NMS Scarecrows Spooking Ghouls Until October 30

By Eliza Hallabeck

Ballots are already piling up for this year’s Newtown Middle School Scarecrow Sculpture Contest entries. This year, due to rain, students were allowed to place their creations on the front lawn of the middle school anytime between Friday, October 23, through Sunday, October 25.

The sculptures will only be up until Friday, October 30, when the students are asked to take them down to protect against any “mischief” the night before Halloween.

The NMS Scarecrow Sculpture Contest is a yearly community project for eighth grade Art Enrichment students, eighth grade Discovery students, who are in the GATES program, and any other interested eighth grade students. Each scarecrow is created by a group of students, typically no more than four or five.

When building the sculptures, the groups have to keep the guidelines in mind, according to NMS Art teachers Arlene Spoonfeather and Claudia 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.

Residents can 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.

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 through 5 pm Friday, October 30, when the scarecrows will come down.