Mr. Newton is originally from a small town in North Alabama. He attended the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) where he marched in the Million Dollar Band. After one year of college, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps, where he completed four years of active duty with an honorable discharge. Mr. Newton spent the next twenty years in healthcare as a provider and as an educator. During that time he completed an Associates Degree in Health Science (Calhoun Community College), and his Bachelors of Science in History with a minor in English (Troy University).

  In the fall of 2017, Mr. Newton wanted to live his life-long dream of being a high school teacher. He was lucky enough to get two long-term substitute teaching assignments at Evans High School. From that experience he knew that he had made the right decision to make the change to secondary education. In July of 2018, Mr. Newton was offered a full-time teaching position at Westside High School in the Social Studies Department.

Mr. Newton is an avid hiker. He has section hiked the Appalachain Trail from the Southern Terminus in N. Georgia to the Virginia Highlands, parts of the Pinhoti in Alabama and Georgia, Benton MacKay, Duncan Ridge Trail, The Foothills Trail, and various trails in the Great Smokey Mountain NP, the Pacific Northwest, California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Japan. Mr. Newton has also spent time as an Ultramarthon Runner, running distances between 50K and 50 miles on trails and on the road.

Mr. Newton currently lives in the Grovetown area with his wife Amanda, their youngest daughter, Alexandria (Augusta University Student), and their dachshund, Chili. He is currently working on his graduate degree in history at Liberty University. His historical scholarship and research focuses on modern Europe (1740-1990) and East Asia (BCE-1950) .

"I am looking forward to an exciting year as we explore the past together."

-John Newton

While at Westside...

2021-Present AP World History: Modern 1200-Present

2019-Present Cross Country Head Coach

2019-Present Wrestling Head Coach

2019-2022 Girls Track & Field Head Coach

2019-2020 Black History Club Sponsor

2018-Present Marching Band Staff Volunteer