Superintendent's Update for November 16, 2009
American Education Week
American Education Week will be celebrated from November 15 through November 21
this year. I’ve always thought the time of year significant as we are also
pausing to give thanks for many things at this special time of year...
[read
more]
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What's News...
November 19, 2009
Newton Rotary provides grant for Wiis in schools
The Rotary Club of Newton provided a grant in the amount of $2,250 to purchase six Wii Fit Plus, 6 Wiis with extra controllers, nunchucks, and battery chargers for Balance Boards (WiiFit) and related physical education equipment for Newton elementary schools.
[see full story in the Newton Kansan]
November 19, 2009
NHS to host men's alumni basketball game
The 2nd Annual Newton High School Men's Alumni Basketball game will be held in Ravenscroft Gym on Saturday, December 19 beginning at 5:00 pm. Admission to the game is $3, with proceeds benefitting the NHS boys team. If any alumni are interested in playing, please contact Scott Bogunovich at sbogunovich83@yahoo.com or call 316-727-6331.
November 17, 2009
Newton middle school students participate in honor choirs
Several Chisholm and Santa Fe Middle School students recently participated in two honor choirs that performed in Andover and Maize.
November 12, 2009
NHS gymnastics team ties for first
The Newton High School Gymnastics team tied for first place at the state competition held Saturday at NHS. The full story and photos are available on The Kansan website.
November 9, 2009
NHS to present Camelot November 19-21
The Newton High School drama and music departments will be presenting the classic musical "Camelot" on November 19, 20, and 21 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students and may be reserved by emailing Cassandra Conley (cconley@newton.k12.ks.us) with the date of the performance and number of tickets needed.
November 5, 2009
Newton students selected for Pioneer League Honor Band
Fourteen eighth grade band students have been selected to participate in the 2009 Pioneer League Honor Band. The students from Santa Fe and Chisholm Middle Schools will join band students from Derby, Hutchinson, and Maize for a performance directed by Mr. Scott Freeby of Manhattan. The Pioneer League Honor Band will rehearse and present a concert at Maize South Middle School on Saturday, November 14...
November 5, 2009
Author Roland Smith to Visit Newton Middle Schools
Author Roland Smith will visit Newton middle schools in just a few days. He will talk to Santa Fe students at the Fox Theatre on November 9. Assembly times are as follows: 7th grade at 10:00 a.m.; 8th grade at 1:00 p. m. He will also autograph books at the Santa Fe Media Center at 2:45 p.m.
Smith will be at Chisholm on Tuesday, November 10, in the library, at the following times: 6th grade at 8:15 a.m.; 7th grade at 10 a.m.; 8th grade at 1:30 p.m.
November 5, 2009
Red Sox pitcher revisits his roots
Dustin Richardson, a Newton native and Boston Red Sox baseball player, recently paid a visit to Chisholm Middle School to touch base with some of his former teachers and sign autographs for students.
November 5, 2009
Newton Schools Celebrate Fall
Several Newton schools celebrated fall last week with field trips to pumpkin patches, costume parades, pumpkin decorating contests, games and food making activities...
October 21, 2009
Newton schools receive 51 Standard of Excellence Awards
The Kansas Department of Education has announced the annual Standard of Excellence Awards, based on student performance on the spring 2009 state assessments. Newton Public Schools garnered a total of 51 Standards of Excellence in the 2008-09 school year. This represents an increase over the 2007-08 school year, when Newton schools received 44 awards.
October 21, 2009
Conley receives theatre conference grant
CCassandra Conley, theatre educator at Newton High School, is one of three recipients of a 2009 Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) Annual Conference Grant for New Educators.
The EdTA Annual Conference provides theatre educators with relevant programming including workshops, opportunities to earn continuing education units and graduate-level credit, as well as the chance to network with fellow educators....
October 21, 2009
Rangel attends state BEA convention, receives first place
The Kansas Business Education Association’s annual two-day convention convened on Thursday, October 15, at the Olive Garvey Business and Technology Building at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. Local business teachers in attendance included Melinda Rangel, Newton High School.
At Thursday’s session, business and technology teachers from across the state attended hands-on training sessions in subjects such as iMovie, iDVD, InDesign, Vegas Movie Studio 9, Career Clusters, Illustrator, Quickbooks and new technologies promoting student interaction.
October 14, 2009
Newton Students Recognized by National Merit Scholarship Corporation
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced that three Newton High School students have qualified for recognition in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Megan Leary has been named a National Merit semi-finalist, and Ben Kreider and Andrew J. Walker have both been named commended students...
October 14, 2009
The Power of a Penny
Can a penny bring peace? Fifth grade students at Sunset Elementary are hoping to find out: they have joined with Pennies for Peace, a campaign that strives to help educate children in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to a press release from the program, a penny can buy a pencil, start an education, and transform a life. In a region where terrorist organizations recruit uneducated, illiterate children, that pencil can empower a child to read, write, and learn...
October 6, 2009
Body Venture exhibit travels to South Breeze
Students at South Breeze Elementary got the chance to navigate through a large "human body" recently when the Body Venture exhibit was set up in the school's gymnasium. The 50 ft. long exhibit, sponsored by the Kansas Department of Education travels across the state educating students on good nutrition and health. Groups of students tour the exhibit's mouth, stomach, heart and other areas of the body, actively participating at each station while learning about the different functions and ways to keep their bodies healthy...
September 28, 2009
Railer debaters perform well at tournaments
Newton High School debaters took three of the top ten places at the Hutchinson Tom Kelly Invitational tournament this past weekend. Railer teams placed 2nd, 4th, and 9th at the competition...
September 28 2009
NHS Homecoming Celebration
Newton High School will celebrate Homecoming, September 28--October 2, 2009. The theme for this year is "Woodstock 40 - Railer 125." NHS students will celebrate with a 60's-themed Spirit Week, and wrap up with the homecoming parade, coronation, football game and dance on Friday evening...
[more details & homecoming schedule]
September 22, 2009
NHS students named AP Scholars
Two students at Newton High School have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP Exams.
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school, and to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams...
September 22, 2009
Slate Creek Donors Honored
Students and staff at Slate Creek Elementary School honored Drs. Todd and Lynette Hendrickson of Hendrickson Chiropractic, and Chris Wondra of Millenium Machine and Tool, during an assembly last Friday, thanking them for the donation of funds to purchase a set of Socci goals...
September 17, 2009
Davis joins USD 373 as Elementary SRO
The uniform looks familiar but the face is new! Newton elementary school students and staff have noticed a new addition to their buildings. Newton Police officer Jeff Davis is fast becoming a familiar face at the elementary schools. Davis is the second elementary school SRO in as many years, following Brad Celestin, who returned to community police work at the end of last school year...