February 14, 2024

Stemming from the work of Carter G. Woodson, every U.S. president since 1976 has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. The month honors the contributions and sacrifices of African Americans who have helped shape the nation. Black History Month celebrates the rich cultural heritage, triumphs and adversities that are an indelible part of our country's history. This year's theme is African Americans and the Arts.

Source: National Public Radio

Check out this website with content from a variety of United States government agencies and institutions.

Celebrate Black History Month

This past weekend, many in our community celebrated Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar. It is the most important holiday in China, and it is also widely celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam, and countries with a significant overseas Chinese population. Commonly known as the Spring Festival in China, Lunar New Year is a fifteen-day celebration marked by many traditions. While the official dates encompassing the holiday vary by culture, those celebrating consider it the time of the year to reunite with immediate and extended family.

In the 2024-25 school year, school will NOT be in session on Lunar New Year (January 29th)

Superintendent Dr. Anna Nolin and School Committee Chair Chris Brezski will host an open forum for Newton community members on the following dates:

• Thursday, February 22 at Newton South Auditorium from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

• Tuesday, February 27 at Zervas Elementary School from 6:45 to 8:45 p.m.

The forum is an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about upcoming budget discussions, the new contract, new and existing supports for students, and more.

The meeting is in person, but can be watched via livestream at Newton News (a channel of NewTV.) Questions may be asked in person or using this Google Form in advance of the event. We are not able to take questions virtually for these events.

Ask Your Question via Google Form

This week, you received an email from the Newton Public Schools inviting you to register your account with ParentSquare, our new central communications hub. While all features will not yet be activated in ParentSquare, we urge you to create a ParentSquare account now and download the app. Registering with ParentSquare and accessing information via the app will help you to familiarize yourself with this new tool.

Here are instructions for registering with ParentSquare

The district will be slowly rolling out the use of ParentSquare over the next several months. You will continue to receive communications from your school through all the usual channels. However, at the district level, you will start to see newsletters and other communications come via ParentSquare. At our pilot schools - Angier, Bowen, Bigelow, and North, you will also start to receive communication via ParentSquare. By fall 2024, all NPS communications from district, school, and staff will come via ParentSquare.

Here is a ParentSquare Introduction Video

Every year, each public school and school district in Massachusetts receives a report card. Just as your child’s report card shows how they are doing in different subjects, the school’s report card is designed to show families how our school is doing in different areas. A link to our district and individual school report card is included here - 2023 School Report Card. The report card includes multiple measures of a school’s performance. It represents a new way of looking at school performance, by providing information on student achievement, teacher qualifications, student learning opportunities, and more.

Each district is required by DESE to inform families of the right to this information annually. The district and each school website has been updated with this information and each principal is required to share the individual school report cards with their school community by the end of February, watch your school newsletters. For more information, the Report Card Quick Facts and Glossary is available on the DESE Report Card webpage in Arabic, Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese, if needed.

There has been a slight adjustment to our progress report schedule. The release date for elementary progress reports, originally set for February 1, 2024, has been rescheduled to February 15, 2024 to provide our dedicated educators with the necessary time to assess and reflect on student progress since returning to school today. We appreciate your understanding and support.

February 29, 2024: New Kindergarten Parent/Guardian Information Night virtual webinar for all families enrolling a student for the first time in the Newton Public Schools. Links to the webinar will be posted on our kindergarten registration page in late February.

March 1, 2024: Our online registration system will be open for kindergarten registration. Please register your kindergarten-age child by March 22, 2024, so that we can plan staffing and programming for the year ahead.

Four Major School Building Projects Continue to Move Forward!

A comprehensive building project update from Public Buildings Commissioner, Josh Morse, is linked here. Community project update meetings and Design Review Committee/School Building Committee meetings are open to the public.

Lincoln-Eliot School Construction Project

Construction on the Lincoln-Eliot renovation and addition project at 150 Jackson Road is making good progress! Interior demolition and abatement work is ongoing and demolition of the convent section of the building has begun. A community update on the project was held via zoom on Tuesday, January 23rd. The next community update will be Tuesday, February 27th at 6 PM.

Countryside School Project

The Countryside School Project is in the Design Development phase. The next project update to the Design Review Committee and the School Building Committee is Wednesday, February 28th at 6 PM.

Franklin School Project

The Franklin School Project is in the Schematic Design Phase. The next project update to the Design Review Committee/School Building Committee is Wednesday, February 14th at 6 PM.

Horace Mann School Project

The Horace Mann School Project is in the Schematic Design Phase. The next project update to the Design Review Committee/School Building Committee is Wednesday, February 14th at 7:30 PM.

Green Team Captains coming to every school!

We are excited to announce that the new teacher contract adds stipends for a “Green Team” Captain at every school! This stipend is paid for with a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) grant and funds generated from the blue Helpsy Textile Collection Bins hosted by many of our schools, so keep donating clothes, shoes, textiles, and linens that you are no longer using. We cannot wait for every school in Newton to become more sustainable. GO GREEN!

Looking to get involved in sustainability work? Reach out to Green Newton School Connections at schoolconnections@greennewton.org to learn more! This supportive group of educators, students and parents/caregivers meets monthly to share ideas and meet with City and NPS staff to advance shared goals.

Click HERE to take Action 4 Our Future!

NECP is enrolling for the 2024-2025 school year! Come and join the fun! Find the application on our website under application process.

The Newton South Preschool program has openings for the 2024-2025 school year. If you are looking for a high quality preschool program or if you know someone who is, please reach out.

Here is our New Parent Packet, which contains information about our program, an application and links to our website and Facebook page.

Chronic absenteeism (missing 10 percent or more of the school year) appears in every type of district – urban, suburban, rural, regional, traditional public schools, career technical schools, charter schools, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.

We know that there are often valid reasons for students to be absent, but, to a troubling extent, students are missing more school now than they did prior to the pandemic. Before the pandemic, 13 percent of students statewide were chronically absent. Last year, 22 percent of students – close to 1 in 4 statewide – were chronically absent.

Newton Public Schools is not immune to this trend. In all but two of our 22 schools, the chronic absenteeism rate in FY23 increased from FY19. In many cases, it is double or triple what it was in FY19.

As of 12/21/2023, the district’s chronic absenteeism rate K-12 is 10.6%, which means that about 11% of the district’s students (over 1,200 students) have missed 10% or more of the school year so far.

We are asking you to commit to making daily school attendance part of your family’s routine again. As a leader of your family, you are the best and most important influencer of your child. When you make a point of getting them to school every day, they will understand that it is important for their success.

NPS is committed to partnering with you to find ways to remove any barriers that may be hindering any child from coming to school every day. Please reach out to your student’s school for any assistance or support you might need.

Discover exciting classes for all ages this April Vacation with Newton Community Education (NCE)! From April 16-19, explore topics like babysitting/CPR, advanced 3D printing, cartooning & illustration, robot commanders, and more! Click here to view all our April vacation offerings. Sign up now for an unforgettable week of learning, friendship, and fun!

We are currently recruiting for open positions and would love to hear from you. Visit our JOB POSTINGS page for detailed information and application instructions.