The Newton School

The Newton School was chosen to participate in the Bake for Good program by King Arthur Baking Company. The Company's is reaching out to students across America to generate interest in baking - and we are doing our part! Our middle school students baked over 50 loaves of delicious bread, using the flour, yeast, dough scrapers and recipe books provided by King Arthur. That was a lot of flour!! Half of the bread was donated to Cornerstones shelter in Reston and the rest were enjoyed by our students and their families. Many thanks to the people at King Arthur Baking Company for providing this wonderful experience for our students!

Our students in the Lower School had the wonderful experience of traveling to the Kennedy Center last Friday to see a performance called Finn - "An underwater musical chronicles the coming-of-age journey of Finn, a young shark who dreams of following in his family’s footsteps by joining the prestigious Shark Guard." We had great seats in the Family Theater and thoroughly enjoyed the singing, dancing and lovely story. The Kennedy Center always puts on a great show and our students are so fortunate to be able to experience these performances.

The 7th and 8th graders had a wonderful learning experience with our speaker from the National Gallery of Art, Beth Herman. She has a wealth of knowledge and the afternoon was well structured between analyzing art and experiencial activites. The students were very engaged and produced some amazing drawings as well! Many thanks to Beth for taking the time to support our students' learning.

BINGO! Yesterday our awesome Newton School students and their families participated in many high stakes rounds of BINGO! Players surveyed their cards carefully and hung on every second of Mr. Wait's spot calling. Students, parents, and siblings won over 100 prizes including gift cards from Amazon, Chick-fil-A, and Starbucks, holiday cookies, and the ever popular "homework passes".

In addition to the games, many thanks to our Newton families for raising over $1,500 in our teacher basket raffle. Our winners were Mrs. Rizkallah who won the King Spa package, Ms. Gebauer who won the Trader Joe's basket, and Mrs. Lopez who won the one from Whole Foods. Once again, many thanks to our amazing Newton families for participating in a fun and exciting event! We wish you all a fantastic Thanksgiving break!

This week, our Middle School had the privilege of taking part in two new and exciting programs through the Smithsonian Postal Museum. First, our 7th and 8th graders explored the history of the postage delivery systems of the United States along early railroads and the Pony Express. Students participated in a fun and educational role play experiment where they represented different rail companies and experienced the triumphs and pitfalls of running a train and the importance of message delivery! The following day, our 5th and 6th grade learned all about stamp production and the economics of mail. Students marveled at many international designs and historical posts while developing an understanding of the structures of communication in a barely industrialized world. Following our guided museum exploration, students designed their own stamps that adhered to the strict rules of the United States postal system- importance, patriotism, and no living subjects! Many thanks to our awesome guide Phoebe and the fascinating exhibits. We hope to visit again!

In an attempt to instill citizenship responsibilities early, all Newton School students voted today in as realistic a setting as possible. First, students were required to register which they did last week to prepare for today's election. Today, they went to the polls, following "VOTE" signs around the school to direct them to the voting booths set up in the Science Lab. They followed directions to first vote for the Presidential candidates and then turned their attention to two special Referendums: 1) Should Newton School students have a free dress day on the last school day of the month? 2) Should Newton School students not be allowed to have computers and handwrite all assignments? Polls were supervised to prevent any voter fraud and were hand counted at the end of the day - and checked many times for accuracy.. All students received a custom-made "I VOTED" sticker for their efforts.

In the 2024 Newton Election the winners were:

President - Harris/ Walz
Referendum 1 - Free dress Fridays passed Referendum 2 - Students voted nay on a computer ban.

Many thanks for Ms. Swarns, our US History teacher, with support from our Civics teacher, Mr. Wait, and our Election Commissioner Ms. Gebauer for an amazing day of election learning at The Newton School!!

Helga, our adorable 12 week old foster puppy, found her forever home and was adopted by a wonderful family in Maryland last weekend. Helga arrived from a shelter in Texas and was picked up at the Warrenton airport by Mrs. Abraham and some of our 8th graders. She was washed, blown dry and ready for her care at The Newton School. It was a great experience to have her here for the week and all of our students got to enjoy her joyful puppy play! She is now off to her forever home and we are excited to have been part of this life-changing journey for her. If anyone is interested in becoming a foster or interested in adopting a dog or cat, contact Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. They are a wonderful organization!

We had a fantastic Halloween event today with a costume contest, trick or treating and an amazing science show. The costumes were great - and done with lots of creativity and care. Our winners, as voted by the students:

Lower School:

Scariest, First place - Lily, Second place - Amanda
Most Creative, First place - Syan, Second place - Tyler
Best Costume, First place - Jasper, Second place - Adeline and Braden

Middle School:

Scariest, First place - Ian, Second place - Matthew
Most Creative, First place - Liev, Second place - Isla
Best Costume, First place - Eli, Claire and Lenah

Our students in grades 3-8 participated in a STEM project to use their communication, problem solving and project management skills to create a balloon powered car. In small groups, the students used everyday materials - water bottle, bottle caps, straws, toothpicks and balloons - to develop a vehicle that would zip across a room. After lots of trial and error, every group was able to get the car to move - although some just spun around in circles! It was wonderful to see the students put their learning to work to create a very cool and functioning car, and to channel their excitement into a practical project!

Over the last week our students in Kindergarten through 4th grade were hard at work preparing over 100 lunches with Anna Sudha Community Kitchens, located in the nearby Dulles Mall. Students learned the proper and most efficient way to prepare sandwiches and chicken burritos, while learning the value of helping others in need. We are very proud of our younger chefs and are supremely impressed with their effort to this important initiative!

Our Middle Schoolers had the awesome privilege of visiting a unique museum, Planet Word, located in a historic building in the heart of Washington DC. Entering the exciting world of linguistics, our students participated in experiential learning modules through the written and spoken word. Highlights included learning a plethora of foreign languages with many high tech visual aids, understanding patterns and song structure through karaoke performance, and a Museum Teacher-led workshops about idioms and story-telling. Students loved the hands-on nature of the exhibits and couldn’t wait to further explore the vast materials the museum had on display. Students were disappointed to bid adieu to Planet Word but hoped to say ¡“haste pronto”!

Our elementary schoolers visited the Children's Science Center at Fair Oaks Mall for a morning of discovery and creation. Students learned about STEM through studies on bio-engineering in bug creation, chemical interactions through the making of magnetic slime, the geometry and architecture of tower building, and sources of energy with hands-on models! Our exceptional guides accompanied our students and encouraged their curiosity by answering every question our students could think of, with thorough explanations of the science behind their experiments. An educational and fun filled time was had by all and we hope to return soon!

Last week, our students in grades 5-8 rose to the challenge presented by Horizons at Hemlock Overlook in Clifton, VA. Working in small groups, students dedicated themselves to accomplishing various tasks and obstacles using teamwork, advanced planning, and a powerful growth mindset. Designed to challenge participants, Horizons offers a vast forest and field network of games, ropes courses, and brain games to practice solving problems as a group. Students especially enjoyed working through "Crossing the Mississippi", "Whale Watching", and the formidable (and very high!) Zipline. Students encouraged their peers and celebrated victories across the challenges and applauded those who conquered their fears. The students enjoyed the trip and learned valuable lessons about responsibility and collective power of working in a group! Many thanks to Horizons Outdoor Learning Center for their invitation and guidance!

The Newton School has taken on the honor and responsibility of fostering a young Lop rabbit, Bunny Gaga, from the Loudoun County Animal Shelter. As our 8th graders pioneer this exciting new program, students assisted in setting up the bunny's enclosure and researching the various needs our new friend would need. A daily checklist was posted and students delegated various jobs and responsibilities to ensure Bunny Gaga enjoys a safe and comfortable stay while she awaits adoption. Loudoun County Animal Shelter provided food, shelter, and a variety of play materials for our students to develop an enriching environment for Bunny Gaga. While the responsibility is heavy, our students are loving our new visitor and look forward to taking care of her the rest of the week!

If anyone is interested in adopting her or wants to help us spread the news about her availability, part of our responsibility is to help her find her forever home. Contact Loudoun County Animal Shelter if you are interested in adopting Bunny Gaga!!