Tag Archives: high

Federal Judge, Red Sox Executive, PBS/NOVA Producer to be among Headliners at Newton Inspires

Eighteen Newton luminaries will regale audiences at Newton Schools Foundation’s (NSF) 8th annual Newton Inspires: An Evening of Ideas and Community. Since 2011, Newton Inspires has gathered Newton residents for this showcase of Newton’s talent, creativity, and intellect.

This year’s program features headliners Kimberly Budd, associate justice, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; David S. Friedman, senior vice president, legal & government affairs, Boston Red Sox; Sarah Holt, producer and director, PBS/NOVA; Richard Primack, professor of biology, Boston University; Peter Slavin, M.D., president, Massachusetts General Hospital; actress and writer Marianne Leone; and entrepreneur Sam Shames, along with many other talented Newton personalities.

The event is FREE to Newton residents and $15.00 for non-residents. Space is limited so register early. To register, go to www.NewtonSchoolsFoundation.org.

For the third consecutive year, Newton Schools Foundation welcomes The Village Bank as lead sponsor.  Newton Inspires is also supported by premium and major sponsors Mark Development Chestnut Hill Realty and The Street Chestnut Hill and Historic Homes. Individuals and businesses wishing to support public education in Newton through a Newton Inspires sponsorship can go to http://newtonschoolsfoundation.org/newton-inspires-sponsor.

Limited samplings of various refreshments will be available at the beginning of the evening courtesy of the following food sponsors: Anna’s Taqueria, Baker’s Best Catering, Better Life Food, Blue Ribbon BBQ, L’Aroma Café & Bakery, Legal Sea Foods, Panera Bread, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Rancatore’s Ice Cream and Yogurt, and Sweet Tomatoes.

November 13th, 7:00 – 9:30 pm, Newton South High School. Doors open at 6:00 pm to share community and conversation.

Newton Schools Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to advance excellence and equity in the Newton Public Schools by funding promising initiatives, professional development, and programs that close gaps in achievement and opportunity.

Naming Committee for the School on Nevada Street

The Naming Committee for the School on Nevada Street  seeks comment from parents, school staff and members of the community regarding its preliminary recommendation on an appropriate name. Please see these options for providing your input and listening to discussions:

  1. Public Hearing October 29th,  7:00 pm in Room 210,  100 Walnut Street
  2. School Committee Meeting discussion November 14th, 7:00 pm in Room 210, 100 Walnut Street
  3. School Committee Meeting discussion & VOTE November 28th, 7:00 pm in Room 210, 100 Walnut Street

The Naming Committee welcomes written comments sent to  Naming225NevadaSt@gmail.com

Preliminary Recommendation
That the school building on Nevada Street be named the Horace Mann School at the time appropriate for the implementation of the school department’s recommended H.4 Scenario in September 2019.

The reasoning:
Most importantly, the proposed new district is overwhelmingly made up of households from the current Horace Mann district (86%) and the staff will basically be the same.  They identify as the Horace Mann School.
Secondly, Horace Mann is considered by many as the father of public education.  He championed free, universal, nonsectarian education dependent on trained professional teachers.  It is our good fortune he lived in Newton for some years.  Our City’s history and the high value we place on public education should place Mann’s name in the top tier on any list of names appropriate for a Newton education building.

It is the Committee’s intent to include in its final report to the School Committee suggestions on how the city might continue to honor the contributions of Frank Carr to the Newton Public Schools.

Naming Committee:  Jessica Eldridge-Young, Ted Hess-Mahan (Co-Chair), Daniel Kunitz, Anne Larner (Co-Chair), Robert Smith, Marcia Tabenken, Norah Wylie

Interested in the benefits of studying abroad?

Join other parents and college bound students for “Visit dozens of European & Canadian colleges in one morning w/Sharon Olofsson!”  Sharon is an international college consultant at GatewayEdConsulting.com. She will give her perspective after visiting dozens of colleges in Europe and Canada in the last few years, discussing:

•College selection
•Cost comparison with the U.S.
•and more!

Signup at https://www.meetup.com/College-Abroad/events/254923610/
October 13th, 10:00 am,  Lexington

Percussion Lessons

Percussion lessons for the young and young at heart! Joe Lareau has taught in the Boston area for more than 15 years and offers private percussion tutoring with expertise in West African music and dance, drum set, orchestral, and marching percussion as well as elementary piano.

Joe is successful with helping children who struggle with understanding, performing, and reading music. He teaches using techniques that help the student grasp the larger question of “How to be a musician?” utilizing audio and video examples he recorded while living in Ghana for 6 years.

Tutoring can be one-on-one or group sessions. For more information, please contact him at jlareau@fessenden.org or 508-826-9626.

Private Art Teacher/Tutor Available for Fall Classes

Professional painter and printmaker is available to teach elementary through college age students privately or in small groups upon request. She teaches painting, printmaking, drawing, mixed media, art history, and/or intro to design and will drive to your home for the course.

About the Instructor: Alla Lazebnik is an MFA Painting graduate from Boston University and currently an Art and Design Instructor at Lasell College in Newton. Please contact alla.lazebnik@gmail.com for more details.

Weekends with Newton families

Newton dad, Randy Friedman, of Seven Travel has planned another great line-up of skiing and riding for 2019.  Come join other Newton families and friends and head to the great resorts of New England including Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Waterville Valley, Smugglers Notch, and Jay Peak.  Skiers and non-skiers alike will have a blast meeting other Newton families on the slopes.  Click http://www.seventravel.org and go to Trips.

Letter from the Superintendent

September 17, 2018

Dear Newton Community:

For the past seven years, the Newton Public Schools have been the target of outside groups claiming anti-Israel bias in our history curriculum. These baseless claims, often reliant upon materials and documents taken out of context, are misleading and only serve to denigrate the hard work and professionalism of our skilled and dedicated faculty.

In recent months, the attacks have grown increasingly and unjustly personal. Our history teachers have been singled out, harassed and subjected to harsh and unfair criticism in the media and online. As a result, there is growing concern among our faculty about teaching controversial topics. Should these attacks continue, we worry it will jeopardize our ability to expose students to diverse opinions and to teach them about controversial issues that require open minds and critical thought.

We stand behind our faculty members, who are guided by the mission and values of the Newton Public Schools and their professional judgment. Whether it is the history of the Middle East or contemporary American politics, they are committed to engaging students around complex and challenging issues in a responsible, intellectual and balanced way.

In every class, our teachers work to ensure that students learn to separate fact from opinion, discern between different points of view, challenge their own thinking and that of their peers, and develop evidence-based opinions through study and the testing of ideas. They also provide space for students to actively listen, particularly to those voices in the minority – whether it be political, racial, ethnic, religious, or gender.

As always, we encourage our families to bring any questions about curriculum to their child’s teacher or department head. Information and teaching materials are always available to families and our administrators and faculty are happy to discuss them. For more information on teaching controversial topics in the Newton Public Schools, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on our website.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools

Hamilton Ticket raffle

Understanding Our Differences (UOD), the leader in disability awareness education, is sponsoring an exciting raffle to raise needed funds. Enter the raffle for a chance to win a pair of tickets to see the popular and critically acclaimed show Hamilton: An American Musical at the Boston Opera House in November.

See the UOD website for complete details about this exciting opportunity: www.understandingourdifferences.org/hamilton.

UOD is embarking on a project to raise funds to support digitizing the curriculum, so the critical goal of fostering inclusion for people of all abilities can be shared around the state, the country, and even the world!