The Year 2022 was filled with lessons and smiles for students in Newtown’s public schools.

“It’s been a great year,” Superintendent of Schools Chris Melillo said near the end of December.

The superintendent started his time in the district mid-summer 2022. He has spent a lot of time getting to know the community since then, and he plans to continue being available for students, parents, and “whoever needs me.”

For him, Melillo said the best parts of 2022 were learning “a new community” and “our lives have been more normal.”

“We see that in student engagement, we see that in attendance rates, and we see that with students participating in activities,” said Melillo.

All of the returning normalcy “brings the joy back to school,” Melillo said, reflecting that the things adults remember from their own school days are not the individual lessons but rather the social events and friendships.

“The social piece is just as important as the academic: They kind of go hand in hand,” said Melillo.

The superintendent shared that in 2023 work on creating a new strategic plan “to move the district to the next level” will continue.

Melillo is also looking forward to many of the events that will happen over the next six months, such as graduation ceremonies, proms, school celebrations, field trips, and “having a more active outdoor learning environment.”

When asked what he wants the community to know ahead of 2023, Melillo said that he will give 100 percent of his effort and he is “here for the long haul.”

“We’ve done a lot of good work this year, and I’m looking forward to continuing that,” the superintendent said.

At the start of 2022, clubs and sports teams at Newtown High School were busy with activities as students were “gearing up” for mid-terms, as the Board of Education learned at its first meeting of the year.

The Year Begins

At Hawley Elementary School, kindergarten students in Deborah Lubin’s class were busy “dreaming” ahead of Martin Luther King Jr Day, mid-January. The students completed an annual project that Lubin leads for her students. After reading the Martin Luther King Jr Day book in the Robin Hill School series, students wrote about their own dreams.

As January continued, schools across the district began celebrating students who took part in the yearly PTA Reflections Program, an arts competition. The 2022 theme was “I will change the world by...”

With February, NHS also announced the creation of a new book discussion group for both students and community members. NHS librarian Liza Zandonella and then-district Coordinator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Wesley A. Johnson II started the new NHS DEep dIve Book Discussion Group.

Also in February, students in multiple schools worked to send cards and care packages for the American Legion Post 202 Valentines For Troops effort. All of the cards and care packages were sent to service men and women overseas.

February to March was a highlight for the Newtown Winter Guard varsity and junior varsity squads, which both had a string of first place finishes in that time.

March was clearly a month for music in the district, as NHS’s spring musical production, Footloose, was staged the weekend of March 17.

As March turned to April, Head O’ Meadow Elementary School celebrated its Literacy Week, and library/media specialist Beth Murphy said, “It was great.” Author visits were scheduled for every day of the week. Each day of the week was also highlighted with a spirit day theme, and students and educators were encouraged to dress for the themes.

Newtown High School’s junior prom was held on April 1 at Villa Bianca in Seymour, and roughly 300 students attended.

And the following day, Newtown’s varsity and junior varsity Winter Guard teams capped an undefeated season with both finishing first at the Musical Arts Conference (MAC) Winter Guard Championships, hosted at Newtown High School on April 2.

Later in the month, Middle Gate Math/Science Specialist Jill Bracksieck excitedly welcomed classes to an Earth Week Museum that she set up in her room. “They have been loving it,” said Bracksieck. Classes took turns visiting the “museum.”

The following week, as Newtown was gearing up for its annual referendum, Head O’ Meadow students took part in their own voting process, when they voted for what types of books they would like purchased for the school’s library using funds from the school’s PTA. Democratic Registrar of Voters LeReine Frampton and Assistant/Deputy Registrar of Voters Sue Goodridge prepared “I voted” stickers, set up a voting machine, and helped students scan ballots during lunch waves on April 22.

Young children attending the NHS Students Advocating For Diversity and Equity (SADE) club April 23 Read Aloud event at C.H. Booth Library, learned “our skin” is “beautiful,” “strong,” and so much more. NHS SADE club students introduced the book Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli, and oversaw activities. SADE club president Saahil Ray welcomed all in attendance and shared that the SADE club’s goal is to create a more inclusive environment for everyone.

Just two days later, Saahil was surprised at NHS. Although the NHS junior was set to receive the 2022 George A. Coleman Excellence in Equity Award during a May 6 virtual event, a representative of Connecticut’s State Education Resource Center (SERC) delivered it to him in person as a surprise on April 25. The award presentation certainly surprised Saahil, who walked into a conference room filled with clapping NHS faculty, staff, and administration.

There was another surprise in the district that day: When Middle Gate Elementary School students arrived at school they were greeted by a “hot dog” and “French fries.” Many students burst into laughter, looked away shyly, and/or greeted the food-duo with a “good morning.” Middle Gate Principal Christopher Geissler was dressed as a hot dog and lead teacher John Sullivan was dressed as a packet of French fries because the school community raised money for the PTA’s fundraising efforts with Get Movin.’

At the end of April, Reed Intermediate School students performed in the school’s play Becky Thatcher.

Celebrations And Proms

Despite the rain on May 6, NHS students clearly enjoyed attending senior prom, which was held at The Waterview in Monroe.

Newtown teachers Jill Gonski and Janice Gabriel were among those honored and celebrated at a May 11 event at The Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford when the Connecticut Teacher of the Year (CCTOY) Council hosted an event for the 2021 and 2022 Connecticut District Teachers of the Year. Gabriel was named Newtown’s Teacher of the Year for 2019-20 and Gonski was named Newtown’s Teacher of the Year for 2020-21.

Newtown Middle School’s original musical production of Alice in the City took to the stage May 13 and 14. The musical was written by director Twyla Hafermann and the music is by Francine Wheeler.

May ended on a high note for Newtown Public Schools, thanks to NHS’s Marching Band & Color Guard taking part in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., May 30.

NHS hosted a Holocaust Remembrance Day in-school field trip event on June 1 for freshman students. The four-hour event included hearing from three speakers and viewing images from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum that were printed and put on display in both the NHS cafetorium and Lecture Hall.

As the end of the school year approached, field days were held throughout the district, as were art nights, which invited students and family to the schools to see student art work displayed.

NMS eighth grade students graduated in two Moving-Up Ceremonies held on June 14 in NHS’s gymnasium. The ceremony marked the last one for both retiring Principal Tom Einhorn and retiring Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue.

And for the second year in a row, NHS’s graduation ceremony was held at the school’s Blue & Gold Stadium. On June 15 NHS Principal Dr Kimberly Longobucco welcomed students, families, and community members to the celebratory event that came with a gift from her for every graduate: a cupcake.

Near the end of the school year, NHS Social Studies Department Chair Amy Deeb was named Newtown’s Teacher of the Year and NHS paraeducator Judy Watts was named as Newtown’s Paraeducator of the Year. Both were surprised with the news.

Then, for the final time of the 2021-22 school year, buses pulled in to local schools at dismissal to ferry Newtown’s public school children home on June 16, the last day of the school year.

Summer 2022 brought Newtown Parks & Recreation’s day camp programs to both Dickinson Memorial Park and Treadwell Memorial Park. Newtown Continuing Education’s SMART (Summer Music and Art) Camp ran at NHS this year, and its Newtown Summer School was offered at Reed Intermediate School.

A New School Year

As the 2022-23 school year approached, the Newtown Public School district’s newest hires were welcomed to their new roles with a New Staff Orientation week, August 15 to 19, which included a tour of the town.

Buses were rolling through town again as of August 29, and some of Newtown’s students had a special guest on their bus. Superintendent of Schools Chris Melillo waited at a bus stop with students, then rode the bus to Sandy Hook School, where Hawley’s younger grades are attending school while Hawley is undergoing an HVAC project.

“It was great. The kids were great,” said Melillo after the bus arrived for the start of the school day.

Middle Gate hosted a special first “Mix-It-Up Day” of the school year on September 30 to help students make more friends. The event offers students the chance to sit with new friends at lunch and conversation starters were shared at the tables. Questions included, “Would you rather slide down a rainbow or jump on clouds?” “Would you rather talk to animals or read people’s minds?” And, “Would you rather have five good friends or one best friend?”

Head O’ Meadow Elementary celebrated the conclusion of its One School, One Read program by having students enjoy the story one more time during a walk around the school’s back field on October 14. 2022’s One School, One Read program at Head O’ Meadow had the entire school read the book School Days According to Humphrey, by Betty G. Birney.

2022 marked the 26th Annual Joseph P. Grasso Festival for the NHS’s Marching Band & Guard’s home show on October 15, and it did not disappoint. In fact, this year drew special visitors from Tennessee: author and illustrator Brad Montague, his wife and illustrator Kristi Montague, and their children. The band’s fall show was based on the book The Circles All Around Us, written by Brad Montague and illustrated by him and Kristi Montague.

Kindergarten to second grade students at Head O’ Meadow attended a one of a kind presentation on October 21, when fourth grade student Emmett Paulson presented a lesson on stuttering because he wanted them to know that “it is okay to stutter.”

This year marked the 20th year of Sandy Hook Elementary School’s One School One Read program, and it is the biggest year yet, thanks to the effort combining with Hawley Elementary School, due to that school building being closed to students for the school year. The Sandy Hook and Hawley One School One Read kicked off on October 24 with an assembly in Sandy Hook’s cafetorium. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White was chosen as this year’s book as it was the first book read by the entire school for Sandy Hook’s first One School One Read 20 years ago.

As Halloween approached, NMS’s annual scarecrows and painted pumpkins event once again decorated the front lawn of the school on October 22 and 23.

Amid two “Spirit Weeks” Newtown High School hosted a pep rally for the entire student body at Blue & Gold Stadium on October 28. That event came at the end of the first Spirit Week and was held on “Blue & Gold Day,” filling the bleachers with students decked out in their school colors.

“History re-starts with the first NHS Pep Rally in four years,” said NHS teacher and emcee for the event Jay Edwards.

As the calendar changed from October to November, Reed was celebrating the return of its Color Games, which is a week-long event that fosters teamwork, community, and kindness throughout the school.

At the start of November Middle Gate Elementary School proved it was ready to “soar” when the school kicked-off a new school motto with a pep rally on November 1. The new school motto was unveiled as, “Spread kindness. Own your choices. Act responsibly. Respect others and yourself. Show self-control.”

Another group was “soaring” in early November. The NHS Marching Band & Guard earned bronze at the November 5 USBands National Championships at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J. It was the band and guard’s final performance of the season, and the group earned a score of 91.250, higher than any score it earned in the season.

There was more to celebrate on November 11, when schools across the district honored Veterans Day by inviting local veterans to the schools for special events, from car parades to assemblies.

NHS’s fall drama production of Almost, Maine, was presented at the school November 17-20.

As December began, Newtown Public Schools were all preparing for winter concerts. NMS’s eighth grade concert kicked off the winter season on December 5.

While winter’s chill was starting to settle across the area, Newtown Public Schools were warming up with kindness. Like at NHS, where the Marching Band & Guard hosted three days of its annual Gift Wrapping Event to fundraise for the group while helping local families wrap gifts, and at Hawley, where the school spent the month focusing on kindness.

And as the year came to a close, students and teachers across the district were settling in for winter break.

Education Editor Eliza Van can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.