Big thank you to all those who made our Fall Cleanup Day a huge success!

We cleaned up the greenhouse, cleared brush, dug garden beds, mowed the lawn, trimmed trees, washed windows, weeded gardens, cleaned floors, tidied up the kitchen, decluttered various spaces, and moved bulky trash items to the dump.

Great energy and enthusiasm. Special thanks to students' friends who came to help out.

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

• Saturday October 23: Fall Open House 10:00-1:00

• Week of Oct 25-29: Spirit Week! (details below)

• Wednesday, October 27: Teacher Day--students not in school
• Monday, November 1: All School Meeting 6:00 in-person at TNS
• Thursday, November 11: No School Veteran's Day
• Wednesday--Friday November 24-26 Thanksgiving Break No School

TEACHER DAY: Wednesday, October 27 No school for students. Teachers will be meeting with one another to discuss their professional development goals for the 2021-2022 school year, develop curriculum for our Winter Intensives, and work on student progress reports. The monthly Teacher Work Days are invaluable time for our educators, allowing them time to collaborate, plan, and focus on supporting one another to become better teachers.

NON-FOOD DRIVE: During the month of November, students will be collecting non-food items for Community Outreach Services. We will be collecting cleaning supplies, toiletries, and pet care items like food, toys, and litter. Stay tuned for more information about how you can support this community service project.

FIRST QUARTER PROGRESS REPORTS: Hard to believe, but we are rapidly approaching the end of our first quarter of the school year. Teachers are targeting the November 1 ASM for sharing Progress Reports for the first half of our Fall Semester. There will be student-led conferences in November. Sign-ups are generally handled by individual Advisors. Please reach out to your Advisor if you have questions about how your student is doing in school.

Hi! We’re looking for a community parent (or whoever can do it) to stay at the school for our Halloween party from 5:30 to 8p on Friday the 29th. Christine will be able to stay until 7:00, but would like another adult or two to keep her company.

The New School loves Halloween so much that we are devoting a whole week to celebrating.

Students and staff are invited to participate in “Spirit Week” October 25-29.

Monday: Dress up as any movie or tv show character

Tuesday: Fantasy day--come as your favorite fantasy character or creature

Thursday: Wear your formal attire or prom formal wear

Friday: Wear your Halloween costume to school!

Remember that all of these are optional and just for fun!

CALL FOR AGENDA ITEMS: Our November All School Meeting will be in person at TNS from 6:00-7:30p on November 1st. We welcome input from all members of our community and are seeking agenda items for the November Meeting. When submitting an agenda item, please include a brief description of the topic and an estimate of the amount of time you would like to devote to it. Agenda items should be submitted on Fridays before an ASM. Send your Agenda Items to either Christine or Scott.

GOT SPRING BULBS? We'd love to plant some spring flowers for some early color next April. Susan has Irises to plant, too. Bring a package or two of tulip, daffodil, or other spring favorites!

November - Giving Back Month. We will be collecting household items, personal care items, and pet supplies to donate to Community Outreach Services (COS) of the Kennebunks. Stay tuned for more information.

Reminder that Monday, November 1 is Picture Day at school. Josie’s “Behind the Lenz” class will be taking student and staff pictures. The pictures will be used in our school yearbook.

School Directories were handed out during Parent & Family night back in September. If you did not receive one, please email Susan Blaisdell (susan.blaisdell@tnsk.org) and she will send you one.

Group emails have been updated. If you are a returning parent, please do not use the old email groups.

Current email groups are:

parents@tnsk.org (all parents & guardians)

students@tnsk.org (all students)

core.teachers@tnsk.org (Xine, Evan, Josie & Ally)

friends@tnsk.org (community members who support the school in various ways)

admissions@tnsk.org (Admissions Team)

events@tnsk.org (Events Team)

facilities@tnsk.org (Facilities Team)

If there are updates to any of the team groups, please let Susan know.

BREAKFAST GRATITUDE: I cannot speak for the students, but the staff really appreciated the whole spread last Wednesday! Thank you for the baked oatmeal (and can I please have the recipe?), the eggs (which we deviled--they were delicious!), the yogurt and the fresh fruit!

It’s been wonderful to watch students eating since parents stocked the pantry. The cheese has been a big hit, as well as the granola bars and other grab and go items. Thank you all for adding to the sense of community that food creates.

Special thank you to Thomas Deeney for spending 2 evenings at Outta the Box helping the electrician install new lighting!

-Dorothy Parker

The New School is an independent, democratically run private high school in Kennebunk, Maine. We learn by doing, and encourage not just academic achievement, but development of the mind, body, and spirit. Our goal is to give TNS students the tools they need to be active, informed citizens of a democracy.

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.”

― John Dewey

Email: thenewschool@tnsk.org
Website: thenewschoolmaine.org
Location: 38 York Street, Kennebunk, ME
Phone: (207) 985-3745
Facebook: facebook.com/TheNewSchoolMaine