Category Archives: Community Notes

K-12 Reading Program

The Boston University K-12 Reading Program has opened early, reduced rates, and converted all classes to a live online format, to help parents and schools maintain student education during these unusual times.

The live, teacher-led online classes are available now and throughout the summer, for Pre-K through 12th grade students.

The curriculum is high caliber and has been taught in a live, online format for 5 years already with over 50,000 school-age students. The classes are led by highly-trained teachers with many years’ experience teaching effectively in online classrooms. Skills taught include:

  • Early Elementary: letter recognition, phonemic awareness, sight words, phonics
  • Mid-to-Late Elementary: fluency, phonics, long-word decoding, comprehension, textbook reading, writing
  • Middle and High School: doubling reading speed, comprehension, writing, notetaking, test preparation, textbook strategies

For additional imformation, see the flyer here or visit the website  https://bu.readingclasses.org/.

 

There is Still Time to Honor Your Child’s Teacher and Support the Newton Schools Foundation!

If you are looking for a way to thank your children’s teachers and other school staff, please consider donating to Newton Schools Foundation’s Honor Thy Teacher campaign. NSF is a non-profit organization that raises funds to enhance educational excellence throughout Newton’s public schools. In recent weeks, NSF directed its resources toward the challenges of COVID-19 with a $85,500 grant for the NPS to purchase 300 Chromebooks for students needing access to online learning during school closures.

NSF will notify each teacher honored of your gift and share their names with Principals and the Superintendent. A list of honored teachers will appear on the NSF website and in the Newton TAB.

Look for a postcard in your mailbox – or donate online today on the NSF website (http://www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org/honor-thy-teacher) where you can also find out more about the programs NSF funds. Or you can mail in a donation to: Newton Schools Foundation, P.O. Box 590020, Newton Centre, MA 02459. Please be sure to include the names of the teachers and/or staff that you are honoring.

Thank you for your support of Newton teachers and NSF!

Newton COVID-19 Care Fund Final: Deadline for Applications Friday, June 5

A wonderful partnership established the Newton COVID-19 Care Fund on March 20th as a short-term emergency fund to help families and individuals who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.After weeks of closely monitoring the fundraising, application submissions, and distribution of funds to people in need, the Fund has decided to close the application process for seeking assistance at the end of the day on Friday, June 5, 2020.

As a reminder, this fund serves all students enrolled in NPS, not just residents of Newton.

Need assistance? To apply to the fund, click here. All applications received by the deadline of Friday, June 5 will be considered. (If you have already applied and you have questions about your application status, please contact your individual Family ACCESS case worker or email NCFreferrals@familyaccess.org.)

The website for the Fund will remain active through June 30 to continue to accept donations to meet the needs of the final round of eligible applicants. Those involved with the Fund remain committed to monitoring closely the current crisis and are prepared to spring back into action if needed.

Volunteers Needed! Outdoors! Socially Distant!

Volunteers are needed at the Newton Farmer’s Market to help make the markets safe and enjoyable this year. Can you lend a hand? Volunteers are needed for the following roles:

  • Count customers as they enter and exit the market.
  • Guide customers as they move through the market.
  • Make certain shoppers are following physical distancing guidelines.
  • Assist with curbside pick-up.
  • Assist farmers when needed.
  • Interactions with customers will be contact-free and appropriate physical distance will be maintained at all times.

    To volunteer, please contact Judy Dore at jdore@newtonma.gov

Both the Tuesday and Saturday markets are moving to Newton South High School!
Saturday market opens June 20th, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.
Tuesday market opens June 30th, 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm.

Free story program

EveryBody Signs is offering a free story program: BOOKS for BREAKFAST! Come once, or come every time! Bring your family, invite your friends.

It’s by Zoom, so they’ll send the link when you email everybodysigns@gmail.com

See the flyer here and check out the vlog about it here, in ASL with captions
https://www.facebook.com/1131154270/posts/10221119992286039/?d=n

May 31st – June 28th, 9:00 – 9:30 am

News from the Newton Free Library

On the heels of Governor Baker’s state-wide reopening dates, the Newton Free Library is carefully planning a phased reopening that is uniquely tailored to the large and active public library.  They’re developing new work processes and will be rolling out a limited array of library services to the community in the coming weeks. While extremely eager to restore library services, this will be a gradual process because they are committed to your safety and the safety of their dedicated staff.

Virtual programming will continue for some time. Registration is required for all virtual events, please click the title to link to view the full program description and registration information.

Love the  Children’s Programming? Sign up here for the NEW Children’s Program Email!

Tween/Teen Event Highlights:

  • Virtual Anime Movie: Wednesdays at 5:00 pm. Missing anime club or movies with your friends? Join for a virtual anime movie! You’ll be watching NiNoKuni (2019). Runtime 106 minutes. Grades 5-12.
  • Zoom & Make: Crochet Basics: Every other Thursday at 5:00 pm. Learn to crochet a nifty washcloth or dishcloth you can use or give away! You’ll learn the basics of crochet and create a useful first project. You can try out the easy-to-follow pattern beforehand and join us in the Zoom class to work out any problems and chat! Grades 5-12.
  • Virtual Teen Area: Saturdays at 3:00 pm theTeen Area goes virtual! Use this time to be together at home, ask questions, play games, complete challenges, and craft! This is a librarian-moderated Zoom program hosted for tweens and teens in grades 5-12.

Wait there’s more! Don’t miss our continuing programming for
Adults:

  • Tech Time appointments: Need help with your device or to borrow ebooks from the library? Book a session to have a librarian help you over the phone. Appointments available Monday-Friday.
  • Tele-Librarian: You’ve got questions, they’ve got answers! Sign up for an appointment for a librarian to assist you with a research-related question.
  • Weekly Short Story Discussion Group: Join each Wednesday for a discussion of 2 different short stories.
  • Curious Eats Cooking Blog Club: Do you like cooking and blogs? Combine those two interests and come talk to other people who enjoy those things. You’ll share photos of the dishes you’ve cooked each week from a chosen food blog.

Tween/Teen:

  • Magic The Gathering: Wednesdays at 5:30 pm. Interested in finding a meet up to play Magic: The Gathering after school? We’ve found just the place: Zoom! Moderated by a local Newton South student, please download Magic the Gathering Arena. Registration is required to receive a Zoom link. (For grades 5-12)
  • Star Wars Escape Room: available anytime. BB-8’s missing! Try to find him before Kylo Ren gets to him and is able to download the map to find out where Luke Skywalker is! May the force be with you. (For all ages)

Computer Science concepts for kids

Hey Newtonians! If you’re looking for a new activity for your kid aged 10-15,  Ethan Kopf teaches coding with the Swift programming language over Zoom. His lessons are one-on-one and he teaches computer science concepts through small games and projects. As a recent graduate of Newton South High School’s class of 2020, Ethan has taken a bunch of computer science classes there and plans to study CS next year at Yale University. If you’re interested, please email ethan.kopf@yale.edu.

On-line tutoring available this summer

Experienced tutor available this summer! Haralie Alpert, retired from the Wellesley Public Schools, lives and tutors in Newton. Haralie works with K-5th grade students in reading, writing and math and can make remote learning fun, engaging and a great learning experience!

Please contact Haralie Alpert, M.Ed., MS at haralie@gmail.com or 617-630-0608.