May 15th, 2020

Good Evening Parents and Guardians:

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL SCHEDULE:
Before entering the building we will take the temperature of each student and ask a series of five health related questions per direction of Tri-County Health. I currently do not have the five questions, however, the temperature allowance is 100.4.

Monday, May 18th and Tuesday, May 19th: Regular learning days, Semester Pass/Fail grades are due by 4:00 pm on Tuesday.
Wednesday, May 20th,  6th and 8th graders will have access to Newton as follows:

• 9:00 am to 12:30 pm: 6th and 8th graders with last names A-L will have access. 6th graders will need to enter the building in the Northwest Parking Lot next to the fire station only, 8th graders will access the building in the East parking lot only. 
• 12:30 to 4:00 pm: 6th and 8th graders with last names M-Z will have access. Same parking lots will be used.

Thursday, May 20th:  7th graders will have access to Newton as follows: 

• 9:00 am to 12:30 pm:  7th graders with the last name A-L will have access to Newton. Students will access through the East parking lot only.
• 12:30 to 4:00 pm:  7th graders with the last name M-Z will have access to Newton. Students will access through the East parking lot only.

Students will need to line up as only 20 students will be allowed in the building at a time. We will have cones placed six feet apart outside the entrances. We will have staff members supervising outside and administrators will supervise in A, B and C wings. It is recommended that students wear masks and gloves, and  go directly to their locker and empty their locker. Please bring something to put your materials in as we will not be able to provide containers for you.

If you have library books to return please go to the library and drop them off and then exit through the front doors. Tables will be set up in the front as you exit and you will be able to collect a yearbook if you ordered one, receive an honor roll certificate if you earned one or your 8th grade continuation certificate and leave the school grounds. 6th graders will need to go around the building to the west sidewalk and back to the northwest parking lot, 8th graders will exit directly down the sidewalk to the east parking lot.

WE ARE NOT COLLECTING ANY CHROME BOOKS! PLEASE DO NOT BRING THEM TO SCHOOL.

If you had PE second semester all of your belongings will be bagged and labeled and placed on the front lawn. Please gather your belongings and leave.

If you are in band and need to drop off an instrument you can drop the instrument off in front of Mrs. Bransgrove’s door, please do not enter her classroom.

Art projects/work will be placed in student lockers by Mrs. Andrews.

Parents will not be allowed in the building per the directions of Brian Ewert, LPS Superintendent. Please remain in your cars in the parking lot.

When a student leaves the building we will radio to the parking lot to allow another student into the building. We will judge how this goes and may allow more students in if the hallways are not crowded.

Friday, May 21st:  A special continuation video for 8th graders will be released.

Thanks for your assistance in this matter. We will be as smooth and efficient as possible. In 35 years of education I haven’t ever closed school in this manner so please be patient with our process.

Any unclaimed items after May 26th will be discarded.

Stock Market Experience Winners
The following 7th graders Stock Market Experience team placed in the top three in either the state or region for this year’s Stock Market Experience competition. Please congratulate the following students:

• Chloe Amonson
• Oliver Bunjer
• Sam Kamstra
• Matthew Thompson
• Cameron Ward 

Annual Community Shred-a-thon supporting Newton Middle School:
Please access this link for additional information regarding the upcoming shred-a-thon and electronic recycling event to be held at Newton Middle School on May 30th from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm which is sponsored by our partners at Arapahoe Credit Union. We will have a layout that promotes social distancing as well as health and safety precautions so please save the date and come out to support Newton!

LEA Foundation Virtual Celebration
The Littleton Education Foundation has opened the virtual doors to the Spirit Celebration and everyone in our community is invited and encouraged to attend.  We would be so happy if you would join us this Saturday night, May 16th, from 7pm - 8pm for our virtual event as well as share this invite with your school community.  All the details can be found on SpiritDinner.com

Please view this video and imagine what we can do for all of the students in LPS.

Have a great weekend.
James O’Tremba
Principal, Newton Middle School​​

May 8th, 2020

Good Evening Parents, Guardians and Students:

Fire Drill Without Students
Hey students we had a fire drill this week and something was missing!!! You…..please access this link to view a video that was done by the staff for you in place of our fire drill…….special thanks to Mr. Atherton for providing the idea and to Ms. Rahne for collecting the pictures and putting the entire video together.

Teacher Appreciation Fund -Thanks
Thanks to all of the parents who donated to our teacher appreciation fund. We raised almost $1100.00 and PTO has some great gifts to celebrate and honor our teachers with. Students get those flip grid videos completed!!

New PTO Newton Facebook Page
PTO has a new Facebook Page: Please like our new Newton Middle School PTO Facebook page. PTO will use this to build community, share news and reminders.

2020-2021 WEB Applications
WEB applications (along with yearbook and Knight Notes) are available on the 7th grade Google Classroom. Students you just need to look at the slideshow, think about things you might be interested in joining for next year, and fill out the appropriate applications and instructions in the slideshow.
"Next year's 8th graders are encouraged to consider applying to be a WEB leader! WEB stands for "Where Everybody Belongs" and is a great opportunity for students to develop leadership skills while mentoring and helping incoming 6th graders feel welcome and part of the Newton family. You can find the application (deadline: May 20) on the 7th grade Google Classroom."

Hello 8th Grade Knights!
I hope you are finishing the year well, even in the midst of all the change you have experienced. My name is Rod Sherman and I am the Head Football Coach at Arapahoe. We would love to have as many of you as possible come play football this fall at Arapahoe. The program is growing and has had two consecutive years of going to the playoffs! We have just started some virtual workouts and would like to get you connected. If you are interested and have not yet signed up please email me at rsherman@lps.k12.co.us or go to the Arapahoe Football web page. Go Warriors!

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL SCHEDULE:
Locker Clean out Final Week of School
Before entering the building we will take the temperature of each student and ask a series of five health related questions per direction of Tri-County Health. I currently do not have the questions or the parameters regarding the allowed temperature.

Monday, May 18th and Tuesday, May 19th: Regular learning days, Semester Pass/Fail grades are due by 4:00 pm on Tuesday.

Wednesday, May 20th,  6th and 8th graders will have access to Newton as follows:

• 9:00 am to 12:30 pm: 6th and 8th graders with last names A-L will have access. 6th graders will need to enter the building in the Northwest Parking Lot next to the fire station only, 8th graders will access the building in the East parking lot only. 
• 12:30 to 4:00 pm: 6th and 8th graders with last names M-Z will have access. Same parking lots will be used.

Thursday, May 20th:  7th graders will have access to Newton as follows:

• 9:00 am to 12:30 pm:  7th graders with the last name A-L will have access to Newton
• 12:30 to 4:00 pm:  7th graders with the last name M-Z will have access to Newton

Students will need to line up as only 20 students will be allowed in the building at a time. We will have cones placed six feet apart outside the entrances. We will have staff members supervising outside and administrators will supervise in A, B and C wings. It is recommended that students wear masks and gloves, and  go directly to their locker and empty their locker. Please bring something to put your materials in as we will not be able to provide containers for you.

If you have library books to return please go to the library and drop them off and then exit through the front doors. Tables will be set up in the front as you exit and you will be able to collect a yearbook if you ordered one, receive an honor roll certificate if you earned one or your 8th grade continuation certificate and leave the school grounds. 6th graders will need to go around the building to the west sidewalk and back to the northwest parking lot, 8th graders will exit directly down the sidewalk to the east parking lot.

WE ARE NOT COLLECTING ANY CHROMEBOOKS! PLEASE DO NOT BRING THEM TO SCHOOL.

If you had PE second semester all of your belongings will be bagged and labeled and placed on the front lawn. Please gather your belongings and leave.

If you are in band and need to drop off an instrument you can drop the instrument off in front of Mrs. Bransgrove’s door, please do not enter her classroom.

Art projects/work will be placed in student lockers by Mrs. Andrews.

Parents will not be allowed in the building or in line per the directions of Brian Ewert, LPS Superintendent, please remain in your cars in the parking lot.

When a student leaves the building we will radio to the parking lot to allow another student into the building. We will judge how this goes and may allow more students in if the hallways are not crowded.


Friday, May 21st:  A special continuation video for 8th graders will be released.

Thanks for your assistance in this matter. We will be as smooth and efficient as possible. In 35 years of education I haven’t ever closed school in this manner so please be patient with our process.
Any unclaimed items after May 22nd will be discarded.

Annual Community Shred-a-thon supporting Newton Middle School
Please access this link for additional information regarding the upcoming shred-a-thon and electronic recycling event to be held at Newton Middle School on May 30th from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm which is sponsored by our partners at Arapahoe Credit Union. We will have a layout that promotes social distancing as well as health and safety precautions so please save the date and come out to support Newton!

Please let me know if you have any questions.
James O’Tremba
Principal, Newton Middle School​

May 1st, 2020

Good Evening Parents, Guardians and Students:

Chrome Book Updates
The district is releasing chrome book updates beginning today, it will take a couple weeks to get to all the chrome books. If your student is having trouble, can't get to sites or documents, make sure they are restarting the chrome books. If they have an up arrow in the bottom right hand corner, it won't work right until they restart.

Homeroom Hangout Update
Due to lack of participation I will not be requiring teachers to conduct homeroom sessions with students on Wednesdays. If a teacher chooses to conduct homeroom that is their discretion. We will continue to conduct spirit days with topics on Wednesday afternoons for students to participate in.

Missing Library Materials
Students received a list of their missing library materials. We are working on a specific time for students to return the materials. This will happen sometime during the last week of school.
Brian Ewert, LPS Superintendent, sent out a message this afternoon to our community regarding how we will end the school year. We are finalizing our Newton specific plan for that week and will have that sent out next Friday in my newsletter.

7th Grade - NJHS
Reminder: 7th graders eligible for NJHS - please get your applications in ASAP. If you have questions, please let Ms. Omdahl know.

2020-2021 School Registration
Registration information for our current 6th and 7th graders was uploaded to their Google Classroom main page on Wednesday. Please remind your student to go into their Google Classroom and make their choices for electives and submit to us. Elective course selection is due on Wednesday, May 6th at 5:00 pm.

Have a great weekend.
James O’Tremba
Principal, Newton Middle School​

April 24th, 2020

Good Evening Parents, Guardians and Students:

Attention NEXT YEARS 7th and 8th graders.
A Google Form will be sent on Wednesday April 29 for the students to sign up for next year's electives!  You will have one week to choose your classes, including Classroom Assistants, Library Assistants, Connections Assistants and Office Assistants.  The Forms are DUE Wednesday May 6 at 5pm.

No Online School Monday, April 27th
A quick reminder that we are following the LPS calendar for the year. This means that Monday, April 27th is a non-student day. There will be no distance learning on  April 27th.

Newton's Creative Writers
Newton had two students enter the 53rd Annual Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the Friends of the Littleton Library and Museum. Kooper Griggs and Emma Roskelley. Emma placed second for her short story “Jubli”. Congratulations to both students!

Newton John Lynch Award Winners
Congratulations to Cormac Lacey and Vincent Coriano, these two student athletes received the John Lynch Star of the Month Award from the John Lynch Foundation. Great job Cormac and Vincent.

Knight Notes 2020-2021
Are you interested in a group where you get to sing with your friends every day during study hall/homeroom? Come audition for Knight Notes! There is no experience necessary. Auditions will be held virtually and information can be found on the Knight Note Audition Google Classroom. The Classroom code is: i62jatp. I hope to hear from you soon! -Ms. Newman

End of School Year Procedures
I have had several questions regarding the end of the school year. We are formulating a plan and once that plan is complete we will share with our parent/student community. Final quarter/semester grades will be due by teachers into IC on Tuesday, May 19th. These will be Pass/Fail.  A schedule will be shared for locker clean out, yearbook pick up, chromebook return and semester recognition awards including honor roll and  eighth grade continuation certificates. We will also record an eighth grade continuation message for our eighth graders.

Virtual Scholastic Book Fair
We are excited to offer the Virtual Scholastic Book Fair for spring and summer reading.  We will be hosting the book fair from Wed, April 22 - Tues, May 5.   Click on the link below to view a wide variety of author interviews and previews of all the new books being featured by Scholastic this spring.  Of particular interest to our middle school and YA readers, click on the Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Young Adult and Scholastic Focus (Non-Fiction) sections on this link.
Then please go onto our home page and shop for some fantastic reads from Scholastic starting Wed, April 22 - Tues, May 5. Please access this link.
All proceeds help us buy books for our library.  Thank you for supporting NMS library!

Enjoy your weekend, take care and be well.
James O’Tremba
Principal, Newton Middle School

April 17th, 2020

Good Afternoon Parents, Guardians and Students:

April 27th Non-Student Day
A quick reminder that we are following the LPS calendar for the year. This means that Monday, April 27th is a non-student day. There will be no distance learning on  April 27th.

Virtual Scholastic Book Fair 
We are excited to offer the Virtual Scholastic Book Fair for spring and summer reading.  We will be hosting the book fair from Wed, April 22 - Tues, May 5.  Click here to view a wide variety of author interviews and previews of all the new books being featured by Scholastic this spring.  Of particular interest to our middle school and YA readers, click on the Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Young Adult and Scholastic Focus (Non-Fiction) sections on this link. Then please go onto our home page and shop for some fantastic reads from Scholastic starting Wed, April 22 - Tues, May 5. Please access this link. All proceeds help us buy books for our library.  Thank you for supporting NMS library!

Heritage HS Cheerleader Tryouts
Heritage High School will be conducting virtual tryouts for their cheerleaders soon. They currently do not have a date set. However, please click here to register for the tryouts if you are interested.
I hope this message finds you safe, doing well and healthy. If you have any questions or need assistance for your learning please contact your teacher or grade level administrator.

Take care and have a great weekend.
James O'Tremba
Principal, Newton Middle School

April 10th, 2020

Good Afternoon Parents, Guardians and Students:

Congratulations, you made it to the weekend and the first full week of Distance Learning. Please keep an eye out for a special message being put together by Mr. Wilmes from the staff this week.

Distance Learning Reminders

• The learning is to be asynchronous, which means students can work on tasks and assignments anytime throughout the entire day. Students do not have to be fully engaged between 9:00 am and noon. This looks different each day for each student.
• Students need to complete their attendance each day and engage in the learning. Attendance needs to be completed by 3:00 pm. We do our best to cross check each day to ensure a student is counted as attending if they engaged but did not complete their attendance. However, we do not always “catch” each student that hasn’t done their attendance. This is the student's responsibility each day. The attendance form is located in your Google Classroom.
• Students need to contact their teacher if they feel they are receiving too much or too little work to do.
• Grades for fourth quarter will be Pass/Fail, this is a hold harmless quarter meaning your grade cannot go down from your third quarter grade, it can only go up or remain the same, your final semester grade will be Pass/Fail.
• Our mental health team is available to students, this information is located on the learning template that has been sent out on numerous occasions. It is also located on the front page of our website if you need to access. The learning template also includes the link to the district if you are experiencing problems with your technology. Click here for the link to the learning template.

If you have specific questions regarding your learning please contact your teacher, if you have any other questions please contact your grade level administrator.

New Hires

I have some announcements and celebrations this week. We were able to finalize the hiring for the following positions:

• Assistant Principal:  Allison Huck will be joining us. Allison is currently the Assistant Principal at Cimarron Middle School in Parker and lives in the Newton community. We are extremely happy to have Allison join our Newton team.
• .5 Social Worker:  Megan Rotter will be joining our Mental Health team. Megan spent approximately eight weeks working for us this winter when Mrs. Swingler took her maternity leave. Megan did a great job and we welcome her return to Newton. 
• Full Time Special Education Para:  Julia Olson currently works half time in our Learning Services Program and has now accepted the full time position. We are excited to have Julia return to full time work with our program and our students.

Next week we will be interviewing for our sixth grade language arts position, sixth grade science/math and eighth grade math. I will keep you updated as we fill these positions.

Disney Day

Thank  you to everyone who participated in our Disney Day on Wednesday and the Make a Wish community event with Arapahoe High School. It is my understanding that Arapahoe, with our assistance…..met their goal.

Have a great weekend. Take care and be safe. We miss all of you!

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton Middle School

April 4th, 2020

​Good Morning Parents/Guardians and Students:

I hope this message finds everyone doing well and enjoying their distance learning experience. We have had great attendance this week and it seems like we are settling into a regular routine. Of course this will take some time and patience as we continue to hone our skills in this new experience as teachers and administrator as are our parents and students.

We are definitely trying to  balance the workload for students and problem solving what works best for all students. The work provided may not have been enough for some and too much for others. Please be patient with us as we are also evolving with our learning curve. If you have questions regarding workload please contact your teacher.

We are all trying to reach our desired learning state. This will not be an exact duplicate of students attending school at Newton on a daily basis. This is simply impossible to recreate in a distant learning environment. Negative social media posts are counter productive to our community and the hard work and effort that we have all put forward to ensure our students are receiving the best education we can provide through this difficult time. If you have questions/concerns please contact the teacher directly, Ms. Rahne, Mr. Wyckhuyse or myself. I do appreciate all of the parents that have reached out with positive messages and sharing the experiences of the week. Thanks for all of your assistance!

Arapahoe Make a Wish Week
We are partnering with Arapahoe High School and the Make a Wish Foundation to support kindness and the Make a Wish Foundation. We will be participating in a virtual Disney Week. I am attaching the flyer for you for more specific information. Let's have as many parents/students participate as we can. If you have specific questions please contact Ms. Bond. The event will be held April 6th through the 10th.

NMS Learning Template
I am again providing the link to the NMS learning template. Students need to check here daily, look at the announcements and then proceed to their google classroom Students, please remember to complete the attendance form and submit each day! Ms. Gardner shared a document with me this week that is an organizer for distance learning. I am sharing it here with you. It is template that students can use on a weekly basis, I appreciate Ms. Gardner sharing and I hope it is a useful tool for our students.

District Nutritional Services Information:
We will be operating 4 bus routes to deliver FREE meals to students across the district in addition to the school sites at Field and East Elementary. The bus route meals will be prepared at Littleton High School. I've provided the link for the information about all of the bus routes locations/times. 

Mental Health Services Consent: 
The Newton mental health team will continue to answer new counseling requests and meet with students already being regularly seen. Meetings may be conducted via scheduled Google Hangout meetings, email, or phone call. Consent for these services are based on an OPT OUT system. If you do not want your student to receive mental health services virtually, please indicate this in an email to Susi Swingler.  Please be sure to include your child's name. The opt out policy does not apply to students on IEPs who receive regular service minutes with our school psychologists. Further communication for consent for those services will be sent by case managers.

We conducted a virtual staff meeting this week, I want to pass onto you how much our students are missed and how much we enjoy being with you on a daily basis. Yesterday school was cancelled for the remaining part of the school year. I have had several questions regarding end of the year activities such as continuation, yearbooks etc. I feel horrible for our eighth graders and these milestones they will be missing, as I do for the seniors in high school, colleges etc. We will ensure that students receive yearbooks, continuation certificates etc. Again, if you have any questions please let me know.

Have a great weekend. Be well and healthy.
James O’Tremba
Principal, Newton Middle School