NMS Students Will Spook The Crows Again This Halloween

By Eliza Hallabeck

Its head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose, and mouth painted on it to represent a face. An old, pointed blue hat, that had belonged to some Munchkin, was perched on his head, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the pole stuck up its back. —Frank L. Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz

With the exception of the ghouls and goblins who may claim Newtown as their haunt, residents may find themselves feeling a bit safer this Saturday, October 24, when Newtown Middle School students prop, hang, or stand this year’s creations from the Scarecrow Sculpture Contest on the front of lawn of the school.

“There is enough creativity in this room to build something terrific,” said NMS art teacher Arlene Spoonfeather on Thursday, September 10, to a room full of interested eighth grade students. It was the first meeting for curious students to learn more about the annual Scarecrow Sculpture Contest, open only to eighth grade students.

Along with Ms Spoonfeather, art teachers Claudia Mitchell and Jean Walter and GATES teacher Nancy Bradley were on hand to answer any questions the students may have about their involvement in this year’s contest.

Ms Mitchell drew from a history of scarecrows, the use of them in fields to scare away crop-eating crows, to liven the students with ideas.

“It is a community service,” said Ms Mitchell, “and you are giving something to the town.”

Scarecrows, Ms Mitchell said, scare away things, anything, like demons.

Last year’s group of scarecrows may not have resembled Frank L. Baum’s idea of Scarecrow, but each creation served to frighten away something, which Ms Mitchell told the gathered students is one of the requirements of the Scarecrow Sculpture Contest.

When building the sculptures, the groups have to keep the guidelines in mind, according to Ms Spoonfeather and Ms Mitchell. Each scarecrow must be visible from Queen Street, which means it must be larger than life, and able to withstand inclement weather. The student groups are also limited to spending no more than $20 each.

As Ms Mitchell shared on Tuesday, October 20, some of the scarecrows residents can look for are “The Hulk,” “Mr Owl,” “The Wizard Of Oz,” “A Pop Tart,” “Boogey Man,” and “Monster House.”

Like every past Scarecrow Sculpture Contest, residents will be able to show support for their favorite NMS student-created scarecrow by voting — each vote costs $1. The scarecrows will also be for sale, if the students wish to sell their creations. The winning top three groups will donate the money from the votes and sale of the scarecrows to a local charity of their choosing.

The eighth grade students participating in the scarecrow contest this year are made up of Art Enrichment students and Discovery students, who are in a program called GATES, and all students who also wish to participate. During the first few years of the contest only Discovery and Art Enrichment students were allowed to create the scarecrows.

“The kids are excited,” said Ms Mitchell on Tuesday. “They all seem to be finished or almost finished.”

Ballots are in this issue of The Bee for people to vote on their favorite scarecrow, and ballots will also be available at the middle school. Ballots and the accompanying donations can be dropped off at NMS or at The Bee’s office, 5 Church Hill Road. Students are volunteering for one hour each to collect ballots while the scarecrows are on view for the public. Ballots will be accepted from Saturday, October 25, through Friday, October 30, when the scarecrows will come down.

As the Scarecrow told Dorothy, it is very tedious work being perched up all day and night. Remember to look toward the front lawn of NMS or stop and walk through the scarecrows next week to choose a favorite scarecrow.