Newton South PTSO

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

FORJ Housing Wants Your Input!

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the PTSO

Please join us on Zoom Tuesday, September 20 at 7:30 to give your input on Newton’s proposed zoning changes. This is an important opportunity to influence the future of Newton’s village centers.

Zoning laws regulate what can be built and where. For example, zoning determines how tall buildings can be, what can be built where, and what changes can be made to existing buildings. This can impact a village center’s housing supply, economic development, transportation, green space, and how spaces can be used by all our residents. All of these change have the potential to impact racial equity in housing in Newton.

The City is considering important changes to our zoning rules for the first time in 30 years. Last summer, the city heard what community members’ envisioned for the village center’s future. Based on that, the City drafted a set of updates to the zoning rules. Now, the city would like input on 3 questions about the updates’ framework for increased density and reduced parking requirements.

In this session, we will review the proposed zoning changes and walk you through how to submit your feedback on the proposed changes.

RSVP here

Questions? Contact Laura Towvim, lgtowvim@gmail.com

Friday, September 16, 2022

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the Principal

Hello Newton South!

It has been such a joy to welcome our students back to Newton South. We have begun the year with a palpable positive energy. Our 9th graders have gotten to know our building, and are learning the My-Flex Learning system for our “What-I-Need” or WIN blocks. Our 10th graders and 11th graders are reveling in being upper-class students and our seniors have already decorated Wheeler Commons (sometimes referred to as “Senior Commons”) with Class of 2023 spirit. Below, I also included a few other highlights and updates from our opening weeks so far.

Social Emotional Learning

zoom_out_map

As each class starts the year, teachers begin with a process of developing a healthy and welcoming learning community. This is essential for our students to feel comfortable taking academic risks and reaching for higher levels of academic growth as the year continues. This process takes many forms, and includes a classroom collaboration on setting the norms of engagement in the class; this is also one way in which we integrate our anti-bullying curriculum into classrooms in an age-appropriate manner. Students of all grades have also had grade-level meetings with their deans recently where they have been able to ask questions about the year ahead.

In WIN blocks, our flexible blocks that allow students to sign up independently for support and activities to meet their needs each week throughout the year, we have started the year off by pre-scheduling all of our students into some key orientation and team building activities. One of those activities is the first September edition of the House Cup, a friendly house-based competition wherein advisories earn points throughout the year by working together to complete a variety of challenges. Of course the house that wins also gets bragging rights and some year-end treats! (I’m not biased or anything, but I am compelled to mention that Cutler House was last year’s champion 😉

Our 9th graders spent one of their WIN blocks this week with all the deans learning about substance use and abuse and how it impacts school. This assembly is an important part of our health and wellness curriculum, and I am proud of the way that our students conducted themselves, by showing respect and asking good questions.

Continuing our work on social emotional learning, next week we will be hosting two separate WIN-block grade-level assemblies for the 9th and 10th graders on social media use and its impact on teen development. The 10th graders will also be meeting by house in smaller groups, including their deans, counselors, and advisory teachers to engage in a workshop on mental wellness and positive coping strategies. As we progress through these activities, we encourage you to ask your child about how they experienced these assemblies, and to reach out to your child’s dean or counselor if you have any questions or concerns.

South Human Rights Council

As a community, Newton Public Schools have always valued diversity, equity, and inclusion. At Newton South, the South Human Rights Council (SHRC) helps lead this work. In the past, they have collaborated with our staff and student affinity groups to support cultural days of awareness and celebrations. Last year, the SHRC, in partnership with other schools in Newton, hosted a No Place for Hate Walk that affirmed our commitment to this work. Importantly, the SHRC also partners with administration to respond to incidents of bias and racism when they occur.

Unfortunately, we did have an incident his past Saturday during the ninth grade football game. Someone from a different school community directed an anti-Asian slur at one of our student athletes. Our student told his coach immediately, and swift action was taken by Athletic Director Pat Gonzalez. The adults from the other community were equally appalled at the behavior, took steps to hold their student accountable and to repair with the Newton South community in the moment. I was impressed with the actions taken by our students and the members of our athletic department. I was also appreciative of the way in which the other community addressed this incident and took immediate steps to hold their students accountable. Unfortunately, incidents like these will happen; however, I am heartened to be part of a community that does not stay silent when they do. I plan to continue partnering with the leaders of the SHRC and others in our school community, to respond to this incident and any act that violates our community values.

The New Attendance Standard

The deans have been hard at work answering your questions and students’ questions on our new attendance standard. I want to acknowledge that there are a wide variety of opinions on this pilot process. We have also recently become aware that there is some misinformation out there. To that end, we have prepared this FAQ on attendance to help address some of the questions that we have heard.

Many of you have quietly mentioned to us that you are appreciative of the clarity and boundaries that this standard is providing to your adolescents – that the policy is reminding them that class attendance is essential to learning. Some of you have also commented that the new attendance standard is helping to reset the students’ mindset after the pandemic changed school dynamics for the past few years. Others of you have expressed concern that this standard will unfairly impact students who are sick or get COVID. I want to assure you that we are using this policy to get kids to class – not to unwittingly punish kids for necessary illness-necessitated or religious absences. As always, we will work with you on issues that arise going forward. We will also be collecting data along the way, and bringing that back to the attendance committee so that they can consider any unintended consequences as we move through implementation. We appreciate your feedback and patience as this progresses.

September 19 – 23, 2022

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the Vice Principal

BLUE WEEK
Newton South Families,

We are on to week 3 and halfway through the month of September! It was great to see everyone at Back to School Night this past Thursday, navigating the building and meeting all of our amazing teachers! We hope that for those of you who were able to make it, that you had a great experience and were able to get a feel for what a day at Newton South feels like. Additionally, we hope you had a chance to meet our Deans in the Student Center to learn more about our new Attendance Policy.

The Attendance FAQ can be found here.
The full Attendance Policy can be found here.

Students: looking for a way to get involved? Check out the list of clubs here that you can visit during Lion block, and be sure to take a look at the athletics schedule to see what games are coming up.

Acting Principal Josepha Blocker put out a community update on Friday, September 16. This can be found here.

Last but certainly not least, remember that the district will release a newsletter every two weeks. The most recent newsletter is from Wednesday, September 14 and can be found here.

Here’s to another great week at South! Please let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jason Williams (he/him/his)
Vice Principal
Newton South High School

This Week’s Updates
Sign Up for WIN Blocks During Advisory on Monday

Students will sign up for WIN blocks during Advisory on Monday, September 19. They will use the MyFlexLearning app to do so. There will be some special programming for certain grades this week:

Wednesday 9/21: All grade 10 students in Wheeler House will meet in the Field House for a Counseling Center activity
Thursday 9/22: All grade 9 students will meet in the Field House for a presentation by Rob Greenfield
Friday 9/23: All grade 10 students in Goldrick House will meet in the Field House for a Counseling Center activity

List of Colleges Attending Newton South This Week

Attached is a list of colleges visiting Newton South for the week of 9/19 – 9/23. If you have any questions, please reach out to Kathy Sabet, our College and Career Counselor.

The College and Career Center webpage is here.

Senior Parent Post-Secondary Planning Webinar on Thursday, September 22

On Thursday, September 22 at 6:30 PM, we will hold a Senior Parent Post-Secondary Planning Webinar. During this virtual webinar, the Newton South school counselors will discuss everything students and families need to know about school procedures to support students applying to colleges, technical schools, gap years and otherwise preparing for life after high school.

Our Counseling department head, Dan Rubin, sent an email to all seniors on September 8 with more information. Here is a link to the webinar:

https://newton-k12-ma-us.zoom.us/j/89477861834
Passcode: Lions2023

Annual Student Information Update – Please Complete!

Every year, you are required to update student information in Aspen, our student information system. It is very important that families update addresses, emergency contacts, health records, and permissions so that schools have the most accurate and up to date information for students.

This system is also used to determine what student information can be released. Please note that we do have new Opt Out Permissions for the 2022-2023 school year that need your review and preference selections.

Families must update their students’ records by Friday, September 30th. Please use these instructions to access the information and forms in Aspen: Student Information Update Instructions.

Reminders for Students
Lunch

Please be sure to clean up after yourselves when you are done eating. We have sometimes had trash left at tables which has created extra, unnecessary work for our custodial staff. Remember our school values – Choose Kindness, Listen First, Show Respect, and Take Responsibility.

Please note the following from our school handbook, The Orange Lion, regarding lunch:

Students are permitted to eat in the following locations:
The Student Center
Outside, when the weather permits (picnic tables are outside Wheeler House and in the Student Center Courtyard)
The Wheeler, Goldrick or Goodwin Commons
The Field House Lobby
Any supervised area where staff give expressed permission
Auditorium Lobby Tables

Students are NOT permitted to eat in the Library, Auditorium, Lecture Hall, or in hallways.
Students are also not permitted to eat on the floor.

We appreciate your cooperation as we work together to maintain a safe, healthy environment for all.

Parking On Campus

Please do not park along the fence near the athletic fields and Cutler House, or in any fire lane. This is an important access point for city and emergency vehicles and a vital pickup and dropoff point for our school vans. We appreciate your cooperation as we help ensure the safety of all students.

Only seniors who have earned a spot through the parking lottery are allowed to park on campus. Only seniors who have paid for a parking pass at the beginning of the semester are allowed to park on campus, and are only allowed to park in their designated, numbered, yellow-lined space.

Vehicles illegally parked on campus will receive a warning ticket after their first violation. If the vehicle receives a second ticket, it is subject to being towed, at the owner’s expense, if it receives another one.

Here is the parking handbook for Semester 1.

Off-Campus Parking

Students: When parking in off-campus locations in the surrounding neighborhood, please be mindful of the following:
Observe parking restrictions on these roads
Park at least 5 feet away from a driveway so residents can get in and out of their homes
Park near but not on the grass edges if there is no curb so that there is space for pedestrians to walk and for fire trucks and other vehicles to pass through the street
Park thoughtfully to avoid having unparkable spaces between your car and another vehicle
On one-way streets, park in the direction of traffic

Following these guidelines will help keep our surrounding neighborhood safe and reduce congestion in the area. We thank you for your consideration.

Consider Opting-In to the NPS Chromebook Repair Fund

We encourage you to sign up for our Optional Chromebook Repair Fund. For $25 per year, all accidental damage to the device, including screen cracks, liquid spills, damages from dropping, etc. will be covered. Sign-up and payment for the Chromebook Repair Fund is done through the MySchoolBucks Portal.

Grade 10 Families: BMI Opt-In Screening Program

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in For Sophomores, From the Vice Principal

Grade 10 Families:

This year, BMI screening will be opt-in for students whose parents/guardians sign them up for the program. If you would like your child to be screened for BMI by the school nurses, please return this form to the school nurses by Monday, September 19.

Please see here for the form, which has more information about the program. If you are interested in participating, please print and fill out this form, and return it to the school nurses. If you have any questions, please contact the school nurses at 617-559-6575 or email them at kiritsyk@newton.k12.ma.us and kramerg@newton.k12.ma.us.

Sincerely,

Jason Williams (he/him/his)
Vice Principal
Newton South High School
140 Brandeis Road
Newton, MA 02459
617-559-6700

Back to School Night at Newton South on Thursday, September 15

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the Vice Principal

Newton South Families,

Your student’s schedule for Back to School Night has been posted to Aspen and is available on the homepage. Back to School Night will run on Thursday, September 15 from 7 – 9 PM. It is an opportunity for you to meet your student’s teachers and hear an overview of the curriculum for your student’s classes. The PTSO will be outside the main entrance beginning at 6:15 PM to give out information.

Note that parking around Newton South is limited, so we recommend you allow time to find parking and carpool if possible. Oak Hill and Brown parking lots are also available.

Your student’s schedule will show full year, semester 1, and quarter 1 classes. Directed studies and small studies will not meet. During these blocks, we encourage families to visit the Student Center, our cafeteria, where Deans will be available to present and answer questions about the new Attendance Policy.

We look forward to seeing you at Back to School Night! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jason Williams (he/him/his)
Vice Principal
Newton South High School
140 Brandeis Road
Newton, MA 02459
617-559-6700

Annual Girls’ Varsity Soccer Charity Car Wash

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the PTSO

Annual Girls’ Varsity Soccer Charity Car Wash

Annual Girls’ Varsity Soccer Charity Car Wash will be Saturday, September 10th from 10:00AM-2:00PM in front of the main entrance to school. Please come and support the charity efforts of these hard-working girls.

Doug McCarthy
Head Coach, NSHS Girls’ Soccer

This Week’s Updates Sept 5, 2022

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the Vice Principal

We are excited to welcome students to Newton South on our first day of school, Tuesday, September 6. School runs from 9:00 AM – 3:25 PM on Tuesday (9:00 AM – 3:45 PM on other days of the week).

Here is a copy of the schedule. Grade 9 students will arrive at 9 AM following the regular bus schedule (see below). For students in grades 10 through 12, buses will start their run at 12:00 PM for an arrival to South by 12:30 PM. They will otherwise follow the same stops in the bus schedule detailed in the next section. Note that lunch will only be provided for grade 9 students.

The bus schedule for Boston routes can be found here.

Student schedules were posted to the Aspen homepage on Friday, September 2. Please follow this schedule for A-G blocks on the first day of school. If you have any questions about your schedule, please see your counselor at the start of school.

WIN Blocks for the Week of 9/5 – 9/9

We will follow a regular schedule on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. However, students will not be signing up for WINs this week. Instead, there will be special programming that students will go to based on their grade.

Please see this document for more information.

September 8 is Student Photo Day

Students in grades 9 – 11 will be taking their photos on Thursday, September 8. Students will be called down with their class to take their individual photo in Gym B. Please listen for announcements throughout the day and go with your class when you are called.

Here is the detailed schedule.

Students and families: Click or tap on the picture at the left to learn more information about ordering pictures. You can go to shop.legacyphotos.com and enter code 3597523. If you or your family have any questions about ordering pictures through Legacy Studios, you can reach out to them directly at customercare@legacystudios.com.

9th Grade/New to South Night on Thursday, September 8 at 6:30 PM

New to South and 9th Grade Parent Night will be held on Thursday, September 8 for families of 9th graders and families of students who are new to South. This event will run from 6:30 – 8:00 PM and be held virtually. See below for the webinar link:

https://newton-k12-ma-us.zoom.us/j/83516455634

Passcode: newlions

This will be an opportunity for families to meet the deans and counselors, learn more about Newton South, and ask questions. The webinar will be recorded for those who are unable to make it and/or wish to rewatch the webinar at a later date.

The South Stage Frosh Play Starts Monday, Sept. 12

The Frosh Play is a no-cut, low-stress way to get involved in South Stage, make friends, and connect with the school. Actors should attend as much as possible the week of Sept. 12 after school (MWTHF 4-6 pm, T 3:30-5:30). We will play drama games and read from the scripts we are considering. At the end of the week, everyone will be cast in an evening of 10-minute plays to be performed on Oct. 20-22. Ninth graders interested in backstage crews are welcome to attend the first week or go directly to Lab Theater. Visit southstage.org for more information about the Frosh Play and tech opportunities.

Upcoming Family Events

Thursday, September 15, 7:00 PM: Back to School Night (in person) (slight time change)
Thursday, September 22, 6:30 PM: Senior Parent Night (Virtual)

Other Information

August 31 District Newsletter

The most recent district newsletter was released on Wednesday, August 31 and can be found here.

Note that this newsletter has updated Health and Safety guidelines for the 2022-2023 school year.

Bus Passes

To download your bus pass from Aspen:

1) Log into Aspen

2) Click on Family Tab at the top

3) Click on Child’s Name

4) Click on Documents Side Tab

5) Look for and download Bus Pass 2022-2023 document

Your pass will have the 4-digit number on it, but also use the bus schedule to determine what letters (i.e., AA, VV) go with that bus, as that is what you will see in the bus’s side and rear windows.

Newton bus routes can be found here.

Boston bus routes can be found here.

Don’t have a bus pass but want one? Bus registration has re-opened. Visit this page to learn more.

If you have any questions about the buses, please reach out to Transportation at

Meals at NPS This School Year

Please see the following reminder from the district newsletter regarding School Meals at NPS:

Once again this year, Massachusetts will provide free meals in schools. However, the program this year is different from the last two years. Please read to understand the differences and actions you must take.

What is free?

FIRST meals are free for all students. However, SECOND meals and A LA CARTE ITEMS (at middle/high school) must be paid for with cash or through the MySchool Bucks account.

What is the cost of a SECOND meal?

The student charge for second meals is $5.50 for middle and high school students.

What do you mean by “all meals must be validated by student?”

This means that all student meals will be served from the cafeteria and each student must have their meal scanned at the Point of Sale register – even though the first meals are free.

How can I pay for SECOND meals and A LA CARTE items?

Please create or check your family MySchoolBucks lunch account to ensure there are funds available if your child purchases a second meal or a la carte items (middle and high school only).

Student Schedules Available on Aspen

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the Vice Principal

For all students: Quarter 1 schedules have been posted to Aspen and can be found on the Reports section in the top right corner when you log in. Please follow this schedule on the first day of school.

September 5 – 9, 2022

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the Vice Principal

BLUE WEEK

It’s hard to believe that the summer has come to a close! We hope that you have found the time to enjoy a restful, well-deserved vacation and are recharged and reenergized to begin the 2022-2023 school year! We have worked hard throughout the summer to make sure we are ready to kick off our school year, beginning with welcoming all of our grade 9 students in the Field House at 9 AM!

Every week, all students and families will receive an update like this one with important details for this week and upcoming weeks. At the top it will say whether we have a BLUE or ORANGE week. This affects clubs that meet during our Lion block on Tuesdays. We will alternate through these weeks throughout the school year. To view any older updates (including the ones we have published over the summer), see here.

Please take note of our special schedule for the first day – grade 9 students will come in at the regular start time, and grade 10-12 students should arrive by 12:30. For more details, see the first update below.

We are so excited to see you tomorrow! Go Lions!

Sincerely,

Jason Williams (he/him/his)

Vice Principal

Newton South High School

Clean Up at Newton South

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Michelle Wetlaufer in From the PTSO

Clean up will happen tomorrow, Saturday, September 3rd. Please join Green Students Movement and help us keep Newton South clean. Any students can get community hours signed by Principal Stras

How can I participate?

1)Check in outside the main office of NSHS at 12pm on Sept 3.

2.) Just bring yourself! Bags will be provided.

4.) What if I can’t make that day? Stay-tuned. We will be organizing more days as needed.

FORJ Housing Wants Your Input!

Friday, September 16, 2022

Social Emotional Learning

South Human Rights Council

The New Attendance Standard

September 19 – 23, 2022

Grade 10 Families: BMI Opt-In Screening Program

Back to School Night at Newton South on Thursday, September 15

Annual Girls’ Varsity Soccer Charity Car Wash