August 16th, 2022

 Good Morning Parents/Guardians and Students:

I want to welcome all of you to Newton Middle School and the 2022-23 school year. This will be the first of many communications you receive from me throughout the school year. I do a regular newsletter every Friday for all students. The newsletters each week will include important school information, schedules, calendar events, PTO information etc. Please make it a habit each week to read and stay in contact with us here at Newton.

The first day of school will be tomorrow, Wednesday, August 17th. Our sixth graders will report at our regular start time of 8:54 am and our seventh and eighth grade students will report two hours later at 10:54 am. Bus routes will be available for both start times. Please remember this is for the 17th of August only. All students will report at 8:54 on the 18th.

Just a reminder that all sixth graders will enter the building at the main entrance to the school each and every day. Seventh and eighth graders will enter through the athletic entrance, located just south of the main entrance. Sixth graders will remain in the main hallway until the bell rings, seventh and eighth graders will remain in the cafeteria. Once the bell rings students then enter their respective learning pod. Just a reminder we do not allow any food or drink in the building other than a water bottle. If students bring their own lunch that needs to be stored in their backpack or stored in a day locker and brought to the cafeteria.

There will be no eating outside or on the learning stairs. Students will be expected to eat lunch at a cafeteria table in the lunchroom. We will remind students of these expectations tomorrow.

Staff will be present on duty outside at all crosswalks, entry in the building etc. WEB leaders will be present inside the building to assist all sixth graders. Dismissal for ALL STUDENTS will be at 3:50 pm. If students are walking to school please stay on the sidewalks and be careful crossing. Mr. Wyckhuyse and I will be at the Albion/Arapahoe intersection along with other teachers in order to assist students in the morning and afternoon.

Parents, if you are dropping off students please enter the parking lot and follow the bright yellow, neon signs that direct you to the right which is the drop off lane. We will have teachers directing traffic, please follow their guidance and the direction of the sandwich boards which will be located in the drop off lane. This process will take some time so please allow additional time, especially during the first week or two of school to drop your student. Once you drop your student you can pull out of line to the left and exit the loop. Please pull as far forward as possible in order to not hold up the line. Students who ride the bus will be dropped off in the bus lane and can walk down the sidewalk to their respective entrance.

Sixth graders should bring a water bottle, notebook, pen or pencil with them for the first day of school. Seventh and eighth graders need to check their teacher websites or teacher pages for further information regarding tomorrow. ALL STUDENTS need to bring a paper copy of their schedule for the day. For the first few days of school the lunch lines will be long, especially in the sixth grade as we all get used to returning to school and adapting to our processes. If you have the ability to bring your own lunch for a few days that may be a great idea if you want to avoid lines.

Medication drop off will be tomorrow morning, Wednesday the 17th for sixth graders at 8:30 am and 10:30 am for seventh and eighth graders. A parent or guardian must be the one to drop off the medication and have the proper documentation. There will be a table located outside the main office designated for medication drop off.

Nutritional Services Information:

The Nutrition Services team is excited to be back in action!  Here are updates for our parents and students that will be critical for you to know:

Meals are no longer free for LPS students unless they qualify for free or reduced price meals.  Student's who were not approved for free or reduced price meals last SY and have not applied for F/R meals this year will start the year responsible for the cost of their meals. Families are responsible for the costs until their application is approved. Meal prices can be found on our website: www.lpsnutrition.com.  Ala Carte will still be available for all students for a separate cost. Students will be required to enter their pin numbers again this school year. 

Transportation Information:

Parents can find bus information according to their address by using this online tool Infofinder i . You should also be able to view it in your parent portal on the transportation tab. 

Students who are open enrolled or who live within the walk zone can complete and submit a Space Available application. Approvals of applications are made typically 3-4 weeks after school has started.

Again, welcome to the 2022-23 school year, we are prepared and excited for your return to school and our second year in our new building. If you have any questions please contact the following administrators regarding grade level specific questions: Ms. Catie Gambrell, sixth grade, Mr. Brian Wyckhuyse, seventh grade, and Mr. James O’Tremba, regarding any eighth grade questions.

Have a great afternoon and evening! We look forward to seeing all of our students in the morning.

James O’Tremba

Principal, Newton Middle School