Category: Newton Schools

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

NNHS Girls Volleyball Goes to State Championship!

A rematch a year in the making will take place Saturday night at Algonquin High School after the Newton North girls volleyball team used another punishing display of serving, blocking and hitting power to beat Concord-Carlisle in the Division 1 state semifinal Wednesday night at Canton High.

The Tigers advance to the state championship match for the second straight year, where they will once again face Barnstable for the crown. In last year’s final, Barnstable rallied past Newton North for a 3-1 victory after the Tigers had beaten the Red Raiders earlier in the season. North suffered a second straight loss to Barnstable in this year’s regular season, and would like nothing more than to turn the tables on the defending champions with everything on the line Saturday night.

From Wicked Local Newton

Newton North High School Girls Soccer will play in State Championship tomorrow (Friday).

Newton North High School Girls Volleybally will pay in State Championship this Saturday!

Algonquin High School

79 Bartlett St, Northborough, MA 01532

Good luck!!!

November 14, 2013
NNHS Volleyball Tonight for Semi-Finals against Concord Carlisle

Newton North High School Volleyball is playing in Canton tonight for the Semi-Finals against Concord Carlise.

GIRL’S VOLLEYBALL (19-3) has some unfinished business to handle in the State tournament. Good luck to any team attempting to stop them. The Tigers have already disposed of Brookline and North Quincy and, with a win against Concord-Carlisle (19-4) in the State semi-finals, can earn a chance to avenge last year’s State final loss. Although North is the lowest remaining seed in the tournament, the Carey Division co-champs have refused to be limited by a number and will look to extend their impressive tournament run. from Newton North Sports Stream

The match starts at 7:00 PM at Canton High School located at 900 Washington St, Canton, MA 02021.

image from Be Recruited

November 13, 2013
Watch NNHS Girls Soccer in State Finals This Friday!

Newton North won 2-1 last night in the semifinals of the Division 1 State Tournament. Despite falling behind 1-0 with 30 minutes left in the game, Newton North rallied for 2 goals in regulation to take the victory. Goals were scored by Angela Ward and Shannon Fitzgerald.

The play was high quality and very entertaining. If you haven’t seen Newton North play yet this year, I would encourage you to do so. They are a very talented team and they are one win away from their 1st state championship since 1999.

They play in the finals on Friday, November 15th at 5 pm at Worcester State College (486 Chandler Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01602) against Minnechaug (from Western Mass).

November 13, 2013
Peirce Elementary School Playground Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser

Peirce Elementary School is raising money for a new playground and everyone is welcome to use it when it is complete.

But the price tag is high. In order to get an inclusive playground with a rubber surface that allow for wheelchairs, the cost is $175,000. So far, Peirce is almost half way there. But We Need Your Help!

We’re holding a Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser on Saturday, October 5th from 11 am to 4pm. Please buy a pumpkin and help us get closer to our goal.

This is the playground we hope to install. If we don’t meet our fundraising goal over the next 6 six weeks, we will have to use woodchips instead of the rubber surface. Woodchips won’t allow for inclusion and are not as safe for falls as the rubber surface. Also, part of the playground structure might have to be eliminated.

Figuring out an idea play structure was a team effort. Peirce students weighed in with ideas such as these:

Please consider Peirce for your Fall and Halloween pumpkin needs! We hope you will visit our pumpkin patch!

September 28, 2013
Newton Schools 2013 MCAS Results

The 2013 MCAS results are out and Newton’s students performed well above the state average, with students scoring best in math.

Peirce Elementary School in Newton MA

MCAS results from the Spring, 2013 exams were released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Educatio. Students continue to perform at high levels on these exams.

On this round of exams, 87% of Fifth Graders were Proficient or Advanced in English Language Arts, 81% in Mathematics, and 82% in Science. 92% of Fourth Graders were Proficient or Advanced in English Language Arts and 80% in Mathematics. 73% of Third Graders were Proficient or Advanced in English Language Arts and 78% in Mathematics.

These percentages represent improvement for each cohort (i.e. comparison of a cohort’s Third Grade scores to Fourth Grade scores and Fourth to Fifth).

Newton Elementary Schools

Top elementary schools for overall math scores were Ward (75 percent Advanced), Mason-Rice (66 percent), Horrace-Mann (59), Underwood (55), Burr (53), Peirce (52) and Bowen (52).

Highlights for elementary school English include: Ward (44 percent Advanced), Mason-Rice (39 percent), Peirce (38), Underwood (31), Cabot (30) and Zervas (30).

From Newton Patch.

September 26, 2013
Massachusetts Ranks High Globally in Math, Science

Expecting the Best Yields Results in Massachusetts

If Massachusetts were a country, its eighth graders would rank second in the world in science, behind only Singapore, according to Timss — the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which surveys knowledge and skills of fourth and eighth graders around the world. (The most recent version, in 2011, tested more than 600,000 students in 63 nations.)

Massachusetts eighth graders also did well in mathematics, coming in sixth, behind Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. The United States as a whole came in 10th in science and 9th in math, with scores that were above the international average.

Ambitious Goals

“Ed reform” was the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, passed by a Democratic Legislature and signed by a Republican governor, William F. Weld.

The three core components were more money (mostly to the urban schools), ambitious academic standards and a high-stakes test that students had to pass before collecting their high school diplomas. All students were expected to learn algebra before high school.

Also noteworthy was what the reforms did not include. Parents were not offered vouchers for private schools. The state did not close poorly performing schools, eliminate tenure for teachers or add merit pay. The reforms did allow for some charter schools, but not many.

Then the state, by and large, stayed the course.

Two decades after Massachusetts passed its education reform, there is still much disagreement over what were the crucial components to its success.

Some think it was the added money; others note that successful countries operate schools at much lower costs.

from the New York Times

p.s. Here’s an interesting report from Harvard: U.S. Math Performance in Global Perspective

September 12, 2013
How to Communicate with Children after Traumatic News
For parents who need talk to their kids about a traumatic event, I thought the information from the Day Middle School Principal Brian Turner was really helpful.

Communicating with Kids after Traumatic News or Events

Please visit these websites for information about how to appropriately respond and effectively communicate with children after traumatic events and news. This information is suitable for educators and parents alike.
1. The National Association of School Psychologists provides tips for parents and teachers at this website.
2. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration also provides guidance on how adults can help children after a traumatic event at this website.
3. Dr. Robert Evans, Psychologist and School Consultant, offers five guidelines that can make a positive difference for children after tragic events. Visit this link for more information.
These above-mentioned websites provide the following guidance:
- Take care of yourself and give yourself some time to come to terms with the event so that you are more able to reassure children.
- Understand that each child will handle an event like this differently. Some middle-school-aged children will talk openly about it, others may act out in unexpected ways, and some may not seem impacted at all.
- Maintain routines to establish a sense of normalcy for children.
- Minimize or avoid projecting your own reactions onto children. Instead, openly observe and listen to their reactions and respond to their level of engagement and need. Often times, adults’ reactions are much stronger and deeper than children’s, and we should be careful not to inadvertently subject children to our own complex responses and levels of understanding.
- Know that children are resilient and often rebound much faster than adults, especially when given opportunities to ask questions and be heard. Answer questions children may have as best you can and show them you care.
- Strongly consider limiting your child’s exposure to media sources that are covering this event.
Also 10 Tips on Supporting Your Child through Crisis.
September 2, 2013
Newton North High School Makes Newsweek Best High Schools List!
Newsweek has ranked Newton North High School #982 in its list of America’s Best High Schools.

The ranking lists the best 2000 public high schools in the United States that get kids into college.

The list is based on six components:
- graduation rate (25 percent)
- college acceptance rate (25 percent)
- AP/IB/AICE tests taken per student (25 percent)
- average SAT/ACT scores (10 percent)
- average AP/IB/AICE scores (10 percent)
- percent of students enrolled in at least one AP/IB/AICE course (5 percent)
To rank high, you need 100% graduation rates AND 100% of high school graduates college bound which is easier to pull off if your high school is small and homogeneous which Newton North High School is not.

Newton North High School stats:
- graduation rate: 94%
- college acceptance rate: 82%
- AP/IB/AICE tests taken per student: 0.3
- average SAT/ACT scores: 1808 / 25
- average AP/IB/AICE scores: 4.2
May 21, 2013
FREE Open Gym for Kids at Day Middle School

OPEN GYM (NO CHARGE)

4:00-6:00 PM Every Tuesday at Day

All students from Day, Bigelow, Brown and Oak Hill are invited to participate in the new Open Gym program. Tyler Wachtelhausen, F.A. Day’s Physical Education, Health and Wellness Teacher, will lead the program EVERY TUESDAY through the rest of this school year at Day Middle School. Kids can enjoy basketabll, dance, volleyball and just about whatever fitness activity you can think of. And, best of all, it’s FREE!

Please click on the link below for more information about the program and the registration form. Or, have your child pick up a form in the Main Office of their school.

Registration form for Open Gym

April 29, 2013
Newton Override Link Round Up
Newton Override Passes

If you are new to Newton and want to know about the Newton tax override, I have a round up of links. This is only the second tax override to pass in Newton. The first was to renovate and build Newton’s High Schools. What does the override mean to Newton’s citizens and what next?

How Close Was It?

From Newton Patch: Newton Voters Pass $11.4M Override Package

The unofficial vote totals for the three questions:

Question 1

The first override question proposed would allow for an $8.4 million tax levy limit override to fund a list of projects, most of which will help with overcrowding and enrollment in the Newton Public Schools.
- Yes: 9,649
- No: 8,199
Question 2

Replace or renovate Angier Elementary School?
- Yes: 9,904
- No: 7,893
Question 3

Replace or renovate Cabot Elementary School?
- Yes: 9,879
- No: 7,919
What if You Can’t Afford Tax Increase?

From Village 14: Statement from Mayor Warren’s office on Newton overrides

When he announced the override package last fall, Mayor Warren also announced an expansion of tax assistance programs for eligible seniors and veterans. A staff person at City Hall has also been designated to help residents concerned about their ability to pay. If you are in need of assistance, you may call Meghan Kennedy at 617-796-1282

image from Village 14

50 New Teaching Positions Added to Newton Schools

From Newton Patch: Newton Superintendent: FY ’14 Budget Will Add More than 50 Teaching Positions

Of the more than 50 new positions slated in next year’s budget, 13.1 FTE (full-time equivalent) positions will be added on the elementary school level, 10.1 of which are for enrollment growth.

Three of those elementary school positions will be new, part-time assistant principals at the district’s three largest elementary schools: Countryside, Bowen and Memorial-Spaulding.

The elementary assistant principal positions are a new venture for the Newton Public Schools, but according to Fleishman, they are a common practice in Newton’s “peer districts.” Fleishman added that the part-time assistant principals will be full-time staffers who split their time between the assistant principal job and a teaching position.

Other additions include:
- More than 11 new positions at the middle schools
- More than 11 new positions at the high schools
- 3.5 FTE for English Language Learners
- One new HR position to handle increase in hires as well as new, expanded background checks for teachers
The 50 added positions in fiscal 2014 represent an approximate 3 percent increase to the district’s overall staff, which will total 1,924.6 positions in fiscal 2014.
March 20, 2013