Happy Holidays from the Newton School PTA! We are looking forward to more PTA sponsored happenings in 2021!
On the horizon for early 2021:
- Digital PTA Student Directory coming out soon!
- Valentine’s Day Raffle Basket
- COVID-safe take on Winter Carnival
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One of the best things about the holiday season is adding my favorite ingredient to my recipes. The most important ingredient we have is love. The more love you put into a dish, the better it tastes….guaranteed!
Now, you don’t have to love cooking to add love to your recipe. It can be the love of choosing the best ingredients, the love of the time spent with loved ones in the kitchen preparing the dish or best of all, the love you have for the people you are preparing the dish for.
Some of the best and most cherished gifts you can give those you love are time and nourishment. Here’s one of those great holiday recipes that I have found is a wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit and to spread the love and joy!
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No one can go holiday shopping right now, but One Planet kids won't be empty handed when it comes to gift giving this year. Below, see some after school kids creating gifts for their family and friends.
Your child can still drop in for Gift Making Workshops on the following dates:
Monday 12/14
Wednesday 12/16
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Here are some helpful events and resources during these times:
LISTEN Christmas Dinner
Meals can be picked up at their dinner hall (42 Maple Street, WRJ) between 12:30pm-1:30pm on Dec 25. Call Lebanon Recreation Department for meal delivery, (603)359-4640. Register online here.
Randolph Area Mutual Aid Network (RAMAN) is providing holiday gift cards (one $25 card per child under age 18). Apply here by Dec 21 at 4pm.
Friends of Mascoma Foundation will be distributing holiday boxes to members of the Mascoma Valley Community during the 2020 Holiday Season. Boxes will be distributed at the Canaan Fire Department and the Enfield Police Station, both on Sunday Dec 20 from 12pm-3pm. If you are interested in receiving a box please fill out this form and return by Tuesday, Dec 15 via email to Eula Lee Kozma, OR drop off during public pantry hours, OR mail to FOM 9 On the Common Way, Unit #5, Canaan, NH 03741.
Mascoma Area Senior Center serves “Grab & Go” meals Tuesdays at noon, including Dec 22 and 29. $3 donation requested (ages 60 and up), $5 donation (for those under 60); 1166 US Route 4, Canaan, NH.
Annual Christmas Dinner at the Newport Senior Center and the Earl Bourdon Centre in Claremont will take place on Dec 17 at 11:45am in Newport and 11:15am in Claremont. The meal will be served as a grab-n-go option for adults 60 and older. The suggested donation is $3.50 per meal. Registration is required – contact 603-863-3177.
Royalton Senior Center Christmas Dinner is on Dec 15. Contact the senior center to sign up in advance: 802-763-7386 or royaltonseniors@gmail.com.
Chelsea Senior Center Christmas Dinner is on Dec 7. Contact the senior center to sign up in advance: 802-685-2290 or chelseaseniorcenter@gmail.com.
Strafford Senior Center Christmas Dinner is on Dec 9. Contact the senior center to sign up in advance: 802-765-4121.
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This week when the whole class was sliding down the big hill and climbing up and doing it again, laughing and enjoying themselves, I was so thankful that we are all still here at school together. The children benefit from this time together outdoors, socializing, exercising, and just having fun - along with all the work we do! Thank you for everything you do to keep them coming to school. I hope you can feel some of the joy I felt at seeing them sliding down our hill so happily together. |
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First Grade
Mrs. Robinson
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First graders have had some busy, but fun weeks! They are getting more and more excited about the holidays, and I’m hearing many stories about Elf on the Shelf adventures, getting trees, etc.
Early this week the Kindergarten, first, and second graders made decorations for the seniors to take home with their holiday lunch on Wednesday. We miss singing to them, and can’t wait to do it again next year (cross your fingers)!
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We are getting ready for our virtual week of learning during January 4-8, 2021. Your student has a Distance Learning Handbook in their homeschool folder; please take a look at it and let me know if you have any questions. I will be sending work and devices home on Wednesday, December 16th. You will also receive a physical and digital copy of the week’s plans.
Please let me know if your student needs a pair of headphones with a microphone. The headphones with a microphone help with the audio during our virtual meetings. We will be having virtual meetings daily through a Google Hangout.
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Next week is the 16th week of school here in the third grade. This puts us halfway through our school year, and the children have learned so much. They have become more confident as learners who can share their thoughts and strategies with the rest of the class. They have become more comfortable with the multiplication facts and are beginning to see the correlation between multiplication and division. In reading, our students have been learning to summarize, recognize genres, understand the author’s message and think about the author’s craft of structuring the text.
We anticipate the winter holidays, and are learning more from Ms. Aurora about Hanukkah. Our classroom has many Christmas books for students to enjoy, as well as a smattering of Solstice, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah books. We often reflect upon the meaning of the books like An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco, as well as her other picture book, The Trees of the Dancing Goats. The message of many of these books is to see this season as a season of giving.
My plan this year is to donate money to Heifer International; the students have very much been wanting to create cards and gifts for other teachers and people in their lives. It is so very nice to see them realize that a gift can be simple as a smile shared, a helping hand up, and a kind act.
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This week the 4th grade class received a letter from Big Buck Billionolla, a philanthropic recluse from San Diego, California. He has recently completed an addition to his museum and is in the process of forming caravans to search the world for artifacts to complete his collection. We were so fortunate to have received a letter (see below) from him asking if we would like to travel the world and help collect items for his museum. We'll be roaming the globe for this ongoing social studies activity and learning about some amazing places along the way! |
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Dear Traveler,
I invite you to participate in the most exciting and important artifact expedition of the decade! Travel the world be ship, plane, rail and camel... by horse, mule, dog sled and sleigh... by canoe and hot air balloon. This global journey will lead you through crowded city streets, across sun-parched deserts, through steamy jungles and fern-filled forests, across rivers and oceans, over tall mountains and into secluded valleys. See startling sights of the world and bring back the items I need to complete my museum collection.
I will reward you for every item you can find, but to be sure artifacts are genuine, you must collect them only in the cities I have selected. You will begin your caravan from the basement of the Billionolla Bank Building in San Diego, California.
The race is on! Select your path carefully. Be the first to return with all the treasures! Good luck!
Best wishes and bon voyage,
Big Buck Billionolla
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Fifth & Sixth Grade
Mrs. Tremblay
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Fifth and sixth grade students have been enjoying outdoor education with Becky! They have been practicing observing, collecting, and organizing data in regards to the natural world. Sixth grade students are studying the difference between artisans, technicians and engineers. Our makerspace has been popular as we design new makes for the holiday season! |
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Middle School Math & Science
Mr. Reimanis
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The 7th and 8th graders built a Four Square in the Air court out of PVC pipe. They measured, cut and assembled the structure, which is now on the edge of the Field of Dreams. In the video, Heidi and Willow cut PVC with a rechargeable reciprocating saw. They also measured the wooded plot above the parking lot and walked transects to identify the trees in the plot. |
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THE NEWTON SCHOOL
newtonschool.org
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