Halloween 2021
Trick or Treating is on! It will be held on Halloween Night, October 31st, starting at 4:30 pm. Houses that are participating in the Upper and Lower Villages will post a "pumpkin sign" by their front walk. Some households are choosing to not participate this year due to COVID concerns. Please be respectful and only visit those houses who are clearly welcoming visitors (look for lights, decorations, and the "mark of the pumpkin!") Also, please note that houses with allergy friendly candy will have an additional blue star on their sign!
The PTA is sponsoring PUMPKIN FEST again this year. Newton Students will have a chance to carve pumpkins in class this week, and they will be displayed on Halloween (October 31st) from 6-8 pm on Murray Field.
We are hoping to get donations of carved pumpkins from the community as well, so please spread the word that people can come and carve on Murray Field from 12-2 pm on October 31st. We also welcome drop offs!
Come see the pumpkins on Halloween Night (and please watch out for pedestrians while parking!)
Next PTA Meeting
Our next meeting will be November 2nd at 6 pm. TBD if the meeting will be virtual or in person.
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We've been having so much fun at One Planet in the last few weeks. Some highlights are: learning tennis skills with Coach Karen, making puffy paint with shaving cream, and using leaves to make art. Here are some other One Planet Updates:
10/29 One Planet Half Day Halloween!
On October 29th we will have a special Halloween themed One Planet from 12 - 4:30pm. Students can continue the fun from the school day and wear their costumes while they do Halloween crafts and activities! Drop in cost is $14 ($10 for free/reduced lunch). Send me an email to sign your child up. Note: if your child is already signed up for Fridays, there is an extra $4 fee for your child to stay until 4:30.
New! Morrill Memorial and Harris Library After School Collaboration with One Planet
The library is coming to Newton! Starting on Monday, November 1st the library will be offering free programming each Monday during One Planet. More information to come on this. Please reach out if you are interested in signing your child up.
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We are getting so excited about next Friday, October 29th. Though a half day, it will be packed with so many fun activities. I am very much looking forward to seeing the students in their costumes.
If you are looking for last minute costume ideas...our theme this year in the Lunch Room is Peter Pan. It would be great to see lost boys and girls, or pirates.
I thought I would give a recipe this week for homemade peanut butter cups...I mean, with the spirit of Halloween around the corner of course I would.
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Here are some things we focused on in kindergarten recently:
Apples! Apple songs, apple name practice, apple books, apple graphs, apple art, and...
Making apple sauce and eating it, of course! We had an apple taste test and voted on our favorites, and had apple cider and described its look and taste.
We heard books about apples and fall, too!
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First Grade
Mrs. Robinson
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The first graders are great hikers! It took us about one and-a-half hours to walk the trail for Hike for Hunger today. We even did an extra spur with a beautiful view! Along the trail we stopped and read pages of the book Stone Soup by Heather Forest. We will be talking about hunger in VT more as the year goes on.
We have just finished our first writing piece in first grade. After much preparation--discussions about opinions, planners, etc.--each child picked their favorite season of the year. They then wrote the reasons they liked that season and wrote into a scaffolded piece. They will be sharing those at student led conferences soon! The finishing touch was a painting of a tree in their season. They now make a beautiful bulletin board in the hallway!
On the first Wednesday of each month we have been singing to the seniors at Barrett Hall. Due to Covid, we have had to modify our community sing time, and our trips to Barrett Hall are from outside the building with the windows open.
In science, we have started a unit about our body systems. Today we learned about our brains, and will be cutting out a brain to glue onto our body outlines. We will continue with our hearts, lungs, muscles, and skeletons next week.
Reminder;
- Please return school masks. We are getting in short supply of them!
- Wednesday, October 27th - Picture Day!
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This week in math we counted and estimated beans while focusing on place value. In reading we continued our discussion of long vowel sounds and began practicing giving a book talk to a friend. In writing we shared our opinion pieces and came up with ideas on which Halloween costume Ms. Denney should wear!
Our Hike for Hunger on Friday kicked off a class discussion on what we can do to help others in need.
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What a fun week we had in Alligator Alley. Students have been busy collecting evidence on being responsible and involved citizens, writing papers on the effects of the wind, and learning all the states and capitals for our upcoming simulation game. In the midst of the busy week, we were able to take a walk through the woods during our annual Hike for Hunger. It was a great way for students to see how their citizenship work could be put into practice to help others. |
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Middle School Science, 6-8 Math
Mr. Reimanis
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In 7th and 8th grade science class, the students are continuing their exploration of physical science by reading, simulating, and then creating their own demonstration of the concepts. Speed, velocity, mass, momentum and simple machines were the investigations of the past few weeks. |
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6-8 Humanities, 5 Social Studies
Mr. Breen
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In Humanities, we've been studying indigenous history and culture in the United States. We've also been working on drafting out our short stories, We recently read Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and have been doing work on elements of fiction and thematic structure with the text. Many of the kids are also starting their PLP work--we're building websites to support the work and document our progress, and each student has their own unique set of goals they're working towards. Ask them about it! |
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Was there extra tapping on things at home? Maybe you heard words like “Kalimba” or “Simamaka” (over and over and over!)? If so, that’s music to my ears as students are processing what we’ve been doing in music class. |
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We began the year working with beats and rhythms that will be continually built upon as the year progresses. Words and chants have moved into music and movement. The students have begun using instruments--so far drums, shakers, sticks, and tambourines--as we put our lessons into practice with improvisation or with intentional routines.
We've used some props, too, to reinforce musical concepts with extensions of our own bodies and enhance engagement. The fifth graders have used bean bags to explore rhythms, even coming up with their own choreography for passing games. The lower grades have begun to dance with scarves, as they are actively listening and interpreting the music through expressive movement.
The seasons are changing, as is what you hear out there: crunching leaves, whispering or howling winds, scratching branches. I encourage you all to find your own musical inspirations.
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The middle school, with Mr. G and Ms. Tremblay, have launched the Strafford News Network. This week's feature is the Strafford Sports Report, with a bonus segment about picture day! |
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THE NEWTON SCHOOL
newtonschool.org
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