Superintendent's Message

Dear Newport Schools Parents, Families, and Staff:

Thank you to all of the parents and family members who took time out of their busy schedules to attend parent/family-teacher conferences on Tuesday afternoon. And thank you to our teachers and principals for being there for our parents and family members to discuss how students are doing in the classroom. Working together – parents, teachers, administrators, and community members – we can improve student attendance, improve academic achievement, and support our students so they graduate prepared for success in life, whatever path they may choose.

If you were unable to attend parent/family-teacher conferences, please know that our teachers are always ready and willing to engage. Just reach out via email to discuss any issues your child may be experiencing. We will also have another round of parent/family-teacher conferences in March 2025.

Finally, I want to give a shoutout to our Thompson Middle School students who participated in a mock election last week and to our Rogers High School seniors who won the George Washington Letter Essay contest, writing about the importance of religious freedom. These are two wonderful examples of teaching our students about democracy and civics. Thank you to our Thompson and Rogers social studies and history teachers for bringing these important concepts to life for our students.

Have a great week of learning everyone and don’t forget to swing by the Pell Book Fair in the Pell Library this week. Lots of great books for everyone!!!

Colleen Burns Jermain, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

• Free Newport Sings after-school community chorus program for kids!

• MLK Community Center Holiday Help registration

Last Friday, Thompson Middle School students participated in a mock presidential election. Students served as greeters, poll workers, monitors and all had the opportunity to vote at a well setup and organized polling location. What a great way to teach our students about elections, voting, and democracy! Thank you to Ms. Megan Hall Wygant and Ms. Tara Mello for supporting this effort and to TMS for a great event.

In 1790, George Washington wrote a now famous letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, reassuring them that the government would not interfere with individuals in matters of religious conscience and belief. Today, George Washington’s letter is regarded as one of the most succinct statements of what religious freedom means in the United States.

The power of George Washington’s letter led former Ambassador to Denmark John Loeb Jr. to donate $50,000 to Rogers High School to establish a George Washington Letter essay contest.

Congratulations to this year’s Rogers seniors winners and their essays about the importance of religious freedom and freedom of conscience. Thank you to our Rogers High School history teachers and department chair Mrs. Turner for organizing this contest and sharing the teaching about the importance of President Washington’s letter. This extraordinary opportunity is a very special one for our students and RHS. We appreciate so much this generous donation and its spirit continuing throughout the years at RHS for our present and future Vikings. Go Vikings!

Winners:

Michelle Crowley 1st place

Charley Buchanan 2nd place

Frank Ramsey 3rd place

Honorable Mention:

Alexander Toribio

Grace Rochelle

Kamilya Thaxter and

Margaret Phelps

Last week our One Newport community partner Sail Newport took our Thompson Middle School Marine Exploration Program students to visit Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard. Students enjoyed touring the marina, seeing the marine travel lifts and other shipyard operations, and talking with shipyard employees. What a great way to expose our students to careers in the marine trades!