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December 5
School Board Meeting, 5:30PM
December 8
Roadrunner Day, 12:00 dismissal
December 8
Family Childcare Night, 5-8PM
December 12
Community Conversation at Newton
Dinner, 5:30PM
Presentation, 6-7PM
December 21
Roadrunner Day, 12:00 dismissal
December 22 - January 1
Holiday Break
January 2
No School - In-Service
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The recent snow has made for a magical sledding hill at the front of the school. There is a big need for students to have dry clothes, extra mittens/gloves, dry socks, etc. Please take some extra time before school to ensure that your child has all the items they need.
The Pathways position at Newton has been filled, and Katie Milligan’s position is now full time with .5 allocated for Spanish and .5 work with middle school pathways. Initial curriculum development for this position currently involves executive functioning skills, passion projects, guest speakers, externships, community service, interviewing, and virtual field trips. This week WRVHS Principal Jeff Thomas will meet with our 7th and 8th grade students to discuss high school selection.
On Friday, December 1st our middle school participated in an instrument presentation by Scott Paulson. Forms and information for signing up for lessons have been shared with families to gauge the level of interest. There is currently limited time available (Tuesday) for Newton. If there is strong interest we can explore additional time in the next school year. Available instruments are flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and percussion. Percussionists would work with a drum pad and a set of orchestra bells The due date for signing up is this Friday.
The K-2 team (Ms Kicza, Ms Fisk and Ms Giampietro) will be hosting an evening of childcare and activities for families. The night is intended to provide parents a night out and give back some needed time around the holidays. The event will take place on Friday, December 8th from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Students will enjoy dinner and activities. Families are asked to make a donation which will be collected and donated to the Family Place. This is the second year the K-2 team has provided this opportunity to families. Last year Newton donated $485 to the Family Place. The Community Schools Grant is helping to support this event.
On Tuesday, December 12th, Newton will host an opportunity for a community evening with dinner and conversation focused on healthy school communities. Dinner will be served at 5:30 with small group conversations taking place from 6:00 - 7:00. All are welcome. Free childcare is provided. Katie Milligan, Dana Decker and Owen McCarty will also participate as small groups leaders. This is another place where we are accessing Community Schools funds.
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Kindergarten
Ms. Kicza
Some things we’ve done in kindergarten recently:
- We learned all about the letter Gg and used it to sort sound objects, read words, write words.
- In partners and whole group, we talked about the language used in books, like “blanket of snow.”
- We started learning about how animals prepare for and survive winter, and will learn much more.
- We had our first fire outdoors with a fire story, popcorn, and tea along with a book and snack.
- Our young mathematicians practiced using tally marks and discussed how they help us count.
- We counted up to 60 days in school, wondered how many until 100, and solved that together.
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First Grade
Ms. Fisk
We started our second unit in the Sun,
Moon, and Stars Module. In the last unit, we read narratives to answer our guiding question: why do authors write about the sun, moon, and stars? During this unit, we will read informational texts and dive deeper into the science of what makes day and night.
During math, we have started to tell time by the hour. We have also started working with doubles facts and learned a new song. that will help us remember these facts.
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Second Grade
Ms. Giampietro
This week in second grade, we have been working with time in Number Corner. Students then decided to create a class clock! In the picture, Evie is the hour hand, and Cal’s legs are the minute hand. Can you figure out what time it is?
In math, we have been adding and subtracting using an open number line. In module, we are working on creating books to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the Newton School and schools that we have been researching around the world. Within the next few weeks, we will be presenting our books to the Kindergarten class.
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3/4 ELA & Social Studies
Ms. Denney
After reading about the various learning challenges students face around the world, third graders formed expert groups to research further into specific places. Students researched Finland, Thailand, or Zimbabwe in their expert groups, focusing on the skill of collaboration. They are now working towards organizing their findings into an informative paragraph.
Fourth graders are also working in expert groups to research what inspired specific poets. After finishing their close read of Love That Dog, students chose which poet they'd like to research further: Robert Frost, Valerie Worth, or Walter Dean Myers. Students will write informative essays about their poets in the next few weeks.
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Middle School ELA
Ms. Simone
This year, we are using two workbooks for spelling and grammar. In Spellography, we have started learning about how etymology (a word's history) can help us understand its spelling; in Being a Writer, we have been learning about subject and predicate, and how both are necessary to make complete sentences.
We all watched a video about how English spelling, despite what many people think, actually does make sense, which was a great way to kick off our year-long work on spelling!
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Spanish
Profe Katie
¡Hola familias! Profe Katie has been muy busy lately with some big changes in Spanish. In the middle school, students have begun adjusting to our new curriculum, Somos, which emphasizes immersion and acquisition over memorization. Students should expect to hear a lot more Spanish spoken in class. Ask your middle schooler to teach you Los Pollitos Dicen!
Profe Katie has also just started weekly Spanish lessons with grades K-4 (yay!!). We will be focusing on learning basic dialogues through music and art. We just learned the song ¡Buenos días! (good morning) - a link to the video was sent home to families if you'd like to check it out with your student! In the weeks to come, all students K-8 will be continuing regularly scheduled lessons while also doing some holiday-related activities to learn how holidays are celebrated in the Spanish-speaking world. Please reach out to me at kmilligan@wrvsu.org if you have any questions or concerns. ¡Saludos! - Profe Katie
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Middle School Math
Mr. Reimanis
All of the math students have been working on turning a mathematical rule into a work of art. Using a simple doubling or tripling rule, and applying it to a circular map with sixty equally spaced points on the circumference, an intricate cardioid design emerges. The students then apply color, mount their work, and hang it in the downstairs hallway. We had many students then experiment with different rules and found the result either fascinating or simplistic.
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