Newton School sign with building behind; sunflowers to the left.

November 21, 2023

Two fourth grade students are sitting at a picnic table, writing. They are wearing winter jackets.

DECEMBER MENU

Upcoming Events

November 21

End of Trimester 1

November 22-24

Thanksgiving Break, No School

December 4

PTA Meeting, 7PM

December 8

Roadrunner Day, 12:00 dismissal

December 21, Thursday

Roadrunner Day, 12:00 dismissal

December 22 - January 1

Holiday Break

January 2

No School - In-Service

Nurse's News

COVID GUIDELINES:

1. If there is a positive test, isolate for 5 days following the positive test result, or from when symptoms first began. End isolation after day 5 if symptoms have improved and there was no fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

2. No negative test result is needed to return to work/school. Testing is not required to determine the end of isolation or mask use after having COVID-19; however people can use the test-based strategy outlined in the isolation guidance to potentially shorten the duration of post-isolation mask use. If using the test-based strategy, people should continue to wear a well-fitting mask or respirator in the school or ECE setting until testing criteria have been met.

3. Generally speaking, and if not using the test-based strategy linked above, once isolation has ended, people should wear a well-fitting mask or respirator around others through day 10.

Free COVID testing online Free COVID testing online search tool

SICK PROTOCOL:

If experiencing symptoms such as coughing and/or sneezing and profuse upper respiratory drainage, please keep kids home from school. If symptoms have been improving and the above symptoms are mostly gone, feel free to send them to school. Mask-wearing is also a great way to return to school for those who still have symptoms remaining.

Fevers: all illnesses with a fever registering at 100.1 or above will be expected to return to school if symptoms have improved and there was no fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

Classroom News

Kindergarten

Ms. Kicza

Some things we’ve done in kindergarten recently were:

Having an unexpected but wonderful indoor forest day with a new story, game, and great books.
Learning expectations and practicing for having a fire soon at the forest classroom.
Practicing mindfulness and yoga with Ms. Katie Chestnut and getting BREATHE t-shirts.
Starting to decode consonant-vowel-consonant words with the sounds of a, c, d, i, m, o, and s.
Reading words in partners, sorting words by vowels, and decoding real and nonsense words.
Handwriting the uppercase and lowercase letters A, C, D, I, M, O, and S and their first names.

First Grade

Ms. Fisk

Recently we started our Sun, Moon, and

Stars unit. We have read folktales and

stories about the sun and moon. We have closely observed pictures of the sun, moon, and stars and created our

versions using water color.

During math, we have used dominoes to help with addition and comparing numbers.

Have a great break!

Second Grade

Ms. Giampietro

This week in second grade, students celebrated Kindness Day by creating postcards to send to staff and classmates around the school. In math, we have been bundling and counting popsicle sticks to help us practice our understanding of place value.

In Outdoor Education, we have been measuring the temperature of the pond and seeing how it changes as the winter months are approaching.

Two third grade students are wearing cold weather gear and making observations outdoors with a clipboard.

3/4 ELA & Social Studies

Ms. Denney

After reading My Librarian is a Camel by Margriet Ruurs, third graders discussed the various learning challenges students face around the world. We specifically focused on Kenya and the students of Bulla Iftin, where they eagerly await the arrival of books by camel.

Fourth graders have continued their close read of Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. Our focus has shifted to how poets become inspired to write their poetry. Soon fourth graders will be writing poems of their own and drawing inspiration from what we've read as well as their own experiences.

Middle School Social Studies

Mr. Breen

We're wrapping up our Trimester 1 work in both 5/6 and 7/8 Social Studies. In 7/8 the students are writing short stories set in the pre-historic world, using real artifacts and archaeological objects to populate and inform their writing. In 5/6, the kids are starting work on their first essay! They'll be writing about what they think the most important jobs of government are. Ask your child about their writing! See what they're thinking and what details they'll be including.