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

Alpine Ski Results

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Manisha Kasana in Athletics

“Excellent job today, team!!  Thursday 02/04/21 was a tri-meet against Groton-Dunstable and Abernaki. The girls team once again took 1st place with a score of 463, just narrowly beating out AB by 1 PT!! Overall, Saylor Flannery placed 1st, Masie Abbiati placed 3rd, Noah Dahan placed 6th and Meg Henson placed 12th.

The boys placed 2nd in the competition missing 1st place by 23 points to AB but beating out GD. Logan placed 1st overall with Roey Lashem in 4th place. Way to go NSHS!!”

Last week of the regular season

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Manisha Kasana in Athletics

Our teams are all entering their last week of the regular season.

Our girls Alpine skiers are ranked first in their league and our boys are ranked four. The Girls Basketball team is entering the last week as the # 1 seed in the DCL while the boys are seed #3. Both teams are closing their series with Acton Bocboro tonight after strong first games last Wednesday.

Our boys hockey team is seeded # 2, they defeated a strong AB team on Thursday night traveling to AB for a Saturday shutdown that is expected to be another thriller game.

Swimming and Diving is closing regular season vs CC tonight. The league conducted virtual meets during the season. Scores will be compiled during the weekend to create the DCL final standing.

Girls Gymnastics has one more regular season meet on Feb. 10. Their league championship will be held remotely. Our team will compete for the DCL on Sunday, February 14 at Excell.

Alpine and Nordic final races will be held next week. Final standing will be done after they finish their competitions.

Boys gymnastics final meet is also next week. Newton South gymnasts Adrian Michael and Michael Weiner had highly contributed to the success of the Newton team who leads the state teams one more time this season.

Interim coach of Boys Varsity Lacrosse team

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Manisha Kasana in Athletics

We are pleased to announce that Coach Matt Briggs has accepted the interim position as Boys Varsity Lacrosse coach for the 2021 season. Coach Briggs has been part of our program for many years as our JV coach and more recently, as substitute Varsity coach for the 2019 season.

Congratulations to senior baseball player 

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Manisha Kasana in Athletics

Congratulations to senior baseball player Winston Wacha for committing to play at Brandeis University and to senior baseball player Liam Schofield who will be playing at Union College next year.

Game streaming

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Manisha Kasana in Athletics

Big shutout to the student-athletes that are working the streaming for gymnastics and JV hockey. Your dedication helps us to see your teammates and cheer them on! Special thanks to Coach Brad King and to David Padgett for all their work at our Field House filming the basketball games. You can watch past games by subscribing to the NS athletic YouTube channel.

Winter Sports Senior Nights

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Manisha Kasana in Athletics

The last game of the “regular” season for our Senior athletes are a special day for them. Due to our current protocols, we have to modify that day but still be able to bring our senior parents to our Senior games.

We are planning the following protocol for the last game of the season:

Ice Hockey Rink

  • Boys Hockey Friday, February 12 vs Waltham 6:50 PM
  • Parents arrive 10 min prior to start.
  • All NS players will line up on the goal line
  • As each senior player’s name is announced, the player will skate to meet parents at the door, pose for the photo.
  • Masks would be removed just as the photo is taken.
  • Once the photo is taken, the player will then stand on the blue line.  Parents will exit the ice.
  • Senior Parents will stay to watch the game and sit on our stands keeping 6 ft apart between families.

Swimming and Diving team celebration, February 11th

  •  On Thursday night, the team invited a parent of the  Seniors Girls and tonight they invited a parent of the Senior Boys to watch their last meet of the season The Junior/Senior class made celebratory speeches Pre or Post meet using a microphone while keeping safe distancing.

Boys Varsity Basketball, February 9 vs Wayland at the Field House
Girls basketball, February 12 vs Wayland-5:30 PM at the Field House

  • Parents arrive 10 min prior to the start of the game.
  • Parents would enter and exit the FieldHouse using the Brandeis road door, without crossing paths and no congregating
  • Parents will be given a sit at the sidelines.
  • All NS players will line up on the free-throw line 6 ft apart line
  • As each senior player’s name is announced, the player will come to meet parents at the center court, pose for the photo.
  • Masks would be removed just as the photo is taken.
  • Once the photo is taken, the player will then stand with his team at the line.  Parents will take their seats on the desks courtside to watch the game

The Girls gymnastics team

  • The team Senior meet will take place Wednesday, February 10.  The competition will start at 6 pm. parents are asked to arrive any time after 5:45 pm to get settled before the meet starts. The entrance to NN gym is by the tennis courts side
  • The team will have social distance seating for the Senior parents and please be sure to wear your mask!
  • There will be a presentation to honor the seniors at the conclusion of the meet organized by the juniors gymnasts!!

Alpine Ski, Nordic Ski, Boys gymnastics, and Girls Hockey will also celebrate their seniors. Due to the nature of the areas, they use for training and meets coaches will communicate their plans accordingly with the space they have to use.

Newton South Stage Presents BREATHE: Fri. Feb. 5 at 7:30 PM

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Aparna Singamsetty in From the PTSO

A global pandemic, a civil rights crisis, and a divided country. We’re trapped in quarantine, isolated from our friends. So many of us feel like we’re gasping for air.

Blending live theater with recorded performances, Breathe is a series of original monologues, musical pieces, scenes, dances, and spoken word poems that explore our experiences of the past year. From the chaotic beginning of the pandemic, to the social justice outcries of the summer, right up to the inauguration, Breathe captures the darkness and the light, dwelling in our desire to connect, to transform, and, ultimately, to heal.

In the spirit of helping our community heal through performance, we will donate ALL of the proceeds from the performance to Bridge Over Troubled Waters, an organization that supports runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth.

$10 Single Viewer, $25 Family (three or more). SouthStage.org

Newton South Girls Volleyball Preseason Meeting – Mon. Feb 8th at 7PM

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Aparna Singamsetty in From the PTSO

Newton South Girls Volleyball Preseason Meeting – Mon Feb 8th at 7PM

Date: Monday, February 8
Time: 7:00pm (will last about 30-45 minutes)
Zoom Meeting Link: https://newton-k12-ma-us.zoom.us/j/97060943415

Meeting ID: 970 6094 3415

Passcode (case sensitive): URGreat

Follow us at: https://www.instagram.com/nshsgirlsvolleyball/?hl=en, NSHS Girls Volleyball, managed by our co-captain, Maddie Xerras.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many teams will the volleyball program have this year?

  • We are waiting on guidance from the City and our athletic department on this question. For reference, in the past we’ve had a Varsity, a Junior Varsity, and a Freshmen team. 

Will there be matches against other schools?

  • We are waiting on guidance from the City and our athletic department on this question. Winter sports are currently having matches against other schools.

Will parents be allowed at games?

  • We are waiting on guidance from the City and our athletic department on this question. For winter sports, parents currently are not allowed in the gym to watch matches…this will probably continue. However many games are being streamed online!

Who are the Varsity captains this season?

  • Hannah Balcanoff
  • Abby Matthews
  • Maddie Xerras

While our season will be modified in some ways, a lot of information can be gleaned from the South Athletic Handbook used as a guideline for previous seasons. Highly recommended reading for families new to sports at South: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DVqc95C2OEQHe7PALSJo7RZ4dv45OYKUAMA6rHiE1zY/edit?usp=sharing

Fall 2 Online Registration

All players will need to register online for the Fall 2 volleyball season. Registration is not yet live. Once it is live, it will be posted on the athletic department website: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/domain/955

There is a fee associate with HS sport participation. Families may apply for a fee waiver based on financial hardship, more info here: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/feebasedprograms

Medical Physical
In order to play (even enter the gym for tryouts), all players will need a medical physical. Physicals are valid for 13 months…so you’ll need a physical dated no earlier than 13 months prior to the end of the season. (Physicals dated prior to January 22, 2020 are not valid. Physicals dated between January 22 and March 25, 2020 will need to be renewed before the end of the season.)

The physical can be sent in several ways:

  • Fax a copy [ (617) 552-5570 ] with the attention to Kristen Hoffman, the Administrative Assistant.  Subject – Physical: <student name>, Girls Volleyball, or
  • Email a PDF version to Kristen Hoffman, [email protected].ma.us.  Subject – Physical: <student name>, Girls Volleyball, or
  • Mail it to Newton South with the ATTN: Kristen Hoffman, Athletics Department, or
  • Hand deliver a copy to Kristen Hoffman

IMPACT Testing
Freshmen, Juniors, and anyone new to sports will be required to complete IMPACT concussion testing with our school trainer, Adam Hryniewicz. More info to come once this testing is planned, will be posted on the athletic department website.

COVID Safety
Safety, and more specifically, COVID safety, is of paramount importance this season. Our goal is to take pride in our excellence regarding Covid safety and to be an example for other programs. Specific Covid safety guidelines, rules, and procedures will be shared ahead of the season, as they are made available by the athletic department.

As a side note, most volleyball coaches in our program have been safely coaching volleyball since this past summer and are very experienced with Covid safety in a volleyball setting. Since July, I have organized volleyball programming for over 600 players (both indoors and outdoors) and plan to bring this Covid-safety experience to our high school season. 

Preseason Training
We have about 1 month until the tentative start date for our season. Here are some things you can do to help prepare your mind and body, in order of applicability:

  • Find opportunities to safely practice playing volleyball (granted this is difficult with the current Covid situation)
  • Start or continue an explosiveness/quickness/strength training program (e.g. plyometrics, jump training) 
  • Start or continue a cardiovascular training program
  • Start or continue a flexibility/injury-prevention training program (e.g. yoga)

There are some great, free guided-workout videos on: https://www.fitnessblender.com/

Additional Info
While our season will be modified in some ways, a lot of information can be gleamed from the South Athletic Handbook used as a guideline for previous seasons. Highly recommended reading for families new to sports at South: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DVqc95C2OEQHe7PALSJo7RZ4dv45OYKUAMA6rHiE1zY/edit?usp=sharing

Be well, reach out with any questions, and I hope to see you at our preseason meeting in less than two weeks!!

Lucas Coffeen,
Newton South Girls Volleyball

Broadway Babies Tues. Feb 9: From Newton Public Schools to the Great White Way

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Aparna Singamsetty in From the PTSO

Newton Inspires speaker series—notable Newtonians sharing their passions with the community.  Tuesday, February 9, 7:00 p.m. (Zoom link active at 6:55 p.m.)

Have a passion for the theatre? Join Newton Schools Foundation for a colorful conversation about performing and producing during “normal” times and Covid times with Newton South and Newton North performing arts alums Zachary Baer, producer of live and digital entertainment; Skylar Fox, director, playwright and theatrical designer; Tess Primack, actress and founder of Broadway from Home; and Ryan Vona, actor and singer-songwriter. Special guest Adam Brown, director of Theatre Ink at NNHS, will moderate.

Registration link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ktA3WVt6QhCZ2yOUxAk6HQ

Website link: https://newtonschoolsfoundation.org/newton-inspires/

GPA Findings and Decisions

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Aparna Singamsetty in From the PTSO

Please find the GPA Findings and Decisions from the NPS High School GPA Committee from January 15, 2021 email.

GPA Findings and Summary Decisions from the South/North GPA Committee  

For any questions about GPA and the decisions made by both South and North, please contact Director of Guidance, Dan Rubin: [email protected]