A review of education stories published throughout the year proved 2018 may have been the kindest year to date in Newtown Public Schools.

Near the start of the year, Newtown High School senior Elle Sauli was named Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2018, and she was excited to spread her “Lunch Love” program started in Newtown schools beyond the town. It was a fitting way for the year to begin, as kindness seemed to grow and spread all year long in Newtown schools.

School supplies, toiletry items, and helping others were forefront in the minds of many at Head O’ Meadow Elementary School in January. A full-school collection yielded items for Immokalee Community School in Florida, which was heavily impacted by Hurricane Irma.

Near the end of the month, NHS held its annual midyear graduation ceremony in the school’s cafetorium. Students who met the requirements to graduate were honored at a ceremony.

Students across the district were jubilant on February 5: The 100th day of the 2017-18 school year. Schools celebrated with math lessons and more.

The Earth may be just a speck in the vast Milky Way we call our galactic home, but the young dancers of the Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet & Voice delivered a planetary performance as brilliant as the stars in the night sky when they visited Middle Gate Elementary School on Monday, March 5.

Reed Intermediate School students were certainly on Earth on March 6, when Representatives of Aquarion Water Company shared information about water with sixth grade students. The event kicked off a lesson on local water.

2018 was a year full of music in the district. From student concerts to musicals, there were many events for members of the community to witness student talents. NHS’s spring musical was Les Miserables, School Edition in March; NMS’s Drama Club presented its school’s musical, Alice In Wonderland, Jr, in April; and Reed’s musical production of Shrek, Jr, was staged near the end of April.

Jumping was encouraged at each of Newtown’s elementary schools between February and March, when all four elementary schools participated in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope For Heart program recently. The students raised money for the program and learned about heart health through activities in the schools.

Reed held its first ever Color Games week-long event in May. The challenge had students face off in friendly competitions, and it culminated on May 4, when students wrote blue and green to represent their “houses.” The school later held its second Color Games in the fall for the 2018-19 school year.

Responding to power outages in the community following a May 15 storm, NHS’s culinary department served up lunch for those still without power on May 18.

Ben’s Bells murals sprang up across the district in 2018. Head O’ Meadow’s mural was completed in May, NHS’s was completed in June, and Reed’s was completed in the fall.

Reed sixth graders in two clusters created and oversaw Kindness Carts on June 19 to raise money to support building a well in Liberia. Students in Petrice DiVanno and Matt Dalton’s cluster and in Amanda Eide and John Sicbaldi’s cluster participated in the project, which was inspired by both Reed Intermediate School Principal Anne Uberti’s daily reminders to “be kind” and by the sixth grade curriculum.

Graduation ceremonies for NHS and NMS were held on June 18 and 19, respectively. Both ceremonies highlighted impressive students and supportive loved ones.

Field days and assemblies marked the end of the 2017-18 school year, until, finally, on June 26, it was summer at long last for Newtown’s students. The school year came to a close with students waving goodbye to teachers and school staff, sharing hugs, and wishing each other a “Happy summer!”

Into The New School Year

It was a summer filled with camp adventures for students who attended Newtown Parks & Recreation’s and Newtown Continuing Education’s camps. And, just like that, the students returned to school. The 2018-19 school year began with educators and school staff welcoming students on August 27.

The NHS Marching Band & Guard had a tremendous start to its 2018 season with a first place score in its division at Bethel High School on September 9. The group capped its season by earning third in its division at the Open Class National Championships on November 10 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Students streamed out of Sandy Hook School on October 12 behind their teachers, ready for the second annual PTA Walk-A-Thon. The cherry on top of the event came later, when it was announced that students had raised more than $20,000 for the PTA, earning the prize of turning Principal Dr Kathy Gombos into an ice cream sundae.

The NMS eighth grade entries into the 2018 Eighth Grade Scarecrow Contest did not disappoint. Voting was open to the public October 20 and 21, and the school announced the winning scarecrows the following week. The Back to the Future DeLorean and Marty McFly by Adam Uhde and Alamin Islam earned first place in the contest.

After months of effort, a dedication event was held on November 1 for Head O’ Meadow Elementary School’s new “Kinder Garden,” and the garden is expected to grow plants and educational endeavors at the school.

Newtown schools welcomed veterans for special assemblies and events on November 9 and November 12 in recognition of the official November 11 Veterans Day. Through breakfasts, assemblies, and special guests, the schools all honored Newtown’s veterans.

Head O’ Meadow students had the opportunity to give twice, through shopping for presents for loved ones and raising money for three charities on November 29 and 30, thanks to the school’s annual PTA-run Holiday Giving Shop.

Hawley School began its annual Kindness Month celebrations with a visit by Westport author Karlin Gray on December 3, and throughout the month, the school will focus on learning about kindness and completing kind acts. Third grade students completed kind acts to raise money to fund gifts of pajamas and books for children through the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury.

Despite a bomb threat to Sandy Hook School on December 14, as winter break approached, students continued spreading joy in the district through winter concerts and kind efforts.

As 2018 came to a close, Hawley Principal Christopher Moretti and NHS Principal Dr Kimberly Longobucco offered their hopes for 2019.

“We are excited for what 2019 will bring NHS,” Dr Longobucco said in an e-mail. “The possibilities are endless: new clubs, sports team victories and titles, amazing musical and drama productions, concerts, the welcoming of the Senior Capstone project, and so much more. Students and staff at NHS have a lot to look forward to in 2019.”

Mr Moretti said, “My hope for the upcoming year is that it can be peaceful and uneventful so our focus and energies can remain where it belongs — on the students.”

No matter what 2019 may include for Newtown Public Schools, based on the last year’s review, one thing is certain: Newtown’s students will continue to inspire others through their many acts of kindness.