The Newton School's mission is t
o develop each child’s potential for academic success, engagement and overall well-being. Through this process, we will enrich each child’s education with community involvement, collaboration and outreach.
|
|
School Notes & Athletics
Mr. Bagnato
|
|
Today was the second day of the Lion's Club Ski Program. I wanted to take a moment to not only thank Amy Huyffer, Diane White, and all the volunteer coaches for organizing and making this program happen, but the staff at Newton as well. You may not know how hard teachers and staff work at getting skis and snowboards for our students, and going out of their way to find scholarships, rides, and warm clothes for kids that otherwise might not be able to participate. At Newton, we work hard to make sure every child has the opportunities they deserve.
The school board meeting was very well attended. It was fantastic to see so many folks interested in finding out more about the research our consultant is planning. I personally passed feedback from the meeting to Dawn, and she was thrilled. Due to this additional information, there may be a delay in getting the survey out. It is important to include people's ideas, but balance that with creating a document that will not be too long.
During the same meeting, the school budget was discussed. The school board supports the school in many ways, but also looks at tax implications for the town. This year our Average Daily Membership (ADM), or how many students the school district supports, is down. This is mostly due to smaller classes entering the school. With our ADM going down by just a few students, our per pupil spending increases, which is a key (in this case negative) component to the education tax rate. The board has asked me to suggest cuts to the budget for next year. There is a special school board meeting scheduled for Monday, January 14th at 7:00; please consider attending.
|
|
Athletics and School Activities
|
|
EVENTS:
School Board Meeting:
Special Meeting will be held on Monday, January 14th at Newton School (7:00 pm).
High School Night:
For anyone, but especially for 8th grade parents/guardians and their children. Monday, January 14th in the library (6:00 pm)
Basketball:
3/4 girls basketball game vs South Royaton 5:00 pm on Wed. 1/16
3/4 boys basketball game vs South Royaton 6:00 pm on Wed. 1/16
5/6 girls basketball game vs Bethel 5:00 pm on Tuesday. 1/15
5/6 girls basketball game vs South Royaton 5:00 pm on Thursday. 1/17
5/6 boys basketball game vs South Royaton 6:00 pm on Thursday. 1/17
Skiing:
Strafford Nordic Center's SNAP Cross Country Program Tuesday, Jan., 15th 3:30-4:30pm.
Strafford Lions Club Ski and Snowboard program Friday, January 18th 1:00-4:00pm
|
|
Kindergarten is rocking at Morning Meeting! They know so many fun ways to greet each other, like "Hickety Pickety" this week--a greeting that repeats each name and claps out the syllables in each name, all while following a clapping pattern.
They are great at sharing, where each tells something important about themselves, such as a special card they received or a fun adventure, and answers questions from classmates. They play games, dance, and sing for activities, this week learning a new song with a dance. And the message on the whiteboard is last--which they are all starting to read! It's been a great week for Morning Meeting, a positive way to start each day in kindergarten!
|
|
|
1/2 News
Mrs. Longcore & Mrs. Robinson
|
|
First and second graders began learning about the solar system this week. You may have already seen our class moon journal come home--each child will take a couple of turns observing and recording the moon phase they see. This week we focused on the phases of the moon and the relationship of the moon, earth, and sun. They are learning that the moon doesn’t actually change shape, but why it appears to. They made models of the earth, sun and moon and saw how they rotate and revolve.
During this unit we will also delve into the planets and constellations. We will cap it off with a visit from the VINS Skylab, which is a portable planetarium. It will be lots of learning and fun!
|
|
3/4 News
Ms. Coté & Mrs. Marzot
|
|
Well, this has been a hard week for us. Mrs. Marzot was out from Monday mid-day on; we missed her very much. Luckily, Kelsey McFadden was her substitute, and with them working as a team the kids had a good week. We were so fortunate to have Kelsey, but we are so looking forward to having Mrs. Marzot back in the Narwhal Nook again.
Then, a snow day on Wednesday. Oh boy! Meanwhile, Ms. Cote has had a cold and she was out on Thursday. So, please wash your hands in warm, soapy water and keep coughing into your elbows. We are doing what we can to try to stay healthy, but many have caught this cold.
In 4th grade math, students worked to create fraction flip books. In third grade, we took the pre-assessment and are learning about rounding. In Mrs. Marzot’s reading class, students have been learning about non-fiction by reading Newsela articles about prehistoric sea creatures and plastics in the ocean. In Ms. Cote’s reading class, we have been listening to several versions of
Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We have been learning more about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We have also launched a new science unit on geology and the study of the Earth. We look forward to a more normal week next week. Have a good weekend.
|
|
5/6 News
Ms. Tremblay & Mr. Walker
|
|
This week students have been designing and building catapults, tallest towers and documentaries using the green screen, Wevideo and iMovie during Makerspace. They are focused on practicing the transferable skill of self direction.
In STEM, they are learning the definition of an engineer. They were able to work as structural engineers to design and build towers in previous weeks and are using that knowledge to begin transferring their experience to an understanding of how engineers use their knowledge of math and science to design technology.
|
|
|
Middle School News
Ms. Kanoff & Mrs. White
|
|
Science: Students are in the process of completing their human body systems brochure. The example to the right shows two systems.
Passion Project: Just one more Friday left to finish up projects in preparation for our celebration! All projects should be brought by next Friday. We are hoping to have a day and evening celebration on
Tuesday, January 29th. The day time will be 9:00 - 9:45 a.m., while the evening will be from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. We will send home notices sometime next week asking parents whether or not their child will be attending the evening event.
Gratitude: Each day students have the opportunity to share one thing that they are grateful for. Below is a sample of the wide variety of responses.
|
|
History and Writing: This week we have been looking at some of the Greek tragedies as part of our ancient Greeks unit. We have been focusing on the narrative elements of these stories in preparation for students to write their own version of a well known myth.
Math: Seventh graders are finishing up an Exemplars piece called “Stained Glass”, as well completing assessments. Eighth graders are studying simultaneous equations, applications of scatter plots, and slope-intercept.
|
|
One Planet News
Kiersten Harlow
|
|
Yay for the snow day!!! With all of that snow we were able to go cross country skiing. For some of the kids it was their first time on skis and they had a blast.
|
|
|
Lunch Room News
Gret Hewes
|
|
Winter Carnival is Coming!
The news is so exciting…the winter carnival is coming! This year we will be offering a
take-out dinner again on
Friday, February 8th. We will be emailing a sign up sheet in the coming weeks. We will also include a link to the sign up sheet in our next newsletter submission and on the Newton webpage.
|
|
|
WINTER CARNIVAL
Winter Carnival time is here! Activities will take place
Friday, Feb. 8th and Saturday, Feb. 9th this year.
Here is the link to sign up for Saturday volunteer positions;
we have another spreadsheet to sign up to donate spaghetti dinner supplies, to be dropped off at Barrett Hall day on Sat., Feb. 9th. Younger families, please consider getting involved this year as older families will be moving on.
Any questions or concerns, please
contact Shannon (via email at shannonmvarley77@gmail.com).
Winter Carnival Schedule
Friday, Feb. 8th
1:00 - 4:00 Lions Ski Program at the Skiway
6:30 - end Movie at Gym (movie is TBD) - Benefit for Middle School Trip
Saturday, Feb. 9th
10:00 - 12:00 Donuts and Maple Syrup at Strafford Creative Preschool
10:00 - 12:30 Murray Field Activities
10:00 - 10:45 Obstacle Course
10:45 - 11:30 Snowshoe Racing
11:30 - 12:00 Nordic Racing
12:00 - 12:30 Snow/Ice Sculpture Building & Competition
12:30- 1:00 Strafford Splash sponsored by Strafford Fire/Rescue - Preschool Parking
Lot
12:45 - 2:00 Lunch - Benefit for Farm to School- **Moved Indoors to Barrett Hall**
2:00 - 4:30 Harrington Hill Activities
2:00 - 2:45 Sledding Races
2:45 - 3:30 Skiing & Snowboarding Races
3:30 - 4:30 Skiing & Snowboarding Competition
5:00 Spaghetti Dinner and Awards Ceremony - Barrett Hall
($5 Suggested Donation)
6:30 - 8:30 Bonfire & Ice Skating Under the Lights- Murray Field
NEXT PTA MEETING
Monday, February 4th
6:00pm
Newton School Library
|
|
January 21 - No school in observance of Martin Luther King Day
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
