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A NOTE FROM TOM MESSINGER

Cardinals,

     The 2020-2021 school year has seen many changes between August 2020 and February 2021.  We saw changes due to COVID-19, the derecho, and inclement weather.  In a year with new ways of communicating with families and reaching our students, many people have not seen family members or loved ones in a long time.  The Newton Community School District is making one last calendar change to provide some concrete closure to the school year. It is important for everyone to have some “normal” experiences again.  To do that, we want to reassure all of our families that the last day of school for our students will be June 4, 2021.  To accomplish this, we will eliminate early dismissal Mondays for our students starting on March 1, 2021.  The extra hours each week will allow us to meet the required instructional hours for our students.  98.5% of our families responding to the recent School Calendar Changes survey selected this option.

 

     The other big news for the Newton Community School District is the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination process for our Cardinal Staff.  Many of the bus drivers have received their first dose of the vaccination and the scheduled days for the remainder of the staff wishing to receive the vaccination will be February 18 & 19, 2021.  This is a major step in the process of returning to normal.  We want to thank all of our staff members who have continued to go above and beyond to keep our schools open and operating.  We have experienced a tremendous amount of success this year with our mitigation efforts and constant attention to our Return to Learn Plan.  

 

     As we prepare for the end of our school year, we are also busy thinking ahead about 2021-2022.  We have learned many things which will help us improve and we will continue to challenge ourselves to provide the best possible opportunities for each and every student.

Yours truly,

 

Tom Messinger

Superintendent

Newton Community School District


Red Pride Runs Deep In Newton

Red Pride runs deep in Newton Community School District and when there is a need, there are educators who are there to meet them. Check out how these educators have gone above and beyond to show how much Newton means to them. 


TEACHER FEATURE 

Meet Laura Kingery and learn more about how she is making an impact at Aurora Heights as a special education teacher.

February 15th

  • Bowling: Boys Varsity District/Regional Meet vs. IHSAA @ Great Escape (1:30pm)
  • Basketball: Boys JV2 vs. Centerville @ Newton High School Gym-Lower (4:45pm)
  • Basketball: Boys JV1 vs. Centerville @ Newton High School Gym-Lower (6:15pm)
  • Basketball: Boys Varsity Game vs. Centerville @ Newton High School Gym-Upper (8:00pm)

February 16th

  • HS- All Iowa Concert Band Festival
  • Bowling: Girls Varsity District/Regional Meet vs. IHSAA @ Great Escape (1:30pm)
  • Basketball: Boys JV 2 vs. Bondurant-Farrar @ Newton High School Gym-Upper (4:45pm)
  • Basketball: Boys JV 1 vs. Bondurant-Farrar @ Newton High School Gym-Upper (6:15pm)
  • Basketball: Boys Varsity Game vs. Bondurant Farrar @ Newton High School Gym-Upper (7:45pm)

February 17th

  • Basketball: Girls Varsity Regional Tournament vs. Grinnell @ Grinnell High School (7:00pm)

February 18th

  • Wrestling: Varsity State Meet vs. IHSAA @ Wells Fargo Arena- Des Moines
  • Basketball: Boys JV1 Game vs. Adel DeSoto Minburn @ ADM High School (6:15pm)
  • Basketball: Boys Varsity vs. Adel Desoto Minburn @ ADM High School (7:45pm)

February 19th

  • Wrestling: Varsity State Meet vs. IHSAA @ Wells Fargo Arena- Des Moines (TBD)

February 20th

  • Wrestling: Varsity State Meet vs. IHSAA @ Wells Fargo Arena- Des Moines (TBD)
  • HS: Princess Ball: Gym- Lower (5:00pm-11:00pm)


February 22nd

  • Basketball: Boys Varsity District Tournament vs. IHSAA @ TBA (7:00pm)

February 23rd

  • Bowling: Girls Varsity State Meet vs. IHSAA @ Cadillac Lanes (10:00am)
  • Bowling: Boys Varsity State Meet vs. IHSAA @ Cadillac Lanes

February 25th

  • Basketball: Boys Varsity District Tournament vs. IHSAA @ TBD (7:00pm)
  • Middle School- Jazz Band/Choir Concert @ MS North Gym (7:00pm)

February 26th

  • HS- Night of Jazz @ HS Auditorium (6:00pm)

Upcoming Academic Calendar Dates

  • February 15th- 1.5 Hour Early Dismissal (ALL DISTRICT)
  • February 15th- District Office Closed- President's Day Holiday
  • February 22nd- NO SCHOOL- Students (All Day, Teacher Professional Development)
  • February 22nd- District Board Meeting (6:30pm-9 pm)
    • EJH Beard Administration Center - Room 105A / via ZOOM
  • February 23rd- Parent-Teacher Conferences (BMS)
  • February 25th- Parent-Teacher Conferences (NHS)


If you need to update your contact preferences (voice, text, email) in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, here is a link from our Technology Department with instructions here!


Check out the School Board meeting highlights from the meeting on February 8th, 2021 here!

Newton By The Numbers

12

Parks

185

Tree species in Newton Arboretum

90

Displays of public art & sculpture

Whether you’re raising a family, starting a business or building a home — you’ll want to get to know Newton. Our community vision statement is “Newton Shines Bright: Newton is a progressive, family friendly community, a shining star of Central Iowa, and a place to call home.”

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