Teen Summer Expo

The Teen Summer Expo brings the directors of a wide variety of enriching summer programs together with teenagers and their parents for a FREE, informative and easy-to-manage evening. Find unique and exciting summer experiences from adventure travel to community service to internships and enrichment in academics, sports or the arts, both locally and throughout the world. There will be options for every interest and budget.

Get answers to specific questions about safety, supervision, costs and programming directly from the people running the programs. For more details, contact Laura@TeenSummerExpos.com

January 28th, 5:30 – 8:00 pm
Newton South High School cafeteria

Winter break songwriting workshop

The Plugged In Band Program is offering a 2-day songwriting workshop for youth ages 10-18 of all skill levels (beginners included). Songwriting experience is not required.

The songwriting workshop provides students with the opportunity to learn songwriting techniques and write, perform and record an original song. On the first day, students will learn about the charitable organization for which the Plugged In fall session concert will be raising money. Students will then be placed in groups led by Plugged In teachers. Each teacher will help their group write an original song about the charitable organization or about any subject that the group chooses. On the second day, each group will record their song. Recordings of all the songs will be posted to the Plugged In Band camp site to raise money and awareness for the charitable organization. More information and registration is available at www.pluggedinband.org.

Plugged In is a unique, inclusive nonprofit youth rock band program in Needham teaching young musicians ages 8-19 of all levels and needs about using music to create positive change in the world. In addition to weekly ensemble band classes, private lessons, summer camp, songwriting workshops and community performances, five times a year Plugged In students perform in benefit concerts that raise money for causes and organizations chosen by the students themselves. Plugged In provides a nurturing, non-competitive and supportive community to which young musicians feel a sense of belonging, an opportunity to express and be acknowledged for their musical interests and a chance to use their music to help others around the world.

Early childhood educational program

Do you have a young child, eager to learn, who loves the excitement of outdoor activities? Newton’s Parks & Recreation Department is now accepting enrollments for its new early childhood education program integrating nature with the building blocks of preschool learning.

Located at the Nahanton Woods Nature Center, Explore More at Nahanton Woods draws on the natural resources of the park to teach children about colors, numbers, letters, shapes, seasons, animals and plants. By helping students draw larger connections to literacy, math and art, the weekly program forms a foundation for a lifelong appreciation of the natural world.

Open to children 18 months – 4 years with a caregiver. Register for all eight weeks, or drop-in for a daily fee. Classes run from 9:30 – 10:30 am, one day a week for eight weeks. Next program begins the week of January 7th. Options for Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Fee $160.00 for 8 weeks or $25.00 drop-in.

For more information and to register: http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/parks/programs/children/explore_more_at_nahanton_woods.asp

Basketball clinic for boys and girls

Boston Athletic Training (BAT) is offering an 8 week basketball clinic for boys and girls ages 8-16. BAT has run 3 successful clinics in the past year and has been dedicated to training young athletes since 2012. The coaches of the program emphasize teaching the fundamentals of the sport, as well as the strategy of the game to ensure each athlete will improve. Another unique part of the program is the conditioning portion of the clinic. Each week the athletes will spend 30 minutes on improving either speed, endurance, power or core strength.

Cost: $400 for 8 sessions** / $700 for all 16 dates* Registration Link: https://goo.gl/forms/Nlh4j7pDkysDWbZx2

*The program runs Saturdays and Sundays 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
**Option to do either Saturdays or Sundays – Limited Spots available.

For additional information, please email Chaim@bostonathletictraining.com

January 19th – March 17
Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln St, Newton Highlands

Save the Date

Save the date January 28th for the Teen Summer Expo.

Get answers to specific questions about safety, supervision, costs and programming directly from the people running the programs. Register for a reminder at https://www.teensummerexpos.com/family-registration/ or for more details, contact Laura@TeenSummerExpos.com.

Share with friends on Facebook.

January 28th, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm,
Newton South High School cafeteria

Give to the Newton Schools Foundation

Thanks to the generous support of our community, last year Newton Schools Foundation, (NSF) provided $155,000 to support the 12,000+ students in the Newton Public Schools.

NSF advances excellence and equity in NPS by funding promising initiatives, professional
development, and programs that close gaps in achievement and opportunity, including:

The Calculus Project, a program aimed at closing the achievement gap by helping low-
income students and students of color reach higher levels in math through tutoring,
summer programs, and field trips.
Generation Citizen, a middle school civics education program to empower young
people to become engaged and effective citizens.
Responsive Classroom, an elementary and middle school teacher-training program
that emphasizes social, emotional, and academic growth in a strong and safe school
community.
The DaVinci Program, a unique multi-disciplinary high school curriculum that examines life’s big questions through science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
Instrumental Music Enrichment Program, 5th grade students at several elementary
schools that have a higher proportion of low-income students receive small-group music lessons from professional musicians during band/orchestra.
Race and Achievement Working Groups, an ongoing district initiative which includes
teacher training, outreach to parents, and student learning.

As we enter the holiday season, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to NSF. Make a gift here: http://newtonschoolsfoundation.org/annual-appeal. Your gift ensures that students and faculty continue to benefit from these critical programs.

From the Nurse’s office – December Newsletter

The school nurses are seeing the usual uptick in winter illness – colds, stomach bugs and fevers. It remains important for families to keep sick kids at home, in accordance with school policy. Students cannot return to school until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours, without medication like Tylenol, Advil or Motrin. These guidelines are also good common sense for adults in the workplace.

The Newton school nurses monitor illness in the schools and are available for any questions or concerns. It’s important to notify the school nurse of any diagnosed condition such as influenza or strep throat. It may seem elementary, but in conjunction with a flu vaccine, thorough handwashing is the best way to prevent all kinds of illness including the flu.

More information here.

Gifts to Teachers

It’s that time of year again: the time of year when parents/guardians have a million questions about gifts to teachers.

Please remember Newton’s policy about gifts to teachers. This policy was adopted by Newton School Committee and can be found at their website using this link: Gift Policy.

Please click here for a flyer that may be helpful: Gift Policy overview.

Make a Difference for Newton’s Students and Teachers: Give to Newton Schools Foundation

Thanks to the generous support of our community, last year Newton Schools Foundation, (NSF) provided $155,000 to support the 12,000+ students in the Newton Public Schools.

NSF advances excellence and equity in NPS by funding promising initiatives, professional
development, and programs that close gaps in achievement and opportunity, including:

The Calculus Project, a program aimed at closing the achievement gap by helping low-
income students and students of color reach higher levels in math through tutoring,
summer programs, and field trips.
Generation Citizen, a middle school civics education program to empower young
people to become engaged and effective citizens.
Responsive Classroom, an elementary and middle school teacher-training program
that emphasizes social, emotional, and academic growth in a strong and safe school
community.
The DaVinci Program, a unique multi-disciplinary high school curriculum that examines life’s big questions through science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
Instrumental Music Enrichment Program, 5th grade students at several elementary
schools that have a higher proportion of low-income students receive small-group music lessons from professional musicians during band/orchestra.
Race and Achievement Working Groups, an ongoing district initiative which includes
teacher training, outreach to parents, and student learning.

As we enter the holiday season, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to NSF. Make a gift here: http://newtonschoolsfoundation.org/annual-appeal

Your gift ensures that our students and faculty continue to benefit from these critical programs. Thank you!
–Newton Schools Foundation Board of Directors

Emergency Text Messages

A note from the Newton Public Schools:

The Newton Public Schools has implemented an emergency text messaging system. In the event of an emergency, NPS will alert you via text on your cell phone. Please note that this system will ONLY be used for emergencies, including weather-related school closings or delays. It will not be used to share information about regular school events or operations.

To receive emergency text messages, you MUST opt-in to receive text messages. You can do this by logging into Aspen and selecting “yes” in the drop-down box below your cell phone number in the contact information section.