September 15th, 2017

Good Afternoon Parents and Guardians:

NMS Accountability Committee

Attention all Parents:  We are in need of accountability committee members and a president. We need to meet a minimum of four times throughout the school year. We generally meet twice in the fall/early winter and twice in the winter/early spring. Our meetings are at 4:00 pm and we schedule them for a Thursday afternoon. I update the committee members on topics from our building and the district. One topic at the district level will be the district reviewing start and end times for school next year. If you are interested please e-mail me. Our first meeting will be Thursday, September 21st at 4:00 pm in our Library. We are also in need of someone to serve as a building representative for the district accountability committee. If you are interested please let me know.

Picture Day October 2nd

October 2nd is picture day. We will take student pictures during the morning of the 2nd. Picture packets will be distributed to students on September 27th.

8th graders interested in attending LHS for high school:

Littleton High School aims to welcome visiting eighth graders and their parents while minimizing school hours missed for high school visits. Thus, we will once again offer several morning visit dates this fall. Students and parents who wish to explore LHS must register online. Our visits are 8-10:30 am on certain Tuesdays, after which students return to middle school for the majority of their school day.

Our online sign-up form is linked here:

http://littletonpublicschools.net/schools/littleton-high-school/8th-grade-visits

Additionally, our Lion Pride Preview open house is 6:30 pm Wednesday, November 1.

Newton Community KNights at local restaurants are back!

The kickoff for this school year is next week on Tuesday, September 19 at Bad Daddy's Burger Bar SouthGlenn from 5pm-9pm.  Mention Newton and 20% of your bill for dine in or take out will be donated back to our school in support of our Annual Fund Drive.  Please spread the word and see you there!

Online Student Handbook

As mentioned in my newsletter last week, our student handbook for conduct, policies practices etc. around student behavior is now on our website. Here is the link for the handbook if you would like to read it over:

Online Student Handbook

We have the CMAS reports from our testing last spring. These will be sent home with students on Wednesday, September 20th. Please keep an eye out for the reports.

Arapahoe Sheriff Department Visits Newton

The Arapahoe Sheriff department came to Newton on Monday, September 11th and Tuesday, September 12th to present Cyber safety information to all of our students during their science classes.  Thank you science team for giving up some of your instructional time!

The presentations were very informative and hopefully will make a positive impact on our students. Here are some helpful links regarding cyber safety for parents:

• http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents
• http://www.netsmartz.org/Sexting
• http://www.netsmartz.org/SocialMedia

Have a great weekend.

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton Middle School

September 8th, 2017

Good Afternoon Parents and Guardians:

The Annual PTO Fund Drive

The PTO’s Annual Fund Drive continues!!  Thanks to those who have donated.  To date, the PTO has collected $18,795.  This amounts to 63% of our total goal.  

If you have not contributed yet, please donate!  Our goal for this fundraiser is 100% participation by the Newton community.  We are asking for $125 per student, but the PTO will accept any amount that fits your family budget.

Click here to make a donation via Paypal today.  You can also contribute  cash (or a check payable to Newton PTO) and deliver it to the main office at Newton.  All donations are tax deductible.  Please give before the fund drive ends on October 31, 2017.

Detailed information about the Annual Fund Drive, including the Paypal link, is available on the Newton website under NMS PTO Fund Drive.  

Thank you for supporting the Newton PTO!

Volunteers Needed

We are still in need of volunteers to help with our CODE cart for student rewards, especially during  8th grade lunch. If you are interested please access the link provided.

Volunteer Today!

Student Handbook Available Online

Our student handbook for behavior and expectations is now posted on our website, the link to the handbook is below:

2017 Student Handbook

Student Absences

Parents or guardians of all students can excuse up to 8 days of absence without documentation. Any prolonged absences such as family vacations, sport or activity trips etc. must be approved in advance by the administrator. At Newton if you are a parent of a sixth grader please notify Ms. Rahne, seventh grade parents will notify Mr. Wyckhuyse and eighth grade parents please notify Mr. O’Tremba.

Have a great weekend.

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton Middle School

September 1st, 2017

Good Afternoon Parents and Guardians:

It has been a difficult, heavy and trying week for all of us in the LPS community. It is with our most heartfelt sympathy that we remember the students at Arapahoe and Powell and support their communities as we go through this difficult time together. Our relationships are close and our students are very intertwined with these two schools. We always have a heightened awareness here for our students and especially in times like this. On Wednesday morning I sent talking points to our staff to deal with grief and loss and how to approach these subjects with their students in the classroom. I also conducted a brief staff meeting to debrief with our staff and to assist them as needed.

We have heard from several parents and met with several students here to assist in their emotional needs. Please know that we will do all that we can for any student who is struggling with dealing with the topics of death, depression, suicide or loss in general. We have a full time school psychologist, a half time school psychologist and a social worker here available for students any time. If you as a parent feel  your child is struggling please notify us and we will assist in any manner that we can.

As I stated earlier this has been a difficult week, however I know that as a community we will love and support each other and get through this together. Today I sent four of our staff over to Littleton HS to listen to a presentation on the Sources of Strength Program. We will look at the program and determine if this is something we want to implement here at Newton. Thanks for all of the support from our parents and community. We appreciate all that you do for us!

I have included the link to the Sources of Strength website if you are interested in further details of the program:  https://sourcesofstrength.org/

We will also continue with our Yellow Ribbon Program and training as we have in the past.

Thanks to all of our parents who have donated to our Annual Newton Pledge Drive, for those of you who are not aware of our pledge drive or who have not donated please see the information below from our PTO:

The Annual PTO Fund Drive

Newton PTO’s Annual Fund Drive is currently in progress.  This is the main PTO fundraiser all year.  The goal is to raise $30,000 for school improvements.  This year, the funds will be used to resurface the gymnasium floor and paint the Newton Knights logo on the gym floor.  In addition, the funds will support the Reading Counts program, the Fall dance, Teacher Appreciation, school supplies and teacher grants.  Every student at Newton will benefit from the planned improvements.   

The PTO wants to extend a thank you to those who have already contributed to the Annual Fund Drive.  To date, the PTO has collected $17,350, which amounts to slightly more than half of our goal.

If you have not contributed yet, please consider donating!  Our goal for this fundraiser is 100% participation by the Newton community.  The requested donation amount is $125 per student.  However, the PTO will accept any amount that fits your family budget.

There is more than one way to contribute.  First, you may contribute online, click here to make a donation via Paypal today.  Secondly, you may contribute  cash (or a check payable to Newton PTO) and deliver it to the main office at Newton.  All of this information, including the Paypal link, is available on the Newton website under NMS PTO Fund Drive.  

All donations are tax-deductible.  Your donation may also be subject to a corporate match by your employer.  If your employer offers corporate matching, please check whether your donation is eligible for a match!

The deadline to participate in the Annual Fund Drive is October 31, 2017.  Thank you for supporting the Newton PTO!

1st Newton Community KNight Out

In support of our fund drive, please save the date for the 1st Newton Community KNight of this school year! Join us on Tuesday, September 19 at Bad Daddy's Burger Bar SouthGlenn from 5pm-9pm. When you mention Newton for your dine-in or take-out order, Bad Daddy's will generously donate 20% of these sales to our school.  Please spread the word and see you there!

Thanks again, enjoy the Labor Day Weekend.

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton MS

August 25th 2017

Good Afternoon Parents and Guardians:

I hope your child experienced a great first full week of school. I know for the sixth graders this was a very new, exciting, anxious learning experience. I think they have settled in well and we’ll all have a great year. We enjoyed having everyone in for back to school night. Please remember that you can contact any teacher at any time if needed. E-mail is generally the best manner in which to contact anyone here at Newton.

All 8th grade students who are interested in Arapahoe High School please see the attached flier regarding their fall shadowing program.

If you are interested in volunteering to help give out prizes for our CODE Cart please access the sign up genius below:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c49afaf2fa0fe3-code  

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM OUR NEWTON PTO:

Our first PTO meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 19th at 9:00 am. Please check in at the main office and they will direct you to the correct meeting room.

We are still attempting to fill the following positions:

Vice President:  This is super easy this year and then you can move into the president’s position next year. Not a difficult job, you just need to help people stay on task and keep things organized.

Treasurer: This may be filled. TBA

Community Relations:  this person helps with the STRIDE, Shred a thon in the spring and Spirit, along with new families to Newton.

VIPS:  Volunteers in public schools, could use a second person to help Bethany!

If there is something you would be interested please let me know.. You will find that serving the PTO is a fun way to help at Newton and much more relaxed than the elementary schools PTO’s tend to be.

Please be aware of the following event in LPS:

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed

SAVE THE DATE!  

National Best Selling Author, Teacher, Mom - Jessica Lahey

Hosted by Littleton Public Schools and the LPS Foundation

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

7:00 - 8:30 pm

Arapahoe High School Theater

Admission is FREE!

LPS Parents, Families, and Staff are Invited!

LPS has initiated a new attendance policy for this school year. Please pay attention as the policy is much more stringent than it has been in the past. It is as follows:

After a student has missed 5 days:  The school contacts the family with a phone call of concern. The phone call will be documented.

After a student has missed 8 days:  The designated school administrator calls the family to emphasize the attendance concern and district policies. The school administration informs the family that documentation (Doctor's note) is required for further absences. The school will send a letter to the parents after the phone call that reviews the policy and notifies in writing that the student is now on documentation for absences.

After a student has missed 10 days:  The school sets up a meeting with the parent and the district School Engagement Specialist.  The meeting will problem solve, explore barriers and create an attendance plan for the student. The family will also be given the district Attendance Concerns Letter at the meeting or mailed if the family is unable to attend the meeting.  The letter contains information about LPS attendance policy, facts regarding the importance of attendance and next steps that may occur. The meeting will be documented in Infinite Campus.

After a student has missed 12 days:  We will work with the family and with the school district School Engagement Specialist and make a decision regarding the possibility of truancy court and explore all other options.

Parents or guardians of all students can excuse up to 8 days of absence without documentation. Any prolonged absences such as family vacations, sport or activity trips etc. must be approved in advance by the administrator. At Newton if you are a parent of a sixth grader please notify Ms. Rahne, seventh grade parents will notify Mr. Wyckhuyse and eighth grade parents please notify Mr. O’Tremba.

Again, thank you to all of our parents who attended back to school night. It was a great evening and we are looking forward to a wonderful school year.

Enjoy your weekend.

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton MS

May 19th, 2017

Good Afternoon Parents and Guardians:

Parents- Please send your child's Chromebook charger to school with them on Monday or Tuesday so they can be cleaned up over the summer.

Parking for Continuation

The following lots will have parking on May 25th:

·         Newton EAST lot – Parking is limited

·         Salvation Army Church parking lot.

·         Chapel Hill Mortuary parking lot – as long as no service is being held (allow extra time for the walk to Newton)

·         Church of Christ WEST lot (behind bldg.) (allow extra time for the walk to Newton)

6 Handicap parking spots are available in Newton’s East lot – please be prepared to drop somebody off if these are full.

·         Neighborhood parking is always available (allow extra time for the walk to Newton)

NO PARKING IN THE NORTHWEST LOT (reserved for staff)!

DOORS OPEN AT 12:30

Please refer to our dress code for Continuation, and remember:

• Dresses that are strapless or have straps instead of sleeves must be worn with a shrug or sweater covering the shoulders.
• Skirts and Dresses must be an appropriate length – remember you will be walking up steps to the stage.
• We would prefer that students not wear t-shirts or jeans if possible.
• Students who violate the dress code will be required to modify their appearance by covering or removing the offending item and, if necessary or practical, replacing the item with an acceptable item.
• Building administration has final discretion on all dress code decisions.

Please refer to the front page of our website for all dates and times for our end of the year activities and schedule for the last week of school.

Thanks and have a great weekend….one more week to go!

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton Middle School

May 12th, 2017

Good Afternoon Parents and Guardians:

Our concert schedule for next week is as follows:

• Tuesday, May 16th:      Choir Concert
• Wednesday, May 17th:  Orchestra Concert
• Thursday, May 18th:      Band Concert

All beginning times for the concerts are at 7:00 pm. The concerts will be held in our gym. All Newton families are invited to attend. Students may attend but need a parent present with them. Lets support or performing arts students with a great turn out next week. If you have additional questions please contact Mrs. Bransgrove or Ms. Andrews.

Registration for the 2017-18 school year is available. For step by step instructions please access the front page of our school website.

Thank you to Newton families, faculty, staff and friends for supporting the Community KNights throughout this school year.  The evenings at local restaurants raised almost $3,200 to support projects and programs at Newton.  The PTO thanks you for your support and looks forward to sharing food and fun again next year!

Please check our website for additional end of the year activities, times and dates.

Have great weekend.

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton Middle School

May 5th, 2017

Good Morning Parents and Guardians:

I apologize for the late newsletter. Infinite Campus was down and I could not access campus messenger.

Thank you to Shred a thon volunteers and participants!!

Despite the cold and snowy weather on Saturday the 29th of April, the Arapahoe Credit Union/Newton Middle School PTO Shred-A-Thon raised $3,250 for the school!!  We shredded approximately 30,000 lbs of paper and about a half truck of electronics recycling and 312 cars were taken care of.  We could not have made this possible without our wonderful volunteers and those Newton families that participated in the event. Thanks for your help!

Newton PTO

Please refer to our website for all end of the year activities, dates and times. Our 8th grade continuation will be held Thursday, May 25th at 1:00 pm.

Have a great week!.

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton Middle School