Newtown Public Schools

I hope you were able to get a few more minutes of sleep this morning after our delayed opening. Weather is in the forecast again for Thursday morning so I will be watching that as the day draws near.

There is a lot going on in our schools right now, so please be sure to read through the whole Update as there is a little something for everyone this week! Of course, top of mind continues to be the 25-26 School Budget which will be the only topic of discussion at tomorrow night’s Board of Ed meeting. That will be your last time to voice your opinion to our BOE members. After that, the budget moves on to the Board of Finance. The first of two meetings will be held on February 10th. Please see the “Budget Happenings” column below for further details.

Our Kindergarten registration is drawing to a close and each of our four elementary schools are currently scheduling screening sessions. If you intend to send your child to Kindergarten in the fall of 2025, please be sure to complete the registration process as soon as possible. You will find more information on how to register below.

Lastly, I would like to remind all parents and guardians that if your child is experiencing difficulties in school - whether it be academic, social emotional or difficulty with peers - that you reach out to the teacher, counselor or principal for assistance. It is extremely important that all of our students feel safe coming to school and if we can be of assistance, please reach out. We may not be able to solve every situation but we will do our best to help in any way we can. While we always prefer to have a discussion with a parent or guardian, we understand that there may be times when someone is not comfortable reporting a situation. Anonymous reports can be made through our Anonymous Alert App which you can download on your phone, or access on all of our school websites.

Have a wonderful evening,

Anne

The full district calendar can be found here.

The 25-26 Proposed School Budget represents a 5.96% increase over the current year’s budget. Major drivers of the budget include the impact of last year’s $2 million dollars in cuts, an unprecedented increase to insurance, rising electricity and special education costs. The budget includes what the administrative team believes is needed to deliver a high quality education to all students. To offset the impact of costs to taxpayers, the budget includes more than 25 staffing reductions among other cost-saving measures.

MEETING AGENDA/LINK/PHONE IN NUMBER

Board of Education Public Hearing

February 4th, 7 PM Council Chambers

At the public hearing, community members will have an opportunity to provide feedback, ask questions, and express concerns or support for the proposed budget. Board members may discuss or raise questions about the budget based on this feedback and their own insights from prior meetings. Following this discussion, the Board will vote on the budget that will be moved forward for consideration by the Board of Finance.

Presentation of Board of Education Budget to Board of Finance

February 10th, 7:30 PM Council Chambers

At this meeting, the Superintendent, Director of Finance and Board Chair will present the Proposed Board of Education budget to the Board of Finance. This will usually include questions asked by Board of Finance members in order to assist the in understanding the rationale for requests.

Board of Finance Public Hearing

February 20th, 7:30 PM Council Chambers

During the meeting, the Board of Finance will receive comments from the public on the Board of Education budget and continue their discussion and deliberations as they work to finalize their recommendation to the Legislative Council on setting the budget that will ultimately go to referendum.

In February, Newtown Public Schools proudly honors Black History Month by celebrating the rich heritage, achievements, and contributions of Black individuals throughout history. Our schools will engage in meaningful activities, discussions, and learning experiences that highlight the resilience, leadership, and cultural impact of Black communities. Together, we embrace diversity and promote an inclusive future where every voice is valued.

This week, we recognize and appreciate the incredible work of our school counselors! Their dedication to supporting students' academic, social, and emotional growth makes a lasting impact every day. Thank you for your guidance, encouragement, and commitment to student success! 💙

A formal event was recently held at Rochester Institute of Technology appointing Manuela Campanelli as the John Vouros Endowed Professor. The John Vouros Endowed Professorship was created by RIT alumnus and founder of Datto Austin McChord ’09 (bioinformatics) as part of a $50 million donation to RIT made by McChord in 2017. The endowed professorship is named after current Board of Education Member and former Newtown Middle School teacher, John Vouros. Mr. Vouros ran the gifted program at the middle school when Mr. McChord was a student. The professorship recognizes the faculty doing great things in bridging creativity and technology.

As a former graduate of Newtown Public Schools, Mr. McChord attributes his time there as contributing to his success. Four such endowments were created to recognize the contributions of his former NPS teachers. “While considering what to name these endowments for professorships and scholarships, I thought back on my own time in school and the educators that had an outsized impact on my experience,” said McChord. “I was lucky to have many great teachers, but there were four people in particular whose effort and commitment made a memorable, lasting difference in my life. I chose to name the endowments after them as a way to thank them and honor the life-changing work that great educators make in the world.”

Congratulations to Mr. Vouros and to all of the wonderful teachers of Newtown Public Schools who make a difference in the lives of children every day!

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

Hamden Hall Country Day School is once again offering its highly esteemed and popular Summer Engineering & Science Academy to students entering Grades 6, 7, and 8 who enjoy challenging themselves with hands-on activities in the STEM fields.

Experiential learning is at the nucleus of this complimentary, fully funded, week-long enrichment program, which is scheduled this year for July 7-11. Students perform lab work and collaborate in groups to fully explore and make discoveries in the areas of DNA technology, forensics, cryptography, coding, rocketry, chemistry, and more.

Interested families are able to learn more about this opportunity by clicking here: https://www.hamdenhall.org/summer/summer-engineering--science-academy

Please ensure your child's lunch account is up to date so they can enjoy nutritious meals at school. If your family is facing financial challenges, we’re here to help! Reach out to your child's counselor or principal for assistance and resources. Every student deserves a healthy meal!

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey on school meals from Chartwells.

Congratulations to your 2025 Back to Back SWC Champions! NHS Cheer put on an amazing performance in front of a packed gym of fans. We are so proud of them!

Congratulations to our Cheerleaders who were selected for the ALL SWC team.

Ella Macy, Isabella Walder & Mel Lordeiro. Way to go ladies!

NHS Wrestling had plenty to celebrate at their home meet last week!

They welcomed Newtown Youth Wrestling, the program boasts over 130 athletes grades K-8th. According to Coach Maurath, 70% of the current Varsity roster came through the Youth program!

Congratulations to Senior Captain & Roger Williams University Commit Kenna Gioffre on reaching 150 wins.

The team proudly celebrated Coach Bray on his 100th Duel team win. Coach Bray has been an instrumental leader in both the youth and high school program for over the last 20 years, including starting the youth program in 2002. A HUGE thank you to Coach Bray's commitment and dedication to Newtown's wrestling Community.

Congratulations to Junior Captain, Aidan Walker on being named the CT player of the week!

The NHS Cheerleaders took some time away from practice to make handmade cards for Troops overseas and local first responders. It's a great way to spread some love!

Tuesday 2/4/2025

Boys Basketball vs Notre Dame Prep

Freshman-4:00

JV-5:30

Varsity-7:00

Wednesday 2/5/2025

Dance Team

SWC Championship

Brookfield High School-6:00 pm

Wednesday 2/5/2025

Ice Hockey vs Fox Lane

Danbury Ice Arena

Varsity-4:00

Friday 2/7/2025

Swimming vs Pomperaug

Varsity-4:00 pm

Friday 2/7/2025

Ice Hockey vs Masuk

Danbury Ice Arena

Varsity-4:00 pm

Friday 2/7/2025

Boys Basketball vs Weston

Freshman-4:00

JV-5:30

Varsity-7:00

Saturday 2/8/2025

Boys and Girls Indoor Track

SWC Championship

Floyd Little Athletic Center

5:00 pm

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!