Category: Newton Schools

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

PARCC Assessment Update for Newton Public Schools

February 4, 2015

Dear Families:

As most of you know, students in Massachusetts have been tested for proficiency in English Language Arts and Mathematics since 1998 using MCAS. Over the next couple of years, MCAS will very likely be phased out and replaced by a different type of assessment designed to assess student proficiency with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which were adopted as Massachusetts state standards by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2011. Since that time, our K-8 English Language Arts and Math departments have gradually shifted our entire curriculum to align with the Common Core in elementary and middle school.

Last year, some of our schools and classrooms were randomly selected to pilot PARCC, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. Based on that experience, and our desire to test our students on the current curriculum, we chose to administer PARCC in all elementary and middle schools this year. Slightly more than half of the districts in Massachusetts made the same choice.

The transition to PARCC requires changes in some of our previous testing routines. In particular, thirteen (13) of our schools chose to test using the computer-based version of PARCC, something we have not done before.

The first round of PARCC testing begins March 16^th and runs through April 10^th, with five (5) testing sessions in that five (5) week window. The second round of PARCC testing runs from May 4^th through May 21^st, with three (3) testing sessions in three (3) weeks. The exact dates will vary by school and grade. Fifth and eighth graders will also take the Science MCAS in May.

Student, school and district test results will be reported similarly to MCAS, and we will analyze our performance as we do with all student learning assessments. We have worked diligently to align our curriculum to the new standards, to deliver additional resources to teachers, to refine our instructional strategies, and to provide additional support to students as necessary.

The PARCC assessment will be one measure of the outcome of our work, and we will make adjustments to our curriculum and instruction in response to student performance, as we do with all assessments. Despite the proliferation of state and federal testing, we will continue our focus on improving teaching and learning in the Newton Public Schools.

Obviously, this is a tremendous undertaking and will require a great deal of effort and communication with staff and parents. More information about the PARCC assessment is available on the Newton Public Schools website here.

Many thanks for your understanding and support. We will be sure to keep you well informed during this time of transition.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools

February 19, 2015
FREE Gem/Rock Curriculum for Teachers

Third through fifth grade teachers have a new colorful way to engage and excite students about geology, minerology and gemology through GIA’s new GemKids for Schools curriculum. From volcanoes spewing lava to digging for hidden jewels, students can roll up their sleeves to discover science lessons hidden deep within the Earth. Best of all, this cross-curricular and standards-based program is free to download.

Created by GIA, the global leader in gemological education and research since 1931, GemKids for Schools provides students with big-picture connections between nature, human industry, arts and culture. The program covers how gems are formed in nature, the different methods used to mine them, how civilizations have valued gems throughout history, and much more. By studying gems, students will explore the history of our planet, have more conversations about the intersecting worlds of business and culture, and better understand the changing definitions of beauty and value.

GemKids for Schools is a great way to instill a passion for learning about science and how it connects to the history of the world. The curriculum is designed to complement existing elementary school Earth science programs and requirements in the U.S. Teachers and parents can find out more by visiting here. The curriculum is available there to download completely free of charge.

GIA is an 84-year old nonprofit institute dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry through research, education and laboratory services. GemKids for Schools is funded by the GIA endowment, which supports education and scholarship programs.

February 18, 2015
FREE Lecture by Dr. Anthony Rao on Parenting Boys

Boyhood Decoded: A Discussion with Dr. Anthony Rao

Learn how to understand your young son and what he needs to be confident, happy and healthy

Do you want to better understand your son? Are you curious about the trends facing young boys in today’s fast-paced, highly-competitive world? Are you wondering how to communicate with your son in ways that promote independence and build positive self-esteem?

Join psychologist Dr. Anthony Rao for a candid and upbeat discussion on raising and educating boys successfully. During this talk, Dr. Rao will address the distinct challenges of helping young boys grow into happy and healthy young men. Armed with key insights into how boys think and navigate in the world, you’ll begin to see your son’s hidden talents and gifts – and you’ll leave with simple, practical tips for raising a strong and confident son.

Following the discussion, Dr. Rao will sign copies of his book, The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys.

Date: Thursday, March 5

Time: 7pm – 9pm

Location: The Fessenden School
250 Waltham Street
West Newton MA 02465

RSVP: This event is open to the public and free of charge. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Please visit fessenden.org/event or call 617-964-5350 to reserve your seat.

About Dr. Anthony Rao

Dr. Anthony Rao is a nationally-known expert in child psychology, appearing regularly on TV news programs and in magazines. He founded a pediatric psychology practice in Massachusetts and is the author of The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys. For more information about Dr. Rao, please visit here.

About the Book
Dr. Rao’s book, The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys, is about the crisis in American boyhood. In this practical and accessible guide to the distinct challenges of raising young boys into happy and healthy young men, Dr. Rao urges parents, educators, pediatricians, psychologists, and other developmental experts to reevaluate and radically alter how we deal with our youngest boys

About the Fessenden School

The Fessenden School is a private boys’ boarding and day school for prekindergarten through 9th grade, located in West Newton, MA. For more than 100 years, the Fessenden School has offered state-of-the-art facilities, curriculum, and programs specifically designed to meet the developmental needs of boys.

February 13, 2015
Massachusetts Is the Best State at Controlling Bullying
How does Massachusetts rate on controlling bullying at school?

WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2015’s Best & Worst States at Controlling Bullying.

To identify the areas of the U.S. where bullying is most pervasive, WalletHub analyzed 42 states and the District of Columbia across nine key metrics, ranging from bullying incident rates online and on school property to the cost of truancy (lower attendance) for schools.

The Bullying Problem in Massachusetts (1=Lowest, 21=Avg.):
- 3^rd – % of High School Students Bullied on School Property
- 9^th – % of High School Students Bullied Online
- 1^st – % of High School Students Involved in Physical Fight at School
- 1^st – % of High School Students Who Missed School Out of Fear of Being Bullied
- 1^st – % of High School Students Who Attempted Suicide
For the full report, please visit here.
February 12, 2015
Kohl’s Young Volunteer Scholarship Program
Kohl’s Department Stores will be accepting nominations for outstanding young volunteers beginning next week for the 2015 Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program.
Nominations for kids ages six to 18 will be accepted January 30 – March 13 at kohlskids.com, and nominators must be 21 years or older. Through the program, Kohl’s will award more than 2,500 young volunteers nearly $400,000 in scholarships and prizes to reward kids who have made a positive impact on their communities.
- Ten national winners will each be awarded a $10,000 scholarship for higher education, and Kohl’s will donate $1,000 to a nonprofit organization on each national winner’s behalf
- Nearly 200 students will win regional scholarships worth $1,000 toward higher education
- More than 2,000 local students will receive a $50 Kohl’s gift card
Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program is part of Kohl’s Cares®, Kohl’s philanthropic program focused on improving the lives of children. Since the program began in 2001, Kohl’s has recognized more than 22,000 kids with more than $4.2 million in scholarships and prizes. To learn more about last year’s winners, visit kohlskids.com.
January 31, 2015
Scholarship for Advanced Middle School Students
EdX and Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Announce Middle School Scholarship Challenge

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and edX today announced a scholarship challenge for advanced middle school students. Every eligible seventh grade student who successfully completes one of the five selected edX courses will secure a semi-finalist position in the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Scholars Program.

The Young Scholars Program, a selective pre-college scholarship for high-performing middle school students with financial need, includes individualized academic advising, financial support, and a pathway to the foundation’s $40,000 per year College Scholarship.

The selected edX courses, which are designed for advanced high school and college-level students, are as follows:
- UT AustinX Jazz Appreciation (Starts Jan 20, 10 weeks)
- UC BerkeleyX Frankenstein (Starts Feb 2, 4 weeks)
- HarveyMuddX Programming in Scratch (Starts Feb 2, 6 weeks)
- DartmouthX Introduction to Environmental Science (Starts Feb 3, 6 weeks)
- HarvardX Super-Earths and Life (Starts Feb 10, 6 weeks)
“Through this unique partnership, we hope to identify academically gifted students to apply to the Young Scholars Program who we may be missing through traditional outreach,” said Harold Levy, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and former chancellor of New York City public schools. “The courses are rigorous, so seventh graders earning a certificate are likely the kind of students who would thrive in the foundation’s scholarship programs.”

“We are proud to partner with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to identify and support enthusiastic and motivated young scholars who may otherwise not have an opportunity to further their education,” said Anant Agarwal, edX CEO. “Our edX mission to provide quality education to everyone aligns with the Young Scholars Program, and we are honored to reach these students online where they are learning today.”

All of the selected edX courses offer free honor code certificates. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Scholars Program receives 1,000-2,000 applications each year from some of the brightest students in the US. Typically, 500 applicants are advanced as semi-finalists.

Registration for the edX courses is open and selected courses begin as soon as January 20, 2015. Applications to the Young Scholars Program must be submitted by April 14, 2015. Details about the partnership and scholarship challenge can be found at www.jkcf.org/edx.

About edX

EdX is a nonprofit, open-source enterprise offering online courses from more than 60 member institutions, composed of both leading global universities and colleges and a diverse group of prominent organizations from around the world. Founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, edX is focused on transforming online and on-campus learning through groundbreaking methodologies, game-like experiences and cutting-edge research on an open-source platform. Based in Cambridge, MA, USA, edX is focused on people, not profit.

About the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Because the Foundation believes that high-performing, low-income students will excel educationally when given the resources to develop their talents, the Foundation offers them support from middle school to graduate school by providing the largest scholarships in the country, in-depth academic counseling, and other direct services. The Foundation also provides grants to prominent organizations that support high performing, low-income students with innovative programming. Founded in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke, the Foundation has awarded over $125 million in scholarships to 1,800 students and $79 million in grants. www.jkcf.org
January 25, 2015
FA Day Middle School at Red Sox Game Fundraiser!

Go here to order. Deadline to order is January 28th!

January 23, 2015
Moving Elementary Boundary Lines

December 2014

Dear Newton Families,

As many of you are aware, we have begun an exciting time of facilities renovation and expansion in the Newton Public Schools. The recently renovated Carr School, which is currently housing the Angier School during its renovation, is a terrific modern facility. We expect our Long Range Facilities Plan to continue for many years. A key aspect of this plan is not only the rebuilding and renovation of aging buildings but also expanding their capacity to meet the needs of our growing population. A new Angier school will open in January 2016, with Zervas to follow in September 2017. A renovated or rebuilt Cabot is planned for January 2018.

We currently have schools that are over crowded and a few schools that will soon reach expanded capacity. As a result, we will address the student assignment process, a task that will involve moving elementary boundary lines. We expect that the student assignment plans will be addressed in phases, in order to match the timing of the various school construction and/or renovation projects. The initial phase for the first three schools will be addressed this year and additional phases will occur as the plan for rebuilding/renovating elementary schools continues for the next 15-20 years.

I am well aware that shifting elementary boundary lines represents a significant change. Please keep in mind that most residences across the City will remain in their current districts. However, our space challenges necessitate some movement. As a result, we have created a Student Assignment Working Group, which will develop criteria for evaluating various assignment scenarios based on mapping data and other information. A recommendation will be made to the School Committee by the end of the school year.

We fully appreciate that communication and community engagement are essential when making such changes. In addition to providing regular updates at School Committee meetings, there will be public meetings that will focus solely on this topic. Student assignment planning will be on the agenda when School Committee members join me at PTO meetings in each of the schools over the next few months.

Our goal is to develop a process that is thoughtful and sensitive. We will be certain to update you over the course of the year and further information will be provided on our website.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools

Current Zervas Elementary School District Street Map

December 29, 2014
Catalog Canceling Initiative to GO GREEN!
Go Green!
CATALOG CANCELING INITIATIVE

My elementary school is doing this via our Social Action Committee but I wanted to share with everyone in Newton and invite you all to Go GREEN!

As the holiday season is upon us, most households begin to receive an abundance of unwanted sales catalogs.

Over 19 billion catalogs are mailed per year in the USA, using:
- 53 million trees
- 3 billion gallons of water
- Enough energy to supply 1.2 million homes annually
- CO2 emissions equal to 2 million cars annually
The production of catalogs consumes a vast amount of our planet’s precious resources, and 98% of these catalogs do not even generate sales.

How does the initiative work?

1. Collect catalogs that you want to cancel.

2. Cancel the catalogs by:
- calling the 1800 number on the back, or
- use the website www.catalogchoice.org where you can cancel many at one time or
- download the following app https://www.paperkarma.com/ to scan and cancel
3. Go online at Catalog Canceling Drive and submit the total number of catalogs you and your child have cancelled. Deadline to enter isJanuary 15th

4. SAVE and SEND the catalogs in with your child on the morning of January 16^th (the day of the January Town Meeting).

Please have you child/children help in as much of this process as possible.
The classrooms that have cancelled the most catalogs will win a prize. In addition, to help the children understand the impact of this initiative, each child will have the chance to go onto the stage to add their catalogs to the stack of cancelled catalogs.

For more information and videos about this challenge, click on the following link. http://blogs.parkschoolcommunity.net/ted_wells/
December 18, 2014
NNHS Principal to be Superintendent in North Andover

Dear North Community:

I am writing let you know that I have chosen to go to North Andover as their next Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1, 2015.

Please know that the Newton North community will always hold a very special place in my heart. Over the last 9 years, I have had the privilege to lead this school through many challenges, opportunities and transitions. I have grown so much as a leader and a person, none of which would have been possible without the support of this amazing community. I am so proud of this school and all the work we have done together to ensure that all students have equal access to the excellent educational experiences within our walls.

I know David Fleishman will be in touch shortly after the holiday break to update you on the search process. He has told me he is eager to move as quickly as possible to ensure that the search for the next principal at Newton North is as thorough and comprehensive as possible.

I look forward to working with our wonderful staff, students and families over the next six months. Thank you, as always, for partnering with me to support the incredible students of Newton North. I hope you enjoy the upcoming break, and Happy New Year.

Best,

Jennifer Price

Principal

December 17, 2014