggs Elementary School. All regular bus routes will run, but they will drop-off the students at Oakmont where teachers and other JRB and Oakmont staff members will greet them and direct them to the correct area of the football field.

Students who get dropped off by parents should also be dropped off at Oakmont, not JRB, on Walk to School Day. Parents can drop off their children from 8:20 AM-8:30 AM at the front entrance of Oakmont where some JRB staff and Oakmont Peer Leaders will greet them and escort them to the football field. Use the map below to picture the process.

Extended day students will be bused over to Oakmont in order to join the fun as well.

Oakmont teachers and students will escort each JRB class as they walk to school. The Ashburnham and Westminster Police Departments and DPWs will help with traffic flow to ensure the safety of all students. This activity is designed to teach students how to walk safely and respect the rules of the road. If we think the walk will be postponed due to inclement weather (rain or temperatures below 30 degrees) a notification will go out by 7:30 AM.

There is only Breakfast for extended day students on this day since we are not back to Briggs until after 9:00 AM.

We have had an extraordinary number of students getting breakfast at the school this year, and for those who have not eaten, that is great. The challenge is separating those who need breakfast from those who want to hang out with friends and delay the start of their school day. Please chat with your child about if you want them to walk down to get breakfast from the cafeteria, or if you want them to head directly to class. If you don't know if your child is going in to get breakfast, you can check their history in the My School Bucks App.

We are currently gathering prize donations for our December Outdoor Classroom Calendar Raffle! Proceeds directly support our 5th graders' trip to Outdoor Classroom this May.

If you own a local business—or work for a company that might be willing to contribute—we would be incredibly grateful for your support! Popular donations in past years have included gift cards, restaurant vouchers, a 1-hour massage, a furnace cleaning, and other services. Most donations of any sort are appreciated.

If you're able to donate, please email nnorth@awrsd.org.

A huge thank you to everyone who has already reached out to support our students!

- Walk To School Day- October 7th (more on this next week).

- Half Day- October 21