In this month's edition of Spotlight, you will see the four district Ideas We Live By: Focus, Heart, Collaboration, and Creativity. These four ideas serve as anchors for all of our work in the schools and school district. To define each idea, all faculty members brainstormed related concepts, and then we determined trends and patterns among those related ideas. Specifically, the idea of Focus reminds us of the importantance of goals and priorities in what we plan to accomplish; the idea of Heart reminds us to act with care, compassion, and empathy in our daily encounters; the idea of Collaboration means that we develop partnerships to be our best; and the idea of Creativity encourages us to imagine inspiring learning experiences for all of our students. The four Ideas We Live By guide our ongoing planning for our district's progress. Throughout November's Spotlight, you will see great examples of Focus, Heart, Collaboration, and Creativity in the actions of our students and staff members and in the many contributions from the broader New Milford community. As always, we thank you for the continued support of our students and our schools.
- December 1st - Townwide PTO Spirit Day | Backwards Day
- December 14th - Early Dismissal | Professional Development
- December 22 - January 1 | Holiday Break
- January 2nd - Return to School
- January 5th - Townwide PTO Spirit Day | Dress to Impress
- January 15th - Martin Luther King, Jr Day | Schools Closed
- June 15th at 10am - NMHS Graduation
Mission Statement
Email: suptoffice@newmilfordps.org
Website: https://www.newmilfordps.org/
25 Sunny Valley Road, Suite A
New Milford, CT 06776
Phone: 860-355-8406
Scholastic Book Fair
Thanks to the hard work and generosity of the SMS PTO, the fall book fair was a huge success! Each student had the opportunity to visit the book fair with their ELA class. This allowed students the opportunity to pick out books of choice as we encourage students to build a love of reading.
Veteran’s Day Program
This year SMS was once again proud to welcome local veterans and our friend from New Milford High School for a program honoring veterans. The program, held on Thursday, November 9th, featured the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, the NMHS Wind Ensemble playing the United States Armed Forces Medley, a reading about the history of Veteran’s Day, and some words of advice from a local veteran. We are incredibly proud of all of our musicians for their hard work and dedication to their craft. Their performances were amazing and showed just how much hard work went into preparing!
New Milford’s Own Banana!
On Tuesday, November 21st, students and staff got the chance of a lifetime to engage with Jackson Olson of the Savannah Bananas. Jackson, a New Milford alumn, volunteered his time to speak with students and staff. Jackson told the story of his journey from the baseball diamond at New Milford High School to a Division 1 baseball program. He talked about getting drafted in his junior year, his decision to return to college for his senior year, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on his aspirations to play professional baseball. Finally, Jackson talked about how his social media partnership with Major League Baseball came about, and how this ultimately led to him joining the Savannah Bananas. Jackson’s message was all about believing in yourself, following your dreams, and never giving up. His story is one that resonated with many students, as they considered their own goals and aspirations for the future. After his presentation, Jackson took time to greet students and sign some autographs. Jackson also made a special stop to see students in our ILC program. We are incredibly grateful for the time that Jackson took to share his story. It was a truly memorable experience for all involved!
In early November, NES Students learned about voting and elections as well. Mrs. Bouzakis’ class read “Duck for President” by Doreen Cronin, and then held an election for which barnyard animal would be best to govern the farm! Duck won the election by ONE vote and it was an important lesson about why every vote counts!
Mrs. Pilla and Mrs. Breidster's class joined together to have a Writer's Celebration to celebrate the closing of the Personal Narrative Writing Unit. They were in groups reading and listening to their small moment stories. They also used a checklist and post-its to share their glows with their friends.
Ms. Diane Swanson taught us all about seed dispersal. We walked around outside to find various seed pods. We learned that seeds are protected by pods. Ms. Diane also helped us understand how seeds are dispersed by “parent plants.”
Thanks to Mrs. Sanchez, our other school counselor, who has done it again! She organized HPS’s annual school wide food drive to benefit Camella’s Cupboard and families in need. Some of our students volunteered to help sort the food on the last day of the drive. We thank you, the families, for all the donations.
November was a busy month for the Food and Nutrition Department as we served our traditional Thanksgiving themed meal which included roasted butternut squash from Maple Bank Farm in Roxbury! We continued our offering of local produce by having Cortland apples from Maple Bank Farm available to students at breakfast and lunch meals as well as offering a kale salad to students made with locally grown kale!
We would also like to highlight that throughout the 2023-2024 school year, breakfast is free for all students at all schools. There is a variety of nutritious options that are available to students and is encouraged as it will provide them with the energy they need to take on their day!
