Dear Newton South Parents/Guardians,

We hope this letter find you and your loved ones healthy and well. The COVID19 situation has impacted all of our lives in ways none of us could have imagined.

As home learning phase 2 outlined in April 2 Update from Superintendent Fleishman and recent April 3 Update from Principal Stembridge, rolls out on Monday, we wanted to remind everyone that this home learning  is unprecedented and teachers are also working on the fly to work out the kinks.

First we want to thank the teachers and administrators for everything they are trying do for home learning. We know no one signed up for this and we know there are significant challenges to support our diverse learning student community at South. Many parents have learned in the recent weeks that their version of home learning is overwhelming for both student and parents.

Teachers have already been engaged with students and provided:

• Non-graded problem sets, writing options, or similar assignments;
• Reading material or items of interest related to class topics;
• Links to videos and other online material;
• and most recently, virtual meeting schedules.

If your child is not checked Schoology, they need to now. In the coming days, look for more specific assignments and instruction from teachers.  

Also, a reminder that course verification for 2020-2021 school year needs to be done by April 8.  Please review the Course Verification April 3 Mr. Hardiman. Students need to log in to Aspen.

Home learning and structure online learning will take shape in several forms. Teachers have already engaged students and setting expectations, weekly assignment due dates, virtual class schedule and office hours (like J block).

We all know how stressful and rigorous high school academics are in a normal school environment. Now forced into a home learning scenario, students and parents should not expect this change to be seamless.  In collaboration with NSHS Guidance Department, we have a few reminders and tips that we hope will help with home learning. 

Home Learning Reminders and Tips:

• Be dressed and ready for virtual meetings with teachers or online classes – still a safe zone and wear what’s comfortable
• Keep Chromebooks, calculators charged 
• Remove distractions like radio, tv, phone during structured learning time – just like school.
• Student should get their daily planner out, or make a list of tasks for the day and week. Help and guide your teen(s), as needed as they are still developing their executive function skills. 
• Create a work space – A spot at the kitchen/dining table, a corner on a couch, or a desk. Allow different spaces – whether lying on the ground or sitting at a table – whatever works best.
• Schedule breaks –  breaks are a natural part of the school day.
• Let them keep in contact with friends, virtually – Encourage teens to lean on their friends, at a social distance. Being social is still important!
• Check in but let your teen, where possible to take control of their own learning and not rely on you.

Simple structure is more valuable than you think – wake up/bedtime schedule, home learning blocks, time for family meals and interaction. Life often teaches the best lessons – COVID19 is a major hurdle. As parents/guardians, we can help our teens understand how this world pandemic has changed our lives – all lives and businesses. Remember that home learning is just one small part of their learning now.

Hang in there! WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

May Chiu, Michele Rosenthal
co-Presidents, Newton South PTSO

Hello Families,

I hope you are all staying healthy and are able to cherish the ability to pause and spend quality time with loved ones during this difficult time. Please see the important message below that was just sent earlier this week via Schoology to all current 9th, 10th and 11th grade students:

Good Evening Newton South Students,

Please bear with me as there is a lot of important info to share!

I know that your counselors have been working hard with you to get all of your course requests for next year completed in Aspen over the past few weeks. However, for various reasons, I also know that some of you may not have been able to connect with your counselor to finalize requests. No worries!

Starting this evening, we are now moving on to the verification process. At this point, EVERY student needs to follow these 2 steps:

1. Log on to Aspen and closely verify your course requests for next year. You should see a pdf. in your documents folder called “South April 2020 Verification Form of Course Requests” that contains all of your requests.

2. IMPORTANT: Fill out this google form: https://forms.gle/2bgmnxCt4agvf6rn9

EVEN IF ALL OF YOUR COURSE REQUESTS FOR NEXT YEAR ARE ACCURATE, you need to fill out the form to acknowledge that you have seen all of your updated course requests.

Because of the uniqueness of this year with verification being remote instead of in school, we will be spreading verification over a few days, but we still need everyone to understand that these requests are considered final once verification closes (teachers may still make changes to recommendations through June). PLEASE MAKE FINAL CHANGES ON THE VERIFICATION FORM BY 6:00PM ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8TH.

Related Info:

1. Newton South High School builds the school-wide schedule based on requests made by students. Consequently, student requests impact the number of courses and sections of each course that the school is able to run. This impacts staffing decisions which are made in the spring of each school year. In order to meet the needs of students, appropriately staff the building, create optimal class sizes, and remain within budget constraints, we are firm in our position that students may not change course requests after Verification, the final part of the registration process.

2. Counselors have received a number of questions about “ level watch lists” and “review in June” etc. now that we are at home. Though I don’t yet have a definitive answer regarding processes for how this will work, I can say that our goal will be to ensure that the pandemic does not eliminate your ability to demonstrate your readiness for a higher level. However, please DO NOT use the verification google form to request a course at a level higher than the one that your teacher recommended for you but rather, begin by having discussions with your teachers over the next few weeks. Again, teachers would be the ones to make changes after the verification period, not students.

3. If you have any questions about the verification form or process or need technical help, please contact South scheduler, Ms. Cassell at cassellf@newton.k12.ma.us. and if you have specific questions about your course requests, please contact your counselor.

Thank you and wishing you good health and connection with loved ones during this unusual time!

Mr. Hardiman
NSHS Interim Vice Principal

Hello From Your School Nurse! 

I hope you and your children are all staying healthy and finding new routines that keep you busy and allow time to take care of yourself. These difficult times can bring feelings of uncertainty, fear and worry that can be expressed in many ways. Parents can help their children by staying positive and reassuring them that adults are working hard to help things get back to normal. Here are a few important public health reminders: 

Stay home as much as possible but try to get outside for walks or exercise with people from your household. Avoid play dates and group sports activities. Encourage kids to connect with their friends by phone, text, video chat, etc. Wash your hands and clean high-touch surfaces frequently. If someone becomes sick, call their healthcare provider for next steps. 

Here are a few links that may be helpful for your family: www.newtonma.gov/covid19 is updated regularly with links to the mayor’s updates, financial resource information, mental health resources, hotline numbers and much more. 

Newton Public Schools COVID-19 page  www.newton.k12.ma.us with food pickup info, learning resources, how to talk with kids about COVID-19 and much more. 

We are working remotely and am very interested in staying in touch. We are available by email or phone to help you. If you would like to talk to one of us directly on the phone, we can arrange a time by: Emailing me at kramerg@newton.k12.ma.us or kiritsyk@newton.k12.ma.us with a few times that would work for you and the phone number you want us to call. 

Please know that when we call, it will come as a blocked phone number.  Look forward to connecting with you. 

Stay well and stay in touch.
– Gail Kramer, RN & Karleen Kiritsy, RN

Juniors and seniors are welcome to contact Ms. Sabet, College & Career Counselor via email to discuss your college and post-secondary plans. Topics for seniors such as evaluating college options, financial aid, waitlists and options besides college may be discussed through Google Meet. Topics for juniors such as creating a list of colleges, post-secondary options, testing, applications, and essays may also be discussed through Google Meet.

Letter from  Superintendent David Fleishman, March 22, 2020 – Update on Leaning During School Closure.   

Hello Newton South Students/Families,

We hope this note finds you in good health as we cope with the challenges that we face with the COVID-19 crisis.  Please see the letter from Vice Principal Chris Hardiman regarding 2020-21 course registration.

“When we left school last week, we were in the midst of our course registration process at both high schools. As we get things rolling again, remotely, we are ready to return to this process with a revised timeline and some new virtual processes. This letter is to let you know that we are going to get started again with this work and that we have plenty of time to address any questions or concerns that you have related to course registration.

We are asking counselors of all students in grades 8 through 11 to review the course requests that are already in Aspen. This will allow the counselors to be ready to reach out to students next week, if necessary. Students or families can still view the course requests that have been entered so far into Aspen as follows: Login into Aspen, select the student, then select the “schedule” side-tab, then select “requests” under “schedule.”

If you have questions or concerns about your course requests, you should feel free to email or send a Schoology message to your counselor. Counselors will work with students on reviewing requests and answering questions, through Friday March 27th. On Friday March 27th we plan to open a “Virtual Verification Period.” This will be your last chance to request any final changes, such as changing electives, adding alternate classes, etc. The Virtual Verification Period will take place over a number of days and we’ll set the exact timeline as we get closer to March 27th. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thanks so much,

Chris Hardiman
Interim Vice Principal
Newton South High School

Good evening everyone,

I hope that you and your family are faring well.

What a strange, alternate world we suddenly inhabit. On a normal March evening with some overnight snow accumulation predicted, we would speculate and wonder whether we would hear from Superintendent Fleishman early tomorrow morning. I am happy to announce that our plans to begin our next phase of learning at home tomorrow will not be impacted by the weather!

Our approach, as ever in the Newton Public Schools, is to ensure that our educational program is accessible to all of our students in our school community. We’re not just thinking about Internet access and devices, but also learning needs, home environments, and situations that students and families find themselves facing. Some of our students are caring for younger siblings so that parents can work double shifts, or managing illness, or are without structured learning supports that they rely on. Too, our teachers are adjusting to new responsibilities at home that require new levels of multi-tasking and engagement. There is no simple way to virtually replicate what we do for all of our students when we are in school. So, we will be doing it differently, in a way that is respectful and supportive of our entire school community. As a bonus, I hope that you are all enjoying the later school start times this week!

Last week we shared some “tide-you-over” learning opportunities by academic department while we worked to understand our new reality of virtual learning and to develop plans for this week. (If you didn’t get a chance to see my message to students, shared via schoology last week, you can do so here: https://tinyurl.com/u8ffzeq– I’m learning new tricks too!).

This week we have prepared multiple options for students for each course. I am so proud of our teaching staff! They are professional, creative, positive, and enthusiastic. You will see and experience the love and care with which they have crafted this week’s opportunities, and they are eager and excited to connect with your children. Your child will hear directly from each of their teachers through schoology in the next 24 hours. They will be learning this week, along with your students, about what works well and what needs tweaking. Each week will bring new options and opportunities for learning, and we will be connecting with our students as we go. I am confident in our amazing teachers, and we can trust that they will figure this out. As one of our teachers wrote to me: “we got this!”

To be clear, this week and next we are preparing a strong foundation for our future, and we can transition from here to more structured learning if/once we learn that we are out for an extended period.

As we go, we are also concerned for everyone’s emotional health and well being. Guidance counselors and deans will be checking-in with students and families – if you have questions or are in need of assistance please do not hesitate to reach-out to us!  And stay tuned for more opportunities for us to connect as a school community – Mx. Parker and Mr. Banks are determined that we will have a spring pep-rally some way, some how!

I know there are many questions about term 3 grades, spring activities and other upcoming events, and the future. Answers to these first depend on when we return to school, and second (in many cases) on continued physical-distancing guidelines. We have already started to consider options, and will provide updates as news unfolds and with guidance from the state, the city, and our district leaders. For now, we simply do not know, and are focused on creating the best learning and community environment we can given our circumstances.

Finally, on a personal note, I’ll share that, like you, my wife and I are finding that this is all so unsettling for our young people. My son John, who graduated from NSHS last year, is suddenly home from college. He is experiencing the loss of his academic program, close contact with friends, and the cancelling of upcoming projects most keenly. The world he thought he knew seemingly no longer exists, and it’s somewhat terrifying. I’d say he was mostly taking it in stride – at least externally – until a completely empty pasta isle at the grocery store prompted a mini-existential crisis. He does not have my 50+ years of experience to rely on – his adult understanding of his world is still forming, and the idea that there would not necessarily be mac and cheese on-call made it clear that life is a little different now. And since then, every day brings a bevy of human emotions – anger, self-pity, determination, sorrow, and yes, laughter and love.

We endeavor to provide our young people with the structure to create forward momentum, the connections to provide community, and the love and support to find comfort and agency in the days ahead.

I am honored to work with such smart, caring, thoughtful, passionate, and professional educators, and to do so in service to Newton South students and families.

We got this.

My best,
Joel Stembridge
Principal, Newton South High School

Dear Newton South Families,
As we find ourselves in this unprecedented school closure due to COVID19, we hope you and your loved ones stay healthy and safe.

Here are latest updates from NPS:

Letter from Superintendent on March 18 – NPS Learning From Home Launch.  Students should start checking Schoology starting tomorrow.

Seniors and Juniors – Check College and Career Center Website.  Ms. Sabet is updating it with all resources that she can find about college virtual tours and resources.

School closures may significantly impact families in many ways, especially those experiencing food insecurity. Beginning on Tuesday, March 17th, Grab ‘n Go meals will be available to NPS students at Newton South High Schools from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m at South Front parking loop. More details here.