Category: Newton Schools

Everything you want to know about the Newton Public School System in Newton, MA.

Halloween Safety Tips for Parents of Pre-Teens & Teens
Halloween Safety Tips for Parents of Pre-Teens & Teens

Your teenager may no longer need your help dressing up as a super-hero, but it’s important to continue to be involved in your teen’s Halloween plans. Here are a few important safety tips and ideas from Day Middle School’s Nurse Gayle’s Newsletter:
- Find out where your teen is going, get the phone number, and agree on a time for him/her to be home
- Make sure adults will be present at parties your teen will attend
- Explain how Halloween pranks can be vandalism and result in serious consequences
- Remind your teen you don’t want him/her to use alcohol, drugs and tobacco
- Offer to drive your teen to where he/she wants to go for the night
- For teen drivers, remind them to watch carefully for young trick-or-treaters and drive slowly
- Give your teen reflective tape & a flashlight if he/she is going to be out trick or treating
October 30, 2015
Update on Carbon Monoxide at Franklin School

October 9, 2015

Dear Newton Community,

As many of you are aware, we decided to close Franklin Elementary School early this morning. The decision was made because there was a release of carbon monoxide in the boiler room.

It appears that the release was due to errors made by the heating contractors in the process of installing a new boiler. Two individuals who were in the building at the time were taken to the hospital, and are now stable.

No children had yet arrived to school, and the staff that were present were evacuated. While there are currently no other schools which have boilers under construction, every boiler in all Newton Public Schools will be inspected by the end of the day on Monday.

In addition, all rooms at Franklin have been tested for carbon monoxide and have been deemed safe. As always, the safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance.

If any additional information becomes available, we will be sure to keep you updated.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman Superintendent of Schools

October 9, 2015
FREE Teen Depression Webinar
Families for Depression Awareness is presenting a free, 1-hour Teen Depression webinar (with additional 15 minute Q&A) on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT.

Designed for parents, teachers, school counselors and staff, youth workers, and other caring adults, the webinar covers:
- How to distinguish between depression and teen angst
- What you should know about self-injury, bullying, and other concerns
- How to talk to teens about depression
- How to get help for a struggling teen
- What to do when a teen refuses help
Our expert presenter is Dr. Michael Tsappis, the psychiatrist for the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and a member of the faculty of Harvard Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry. His post-graduate specialty training is in general psychiatry as well as child and adolescent psychiatry. Dr. Tsappis is particularly interested in understanding psychiatric illness in the context of human development and a changing social environment.

Watch the webinar live to submit questions to Dr. Tsappis! Complete the online evaluation form after the webinar to receive a free set of Parent and Teen Depression and Bipolar Disorder Wellness Guides in English or Spanish.

Can’t attend the live webcast? Register today and watch the recorded webinar later at your convenience.

http://www.familyaware.org/trainings ]www.familyaware.org/trainings.
September 26, 2015
$20,000 College Scholarships through Coca Cola

This year’s Coca-Cola scholarship application is now available online at www.coca-colascholarsfoundation.org. We are looking for 150 high school seniors who are socially-conscious and servant-minded leaders to be a part of our 28^th class of scholars! These students will each receive a $20,000 college scholarship and join a network of alumni who have become a powerful force for change.

Since 1989, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has helped dreams come true for more than 5,550 outstanding students. Coca-Cola believes in investing in students who are leaders, both academically and in service to others.

September 22, 2015
College Essay Writing Workshops

Newton Free Library: College Essay Writing Workshops

Saturdays, Sept. 26 and Oct. 24, 1:00 pm, Druker Auditorium

Students, whether you accomplished a lot on your college essay over the summer or you’re still trying to decide what to write about when school begins next fall, these workshops are for you. Students will work in small groups with others who are at the same writing stage, and will be led by professional tutors and teachers.

We’ll cover some do’s and don’ts of college essay writing, work on your writing and spend some time in peer review. You’ll also get an opportunity for individual help and feedback.

Register online.

This free workshop is cosponsored by Newton Youth Services and is for students.

Please bring at least 5 copies of your essay draft and/or a laptop if you have one.

September 21, 2015
New Angier School Close to Completion

September 2015

Dear Families,

I hope you have enjoyed the beautiful summer. It is a great pleasure to welcome both our returning families and those new to our schools.

The start of the school year is a wonderful time for anyone involved in education because it allows us to develop new goals, build new relationships and embark upon new challenges. Our Systemwide Goals this year highlight both academic and social and emotional learning. While improving student achievement remains the most important part of our mission, we know it is also essential to focus on the social and emotional needs of our students. I look forward to updating you on some of our key initiatives over the course of the school year.

Newton administrators and teachers spend a great deal of time during the summer preparing for the upcoming year. Summer is also a time for our faculty members to focus on their own learning – something they do not have as much time for during the school year, when the emphasis is on teaching our students. This summer, our faculty and staff engaged in a broad range of professional work, including developing new curriculum, continuing work on existing initiatives, such as improving student writing, and participating in a range of professional learning focused on addressing the social and emotional needs of our students.

Those of you who have recently traveled on Beacon Street in Waban probably have noticed that the new Angier School is close to completion and will be ready for students in January. We are very pleased that the project is on time and on budget. When Angier leaves their temporary space at the Carr School at the end of December, Zervas staff and students will immediately leave their building to relocate to Carr. Like Angier, Zervas is expected to be completed in a year and half, with Cabot next in line. In the fall, we will update our long-range facilities plan as we continue the exciting work of rebuilding and renovating our school buildings.

One of the most important parts of my job is to be in our schools on a regular basis connecting with teachers and students. I also look forward to engaging with parents in the coming year in a number of ways. School Committee members will again join me for parent discussions in each of our 22 buildings. We look forward to sharing our opportunities and challenges and addressing your questions and concerns. Following a successful pilot last year, I also will hold at least two superintendent/parent book discussions over the course of the year on key educational topics.

As we begin again, please accept my best wishes for a wonderful school year.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools

September 13, 2015
NNHS Ranks #67 in Newsweek Top 500 High Schools

There are almost 30,000 public high schools in the United States. This ranking rewards schools by poverty vs graduation rate/college bound. It’s a poll about beating the odds.

This year’s rankings were weighted by:

Enrollment Rate—25 percent
Graduation Rate—20 percent
Weighted AP/IB/Dual Enrollment composite—17.5 percent
Weighted SAT/ACT composite—17.5 percent
Change in student enrollment between 9th-12th grades, to control for dropout rates—10 percent
Counselor-to-Student Ratio—10 percent

The Massachusetts public high schools that made this list are:

#16 Dover-Sherborn Regional High
#52 Medfield Senior High
#67 Newton North High
#75 Westwood High
#93 Hopkinton High
#128 Shrewsbury Sr. High
#139 Groton Dunstable Regional
#207 Longmeadow High
#253 Newburyport High
#279 Georgetown High School
#315 Arlington High
#381 King Philip Regional High
#396 Marblehead High
#424 Ashland High
#448 Natick High
#451 Braintree High
#492 Chelmsford High

September 8, 2015
Massachusetts Ranks High for Best Schools
WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2015’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems.

To find the best school systems, WalletHub compared the quality of education in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia by analyzing 13 key metrics. Our data set includes such metrics as the pupil-teacher ratio, dropout rates, standardized-test scores and bullying incidents rates.

Quality of Schools in Massachusetts (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- 3^rd – Bullying Incidents Rate
- 1^st – Math Test Score
- 1^st – Reading Test Score
- 11^th – Pupil-Teacher Ratio
- 17^th – Dropout Rate
- 2^nd – School Safety
- 25^th – Average SAT Score
For the full report, please visit here.
August 29, 2015
Massachusetts’ 50 school districts Ranked by Niche.com
Massachusetts’ 50 school districts as ranked by Niche.com. Best Public School Teachers ranks 2,240 school districts based on key teaching statistics and 910,000 teacher ratings from 235,000 students and parents. A high ranking indicates that teachers are intelligent and engaging, the district is invested in its teachers and provides a good educational environment, and students and parents rate their teachers favorably.

Newton ranks #2.
1. Westwood Public Schools
2. Newton Public Schools
3. Lexington Public Schools
4. Northboro-Southboro Regional School District
5. Westford Public Schools
6. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District
7. Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School District
8. Masconomet Public Schools
9. Brookline Public Schools
10. Needham Public Schools
11. Braintree Public Schools
12. Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District
13. Shrewsbury Public Schools
14. Franklin Public Schools
15. Cambridge Public Schools
16. Brockton Public Schools
17. Wachusett Public Schools
18. Framingham Public Schools
19. Malden Public Schools
20. Andover Public Schools
21. Lowell Public Schools
22. Barnstable Public Schools
23. Dedham Public Schools
24. Plymouth Public Schools
25. Lynn Public Schools
26. Chelmsford Public Schools
27. Salem Public Schools
28. Somerville Public Schools
29. Haverhill Public Schools
30. Belchertown Public Schools
31. Weymouth Public Schools
32. Boston Public Schools
33. Chicopee Public Schools
34. Quincy Public Schools
35. Woburn Public Schools
36. Worcester Public Schools
37. Leominster Public Schools
38. Wilmington Public Schools
39. Wakefield Public Schools
40. Agawam Public Schools
41. Fall River Public Schools
42. Sandwich Public Schools
43. Pittsfield Public Schools
44. Springfield Public Schools
45. Attleboro Public Schools
46. Westfield Public Schools
47. Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District
48. North Attleborough Public Schools
49. Chelsea Public Schools
50. Mansfield Public Schools
The Niche.com study is here.
August 25, 2015
New Start Time for Newton Elementary Schools

August 14, 2015

Dear Families,

I hope you have enjoyed the summer and are looking forward a new school year. I am writing with an important update about the elementary school start time for 2015-2016.

In a letter sent home to families in June, we announced a new start time for all Newton elementary schools, with the first bell at 8:20 and second bell at 8:25. This change was designed to maximize academic and social and emotional learning time and have consistent start times and attendance practices in all elementary schools.

Following the June letter, we received extensive feedback, primarily expressing concern that we were not providing our youngest students with adequate time between the opening of school doors and the official start of the school day. We have heard your comments and concerns and are taking preliminary steps to adopt a more viable, short-term solution.

Therefore, we will adopt the following elementary school start time for the 2015-2016 school year: The school doors for ALL elementary buildings will open at 8:20 a.m., the day will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. and attendance will be taken at that time. We thank you in advance for your full cooperation to ensure students arrive on time and move quickly into classrooms, ready to begin the school day. Minimizing traffic by having students walk or take the bus to school will be most helpful as we start the school year.

We understand the concerns of families and staff, and will continue to explore options for an elementary school day schedule that meets the academic needs of our school communities while ensuring the safety of students. We will also check in with principals over the course of the year regarding the impact of this change.

I apologize for any confusion about these changes. You can expect your child’s principal to provide further arrival details by the end the month. Thank you for your continued patience and support, and we look forward to working with you to ensure a positive and productive school year.

Sincerely,

David A. Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools

August 17, 2015