Voting will be open on the annual Newtown Middle School Eighth Grade Scarecrow Contest this Saturday and Sunday, October 21 and 22, from 9 am to 5 pm, at the school, located at 11 Queen Street.The Newtown Bee's 5 Church Hill Road office, addressed to "Eliza."The Newtown Bee. Photocopies of ballots are acceptable, with the corresponding donations. to cut out. Ballots are also available here to printThe Newtown Bee.

The school expects roughly 30 scarecrows will be entered into the fundraiser this year. Scarecrows will begin appearing on the front lawn at NMS after school on Friday, October 20. Volunteers will be present to collect ballots on Saturday and Sunday, along with the corresponding $1 donations. Votes and donations can also be dropped off before the morning of Monday, October 23, in the mail slot at

Eighth grade students have been challenged annually to create a larger-than-life scarecrow that can withstand Mother Nature. While students can work alone, they are encouraged to work in groups.

Once the scarecrows are on display on the front lawn of the school, voting will be open to the public. Members of the public may cast as many votes as they desire, with corresponding $1 donations. From the money raised, the top three winning groups choose charities to which they will donate.

Students who participate in the contest or who volunteer to collect votes while the scarecrows are on view receive community service hours.

Ballots will be available at NMS while voting is open and a ballot is available in the October 20, 2017, print edition of

The top three winning scarecrows are expected to be announced at the school the week of October 23 and the winning groups will be announced in the October 27 print edition of

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