The Newtown Middle School annual Scarecrow Contest display has been postponed to Saturday and Sunday, November 5-6, due to anticipated high winds ahead of last week's expected event.The Newtown Bee.

The contest for participating eighth grade students challenges groups to design and construct scarecrows to display for an annual fundraiser.

"We simply [postponed] it because we had a really bad weather report for this past weekend," NMS art teacher Leigh Anne Coles said on Monday, October 24.

Ms Coles and fellow NMS art teacher Kristen Ladue are overseeing the program this year.

The scarecrows will be on display on the school's front lawn, 11 Queen Street, Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6, from 9 am until 5 pm, and voting will be open for the weekend. Volunteers will be available to collect votes on both days.

Students can begin putting the scarecrows on display the day before, Friday, November 4, after school is released. Students and community members are then invited to cast their votes for their favorites with corresponding $1 donations, Saturday and Sunday.

Ballots for the contest will be available at NMS the weekend the scarecrows are up, and will also be printed in the November 4 edition of The Newtown Bee. Ballots can be dropped off with the $1 donation for each vote either at NMS that weekend or in the letter slot on the front door at The Bee's office, at 5 Church Hill Road, in an envelope marked "NMS Scarecrows," by the end of Sunday, November 6.

When creating their scarecrows students are limited each year to spend no more than $25 and to create larger-than-life scarecrows that can withstand the elements.

The top three winners divide the donations between charities of their choosing. Last year's contest raised $1,102, which was then split between the top three winning groups.

More than 100 students are involved in making the scarecrows this year, and roughly 30 scarecrows are expected to be entered into this year's fundraising contest. The scarecrows will begin to come down on Monday, November 7.

Ms Coles said students are "for the most part ready to go. They are very anxious."

Results from the ballot collection will be announced the week of November 7 at NMS, and will be presented in the November 11, 2016 print edition of

[mappress mapid="433"]