The latest announcements from the Principal, PTSO, and NPS...

March 28 Update from Principal Stembridge

Posted on March 28, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From Newton Public Schools, From the PTSO

Good afternoon Newton South Families,

I hope you and yours continue to be well, and that you have found ways to safely enjoy our spate of good weather! At my house, we are finding that working from home blurs the lines of “work” mode and “home” mode – I have been reminded more than once that I am not the principal of our house! Usually alone time on my commute allows for transformations from work to dad and spouse mode… I have some social-emotional learning of my own to accomplish!

I am writing to share updates on our upcoming transition to structured distance learning starting April 6.

First, I want to acknowledge and thank you for your patience and understanding as we all adjust to new circumstances. These are challenging times, and we have heard over this past week that many in our school community struggled to connect with our enrichment options for a variety of reasons – some technical, and many non-technical. Our plan must include an acknowledgment and respect for the diversity of situations our NPS families are experiencing, including the time and resources they have available to them.

While we learned on Wednesday of Governor Baker’s plan to keep schools closed until May 4, we had already been planning for a longer closure. Our planning process was outlined in David Fleishman’s March 22nd email to the community. 

Our phase 1 of learning from home began last Thursday with departmentl-level enrichment opportunities, and continued last week through the end of next week featuring course-level learning opportunities. All of our teachers have been in contact with their students sharing these plans and experimenting with ways to connect with students from afar. For example, Teachers have been trying Googlemeets and Zoom, and are all now using Schoology to communicate with their classes. Guidance counselors and deans have also been reaching out to their students and families.

Phase 2 will begin April 6.  Because this situation is fluid and moving a large high school to distance learning is complex, the transition to phase 2 will continue to evolve. The transition from phase 1 to phase 2 will not be abrupt, and it will not signal the end of our improvement of distance learning at Newton South. Phase 2 will be more structured, and will be in line with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Guidelines that students work 3.5 hours each day.

Importantly, April 6 will be the start of expected student learning activities, and will include students submitting work for credit. To that end, we will be extending our Term 3 to last through June, and next week we will share our assessment and grading plans for student work as well as for how we will determine year-end grades. All students are encouraged to engage in the learning options next week so that they are prepared to fully participate in phase 2. By the end of the week we will share updated phase 2 plans, including a weekly schedule and tools to help students organize their work for the week. This schedule will include the opportunity to connect with adults and peers, and to practice, process, and reflect on learning.

In preparation for the rollout of this plan, this week we have been focused on the following:

Practice – our teachers and staff are reaching out to students with technology tools to see what works best in a remote learning environment. Practicing with technology tools, both for connection and learning, allows us to understand what will work in our second phase of school closure. Teachers in our school and throughout the district are trying different approaches, but they are all still operating under the same guidance originally laid out by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Collaboration – we have teams working within our school and across the district to develop a school and systemwide approach. At the district level, we continue to collaborate with our neighboring districts, including Brookline, Needham, and Wellesley, who have developed plans similar to our own. We will continue to do so in the coming days, as well as working to interpret guidance from the DESE.

Technology deployment – as a public school district, it is essential that we ensure that all of our students have access to the learning that can occur. One aspect of this is access to a device. We are continuing to identify families who need a device and delivering it to them.

It has been joyful to hear about the interactions between teachers and students on a variety of mediums, and of ways that teachers and students have been stretching their practice. As I have said before, we are fortunate to have an amazing team of educators at Newton South, and they are fully engaged in developing their knowledge and practicing how to meet the needs of our wide variety of learners. 

We will be back in touch with you next week with our updated plan to support learning during this extended school closure. In the meantime, please encourage your student to participate both in the opportunities for connection with their teachers and the enrichment activities. This will serve them well as we prepare for phase 2 of our distance learning plan.

Sincerely,

 

Joel Stembridge

Principal, Newton South High School

Night Under the Stars – Online Auction

Posted on March 24, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From the Principal

Due to the recent events, we are sadly unable to host the Night Under the Stars Gala that was intended to raise funds for the Help Light the Way campaign to purchase and install permanent lights on our sports complex.

We will still host the auction in an online-only format. 

People who have already purchased tickets to the event may either receive a full refund for the ticket price or convert ticket purchases into a donation towards the Help Light The Way fundraising campaign.

The online auction started Friday, March 13, 2020 and will run until Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 and we are confident that we can do so with your participation.
The following link will take you to the event platform where you can register for the auction and make donations. Please remember to log back in tomorrow!
We are also planning a large community celebration that will take place once the lights have been installed on the sports complex. More information will be sent out once a date has been finalized.
Please reach out directly to Bella Gelman and Penelope Nam-Stephen if you have specific questions.

Update on Learning During School Closure – March 22

Posted on March 23, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From the PTSO

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

March 22, 2020

Dear NPS Community,

I hope you are staying healthy and well. I am writing to give you an update on what you can expect from the Newton Public Schools in both the short and longer-term.  

First, I would like to begin by saying that all of us here in the Newton Public Schools understand how worried you are about the impact this out of school time will have on your children from both an academic and social emotional perspective. Our educators share that concern and are working very hard to identify the best ways to keep your student engaged and connected to school. By now, most of you have heard from your students’ teachers and everyone will have heard by early this week. We hope that this connection provides reassurance and an important bridge back to the school community. 

Short-term (through April 3rd)

Given the uncertainty of the public health situation and the significance of what we are attempting to do from an educational perspective, we are engaged in a multi-step process that is guided by the projected closure dates. 

In the short-term our collective goal is two-fold:

Students will have opportunities to practice and reinforce what has been learned and establish new routines of learning in a virtual environment.

  • Provide students a sense of community and connection to their teachers, counselors, and other support staff.

Over the past week, our educators have worked tirelessly to achieve these two goals. Much of this work has been done in virtual teams and our principals report that they are excited about the creativity, thoughtfulness and passion of our teachers during a time of significant disruption.

Over the next two weeks, our educators will connect with students directly to provide guidance on lessons and activities. This will take the form of regularly scheduled check-in and connection with students using technology-based tools. 

Long Term

Given the evolving and rapidly changing public health crisis, we must be prepared that the school closure may extend beyond April 3rd. It is our responsibility as a district to prepare for this possibility and what it will mean for learning. As a result, beginning tomorrow, I am convening planning teams at each of our three levels to plan for what learning looks like should we be closed beyond April 3rd. Each of these teams will be charged with addressing three central questions:

Given that remote learning is our only vehicle for teaching, what should our guidelines be for introducing new learning?

  • How do we best ensure that all students have access to new learning?
  • How will we assess what students have learned?

 I will be sure to keep you updated as our faculty, staff, and administrators answer these questions and as we strive to meet the needs of every student to the greatest extent possible.

 Reminders

  • Technology – Over the past week, our technology team has worked to identify and provide devices to students who need one in order to access online resources and technology-based tools. If you need a device for your student, please complete this form by the end of the day on Monday, March 23rd. We have already received a significant number of requests and have limited capacity. 
  • Grab ‘n Go Food Service – Breakfast and lunch meal service is provided from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. every day at both North and South high schools.
  • NPS COVID-19 Website – For more information, please be sure to visit our COVID-19 website, which is updated regularly.

Social Distancing

Please remember that social distancing is critical to slowing the spread of the virus. The Newton Health and Human Services Department urges residents to stay home as much as possible, avoid crowds and social gatherings, and maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from others. We urge families to eliminate their childrens’ play dates and in-person social interactions and to consider other ways that they can have appropriate and healthy connections with their peers. 

While this crisis has given us opportunities to find new ways to engage students and to test ideas for learning in different environments, please understand that this is not easy. Like all of you, our educators are balancing personal and work challenges like they have never had to do before. However, I can assure you that they are working very hard and are committed to ensuring that our students are supported academically and emotionally while school is closed. We will continue to keep you updated as we move forward.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools

 

NSHS 2020-21 Course Registration Update

Posted on March 22, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From the PTSO

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

Update from Principal Stembridge

Posted on March 22, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From the PTSO

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

NPS Learning from Home, Virtual College Tours, Grab-n-Go Meals

Posted on March 18, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From the PTSO

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.

A Message from Principle Joel Stembridge

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the PTSO

Dear Families,

By now, you should have received a message from David Fleishman with updates about our school closure. This letter will serve to highlight some of the information from his letter as well as to provide you additional Newton South specific information. We are working with the district, other Newton schools, and area high schools; we continue to plan and adjust based on new information developing daily.

We understand you have a lot of questions. We will share information when it becomes available.

  • Food resources, as well as additional resources and updates related to COVID-19, can be found on the NPS website at: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/COVID19
  • Students are not expected to complete any assignments until the state and district determine what the expectations may be for supporting student learning and student social-emotional health during the closures.
  • Later next week, we will share educational opportunities for your student during this unprecedented time of school closing. They are not intended to replace classroom instruction or to substitute for instruction in any way. Rather, they will be supplemental.
  • Teachers and counselors have been asked to not communicate about assignments or upcoming work until there is further direction. Please be patient.
  • Reading a book or writing/sketching in a journal are great options to continue the learning process until we have more information.  Find some time for exercise and creativity too.
  • We are developing plans regarding course registration for next year; please stay tuned.
  • The Main Office is closed and students and families are not allowed in the building at this time. If you have urgent questions about transcripts, working papers, etc. please email Chris Hardiman. Please be patient as we will have limited access.
  • The MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) has moved the start of spring sports to March 30, 2020 at the earliest.  There are no practices until further notice.
  • There are no NSHS meetings, practices, or any other gatherings at this time.
  • Please make sure all of your contact information is up to date in Aspen including settings for notifications by phone, email, and text. Encourage your students to login to Aspen and add their email address to their account.
  • The decision to close schools is an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. It will only be effective if the community also takes steps to practice self-isolation, monitor for any symptoms, and avoid large gatherings. We need all community members to do their part or the school closure will not be successful in limiting the spread of the virus. We encourage students to connect with each other virtually, not in person.

The halls yesterday were eerily quiet without students and educators. It underscored the importance of why we are taking this step, and why it’s critical for each us to contribute to the greater good by listening to our local authorities and making some short term sacrifices in an effort to slow the rate of transmission of Covid19. Hopefully, South’s halls will be full of people again soon.

Be well,

Joel Stembridge

Principal, Newton South High School

High School Late Start Update

Posted on March 15, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From the PTSO

Dear Newton Parents/Guardians,

In 2015, the NSHS School Council (an advisory panel to the principal) initiated conversations about later start times for high school students.  These discussions resulted in the school committee establishing working groups to conduct feasibility studies, surveys and assessments.  The latest findings and proposals were presented on June 10, 2019 and can be found here:   Schedule and Start Time Update for School Committee.  Despite the work, no implementation of later start times has been set.

Recently there have been many questions at parent coffees regarding the status of these discussions.  We understand the complexity of schedules, traffic and budget on this.  However, we urge Newton to be a leader on this issue and make a positive change that will benefit the mental well being of our students today.

Please let your voice be heard and contact the mayor, the superintendent and members of the school community:

Additional background and presentations:

BID TODAY – Newton South Light the Way Auction

Posted on March 15, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From the PTSO

The recent school closings have cancelled the The Light the Way Gala on March 28th.  The Auction is now online till Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 11:59pm.  Help light the way for school spirit, for community spirit. 

Over 60 items donated by our South community and local merchants and organization.  Our goal is to raise $50,000 by April 1, 2020.  Click  to register online and start bidding today at https://e.givesmart.com/events/eQe/.   More info on Light the Way.

Many thanks for your continued support of the Help Light The Way fundraising campaign!  People who have already purchased Gala tickets to the event may either receive a full refund for the ticket price or convert ticket purchases into a donation towards the Help Light The Way fundraising campaign. Please contact Bella or Penelope.

Please reach out directly to Bella Gelman and Penelope Nam Stephen if you have specific questions.

Stay safe and healthy….and Bid for the Lights! GO SOUTH, GO LIONS, GO NEWTON!

NPS School Closing/COVID-19 Update

Posted on March 13, 2020 by PTSO CoPresident in From the PTSO

Dear Newton South Families,

In light of the rapid changing COVID-19 situation, all Newton Public Schools will be closed this week and possibly for a longer period. As noted by latest update from NPS, “As a reminder, the decision to close schools is an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. It will only be effective if the community also takes steps to practice self-isolation, monitor for any symptoms, and avoid large gatherings.” Please see details of the Letter from the Superintendent, March 13, 2020.

And visit the Newton Health & Human Services website for continuous updates at http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/health_n_human_services/default.asp

For up to date communication from Newton South High School administration, please ensure your Aspen contact information is up to date.  Click to update ASPEN.  Note PTSO and NPS contacts are not the same system.

Please see the update from Principal Stembridge – Update from Joel Stembridge 031420.

Stay vigilant in your prevention efforts.  This is not a snow-day.  Stay healthy and enjoy some family time!