Newtown Public Schools

January marks the official start of the budget process. We encourage you to engage in the process whether in-person or virtually, your participation is an important part of the process.

The full district calendar can be found here.

Click on the link to view the agenda for this week's Board of Education meeting.

To view this meeting, the livestream link is: https://vimeo.com/event/729428.

To make a public comment, the call in number is (US) 1-628-888-1702 PIN 676 579 349#

As you may be aware, there is an increase in respiratory illness across the state. We are experiencing an increase in reported cases of the flu and flu-like illness in our schools.

If your student has been diagnosed with the flu or has flu-like symptoms, please keep them home until they are fever free (temp below 100.4) for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications and their symptoms have improved.

Newtown Public Schools encourages you to review the CDC Respiratory Virus Guidance which can be found here.

Online Kindergarten registration for the 2025-2026 school year is now open. Students who will turn five on or before September 1, 2025, are eligible to register for Kindergarten. If your child’s birthday falls between September 1, 2025 and January 1, 2026 and you would like your child to attend Kindergarten, you may complete the online registration and indicate that you are requesting a waiver. If you plan to enroll your child in Kindergarten, or if you plan to request a waiver, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible. This will help us plan for how many Kindergarten classes we will need based on the number of incoming students.

2025 Kindergarten Registration Process

• Online registration for all students seeking entrance into Kindergarten for the fall of 2025 will open January 6, 2025

• You may register your child on or after January 6th by visiting newtown.k12.ct.us and clicking on the Registration link

• Requests for consideration for early entry (waiver) will be made through a special section of the regular online registration; no other action needs to be taken at this time

• Any student seeking Kindergarten entrance for the fall of 2025 must be registered by February 1 in order for your home elementary school to schedule your child’s screening appointment

• Screening will take place between February 3rd and 13th at the home elementary school

• Specific dates and times will be communicated by the individual elementary schools

Once you have registered, please contact your elementary school to schedule a screening that will help your school prepare for your individual child’s needs.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Connell in our Central Office at 203-426-7606 for assistance.

Thank you for your interest in the Newtown Public Schools Preschool Program. The program offers quality educational services to children who have disabilities and to typically developing peers, referred to as Play Partners. Play Partners are role models to their disabled peers and benefit from instruction aligned to Connecticut Early Learning Development Standards.

If you are interested in having your child participate as a Play Partner, please complete the Play Partner Questionnaire 2025 - 2026 (LINK) by February 15, 2025. Play Partners are required to be three years of age on or by September 1, 2025 and be toilet trained before they are admitted to the program. You are still encouraged to complete the questionnaire if your child turns three shortly thereafter. We accept play partners throughout the year, accordingly. Children five years of age by September 1, 2025 are kindergarten eligible and will not be considered for participation as Play Partners. Kindergarten eligible children may not remain enrolled as a student in the Newtown Preschool Program.

Following submission of your questionnaire, the preschool team will contact you to invite your child to participate in a Play and Meet the Teacher activity scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, March 14, 2025 at Newtown Preschool Program located at Sandy Hook School. A preschool staff member will email you prior to the play session to confirm the details of the activity. Only one adult may accompany the child for the play activity.

You will receive notification through email by April 4, 2025 regarding your child’s Play Partner status. Parent confirmation of Play Partner participation will be due on April 25, 2025.

Newtown Public Schools Preschool Program Details are as follows:

Program Days: Mondays through Thursdays

Program Hours: Morning sessions run from 9:00 to 11:45

Afternoon sessions run from 12:45 to 3:30

Location: Newtown Preschool located at Reed Intermediate School

Rate: $2,400.00 for a full year four half day program

If you, a caregiver or an educator have any questions or concerns about your child’s development in any of the aforementioned developmental domains, rather than moving your child’s application forward as a Play Partner, it may be more appropriate to discuss your concerns and provide you with specific information regarding early childhood development or consider an evaluation. Please feel free to call Ms. Laura Pellerito, School Psychologist, at (203) 426-7683, if you have any questions about your child’s development.

Sincerely,

Laura Esposito

Supervisor of Special Education

Tel (203) 426-7626 • Fax: (203) 270-6185

Congratulations to our Newtown High School Artists who have been awarded recognition in the Scholastic Art Show this year!

Cypress Currier has been recognized with an Honorable Mention and

Katherine (Kat) Allen won a Silver Key award!

The Art Show showcases Artwork from all Connecticut High Schools and these awards are National recognized affording students scholarship opportunities throughout many Universities.

If you have the opportunity, view the Art show at the Silpe Gallery located at the University of Hartford from January 13th through January 31st.

The Connecticut Regional Celebration will be held at the Lincoln Theater, University of Hartford on January 26th from 2pm to 3:30pm.

Winter sports are in full swing at NHS. Here is a list of home games for the week. C'mon down and cheer on the Nighthawks.

Monday 1/13/25

Boys Basketball vs Masuk

JV-5:30

Varsity-7:00

Thursday 1/16/2025

Girls Basketball vs Bunnell

JV-4:00 pm

Varsity-5:30 pm

Friday 1/17/25

Boys Swimming vs Oxford

4:00pm

Saturday 1/18/2025

Girls Basketball vs Ridgewood

JV-10:30 am

Varsity-1:00 pm

Unified Basketball is back in action! They have been hard at work getting ready for a few tournaments. Every practice is a celebration of teamwork, with players supporting one another, sharing the ball, and cheering each other on. They will be on the road for a few games. Mark your calendars now for their big tournament at NYA on February 19th.

The team was treated to some hockey fun as NHS Hockey Captain, Luca Moura. used his capstone project to teach them a thing or two about Ice Hockey! Thank you Luca, it looks like a fun day.

In addition to starting off strong this season, the Lady Nighthawks have been giving back. On Thursday 1/9/2025 in a game against Pomperaug. The team held a Play4Kay Breast Cancer awareness game. Proceeds benefit the Kay Yow Foundation.

The team raised over $1000 through donations, bake sale, 50/50 raffle & Themed raffle baskets. Nice job ladies.

https://kayyow.com/about/kay-yow/

The team also supported the officials for official appreciation month. They provided refreshments, hand written notes and gift cards to Dunkin Donuts.

With a shortage of officials in all sports we are lucky to have our officials so our kids can continue to play the game they love.

Let's all Be Kind to officials!

A huge shoutout to Samantha Diaspro for breaking the NHS Girls Basketball record for three pointers in a game. Sam hit 7, and finished with a career high of 37 points in a great team win against Cromwell. Way to go Sam!

Did you know that joining your PTA offers several benefits for both you and our school community? Our PTAs do many wonderful things throughout the school year that support and enhance the educational experience for our students. In addition to raising funds for educational programs and classroom resources, members have the opportunity to have their voices and ideas heard, meet new people and build connections within the school and greater community, as well as gain leadership skills that can be both personally and professionally valuable. In addition, being involved in your PTA gives you a closer look at what is happening in your child’s school by participating in or organizing events that foster a positive school culture.

You can find a link to each school's PTA by clicking on this link.

Thank you for your support!

Being the parent of a student with special needs can be confusing, isolating and frightening. Newtown Special Ed PTA, or SEPTA, is a great way to connect with a supportive community. We look forward to you joining us!

For more information, please visit the Special Ed PTA's website by clicking on this link.

Several of our schools are in need of student support services staff. If you enjoy working with kids, we encourage you to visit our employment opportunities page.

All-Star is actively seeking drivers. Flexible schedules and a paid training program.

Consider calling today!