SPOTLIGHT

Welcome to the November edition of the Spotlight on New Milford Schools! All of our schools are busy places these days, with events, guest speakers, trips, and assemblies taking place along with our daily work of teaching and learning. I have visited each school a number of times during this month, and watching students work with each other, show their good thinking, and demonstrate their creativity is a joy all its own. Students have many opportunities to practice our district ideals of focus, heart, collaboration, and creativity, and our hope is that these ideals will serve students well far beyond their time in the New Milford Public Schools. During this season of gratitude, I would like to thank our community for its continued support of our students and our schools, as well as for all of our staff members who approach their work with care and diligence on behalf of all learners. Here's to a productive (and relatively snow-free) time until our holiday break in December! Thank you again.

Sincerely yours,

Janet P. Parlato, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools

• December 12th: Early Dismissal for Students (Staff PD)

• December 20th: NMHS Chorus Caroling Tour

• December 23-January 1: Holiday Recess - Schools Closed

• January 2, 2025 - Return to Schools

• January 20, 2025: Martin Luther King Day - Schools Closed

• June 14, 2025: Graduation ~ 10:00am @ NMHS Joe Wiser Stadium

Introducing the New Milford Public Schools Annual Report for 2023-2024 with a fresh, new look that "tells our story" and coordinates with our new branding. Hope you enjoy it !

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Mr. Raymond Manka, Principal

Mr. Kevin Best, Assistant Principal

Dr. Megan Dwyer, Assistant Principal

Mr. Anthony Blake, Assistant Principal

The Chorus participated in an instructional workshop with a Disney performing artist.

The New Milford High School Marching Band performed in a parade marching down Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom! Catch these superstars at one of their upcoming performances; see schedule below.

NMHS Band and Color Guard at the Open Class National Championships at MetLife Stadium!

🚨 NOTE! Due to the weather on Dec. 5th, the NMHS Winter Orchestra and Band concert was postponed to December 11th at 7pm. 🚨

NMHS SADD hosted the Holiday Blood Drive on November 26th. It was a huge success collecting 50 units of blood, which can potentially save 150 lives. Way to go, GreenWave !

Ms. Trocchio and Mr. Backer’s classes hosted a Friendsgiving Celebration which was enjoyed by all who attended. A wonderful celebration of gratitude and appreciation.

Our Elves helped jumpstart the holiday season by decorating the Main Office, singing Christmas Carols and enjoying a hot chocolate.

860-354-2204
Ms. Linda Scoralick, Principal
Mr. Michael Boucher, Assistant Principal

Ms. Shannon Surreira, Assistant Principal SMS/NES

Mrs. Jennifer Powers, Assistant Principal

Students on Team 7 Red have also been spending time collaborating with Ms. D’Amico, one of our School Counselors at SMS. In addition to being available for student needs on an individual basis, Ms. D’Amico has been visiting classes to build connections and community, ensure students know how to access support, reacclimate students to the Naviance program with an introductory assessment, and deliver lessons on bullying prevention.

Finally, students on Team 7 Red have been honing their collaboration and problem solving skills in mathematics. Through the use of vertical white boards, students have been working in groups to fine tune their skills around adding and subtracting linear expressions.

860-210-4020
Mrs. Anne Bilko, Principal
Mrs. Jennifer Chmielewski, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Jennifer Meyers, Assistant Principal

860-355-3713

Mrs. Gwen Gallagher, Principal

Ms. Shannon Surreira, Assistant Principal SMS/NES

We are careening toward the end of 2024 at lightning speed!

We had a Veterans Day assembly on November 8th. Veteran parents, family members and caregivers were invited to attend as honored guests. The students learned about the importance of and reverence for military service and the sacrifices these men and women have made to protect our country from foreign adversaries.

The Book Character Parade was a grand success! Here are some fun photos of the day. Teachers, staff and students enjoyed dressing up as characters from their favorite books.

The first 50 Days of Kindergarten were great! Even the ESS Substitute Teachers got into the spirit of celebrating 50 days in school. Here's Mrs. Stuart and a student wearing poodle skirts for that 1950's decade look.

Welcome Michele DeMattia Pesantez, our new School Social Worker. We wish Mrs. Anatolio lots of luck in her new position outside of the district and we thank her for all of her dedicated work here in New Milford.

Kindergarten had fun in Art class making scarecrows using materials with different patterns and textures.

The Fitness Food Drive was a success. Once again, Mrs. Merrill has combined her love of fitness with a food collection drive to contribute to the holiday boxes given to families in New Milford. We also collected donations for Marines stationed overseas.

Students had fun participating in a Spelling Bee here at NES! First and second graders enjoyed the Spelling Bee practice as well as the competition.

Our plastics recycling efforts are going great. We are hoping to recycle enough plastic bags to have a recycled materials bench made for the school. Thank you LHTC for their help and direction with this effort!

The Scholastic Book Fair was successful and fun. Thanks, PTO!

We are continuing to make our GOOD NEWS phone calls and we are proud of our students who demonstrate the C.A.R.E.S. expectations inside and outside NES.

C is for Cooperation

A is for Acting Responsibly

R is for Respect

E is for Encouragement

S is for Safety

The APEX Remix Fitness-a-thon was a big fundraiser sponsored by the PTO. Thank you to all who contributed to this fundraising drive as it helps offset or completely take care of the cost for students to attend off-campus field trips as well as enjoy the many educational assemblies offered throughout the school year.

On Thursday, November 21st, the students enjoyed a visit from AFLCT, "Playful Engineers" as part of science enrichment. This was a STEAM-Powered hands on workshop in which students participated in building chain reactions. They practiced the engineering process, and they studied cause & effect, scale & force, as well as the laws of motion.

We hope our district friends and colleagues enjoyed the Thanksgiving Holiday break!

860-354-5430
Mrs. Catherine Calabrese, Principal

Mrs. Kerri Adakonis, Assistant Principal

Underground Spirit Week for Staff only! Staff had fun with All Staff Twin Day, Staff Pajama Day, Holiday Dress-up…

The Annual Book Character Parade was a hit displaying dressed up characters from books and getting everyone excited to READ!

Hill and Plain thanks Litchfield Hills Transition Center for their partnership, continued support, and ongoing work of collecting donated plastic weekly to help earn the school a Trex bench! To date, HPS has 154.43 pounds of plastic.

Lead Teachers work with their grade level teams discussing state legislation and NMPS’s next steps with intentional play.

Kindergarten celebrated the 50th day of school by counting and writing, ending the day with a sock hop!

Barkley's Backyard Garden was the winner and is now the name of the new space !

Students age-appropriately learned about voting and having the exciting opportunity to name the school garden! Staff took part in the primaries deciding on two names. Students took part in the local election, learning what it feels like to have a voice, and practicing casting their vote, whether it was a class tally, an individual ballot, or a digital vote.

Finally, New Milford Public Schools Food Service teamed up with HPS’s PTO to reward the 2 top-earning classes for the Color Run. Mrs. Gray’s first graders and Ms. Koval’s kindergarteners enjoyed breakfast and celebrated together!

Congratulations to the 6 Green Wave student-athletes who signed their commitment letters on November 18th at New Milford’s Fall Signing Day! Nea Plisko Softball - Bryant University, Kayla Delaney Girls Lacrosse - WCSU, Ava Kopp Field Hockey - Springfield College, Sebastian Ramery Football - University of Maine, Ryan Strait, Boys Lacrosse - University of Hartford, Nolan Bell, Assumption University.

The goal is to raise awareness of a chronic disease that affects about 38 million Americans. There are 2 types of diabetes and both affects how the body regulates blood sugar. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that destroys the cells that make insulin in the body. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar to the cells for energy. People with type 1 diabetes are usually diagnosed in their youth and need insulin to treat the disease. Type 2 diabetes is the type that effects the population the most and also effects how insulin works in the body or how much the body produces. The goal of diabetes treatment is to manage the blood sugar levels at a healthy range to avoid complications down the road.

There are many types of diabetes medications and the type one needs depends on the type and

progression of the disease. A healthy diet and physical activity is a part of the treatment plan and can be very effective in managing a healthy blood sugar range. The school lunch program offerings mimic the healthy diet for anyone with diabetes. The American Diabetes and the National Institute of Health recommends a diet high in fruits/vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, and mainly lean protein sources. Our cafeteria offers all those options on a daily basis and in fact we only serve whole grains, low fat dairy options, lean protein sources and at least 10 choices of different fruits/vegetables.

Congratulations to the incredible 5th graders who wowed us with their biomimicry-inspired creations and won the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Shark Tank challenge!

Their innovative solutions, inspired by nature’s brilliance, tackled big challenges like clean water, renewable energy, and climate action—and left the judges amazed with their creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking!

As a special nod to their achievement, we’re celebrating with inspiration from none other than Kendra Scott, the legendary entrepreneur and Shark Tank guest judge! Kendra turned a $500 dream into a billion-dollar brand while staying true to her love for nature and design—a perfect role model for these young innovators. To our budding designers and problem-solvers: keep dreaming big and finding inspiration in the world around you.