Newt Happenings
October 16, 2026
As we continue to integrate digital learning into our daily curriculum, we want to ensure all families are clear on our take-home device policies for the school year. Our goal is to balance educational accessibility with responsible digital stewardship. Our goal is by following the policies below students will be READY TO LEARN and be able to be RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL with their devices and learning.
Please review the guidelines below for your student's specific grade level, along with our expectations for device use at home.
Grade-Level Take-Home Policies
Grade 8: Students are permitted to take their school-issued devices home at will throughout the school year to support their increased academic workload and prepare them for high school responsibility.
Grades 6 & 7: Students may take their devices home on an as-needed basis when specific assignments, projects, or homework require digital access.
What's coming home? When devices are going home, you can expect students to have their device, a case, and a charger. It is expected that all three of these items return to school the next school day.
Expectations for Home Use
To ensure a safe and productive environment, we ask families to help us enforce the following standard rules:
Student Use Only: School-issued devices are strictly for the assigned student's academic use. Family members, siblings, or friends should not use the device for personal tasks.
Appropriate Material: Devices must be used exclusively for school-related activities, assignments, and approved educational tools.
Daily Preparation: If a device is taken home, it is the student's responsibility to bring it back to school the following day fully charged and ready for class.
We appreciate your partnership in helping our students navigate their digital responsibilities SAFELY and effectively. Please reach out if you have any questions regarding these expectations.
At times, we all hit the "Red Light."
Today we talked about traffic lights and how they tie to our core values. They are our emotional checks. I asked students what their parents did when they were driving and approached a green light, yellow, and then red. We talked about how these lights tied to our Core Values and Emotions. When we operate in the green, we can go fast, we are READY TO LEARN, we can go fast, just like when the trail was flat and easy on Mount Pisgah.
When th light turned yellow, students shared their their parents might speed up if they were close, or slow down a little "in case." Ultimately, they were referring to being RESPECTFUL and RESPONSIBLE to the rules of the road and other drivers, while still proceeding ahead with caution. Pretty similar to when the trail became steep and rocky, we slowed down and were careful, but we kept moving forward.
When we hit "red" it is important to stop, to pause, and if safe, then proceed ahead. So our #1 priority while feeling over emotional is to remain SAFE.
We shared ideas students could use when they hit "red" in the classroom. "Leave the room," "Take deep breaths," and "Stop talking" were all mentioned. All could work, but we acknowledged that different strategies would work for different folks. We worked through a lot of these, especially the leaving of the room, and how to do that safely.
After our School Wide Meeting I had a student approach me, "How does turning right on red fir it?"
What a great question! I mentioned to them, that would be leaving of the classroom I think. You only can to one way (office for example), and you could only do so if SAFE.
I shared a story about a time I felt myself hit the red light. I shared how mad I was, how much I wanted to "blow my top." I also shared how I recognized that emotion and I worked through a process that I had built over many years to calm down. I asked students why they think I didn't just holler and scream at the student who had upset me. "That wouldn't had been KIND!" came from the 2-3 table.
They were right, something I hadn't thought about. When overly emotional, it's important to remember the impact of your reaction to your emotions on others. It's a hard to work through I acknowledged with everyone, but important to try and do.
I then shared with the students that once I had hit yellow, I proceeded ahead and did what I needed to do before I was able to hit the green zone again.
Newark Street School
Email: csimpson@kingdomeast.org
Website: https://www.kingdomeast.org/newark-school
Location: 1448 Newark Street, West Burke, VT, USA
Phone: 802-467-3401
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewarkStreetSchoolVT/