SAVE THE DATE:
Monday, January 8, 2024: 7th Gr. Student Advisory Council- Team Ext.
Monday, January 8, 2024: Day Basketball Home Game 3:30 - Girls', 4:30 p.m. Boys'
Wednesday, January 10, 2024: 6th Gr. Student Advisory Council
Friday, January 12, 2024: Principal Coffee and Tour of 7th Gr. Classrooms at 8:15 a.m.
Monday, January 15, 2024: No School-MLK Day
Tuesday, January 16, 2024: 8th Gr. Student Advisory Council
Monday, January 22, 2024: Day Winter Choral Concert at NNHS 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 23, 2024: Day School Council at 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 24, 2024: Day Band Concert NNHS at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 25, 2024: Day Orchestra Concert at NNHS at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, January 26, 2024 - Term 2 Ends
Monday, January 29, 2024: Term 3 Begins
Tuesday, February 27, 2024 - Superintendent and School Committee Coffee 8:30 a.m.
A Note from the Principal
At Day we are just about three months into our launch of the Yondr Pouch Program and the creation of a cell phone free school community, and it has most definitely been a bright side of our school year. We will be reaching out to Day Faculty this week to quantify what we are noticing anecdotally. It appears, we have begun to wrestle our children's attention from the addictive pull of their hand held devices. What do we see?
In large group spaces such as breakfast and lunch, students are talking, laughing, and playing games together. Many are reading or playing chess and cards. Teachers are seeing students more engaged, signing out less to leave the room during class, and are thrilled with the absence of the negative interactions that use to take place when teachers were on the front lines of monitoring illegal use of cell phones during the school day. This time last year we had 50-60 incidents per month when teachers had to take cell phones from students who were using them during instruction. This year we have had just 14 such incidents in three months. And outdoor time is just joyous to watch as students walk and talk with each other, engage in pick-up sports games, and remember what it is like to just play.
The program is not without glitches. Students often will give us their phones for the day rather than search through their cluttered back pack to find it before entering the building. We have more than typical loss and damage to pouches because as we see with our statistics around Chromebook damage at Day, our students are still learning how to take care of their belongings. But all of these lessons are important for our children, and we are invested in this journey with all of you.
As a next step, we will be planning some parent forums to share what we have learned this year from this pilot with all both in support of our planning for the next school year and in support of your efforts at home to create balance for your child around technology and the many other important experiences life has to offer. More information to come, but as we begin this new year, I wanted to share what has become a bright side for all of us in school.
MONDAY MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Every Monday morning during advisory we share a video morning announcement with your child. We use these morning announcements to create community, share messages and information your student must have as a citizen and member of our school.
As we know middle school students still very much need additional support and messaging from home, and as part of our partnership, I will be sharing the Monday morning announcements with you every week. To view the announcements, click on the link below:
THIS FRIDAY COFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL
January's Coffee will feature the 7th grade THIS Friday, January 12th at 8:15 a.m. in Room 101.
We will gather in Ms. Thomas' 7th grade classroom, period 1 for some coffee and Q&A and then tour 7th grade classroom from 9:00 - 9:15 a.m.
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 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Save the dates below:
SAVE THE DATE:
January 12, 2024- NEW TIME 8:15- 9:30 a.m.
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:
Monday, January 8, 2024
Thursday, January 25, 2024 (The Banner Ceremony)
Monday, February 5, 2024
Thursday, February 8, 202 (End of Season Pep Rally)
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!
FAMILY TRAINING ON NPS NON-DISCRIMINATION PROTOCOL
Happy New Year Newton FORJ community,
Consider attending a community training on the NPS Non-Discrimination Protocol–a crucial component in cultivating inclusion and belonging for all members in our community.
The session on January 8th will:
- Develop an understanding of how NPS makes decisions
- Goals of corrective and restorative action
- Role parents can play in having conversations at home
NPS PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE
The district has made a decision to move the formal Portrait of a Graduate development process to later this spring.
However, we are excited to offer TWO options in January for the community to learn about why we want to create a Portrait of a Graduate for our district. Come learn how the world has changed and why our schools must change with it. You will also have the chance to provide input on what our Portrait will look like once the design team process starts.
Ultimately, the work you help with now will set the stage for developing a shared community vision in our Portrait of a Graduate. The session dates and locations are as follows:
Wednesday, January 17th at 6:00 p.m - 8:00 p.m. at Newton North
Thursday, January 18th at 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Newton South
Please consider attending one of the sessions! You can RSVP using this Google Form:
POG January Community Session RSVP
The sessions will explore the following questions:
What are the hopes, dreams, and aspirations that our community has for our young people?
What are the skills and mindsets that our children need for success in this rapidly changing and complex world?
What are the implications for the design of the learning experiences—and equitable access to those experiences—we provide in our school systems?
Your voice and input is critical to creating a portrait that reflects our community and the skills our students should have when they graduate. Please join us in January for a terrific interactive and informative session!
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 February. 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.
PARENT CONFERENCES
We are entering the fourth week of parent conferences. Some reminders are below:
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
We have added one more conference day to accommodate parent requests, Parents on the waiting list have already been notified and schedule.
Day Parent Conferences will be held on Wednesdays from 1:50 - 3:05 p.m.
December 13, 2023
December 20, 2023
January 3, 2024
January 10, 2024
January 17, 2024
January 24, 2024
Important Things to Note:
- If you need to reschedule your conference to another time, you must email Jennifer Murphy directly at the email above.
- Please log in 2 minutes in advance of your conference time to ensure a successful connection.
- Your partnership in the progress of your children is greatly valued. Every parent requesting a conference will receive one.
DAY BAND, ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS
Music instruction helps children with the development of motor skills, language skills, social skills, decision-making, risk-taking, and inventiveness. You can help enhance the program by donating today.
Your contribution will help Day Middle School Performing Arts Programs such as Chorus, Orchestra and Band. The QR Code below will lead you to the site where you can make a donation to our programs.
Please join us for our Winter Concerts hosted this year at Newton North High School:
Monday, January 22, 2024: Day Winter Choral Concert at NNHS 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 24, 2024: Day Band Concert NNHS at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 25, 2024: Day Orchestra Concert at NNHS at 7:00 p.m.
Vertical White Board Mathematical Collaboration
6th Grade Scientific Presentation
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.
