NMS Scarecrows To Go On Display This Weekend

By Eliza Hallabeck

This Saturday, October 22, Newtown Middle School’s “My Favorite Scarecrow Sculpture Contest” will once again decorate the front lawn of the Queen Street School.

Each year student groups, including students involved in Art Enrichment and the Gifted and Talented Education Students, work to assemble scarecrows that will frighten away a demon of the group’s choosing.

This year’s “My Favorite Scarecrow Sculpture Contest” will be on display and open for voting from October 22 through Saturday, October 29.

Each year eighth grade student groups are challenged to create a larger-than-life scarecrow that can withstand inclement weather. Each student group is limited to spending $25 on its scarecrow. The creations are then put on display on school’s front lawn, voted on by the public for $1 per vote, and the top three winning scarecrow groups receive the profits to donate to a charity of their choice.

Ballots for this year’s entries are available in this week’s edition of The Bee and at Newtown Middle School. Votes can be submitted with the accompanying payment to either NMS or dropped off at The Bee’s 5 Church Hill Road building.

“I’’m very confident they are going to be absolutely spectacular yet again,” said NMS art teacher Claudia Mitchell last week while students were still busily working on their creations.

Students work on the sculptures outside of school. Drawings and concepts for the scarecrows are submitted to teachers at the school for approval.

Last week students also shared some of the scarecrow concepts residents can expect to go on display this Saturday. Some scarecrows shared include a big cup of melting chocolate, a mermaid, and a large shoe.

Last year’s winner of the annual eighth grade student project was called, “Blue Fish, Blue Fish, What Do You Scare?” and was created by Hannah Fitzgerald and Jesse Sailer.