The Wonder Of Science

To the Editor,

On Saturday, February 26th, the Newtown Junior Women’s Club presented its 8th annual Discovery Science Workshops at the Newtown High School. Over 400 children along with their parents attended this morning of science fun. Newtown Savings Bank and the Taunton Press sponsored the workshops. Their generosity has made the Discovery Science Workshops possible. The Newtown Junior Women’s club is a not-for-profit, civic organization whose members volunteer their time and energy toward the betterment of Newtown. Without these extremely generous donations, we would not have the means to present such an exciting program.

As in the past, each workshop leader was a community volunteer. Without these wonderful individuals, the workshops could not take place. This year we were lucky enough to have 30 leaders including Little Scientists of Monroe and Roaring Brook Nature Center of Canton. We are so grateful to all of the leaders for their hard work and support during the many months of preparation. If you know any of our leaders please make the effort to thank them for the time they give to our children. We would like to stress that this program exists only because of the time volunteered by our leaders and the members of Newtown Junior Women’s Club. This program takes months to prepare for and is run solely by volunteers.

The Newtown Junior Women’s Club would also like to thank the many other community volunteers who played a part in this successful and exciting day. Many students from the Newtown High School and Middle School spent their Saturday morning as escorts, assistants, and babysitters. These students included: Andrew Rote, Charles Rosentel, Mark Huot, Nathan Taylor, Katherine Moberg, Ben Jura, Brian Kotwicki, Ryan Cole, Tom Ragusa, Nicole Hamilton, Ross Coats, Julia Jane McNulty, Becky Bombero, Tracey Ravetto, Jennifer Hagpanah, Sara Carlson, Nick Proproski, Sonja Taylor, Lauren Kotwicki, Caitlant Thursland, and Lauren Reed. Without the help of these students, the children of the junior and leader volunteers would not be able to enjoy this day.

We would like to thank Rich and Patty Barillari and Dom Cisero from Dunkin Donuts on Queen Street, Eunice and Terry Laverty from Bagelman on Church Hill Road, Rich and Maria Deaguila and Luciano and Sandy Siciliano from The Doughnut Hut on South Main Street, Kathleen Reilly from Starbucks on Church Hill Road and the Grand Union. Their very generous donations of donuts, bagels, coffee and miscellaneous food items have helped us to cover some of our expenses. Our thanks also goes to the Newtown Drug Center, and Payless Shoes for donating materials for some of the workshops.

The support of the Newtown School system is also greatly appreciated. The staff at the high school was wonderful, especially Rich Novia, head of security, who handled all our audio visual requirements as well as security; Susan Henderson, the science department chairperson, who provided some of the supplies and helped to prepare the classrooms for the day. The custodial staff including John Verbanik, Skip Seaver and Jimmy Young were extremely supportive. Thanks also to Pam Fagan of Middle Gate Elementary School and Terry Merola of Hawley School for the use of equipment and supplies. As usual Dr Reed and his office staff were extremely supportive of our efforts.

We hope everyone had an enjoyable experience and discovered the joy and wonder of science.

Sincerely,

MaryAnn Ziman and Dawn Escoda, Co-Chairs

Newtown Junior Women’s Club

PO Box 217, Botsford                  February 28, 2000