Beware, The Scarecrows Are Coming Back To Town

By Susan Coney

After a two-year absence the scarecrows will be in attendance once again at Newtown Middle School.

The traditional scarecrow sculpture contest has been revitalized, and the eighth grade students participating in the competition have been working diligently on completing their projects. The contest is a collaborative effort of the art enrichment program run by art teachers Claudia Mitchell and Arlene Spoonfeather and the GATES program directed by Patrice Gans.

The students work in small groups, researching the history of scarecrows, planning the construction of a larger-than-life, weatherproof figure and using only found materials. Participants may use up to $15 in cash to complete the structure.

Contestant Matt Iassogna said, “The Salvation Army was a great help in our search for inexpensive clothing.”

The contest is scheduled to take place on the front lawn of the middle school and run from Saturday, October 22, through Sunday, October 30. In past years the extensive outdoor art exhibition has attracted those from Newtown as well as the surrounding area. The public is invited to vote for a favorite scarecrow by filling out a ballot available in this week’s issue of The Bee or from Ms Gans at the middle school.

Ballots will be collected each weekend by students stationed on the school’s front lawn or during the week they may be dropped off at the middle school or the office of Bee Publishing Co. Each vote costs $1 and the money collected during the course of the voting is divided up between the top three winners. The winning teams each receive a ribbon and will donate the money raised to a charity of their choice. 

Ms Gans, the teacher for the GATES program said, “Considering their very busy schedules the students have been working diligently on completing their projects, meeting in between sporting events, musical commitments, and athletic meets. They are really learning the importance of planning ahead and working together. All of the work has been done outside of the classroom.”

Eighth grader Alex Israel commented, “It was easy thinking of ideas, but when it came down to it building it was much harder.”

Ben Federman was in agreement that the project required forethought and planning saying, “We had to notch down and get to work.”

This year there will be approximately 25 figures on display. Students work together in small groups to build their own artistic version of a scarecrow.

In the past the town has been treated to such scarecrow renderings of The Underwear Gnome, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, The Headless Horseman, as well as gigantic spiders and pumpkins. Ms Gans commented, “Some of the popular themes this year are from the popular magical culture of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. The students are working hard to add special effects such as lights, movement, and sound to their creations.”

Come rain or shine, a hodgepodge variety of scarecrow like structures will once again grace the front lawn of Newtown Middle School this coming weekend.