A Note from the Principal . . . .
Today is Autism “Awareness Day”, which is part of Autism Awareness Month in April. April was also recently declared Arab American Heritage Month. In addition, it is often a month where the holidays and celebrations of three major religions intersect: Ramadan in the Muslim faith, Passover in the Jewish faith and Easter in the Christian faith. What strikes me about the juxtaposition of these important celebrations and observances is that together they represent the unique diversity of our community, but also the underlying commonalities that although representing different aspects of identity, intersect in how they impact our students’ sense of belonging.
Autism Awareness month represents not just an awareness, but an acceptance and understanding of our neurodiverse children, who although connected through a diagnosis, are in reality part of what we refer to as a “spectrum” of presentations and abilities that represent their rich differences, strengths and uniqueness. An often used symbol of this month is the ribbon with puzzle pieces embedded to represent the uniqueness and diversity of individuals on this spectrum, who still share some important commonalities.
Similarly, when we think about the many members of our community who represent different cultures, religions, ethnicities, and races, while each shares the commonalities of their group, we also need to acknowledge, celebrate and leave space for differences.
As we launch into the month of April and all the promise of spring it brings as well as the celebration and acknowledgment of the many diverse groups represented in our community, the common thread among all is the need to be seen, heard, and accepted for the unique strengths that they bring to our community.
SAVE THE DATE:
Monday, April 3, 2023: Urban Improv Assemblies Ocean and Indigo Teams
Monday, April 3, 2023: Many Spring Sports begin (see the information below)
Tuesday, April 4, 2023: Softball Meeting at 7:45 a.m. in Room 119
Tuesday, April 4, 2023: Volleyball Meeting at 7:45 a.m. in the gym
Thursday, April 6, 2023: Last Day of Term 3.
Friday, April 7, 2023: No School - Good Friday
Monday, April 10, 2023: First Day of Term 4
Tuesday, April 11, 2023: Women in Jazz 6th Gr. Performance
Thursday, April 13, 2023: Groovesity Assemblies
Monday, April 17- Friday, April 21, 2023: April Vacation
IMPACE OF BUDGET CUTS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL
This past Wednesday, Interim Superintendent Kathy Smith presented an overview of impact of the budget cuts districtwide.
Tomorrow, Monday, April 3, 2023, Toby Romer, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, will be presenting to the NPS School Committee on how those cuts will specifically impact the middle and high schools. I urge you to tune into this presentation.Information on how to tune into the School Committee meeting is below.
Additionally, the NPS Middle School Principals will be issuing an Impact Statement this week outlining specific ways these very deep cuts are impacting our schools.
I am happy to discuss the impact on the Day Community with any constituency group. The cuts at Day due to both the budget deficit and enrollment shifts will be significant.
MICCA HONORS FOR DAY PERFORMING GROUPS!
This past Saturday, our 7th and 8th grade chorus, band and orchestra competed for the very first time in the MICCA (Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association) Competition. All three groups won a High Silver Award their very first time in the competition.
Congratulations to Shon Brown, Micheal Smith and our gifted and talented singers and musicians!
Thank you to the many Day families who showed up in support of our performing groups. If you are interested in contributing to future events such as these, please consider donating to the performing arts group below:
Click below to donate to our Day PTO Fund for our Performing Arts Groups at Day
8th GRADE END OF YEAR TRIP
THE DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION FOR THIS TRIP IS COMING QUICKLY- APRIL 11th. IF WE ARE NOT ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TRIP DUE TO LACK OF ENROLLMENT, THEN ALL MONEY WILL REFUNDED BY THE COMPANY.
On Tuesday, April 4th during team extension, we will meet with all 8th grade students to share details about the overnight trip.
On Tuesday evening, April 4th, there will be an optional Q&A session for 8th grade parents about the trip. Information about the parent meeting is linked below:
Time: 6:30 p.m. - 7:10 p.m.
Location: Virtual
Link below:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://newton-k12-ma-us.zoom.us/j/84314446120
Meeting ID: 843 1444 6120
Passcode: 158821
SPRING ATHLETIC SEASON BEGINS!
Spring Team Sports
Family ID registration opens: Mar 13, 2023
Season runs April 3- June 2
Please read the F.A. Day Athletics Welcome Letter linked again below with details about the steps needed to register.
Baseball (tryouts open to 7th – 8th Grade)
Tryout Location:
Monday, April 3rd, after school, on baseball field
Head Coach: Bob Conron. Email: conronr@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Pasquale
Other Coach: Zach Herring
Boys Lacrosse (tryouts open to 7th – 8th Grade)
Tryout location:
April 3,Lacrosse field
Head Coach: James Thompson. Email: thompsonj@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Benjamin Gresser
Girls Lacrosse (tryouts open to 7th – 8th Grade)
Tryout Location:
April 3 meet in Exercise RM then go out to field
Head Coach: Amanda Church. Email: churcha@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Cedric Quackenbush
Other Coach: Catelin Thompson
Softball (tryouts open to 7th – 8th Grade)
Tryout location:
Thursday, April 6th after school on the softball field
Head Coach: Leah Bowers. Email: bowersl@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Eddie Pang
Co-Ed Track and Field (no tryouts open to 6th – 8th Grade *roster cap may apply)
Meeting Location:
Monday April 3rd between Gath Pool and softball field
Head Coach: Daryl Scott. Email: scottd@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Daily Armstrong
Other Coach: Ellen Leonard
Other Coach: TBA
Intramural Sports/skills clinics (TBD) open to all grades 6-8
Spring: volleyball, ultimate frisbee
Volleyball:
Head Coach: Tim Murphy (From Newton North). Email: murphyt@newton.k12.ma.us
Meeting Location:
Tuesday, April 25th in the gym
Ultimate Frisbee
Meeting Location:
Tuesday, April 25 on the field behind softball stands
Head Coach: Dylan Landfear. Email: landfeard@newton.k12.ma.us
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Athletic Directors by email. We look forward to sharing in a successful year of F.A. Day Athletics.
GO Dragons!
Andy Comings comingsa@newton.k12.ma.us
Mark Murphy murphym@newton.k12.ma.us
The 4th Annual Multicultural Potluck Dinner
The Day Diversity Club in collaboration with Day PTO and FORJ is proud to announce its 4th Annual Multicultural Diversity Pot Luck Dinner for Day Families!
Nothing brings a community together like sharing food, stories and traditions!! Come join us for an evening of food, fun and jazz courtesy of the amazing Day Middle School Jazz Band!
Date: Thursday, April 27, 2023
Time: 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Click on the link below to sign up.
Unified Basketball Jamboree
Special thanks to Special Olympics, the Day Unified Basketball Coordinator, Jim O'Donnell, coaches Adam Lunin and Sandy Calabro, and members for the Day Reflections staff: Casey, Danielle, Darlene and Kara as well as our inspirational Unified Athletes and mentors and the participating teams from Brown, Oak Hill, Needham and Natick for another successful and joyous Unified Jamboree this past Thursday.
GELF FUNDRAISING DINNER
We would like to invite you to come to the GELF (Global Education Leadership Fund) Fundraising Dinner at 6:30pm on Saturday, 4/29, at the Wilson Chapel.
It will be a fun night celebrating international travel experiences with families who share the same passion. The evening also highlights food from local restaurants, performance by Newton South Jazz Band, as well as stories from former GELF recipients and NPS administrators.
With your participation, we'll be able to provide financial aid for more students to go on future trips.
Tickets are selling fast, and please get yours HERE.
ELPAC MEETING
ELPAC Meeting next week!
ELPAC (English Learner Parent Advisory Council) is for ELL and former ELL families districtwide. ELPAC collaborates with schools and the district to improve ELL programming and support bilingualism. You are welcome to join this community meeting!
Date: Thursday, April 6, 2023
Time: 6:30-8:00PM
Location: 100 Walnut Street, Newton (the Education Center for Newton Public Schools) Room 111
A big parking lot is behind the building on Crafts Street
Use the green door, at the top of the steps, near the right side of the parking lot
ELPAC Meeting Agenda will include:
Presentation: College Planning, FAFSA, and other resources for College Funding
Presenters: Dr. Brian Wang and Dr. Dali Fu
Note: this presentation will NOT be recorded.
Open Discussion
ELPAC Elections (Li Yin, current At-large Board Member, and Oak Hill parent, has been nominated for Chairperson)
RSVP: Interpretation and snacks will be provided with RSVP. Please note: no childcare will be provided for this meeting. However, children ages 5+ are welcome to join. ELPAC will include a children’s table of activities.
Universally Designed Learning (UDL) in 6th Grade Math Through Technology
Ms. Ghilardi uses the See Saw Platform to differentiate student skill development and assessment and offer live feedback to students.
Universally Designed Learning (UDL) in 6th Grade Math through Manipulatives
Ms. Thomas brings to life the distributive property through a hands on activity using manipulatives, drawings and white boards while other do the same online.
F.A. DAY YEARBOOK 2023
It's time to order your student's yearbook!
The FA Day Yearbook includes the students of all three grades and this year it is parent-designed.
The cost is $35 per yearbook and the deadline to order is April 30th.
No orders will be accepted after APRIL 30, 2023.
How to start your yearbook order:
1. Hover over the menu item marked “Order Central”
2. Click "Yearbooks"
3. In the School Password field, enter: FAD2023
Please contact your child's guidance counselor if you need financial assistance in ordering a yearbook.
AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS UPDATE
Parent Club Advisors- We Need. Your Help!!!
We are looking for Day parents who might be interested in running one of our after school clubs so that we can expand our offerings for students. Information below:
Time Commitment: One Day a Week (of your choosing - except Wednesdays) from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Pay: The pay rate for club advisors is $26 /hour and the afternoon is 1.5 hours.
($39 /day)
If you are available one afternoon a week from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m., and are interested in offering a club on any topic of your interest or expertise, or one of interest to students, please email Andy Comings at:
comingsa@newton.k12.ma.us or Mark Murphy at: murphym@newton.k12.ma.us.
2nd Annual Career Day
Day Middle School is currently planning our 2nd annual career day and we are looking for guest speakers! Career day will take place for 7th and 8th graders on Friday, June 2 between approximately 8-10:45 a.m.. If you know of someone with a career path that you think middle schoolers would find interesting, please reach out to either Meghan Hudson or Jenn Gritter for more information at the emails below:
Volunteers will need to complete CORI forms and participate in a brief group zoom orientation/info. session with Principal Mann before hand. We are hoping to have a range of careers and backgrounds represented and make students feel excited about the possibilities that await them beyond middle school.
Thanks for partnering with us on this! We are hoping to finalize our list of speakers by Monday, May 1 to allow us time to survey students about which sessions they’re interested in attending and create student schedules for the day.
MCAS UPDATE
Most students who missed our regularly schedule ELA MCAS days have now made up the assessment. Those still needing to make up the test will be notified by their counselor.
Below are the next MCAS testing dates:
Math MCAS (gr. 6-8): May 16th and May 18th
Science, Technology and Engineering MCAS (gr. 8 ONLY): May 22nd and May 23rd.
Sonia Kovalevsky Days (SK Days) at WPI
WPI Student Chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) are excited to announce Sonia Kovalevsky Days (SK Days) at WPI!!
An Empowering Day for Middle School Girls Who Love Math
When: Saturday, April 15, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Where: Salisbury Labs on WPI’s campus
Who: 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls with interest in math
In honor of the first woman to obtain her doctorate in mathematics, Sonia Kovalevsky
Days (SK Days) at WPI aim to bolster our participants’ passion and enthusiasm for
mathematics in a supportive environment, while meeting girls in the New England area
who share similar interests and, of course, having fun!
SK Day 2023 will provide an interactive experience for participants to engage in math
activities led by current WPI students and faculty, lunch, and presentations by women
leaders in STEM, including a keynote talk by a woman mathematician.
For more information and to register to participate, please visit:
https://www.wpi.edu/news/calendar/events/sonia-kovalevsky-day
Space is limited, so please register early (no later than Friday, March 31)!
We hope you will be able to join us!
Please contact Prof. Andrea Arnold (anarnold@wpi.edu) with any questions.
SK Day 2023 is supported by a grant from the Women’s Impact Network.
PARENT/CAREGIVER WORKSHOP
Helping Teens Heal From Trauma
- Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
- Families for Depression Awareness invite parents, caregivers and caring adults to this free, virtual webinar.
- Deborah Vinall, LMFT, Psy-D, defines trauma and discusses its impact on long-term wellness. She will also cover the signs of trauma in teens, effective treatment approaches, and practical strategies that caring adults can use to encourage teen mental wellness.
- Click here to register.
