Head O’ Meadow Elementary School second grade students learned about different holidays and traditions from countries around the world while rotating through classrooms December 6 and December 13.
Kind acts keep piling up for Hawley Elementary School’s third graders, and all of their efforts culminated on December 12, when the entire third grade gathered pajamas and books to donate to the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury for children.
The Board of Education heard a report on special education practices and procedures from consultants at its meeting on December 18: The report recommends further district-level reviews.
Head O’ Meadow Elementary School students had the opportunity to shop for presents for loved ones and raise money for three charities on November 29 and 30, thanks to the school’s annual PTA-run Holiday Giving Shop.
A new Ben’s Bells mural has been completed at St Rose of Lima School. The mural, made up of predominantly green tiles, with the words “Be kind,” now adorns a wall in the school’s interior front entrance.
Every Tuesday during the school year, members of the Newtown High School Peer Leadership club meet and plan different activities around interests or passions of club members. Recent projects have spread the club’s support locally and further away.
Hawley Elementary School began its annual Kindness Month celebrations with a visit by Westport author Karlin Gray on December 3, and throughout the month, the school will focus on learning about kindness and completing kind acts.
Newtown Police Department K-9 Officer Felicia Figol, Officer Matt Hayes, and K-9 Aris visited Fraser Woods Montessori School on December 4 to share some of Aris’s abilities during two school assemblies.
The Board of Education discussed the idea of creating a new policy for class sizes at its meeting on December 4. Board of Education Vice Chair and Policy Committee Chair Rebekah Harriman-Stites introduced the idea, explaining that while there have been general guidelines, the district has not had a set policy on class size.
I’m honestly confused by the objection to “cut-throughs.” Newtown is full of them, and they’re used every day without issue. Some of the more well-known examples are Elm Drive, Oakview, School House Hill, Pearl Street, Head of Meadow, Country Club Road, Point of Rocks, Hall Lane, Tinkerfield - Old Taunton Press, and Samp Road. I’m sure I’m even missing a few.
Given that, it’s hard to understand why this particular development is being singled out. Cut-throughs are a normal and longstanding part of how traffic moves in town. If they’re acceptable everywhere else — including roads that are narrower, steeper, or more heavily used — it seems inconsistent to suddenly treat this one as a crisis.
I want to clarify that the attorney at last week’s Planning & Zoning meeting was not threatening the commission, but explaining how the law works. The reality is that if we do not reach a compromise, 100% there will be lawsuits — it’s not a matter of intimidation, it’s a matter of legal process.
We all want smart growth and a Newtown that welcomes families, but it’s important to approach these conversations with a clear understanding of the legal framework. Recognizing the inevitability of legal challenges when consensus isn’t reached doesn’t undermine local control — it helps ensure that planning decisions are made thoughtfully and proactively.
The recent infighting within the Democratic Party says it all — they can’t even hold their own coalition together. Their failure to get the ACA supplements passed and the embarrassing way they handled the shutdown prove that their so-called “unity” is just for show.
Republicans don’t need to reinvent the wheel here — we just have to stand firm and stay together. When we do, Democrats eventually cave, every time. They talk about democracy, but their party is eating itself from the inside out.
Last week’s elections (blue ripple) might have given them a short-term headline, but that doesn’t change the bigger picture: Americans are tired of chaos, hypocrisy, and performative outrage. Strength and stability win in the long run — and that’s exactly what we bring when we stand united.
