Newt Happenings
October 2, 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.
We were treated to a performance from Mrs. McKinnon's 2nd & 3rd Grade Homeroom this morning!
Our littlest Newts created a great visual of 4 areas of school they wanted to discuss with us. The hallway, classroom, recess, and lunchroom. Pairs of student talked to us about the importance of being ready for class by having materials out, by being aware of your body, and having your listening ears on when the teacher was speaking. It was important to hear, "We are reading from page 32." That by doing these things they were being KIND to themselves, being KIND to their peers, and being KIND to the teacher.
When students spoke about the hallway I paid close attention. They spoke to the importance of your volume when going from one space to another, staying on the correct side of the hall, and keeping your body calm when moving about. Our hallways are an interesting area for me, because while supervised by many, there are a lot of moving pieces and interaction that occur amongst peers. What they viewed as kind was spot on, and creates a very welcoming transition space. I also noticed the pattern here of being KIND to self, peers, and adults.
Being KIND at recess felt almost like a "we before me" mindset. There was a lot of checking with friends to make sure they were okay if they slid of the slide onto the ground. They also aspoke about offering to play with one another so that no one would be left out.
Being KIND at lunch involved sitting next to a student who was by themselves. Being KIND was starting conversations with friends, or making new ones. Being KIND was trying new things on the lunch line. Be KIND was making sure your spot was clean at the end of lunch.
Sometimes when you have presenters present, you never know how things will align with the messaging you hope for. I was worried about my message which would follow our 2-3 group. THEN the song, the performance that they sang for us. The song that I, and many others, started singing with them: The Kindness Song
Ultimately, grade 2&3 taught us that kindness is a choice and the song reinforced it! Which in the end led me right into my discussion around the number of 86,400.
We did a little math and found that the 86,400 represented the seconds in a day. I showed our community things that happen in that amount of time. That some we were told to do. Parents probably let them know when it was time to go to bed.
The foundation has been laid using our core values of READY TO LEARN, RESPECT, RESPONSIBLE, SAFE, and KIND. How do we now achieve success having our foundation in place? It is through our choices. It is what is supported by our values. Do we give effort? Are we cooperative? The questions went on and on.
We wrapped it up with the idea that they have 86,400 seconds to make choices every day, and that our hope, and what would be the best for our community, is that those choices would most often be supported by the values above.
I ended with another cliff hanger of a traffic light and how that can be used to help them with their emotions and how to regulate themselves when the make a poor choice and become frustrated.
Overall another great week here at Newark!
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/