A Note from the Principal
On the eve of reuniting with the wonderful folks in our community, our dedicated and skilled teachers, caring and supportive parents, and eager and inspirational scholars in our care, and as we launch the beginning of Black History month, I lean on the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu for inspiration.
Our community's recent struggle and challenges are certainly by no means the same and pale in comparison to the struggles involved in the overturning of Apartheid, where lives and freedom were at risk with every word and action. Still Archbishop Tutu and others in that struggle, like the great Nelson Mandela, lifted up the power of reconciliation in bringing a community together and moving it forward to new beginnings.
All of us, our strengths, our flaws, our voices and perspectives, are all joined together by our humanity, and our care for the children in our community. I look forward to new beginnings with all of you, and to the inspiration of seeing our children walk through our doors tomorrow, reuniting us again in our shared purpose.
RETURN TO SCHOOL TOMORROW
- Newton Public Schools will be open tomorrow, Monday, February 5, 2024
- We will have a 1-hour delay opening to principals to work with faculty on supporting students.
- Bus pick up times should be adjusted by 1 hour.
- School will begin tomorrow at 8:55 a.m. (doors will open at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast)
- Dismissal will be at the typical time - 2:25 p.m.
- Tomorrow will be a Day 4
SAVE THE DATE:
Tuesday, February 13, 2023 - Term 3 Begins
Friday, February 16, 2024 - Term 2 Grades Posted
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 - Brent Daniels Assemblies
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 - Jazz Band Concert at NNHS
Mon., Feb. 19th - Fri. Feb. 23rd - February Vacation
Tues. Feb. 27th - NNHS CTE and Fine Arts 8th Gr.Presentation 10:30 - 11:30
Tues. Feb. 27th - School Council at 3 p.m.
Tues. Feb. 27th - 8th Gr. Night at NNHS
Tues., February 27th: - Superintendent and School Committee Coffee 8:30 a.m.
Thurs. Feb. 29th - 8th Gr. Parent Night at NNHS
COMING TOGETHER AS WE RETURN TO SCHOOL
Over the past days the NPS Principals group has been working on developing a plan to support our students' return to school and lead our school communities down a pathway toward healing and growth. Below are a few highlights:
Students:
- Our focus this week will be on supporting students by returning to a sense of normalcy with the daily school routines and learning.
- During advisory on the first day back, students will view the community message from Ms. Mann (linked below).
- Teachers will be offered talking points should students have questions about their return to school.
- Counselors will check in with students and keep their schedules open on the first few day back so that they are available to students and families. If you are concerned about your child, please reach out to your child's counselor directly, or Jennifer Murphy, our Assistant Department Chair for Student Services at murphyj@newton.k12.ma.us
- Special thanks to our wonderful PTO volunteers for welcoming students back to school with a little treat as they enter school tomorrow.
Faculty
- I have spoken with many members of the Day Faculty today, and they are thrilled and excited to welcome back their students tomorrow.
- On our first day together the Day Faculty will be invited for an informal gathering first thing in the morning. This will be an opportunity to come together as a community and discuss how we will transition our students back to school. Special thanks to Christine Dutt, the many Day parent volunteers, and the Day PTO for sponsoring the coffee and light refreshments as a welcome back to our faculty.
- We will use our after school professional time moving forward to create a shared vision for our school community and how we will support students for the remainder of the school year.
Parents and Caregivers
- I have scheduled a virtual parent drop in session for this Tuesday, February 6, 2024 from 7:00 - 7:45 p.m. This is an informal opportunity for parents and caregivers to meet with me to ask any questions and share any concerns. (This will hopefully be just the first of a series of meetings)
Parent Drop In Session
Tuesday, February 6th from 7:00 - 7:45 p.m.
Time zone: America/New_York
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/wob-btmd-fmi
Or dial: (US) +1 209-734-0051 PIN: 453 193 804#
SHOW YOUR DAY SPIRIT!!
The Day Faculty would like to invite everyone to join them in a Spirit Day tomorrow to celebrate our return to school and support of our Day Dragon basketball teams.
JOIN US IN OUR DAY SPIRIT DAYS!
Wear your Day Spirit Gear or our school colors of white and blue!!
(TOMORROW) Monday, February 5th. AND Thursday, February 8th
GO DAY DRAGONS!!
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR
NO FEBRUARY VACATION
- The NPS School Committee voted to make up 4 of the missed school days during February vacation.
- There will be no school on Monday, February 19th due to the federal holiday, President's Day.
- There will be school on Tuesday, February 20th - Friday, February 23rd.
JUNE
The remaining 7 days that need to be made up will be added to the school calendar in June. The new last day of school for students will be Wednesday, June 26, 2024. It will be an early release day for students.
Any snow days will be made up during April vacation.
The NPS Middle School Principals will be meeting to discuss the new date for the 8th grade completion ceremony.
PARENT CONFERENCES
Jennifer Murphy will be in touch with all parents who were scheduled for parent conferences on January 24th. ALL of these conferences will be rescheduled for the same time on Wednesday, February 28th.
For your conference, please click on the Google Meet link provided to you at your designated conference time. If you are not let into the conference at exactly the time of the conference please know that often conferences run a little bit behind schedule. The teachers will admit you to the conference once they are available.
If you are having difficulty logging in for your conference, please call Jennifer Murphy at : 617-559-9142 or call the front office at Day: 617-559-9100. If you have a question that is not urgent, please email her at the address below:
Jennifer Murphy at murphyj@newton.k12.ma.us
INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
At Day we continue the ongoing work against hatred, bias and antisemitism.
- This March our 8th Graders will be joining with the other NPS middle school communities in hosting a virtual presentation by Holocaust survivor, Elly Gotz.
- In March we will also be partnering with the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) on bringing back our peer leader training. 7th Grade students at Day and the other four middle schools will be trained as peer leaders to engage in lessons and a fall teen speak out event around issues of bias and discrimination.
- On March 21st, all of the Day Community will engage in its second school wide community day with lessons planned to focus on creating a more inclusive school community.
More information will be shared as we get closer to these events. Most importantly, it is a privilege to be part of a community and district where we stand together against acts of hate and discrimination and will continue to offer our students the opportunity to lead this work in our community.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
This week we also launch the beginning of Black History month. In our classrooms and shared spaces we will be lifting up the voices of black leaders in all fields whose accomplishments have been marginalized by the inequities and injustice throughout our history, but who stand as role models for our young scholars. At Day, our celebration of black history is not relegated to just one month of the year, but rather woven through our curriculum and our shared work. And yet, there is work to be done...
Part of that work is engaging our students in reflections on their own identities and biases that lead to marginalizing voices that are not in a majority. Through advisory lessons and our community day on, we will continue to engage in dialogue around how we interact with each other, particularly around race. The work toward becoming a just, anti-racist community continues.
LUNAR YEAR 2024
Wishing everyone in the Day Community celebrating this Saturday, February 10th, a very happy and joyous new year.
At Day we will be celebrating with advisory lessons and a Lunar New Year performance in lunches on February 16th, special thanks to our amazing Chinese Teacher, Ms. Jian Sun and her gifted students.
At Day, we take particular pride in noting that 2024 is in fact the Year of the Dragon! New beginnings filled with happiness, health and good fortune as we look forward to the year ahead.
THIS FRIDAY COFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL
The next Coffee and Tour will the Principal is on Friday, March 15th!! Thank you to those who attended this past Friday. Please note that the tours are open to all Day parents and caregivers regardless of the grade level of their child. Each event will feature a different department or grade. In March we will feature our multi-team classes such as world language, arts rotation, health and PE.
COFFEE AND TOURS WITH THE PRINCIPAL
This school year I will be hosting a morning coffee accompanied by a walkthrough our school so caregivers can see our building in action. Each month we will feature a different subject and grade.
These events will be scheduled every other month on Friday mornings from 8:15 - 9:00 a.m.
Save the dates below:
SAVE THE DATE:
March 15, 2024
May 17, 2024
DAY DRAGON BASKETBALL SEASON
The Day Dragon Basketball Season has begun!!
We encourage our students to attend home games to cheer on their Day Dragons. The dates for all home games are listed below:
We will be in touch about rescheduling the January basketball games.
Monday, February 5, 2024
Thursday, February 8, 202
Below are a few important reminders about fan expectations that will also be shared with your children on Monday:
- There are two games : 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.
- Students staying after school to watch the game must either: report to the cafeteria after school where they will be supervised and then escorted to the games at 3:20 p.m. OR leave the building and return ONLY at 3:20 p.m. entering through Door #11 by the gym.
- Students may not remain after school anywhere else in the building unless they are attending another club under faculty supervision.
- Students watching the game may not leave and then return to the game.
- Students watching the game must be respectful, remain in seats and leave the gym only to use the bathroom.
- Students relying on the late bus to get home must leave by 4:00 p.m.
- Students must engage in positive cheering and refrain from any taunting, name calling or negative comments toward any of the players, refs or coaches.
We look forward to an exciting season cheering on our Day Dragons!
NEWTON COMMUNITY EDUCATION AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT AT DAY
Pictured below are the incredibly diverse offering of winter after school enrichment programs being offered at Day Middle School through the winter months. For more information, feel free to call Newton Community Education at 617-559-9999
Scholarships are available for ALL PROGRAMS.
STEM FOR ALL AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
At Day we are partnering with a program created by students at Boston College known as STEM for ALL Program. It is our hope to be able to offer an after school STEM club beginning in March. The club will likely meet once every other week after school from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. The day of the week is yet to be determined.
The focus of the program is to expose students to various aspects of STEM and form connections between our students and college aged students around a shared interest in STEM fields. The STEM for All Program will explore topics from scientific process and engineering to coding and biology in order to expose students to the many topics covered in the STEM fields.
Below is a description of the program from the student leaders overseeing its implementation:
The STEM For All Program is a biweekly, after-school Science program for kids in elementary and middle school. Each program is run by a team of 2 college students who attend Boston College. Each program we introduce a sub-discipline of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) through an engaging presentation and a related activity. After asking many current students at BC why they’re pursuing a career in STEM, we noticed that most of them were influenced from a young age by either family members or other adults. However, not all students have these influences in their lives to explore Science as a possible interest and career path, and we have made it our mission to expose more students to the possibilities of STEM and hopefully inspire them to pursue a career in STEM
We are using this survey to just gauge interest in the program. If you believe your child might be interested, please complete this very brief form. This is NOT a formal registration. This is just to determine general interest for planning purposes.
This program is ONLY for Day Middle School Students.
DAY PTO
We hope you will consider joining the Day PTO. This is a wonderful way to get involved in supporting your child at the middle level. There are volunteer opportunities from being a Team Parent to sponsoring Teacher Appreciation Events to chaperoning the Fall Fest Dances.
Please reach out to the Day PTO a the contact information below.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT DAY
Linked below is an important list of common questions that families often ask about our school. Included is information about the first day of school as well as information about who to call with specific questions. This is a great reference guide that will support your family throughout the school year.
