Students ask: How About A Game Of Newtownopoly?

By Susan Coney

Everyone knows the game Monopoly. Now a new version of the well-loved game will be available to Newtown residents with the names of local businesses and landmarks substituted for the familiar names such as Park Place, Pennsylvania Avenue, and Broadway.

 Newtownopoly will be available for purchase in the near future. Proceeds from the advertising on the game board and sales of the game will go toward the high school orchestra and choral trip to Italy in April.

Parent volunteer Linda Jones is in charge of the fundraising project. Ms Jones said that she got the idea from surrounding towns such as Woodbury, which ran a similar fundraising project with great success. Ms Jones thought that the idea would appeal to families in the area by bringing back a much loved pastime of playing board games with family and friends as a means of entertainment.

 Eleventh grade orchestra student Dave Wilkins said, “I’ve never been to Italy. I am so happy to be going and performing in the four major cities together with my friends. We are going to go around and ask businesses to make donations or purchase advertisement on the board. We will also presell the games. We are hoping to make between $18,000 to $20,000 to be used toward our trip.”

Ms Jones said that the board game will be made by a professional company who does this around the country. “There are many terrific ways to promote your business as well as help our community and our terrific high school orchestra for a very reasonable price,” Ms Jones said.

 Advertising space in the game may be purchased for between $50 to $600. A spot on the board sells for $400 while 16 community chest cards, or 16 chance cards, or 28 deed cards sell for $500. The cost to have a company name printed on the entire stack of game money is $600; and advertising for prime corner spots costs $600.

 “I think a bank would want to have their name printed on the game money for advertisement,” Ms Jones said.  A patron listing will be on the center of the board for $50 a line.

McLaughlin Vineyards and Mary Fellows of The Little Green Barn have already purchased advertising on the board. Twenty-three students will go out into the community to sell the advertising spots. The group needs to presell 750 games.

There are 96 people joining in the ten-day tour. So many parents wanted to chaperone that a lottery was done to fairly select those who would be allowed to accompany the group. The cost for the trip is $2,553 per person. Ms Jones is hopeful that a portion of the proceeds from the Newtownopoly game will help cover part of the cost for each student.

Director of Music Michelle Hiscavich stated that the musicians will be visiting Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Venice, Milan, and Cremona in a concert tour arranged through Music Celebrations International. Ms Hiscavich stated, “We are trying to establish a rotation of taking such a trip every three years so that it gives kids and their parents a chance to save up for the trip and every student has an opportunity some time in their four years at the high school to participate in the trip.”

She continued by pointing out the wonderful educational opportunities such a trip offers the students. “This is the finest orchestra this town [Newtown] has seen and for these kids to have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the greatest musicians in the world is exciting. It’s a totally different culture and way of life in Italy. The audiences are so appreciative and we end up meeting people from all over the world. The kids come back so excited and they come back united as a family.”

Ms Hiscavich explained that in addition to performing, each student has a job or responsibility such as set up, loading, or unloading. “They want to take on the roles and they help and support one another with them. We wouldn’t be traveling with these kids if they weren’t a pleasure to be around, so respectful and responsible,” she commented.

In addition to performing several concerts while in Italy the students will have the opportunity to tour some of the world’s most significant historical sites such as the Colosseum, Pantheon, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and the Roman Arena.

In addition to organizing and supervising the Newtownopoly fundraiser, Ms Jones will also be traveling with the group as a chaperone. “It is a wonderful opportunity. As a teenager I was never very good at history but traveling there makes the history of the area come alive for the students,” she said.

Ms Jones daughter Lindsey, who has been playing the violin since she was 3, is a member of the high school orchestra. Lindsey said about the upcoming opportunity, “I’m excited because I’ve never been out of the country before.”

Not only are Lindsey and her mother going on the tour, but Lindsey’s grandmother Juanita Pintar also won a spot through the lottery drawing, and will be a chaperone on the trip as well. Ms Pintar is excited to visit Italy for the first time and to see her granddaughter perform in an area so rich in culture. Lindsey also said she was relieved that her mother will have someone else to hang out and room with, freeing her to room with a friend.

   Nick Drabik, who plays trumpet, said, “I’ve never been to Italy. I just went to Poland this past summer and I know this upcoming trip will be a wonderful experience. It will be a memory I will hold close to me.”

   The cost to purchase the Newtownopoly game is $25. To place an order to purchase a game or for information on advertising on the game board contact Linda Jones at 270-9763.