The Newton News

22 November, 2022

Second grade students are blowing up balloons.
November Lunch Menu
December Lunch Menu

Upcoming Events


Thanksgiving Break

November 23-25


Picture Re-Takes

Thursday, December 1


PTA Meeting

Tuesday, December 6 at 6PM


Roadrunner Day

Early Release

Friday, December 9


School Board Meeting

Tuesday, December 13 at 5:30PM


Artist-in-Residence

December 14 - 20


Roadrunner Day

Early Release

Wednesday, December 21

PRINCIPAL'S CORNER

Students in bulky winter clothes are sliding down a snowy hill.

Everyone in education knows the push to Thanksgiving break is long and often tiresome for both students and staff alike. When I reflect on the past three months, I come away with a feeling of pride that is so powerful; I could not be more proud of the entire Newton School community. In a time where many schools report shortage of staff, lack of parental involvement, and student misbehavior, I realize how truly grateful I am for the staff, students, and families of the Newton School. I sincerely thank you all for your hard work, team approach, and the “children-first” attitude I believe is so critical for success. This week when we take some time away, I want you all to know that I am truly grateful to be a part of the Newton School.  


To be sure we share this pride with the students, we will alter schedules and take time to celebrate everyone’s hard work. The students and staff will have a holiday meal prepared by our own Dream TeamGret and Joshand then work in Roadrunner groups to create some holiday displays. Whenever we work in our small groups we always walk about with very positive memories. I am sure this will not be any different.  


Friday December 9th, the School Board will host a table with coffee and a few simple baked goods from 8-8:45am. Come stop by! We'll be in the library.  We’re hoping to hear what parents and citizens have to say, what questions you may have, or just to chat. We've been invited to share thoughts with state Rep. Rebecca Holcombe at our next meeting, so please come let us know what you'd like her to know. We'll also have copies of the minutes from the last meeting, and the agenda for the meeting on Dec. 13. Principal Thompson will join us and we're hoping to have a member of the PTA as well. We’re hoping to make this a monthly event. Come let us know what you think.


In December the Newton School will participate in the annual Artist in Residency. The dates are Wednesday, December 14th - Tuesday, December 20th. All grade levels will participate daily with a community event on Saturday, December 17th. Final plans and details are still being discussed. Look for information to come home soon.  


Our Hike for Hunger food collection continued last month with Mr. Breen and the 6th grade taking the lead. Each month a different teacher and grade level will host a collection day. Our goal is to top last year's total for food and donations.


School will be closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week to celebrate Thanksgiving. We hope you take some time to enjoy family time. We look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday, November 28th.


Well …. It is official, the Newton School sledding hill is open for business. Although we are still waiting for the big storm that provides us a base, the kids are happy to have a few runs. Please remember to send in plenty of dry clothes, hats and mittens. It is our goal to be outside as much as possible.

CLASSROOM NEWS

Fourth Grade

Mr. Walker

The 4th graders are finishing up a unit on United States geography. The students worked in groups and traveled around the United States. The whole unit revolved around playing games. It has been a great way to learn about state locations, state capitals, state abbreviations, and much more.  

A student wearing a red mask is playing a geography game on the computer.
Three students sitting on the floor around a board game about United States geography.
Two students are sitting at their desks with a paper in front of them, and are talking to each other.

Middle School Social Studies

Mr. Breen

In Middle School Social Studies, the 7/8 are prepping for their unit test (on the Progressive Era). Ask them if they've prepped! The 5/6 is wrapping up their first research loop, on the Western Uplands of Europe, and just now starting to prep their first self-driven inquiry questions. These will eventually turn into their essays, so feel free to ask what they've been researching. 

Middle School Math

Mr. Reimanis

In the middle school math update, be sure to ask your eighth grader about the Pythagorean Theorem and how to use it! In other news, 80% of the seventh graders are catching up to the other 20% in learning about the ups and downs of rational numbers. In the silurian sixth grade class, ratios and fractions are compared and evaluated and the flavescent "unit rate" was a topic of discussion. 


The fifth grade watched two carrots desiccate, shrink and lose mass as a result, losing a bit less every day in the "Carrot Mass Graph" experiment. As the winter progresses, remind your student to dress in layers because the weather is quite changeable!

Several kindergarten students eat outside at our new picnic tables. They are dressed in winter clothes and there is snow on the ground.

Kindergarten

Ms. Kicza

B.J. and Josh delivered three picnic tables to our forest classroom on Friday morning. The children helped get them in just the right spots then enjoyed eating snack at our new tables. Thank you to Mrs. Thompson for making this happen!


Katie visited kindergarten for mindfulness and yoga on Tuesday morning. It is always a good way to start the day together, and they are very willing to participate and have fun with her.


Roz visited to read with individuals who wanted to. They read their decodable words and sentences and chose books to read with her.


Michelle brought Charlie the reading dog to read with the class this week. Charlie also joined the class at recess, where they helped him run around and get exercise.


We are thankful for our great helpers and volunteers and everyone who supports kindergarten!

READ MORE
Three students wearing winter clothes and hunter orange vests are sitting close side by side outside in a field.

First Grade

Ms. Fisk

During the month of November, our math

calendar had us learning about fractions.

We have learned about fourths, halves,

and wholes.


We just finished our final writing piece

for our magnificent thing, and when we

come back from break we will start our

next unit: Sun, Moon, and Stars!


This week we had the opportunity to

learn from the 3rd-grade class about

bees!

READ MORE
Two pairs of young students work together on math using unifix cubes.

Second Grade

Ms. Denney

This week in math we worked together to

measure and compare imaginary beans from Jack’s beanstalk. We used unifix cubes in groups of 5s and 10s and

compared lengths with our teammates.


After learning about the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade through the story Balloons Over Broadway, we brainstormed ideas for balloon floats we could create. Each student has created their own float by following the steps of the engineering design process!

READ MORE
Third grade students are working with first grade students and showing them information about bees.

Third Grade

Ms. Coté

The third grade enjoyed sharing their knowledge about honeybees and other pollinators with the first grade.

A white girl with blond hair and a blue shirt is concentrating on stacking cups. Her tongue is sticking out a little with concentration.

P.E.

Mr. G

K-8 are working on cup stacking to see who has the fastest hands in the school. So far these kids are very focused and putting in some intense cup stacking work. Cup stacking is shown to improve reading test scores.  

Library/Media

Ms. Simone

We've had an exciting week in middle school media classes!


On Tuesday, Max Siedman from Resonym Games came to talk to fifth graders about the process of iterating and designing table top games. The students also got to play test one of Resonym's recent releases, a game called Phantom Ink. It was a blast! Our library also received a free copy of Phantom Ink and Retrograde, a game that last year's fifth graders play-tested with Max before its release.


Sixth graders visited Clough Cemetery on Miller Pond Road as part of our exploration of primary sources and local history. They were tasked with finding epitaphs, iconography, broken stones, and family groupings, as well as taking photos. We will use information from these gravestones to learn how to use Ancestry Classroom and read census records.

Music

Ms. Brooke

Last month, 5th and 6th grades conceptualized and executed their own miming-meets-silent-films pieces: "Pumpkins!" and "A Night at the Wax Museum", respectively. They worked hard to create a scene without any spoken words, not an easy task. The 7/8 cluster entertained most of the town with their "Haunted Hospital" on Halloween Night. All Middle School grades should be applauded for their collaborations. 


In November, Middle School switched their focus from creating their own performance pieces, to post-performance analysis, to sitting back and taking in a performance by others. Equipped with a sliver of understanding of what it takes to put a piece together, Grades 5-8 took in TSA's "The Addams Family" during a dress rehearsal last week. 


The Elementary School learned about the military roots of marching bands leading up to Veteran's Day, complete with a parade of their own in each class. Thinking ahead to Thanksgiving, we switched from intentionally-made musical instruments to those that you imagine yourself out of basic kitchen items. Perhaps you may see inklings of either of those musical themes over break? 

SCHOOL & COMMUNITY NEWS

Join the Vermont Reading Challenge with Beanstack!

All the Feels Winter Reading Beanstack

The all-ages Winter Reading challenge will be available for participation on Vermont Beanstack from January 1-31, 2023. The focus of the challenge is to foster a love of reading by encouraging Vermonters to read at least 20 minutes a day and interact with their public library along the way!


Participants will also be able to explore the importance of emotions, learn about the history of emojis and earn fun emoji-themed badges for logging reading, completing activities, and submitting book reviews. With the new bingo feature participants can earn badges in a row, column, or diagonal to unlock a bingo badge.


Vermonters can preregister now for “All the Feels” Winter Reading challenge at Vermont Beanstack!

The Newton School

South Strafford, VT 05070

802.765.4351