Registration for youth football and cheer

It has been a crazy time and Mustang Football and Cheer know that football and cheer are probably not the first thing on your mind.  However, they do want to remind you that Registration for the upcoming season is open and the $50 Early Registration discount is available until May 1st.

Remember,  this is the only Tackle Football Youth Program and the only Youth Cheer Program in Newton. Sign up today at newtonmustangs.org!

Bigelow 3.0 Distance Learning Website

On Friday, Mr. Harrison introduced us to the next wave of Bigelow 3.0 — the Bigelow 3.0 Distance Learning Website!

This is an all-inclusive, one-stop-shop site for ALL students assignments, office hours links, and schedules for ALL of classes. This website, which can be found on the Bigelow homepage, is live all the time and will be updated by 8:30am on Tuesday (April 21) morning and by the same time every Monday morning thereafter.

Bigelow 3.0 Distance Learning

Here is a ten minute screencast from Mr. Harrison about how to use it: Bigelow 3.0 Website Screencast.

If you have any questions about the new website, please ask them in the “parking lot” and we will get back to you. The cluster teachers will also go over this new website with students in the cluster office hours on Tuesday, April 21.

Introducing the new blue velour curtain in the Bigelow auditorium!

(Add your own thunderous applause here!) This picture doesn’t do it justice, but it looks great, according to those who saw it…  Now all we need is a stage full of student-performers and a packed house!

This is the latest improvement to the Bigelow Auditorium, which started in 2018, and included:

A million thanks to all who helped making this a reality. This was possible thanks to the coordinated efforts of the performance arts teachers, the PoPS, the PTO, and the School Council, as well as the support of Principal Harrison, NPS and all the donations from the Bigelow community. The much needed auditorium improvements are now complete!

Happening in Bigelow homes

Please share with us your pictures of games and activities!

Bigelow PTO has leadership openings for 2020-2021

Would you like to become more involved in the strategic aspect of the Bigelow PTO? Please join us in helping direct and manage the overall program for 2020/21. It is a great way to get involved with your student’s school and meet new members of our Bigelow community!! See here for open positions and email us your interest!

We are looking for a co-president for next year, as well as several other board and committee chair roles. See BigelowPTO.org for details and a full list of open positions.

Positions include: Co-president, Creative Arts and Science, 8th Grade Activities, Ten Tables chair and more. Check out here.

Let’s stay connected as a community on Marathon Monday

On Patriots’ Day/Marathon Monday, the City invites all Newtonians to make handmade #NewtonTogether signs and display them in your windows. Get creative and share the incredible joy, strength, and resiliency of Newton. Just because we can’t gather for the Marathon this year, doesn’t mean we can’t connect!

Tag your creations in the Facebook event or on social media with #NewtonTogether.

#NewtonTogether has launched!

Let’s stay connected as a community in the face of COVID-19! On April 20th, Patriots’ Day/Marathon Monday, we invite all Newtonians to make handmade #NewtonTogether signs and display them in your windows. Get creative–make paper signs, use sidewalk chalk, whatever inspires you–and share the incredible joy, strength, and resiliency of Newton. Just because we can’t gather for the Marathon this year, doesn’t mean we can’t connect! Tag your creations in the Facebook event or on social media with #NewtonTogether. For more information, click HERE.

Some Newton villages are also choosing to stand outside at noon on April 20th to clap/bang pots in recognition and gratitude for all the hometown heroes (medical personnel, pharmacists, grocery workers, teachers, etc.) who are working the front lines to keep us all safe. Feel free to recognize your favorite hometown hero in your #NewtonTogether social media posts.

The idea came to the Mayor’s Office from Newton resident Rakashi Chand:

Let us bring our community together in a shared message of perseverance and pride. Let us inspire one another as we are and always have been an unwavering city, that has stood tall and united in the face of adversity and overcome again and again, every challenge, hardship, tragedy and crisis. We will persevere, we will fight in every way we can, we will unite and we will see the dawning of a brave new day. This epidemic will make each day harder than the last, but we will persevere, we will face the challenges that present themselves, because we are strong.

Let’s find a way to inspire our citizens, and remind them that we, like our forefathers and foremothers, will overcome this, and find ways to raise each other up with hope.

In addition, for those of you who are big fans of the Boston Marathon, the Newton, Wellesley and Natick Historical Societies will be showing vintage photos of the Boston Marathon on their websites on April 20th. You are welcome to share your marathon thoughts, memories, and photos of your favorite site on the route using #VirtualMarathon.

Thanks so much for being a part of #NewtonTogether on April 20th! Click here for the flyer with information.

2020-2021 Newton North PTSO Board and Chair Opportunities

Rising 9th Grade parents are invited to join the Newton North PTSO leadership team for 2020-2021. All are welcome and encouraged. The list of open positions can be found at NorthPTSO.org.

Newton North depends on the generosity and energy of parent/guardian volunteers to help keep our community informed, connected, and strong. Last year at least 400 parents and guardians volunteered at least one hour for the Newton North PTSO. Incoming freshman parents, please consider the excellent opportunities HERE! Or download PDF file here.

Specifically, the PTSO would like to have  three Class of 2024 Liaisons and a few committee positions: Co-Directors of Programming and Co-President open as well as Committee Co-Chairs for Just Think Expo, Newton Serves and Celebration.

Have questions or want to volunteer? Please contact co-presidents@NorthPTSO.org .

School Committee Meeting Update – April 6, 2020

Dear Friends,

By now you’ve received loads of information from Superintendent David Fleishman, from the principals and the teachers regarding the NPS Distance Learning Plan. It’s a lot of information to process and we’ve heard from numerous parents and guardians who have shared feedback. During the Monday April 6th meeting, David Fleishman and the NPS administrative team offered us a “window into their thinking” for creating this plan and why the team believes it is the best solution for shifting instruction to an online model. We strongly encourage you to watch the recorded broadcast to hear directly from the team. Alternatively, you may review the Distance Learning Report to the School Committee.

The School Committee would like to provide you a window into our support for the district’s plan and will share some answers to commonly asked questions before we conclude the update with Monday’s Consent Agenda.

  • Why did NPS wait until April 6th to start distance learning? The district took a careful and thoughtful approach to readying our families for distance learning and supporting teachers and other learning specialists with the necessary planning time to create materials, curriculum, and weekly schedules. It was also important for Newton to obtain state guidance. On March 26th the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) established a number of guiding principles for distance learning and set equity as a top priority. To enable access and support equity, the district swiftly coordinated the distribution of over 900 Chromebooks to families and provided Grab N’ Go meals for all students.
  • Did the School Committee negotiate a Distance Learning Plan with the Newton Teachers Association? Yes, because distance learning is a significant change in working conditions, we had to discuss the terms of our new reality.  We were able to reach a mutually agreeable arrangement once our learning plans were created. On March 29th, the School Committee executed a Memorandum of Understanding with the NTA.
  • Why cancel April vacation? Simply put, now that the distance learning plan is in effect, cancelling vacation allows students to continue their learning without further interruption.
  • Will this school year be extended? That’s a great question and at this time one that is still being evaluated. We can share that the SC will meet in Executive Session on April 13th to discuss the last day of school.
  • Is summer school on the table to catch students up? We’ll follow guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The NPS administrative team will conduct a thorough analysis of this option.
  • Why did other districts start distance learning earlier? It’s true that some area schools made early shifts to remote services, but these efforts largely suffered from a lack of coordination or didn’t provide technology assistance to families. Some districts were much smaller than Newton with fewer stakeholders to negotiate. Many districts have since revised and modified their plans in order to implement greater coordination. Newton has taken the time to benefit from state guidance, minimize student disruption and maximize our ability to provide a coordinated effort. Newton also prioritized providing basic services to students, such as meals and technology.
  • Why did we have to wait for students to get technology access?Newton’s values of equity and excellence demand that our district leave no student behind in our shift to remote learning. We are grateful to the Newton Schools Foundation for their generous grant to purchase an additional 300 Chromebooks.
  • How are we providing service to students with special needs?Supporting the needs of all learners required the district to craft a plan respecting students’ IEPs and 504 plans. NPS took the time to carefully plan our distance learning model so that students of all abilities feel connected to their teachers and can access materials.
  • Why are we only having 3 – 3.5 hours of learning a day? This was the guidance the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provided to each school district in the state. It rests in the premise that remote learning is not synonymous with online learning. Remote learning promotes “balance between learning through technology and remote learning that happens offline to support students’ curiosity and understanding.”
  • Will there be opportunity for parent and student feedback?  The short answer is ABSOLUTELY!  Principals and senior administration will be working on a survey to go out to all parents (likely by level – elementary, middle, high) in the next week or two.  Additionally, teachers and principals will survey older students as well.  Parents are also encouraged to let their classroom teachers know how activities are working for their child/family – both what works well and what is missing the mark.
  • Why is the School Committee voting on the FY21 Budget before knowing the full financial impact of the school closure for next year? The School Committee completed the budget cycle as set out because it is an important marker in planning for next year and while we suspect there will be new information in the coming months, we did not have that new information in hand.  Budgets often shift during the year in a “typical” situation.  However, we recognize that assumptions in the current FY21 budget have a great likelihood of changing and we have scheduled an updated review for the April 27th School Committee meeting and added an additional meeting on Thursday April 30th.

Last, we understand your anxiety and concern. We share your fears, your frustrations, and that sense of loss for our normal routines and traditional activities. We need your help to make this work because what the students need now, more than anything, is to maintain connection with each other and their teachers. We appreciate your help making this distance learning plan work for our children in a way that faithfully upholds our values of excellence and equity.

Consent Agenda

  1. Unanimously approved 3/16/20 Draft Minutes.
  2. Approved FY21 Proposed Annual Budget pending an updated financial forecast on April 29th to consider the impact of our current school closure on the budget.

We hope you found this guide useful. You can access all SC meeting documents via the NPS website (www.newton.k12.ma.us/schoolcommittee). As always, we are very happy to answer any questions and listen to your feedback. Please feel free to contact us via the email address below.

Sincerely,
The Newton School Committee