A Night Of Art At NMS

By Eliza Hallabeck

With music drifting out of the Newtown Middle School auditorium from multiple music groups, art lining the hallways, and students feverishly drawing down corridors, Tuesday, May 3, marked the annual NMS Celebration of the Arts.

Just inside the entrance to the school’s lobby, the Opus Optima, the school’s literary magazine, was being sold. The annual publication also received a superior ranking by the National Council of Teachers of English in 2010 in its Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines.

Just before entering the auditorium, the school’s Interact Club, overseen by Bruce Moulthrop, worked to sell baked goods to raise money for Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale, presented by Domino Sugar, C&H Sugar, and Duncan Hines. The Great American Bake Sale is a national fundraising effort that encourages Americans to host bake sales to help end childhood hunger, according to Mr Moulthroup. The fundraiser’s purpose is to create public awareness about childhood hunger in America and its devastating effect on a child’s development and to raise funds to support Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry.

Students Noelle Veillette, Hannah Bartlett, Jesse Sailer, and Hannah Fitzgerald worked down one of the school’s corridors on varying art projects.

Overall, Newtown Middle School Principal Diane Sherlock reported great interaction between visiting parents and participating students. NMS art teacher Claudia Mitchell said roughly 300 people attended the night.

“It was a fantastic evening,” said Ms Sherlock. “It’s such a wonderful way to showcase our kids’ abilities.”