Dear Editor,

It’s hard to believe that the 2014-15 school year is almost over! Throughout the course of the year, the new teachers Newton County School System (NCSS) hired last summer have participated in ongoing New Teacher Induction/Professional Development Activities, officially known as the NCSS BEST Program. They are now just a few short days away from completing their first official year as teachers in the Newton County School System. For many of these teachers, this will also mark the end of their first full-year in the teaching profession! We were very excited to welcome all of these new teachers to our school system last summer, and to celebrate their completion of the NCSS BEST Program, Newton County School System honored them at a special reception and dinner on May 11 at the Newton College and Career Academy.

One of the things Newton County School System is most proud of is the support we receive from our numerous Partners in Education. This year, as in previous years, we put out a call to our Partners in Education requesting support for our New Teacher Induction Program. Once again, these community businesses, churches, and organizations delivered in a very big way by providing an incredible number of gifts—almost 60 in fact—to be used as door prizes at our end-of-year reception. We received gift bags, tote bags, and numerous gift certificates and gift cards too! It’s so wonderful to see how these Partners in Education truly support the students and employees of our school system.

Although we announce the name of each business/community organization that donates a door prize during our program, I’d also like to make the residents of Newton County aware of the generosity of our school partners by publicly thanking those who went above and beyond by not only supporting their individual schools over the course of the school year but also providing support for our district’s New Teacher Induction Program. The following outstanding Partners in Education donated door prizes for our new teachers’ end-of-year reception: Starrsville United Methodist Church, Allstar Automotive, Snapping Shoals EMC, CARS, Amici, Blimpie, Newton Federal Bank, Oxford Lions Club, United Bank, Kwik Change Lube and Service Center, Covington Pro Lube, Game Time, and the Covington Pilot Club. Thank you SO MUCH for supporting our schools! And thank you to all of our Partners in Education who continually support our students and schools each and every year. Our community is blessed with businesses, organizations, churches, and civic groups that truly care about the children and employees of Newton County School System.

If you would like to see the names of the numerous businesses and organizations that provide support to our schools as official Partners in Education, or you are interested in signing up as a Partner in Education, please visit our webpage at http://www.newtoncountyschools.org/departments/public-relations/partners-in-education.aspx.

Thank you again, to all of our 2014-2015 Partners in Education. You are the unsung heroes of our school system!

Sincerely,
Sherri Davis-Viniard
Director of
Public Relations
Newton County Schools