A Note from the Principal . . . .
This weekend we celebrate a holiday with the word "memory" as part of its name. To remember, is to honor, acknowledge and at times understand better our past. It is our responsibility as educators to help our children understand the sacrifice of those who have created a better world for them in which to live.
On Friday in his 8th grade Civics Classroom, Mr. Matthews began the lesson by asking students to share their plans for the long weekend. The students were boisterous and excited as they shared. Some were attending sports tournaments, others, family gatherings, and being middle schoolers, many just wanted to catch up on their sleep. Mr. Matthews, an active leader in the U.S. Marines, who himself has served for decades, shared with his students the picture of a fallen fellow soldier, first sharing a picture of him with his wife at their wedding, capturing the promise of his future, and then sharing a picture of the flag that they gave to his mother upon his death. The immediate silence that fell over the classroom was profound.
Mr. Matthews, having personally had the somber responsibility of passing a tightly folded flag to the family of a fallen soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, explained to his students that it was ok to be joyous and celebrate with family and friends on this long weekend, provided that we remembered the sacrifice of those who helped make those moments possible.
A Gallop Poll in 2000 revealed that only 28% of Americans knew the meaning of Memorial Day. As a result, a Commission on Remembrance was created and ultimately declared 3:00 p.m. on Memorial Day as a moment when the nation should stand still together and remember those who have given up their lives so that we can have the freedom of ours.
Please join me and the Day Community in pausing for a moment tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. to remind our ourselves and our children of those who have made that ultimate sacrifice. As Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel well understands and shares in his now well known quote, our culture, civilization and future depend on our ability to remember.
SAVE THE DATE:
Thursday, June 1, 2023: Art Show for Q3 and Q4 Students: 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 1, 2023: Spring Band Concert at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, June 2, 2023: Grade 6 Global Goals- 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Friday, June 2, 2023: Career Day for 7th and 8th grade- 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Thursday, June 8, 2023: Spring Choral Concert at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, June 9, 2023: Step Up Day (6th and 7th grade dismissal at 12:30 p.m.)
Thursday, June 15th - Friday, June 16th: 8th Grade Overnight Trip
Friday, June 16, 2023: 7th Grade Trip to Canobie Lake
Monday, June 19, 2023: No School - Juneteenth Holiday
Tuesday, June 20, 2023: 6th Grade Trip to Starland
Wednesday, June 21, 2023: Last Day of School - Dismissal at 11:20 a.m.
Wednesday, June 21, 2023: Moving On Ceremony for Grade 8 from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
AN EVENING WITH THE ARTS THIS THURSDAY
Please join our talented Art Teachers, Ms. Hadley Horner and Ms. Taylor Cohen and Instrumental Leader, Mr. Shon Brown for An Evening With The Arts.
When: Thursday, June 1, 2023
Art Show (Displaying the Art Work of Q3 & Q4 Students) : 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Day Cafeteria
Band Concert Grades 6-8: 7:00 p.m. Day Auditorium
LEADERSHIP TEAM AT DAY
After decades as a teacher and Assistant Principal in Newton Public Schools and the F. A. Day Community, Mr. Michael Harding will be retiring at the end of this school year. Please join me in thanking Mr. Harding for his service to our community and wishing him our very best on his retirement.
I am pleased to announce that Mr. Brendan Healy will be joining the F. A. Day Leadership Team for the 2023-2024 school year. Mr. Healy has deep roots in the Newton Community, having grown up in the area and serving over a decade as a science teacher at Brown Middle School in Newton before leaving NPS to gain administrative experience as the Assistant Principal for over a year at the Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin, MA. Throughout the hiring process, Brendan impressed us with his commitment and passion for middle school education, his ability to connect with all stakeholder groups from middle school children to parents and staff. You will have an opportunity to meet Brendan in the coming months as he joins our team this summer in preparing for a new school year.
Please join me in welcoming Brendan Healy to the Day Family!
6th GRADE GLOBAL GOALS PRESENTATIONS
This Friday, June 2nd, our 6th graders will present their research into the UN's Global Goals for Sustainable Development. The Global Goals are the world's to-do list: identifying 16 problems that must be solved to make the world healthier, more equitable and more sustainable for everyone. At our Global Goals Expo, students will present what they've learned, and challenge you to take steps to support the goals.
Here are the details:
Friday, June 2: 8:15-9:15 a.m.
Ocean & Indigo Teams will present in the first-floor classrooms
Cobalt & Sky Teams will present in the third-floor classrooms
There will be student ambassadors at the front and mural entrances to help guide you to presentation locations.
2nd ANNUAL F.A. DAY MIDDLE SCHOOL CAREER DAY
This Friday, June 2nd, every 7th and 8th grade student will participate in the 2nd Annual F.A. Day Career Day. Students have signed up for four 30 minute sessions with presenters from potential careers and areas of interests from journalism and the law to finance and psychology.
I would like to take a moment to thank the almost 50 members of our community who have volunteered their morning to share their careers, passions, and professional and personal stories with our 7th and 8th grade students.
Please help support this event by ensuring that your child arrives on time for school this Friday morning. The event begins promptly at 8:15 a.m.
A MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT ANNA NOLIN
Dear Newton Community Members,
Hello! I am very excited to be officially joining you on July 1, 2023!
I have been working, however, behind the scenes to get to know staff, students, and some family/community members. I am so excited and energized! While the challenges facing all school systems and communities also confront us right now, the importance of caring for and educating our youth lifts us out of conflict and stress to look to the future on their behalf and holding them up as they make progress, work hard and find their future passions and life’s work.
It is my privilege to lead this work with you and will be my pleasure to connect with you this summer. I will be working to connect with as many families/caregivers and community members as possible this summer. I have a few requests from the community that will make our connecting easier. Let me know if you can help! I will be running the 5K South High road race on Sunday, perhaps I will see some of you there!
Let’s Get Together. Bring me to your people and neighborhood. Would you be willing to host a neighborhood meet-and-greet? I could come to your cul-de-sac, your neighborhood get together, your book group. If you could gather 20 or more people together to meet with me to talk about Newton Schools and its future, I’d love to get acquainted and hear your ideas.
Form: Host a Meet and Greet with Dr. Nolin
Show Me Your Newton World. Bring me to your place of worship, community organization or fitness location/activity. I’ll come to your temple, mosque, chamber meeting, sports group, civic activity, fitness bootcamp group. If you have 20 or more people to meet with me, I’ll come and talk about Newton Schools and its future.
Form: Host a Meet and Greet with Dr. Nolin
Show Your Spirit: Visit our Newton Public Schools Spirit Store and Support our Community Engagement Programs!
Schools often talk to families about buying spirit wear (t-shirts, hats, jackets) that are school specific, but as a group, we are a school system, not just a system of schools. Let’s show our Newton Schools Pride and support our school system as a whole. Proceeds form this spirit store will fund parent and family/caregiver engagement opportunities to ensure all parent voices are heard!
Newton Public Schools Spirit Store Link
The store will be open until Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Items will be shipped to the Education Center at 100 Walnut St. and pick up will be arranged!
Be Heard. Your Unique Perspective Matters. Tell me your thoughts about our future.
We need your input on this question:
"What are some things we should stop, start, or continue to do in the Newton Public Schools?"
To gather your feedback, we're using a tool called ThoughtExchange. All of our voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued.
Below is the link to participate in our community Thought Exchange:
You'll be asked to respond to the open-ended question noted above. Then, you will be asked to consider and assign “stars” (which means you like or agree with the ideas) to some of the ideas shared by others (20 to 30 is ideal).
Your thoughts and stars are confidential. You can come back as often as you'd like to participate and, in fact, we ask that you do come back to star any new ideas shared since you first participated. We learn what's important to the group by looking at the ideas that receive the most stars. The ratings will help us understand the most important areas to focus on in the coming year.
The survey is in three languages.
If you need technical help, please call ThoughtExchange at 1-800-361-9027 ext. 4 or email help@thoughtexchange.com.
Celebrate Our Staff. Finally, and most importantly, help me celebrate our staff on the Opening Day of School 2023-24. Share with me the stories of how our Newton Public School staff have demonstrated care, expertise and excellence in serving the children of Newton. (any staff: nurses, paraprofessionals, cafeteria staff, principals, teachers, behaviorists, counselors, psychologists, tutors, –ANYONE–). Complete this form to participate!
Form: Celebrate Staff on Opening Day
Thank you for helping me to get a head start on supporting, celebrating and improving our district functioning and communication. I look forward to meeting you and supporting your children.
Fondly,
Anna P. Nolin, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
NPS Calendar Survey
School Calendar Survey - Please Complete!
As described in the district newsletter yesterday, we have developed a survey that seeks to inform revisions to our school calendar. The survey seeks to:
Identify religious and cultural observances observed by NPS families and staff and understand the nature of those observances.
Understand the priorities of the school community in balancing days out of school for religious observances with the state requirement for days in school
Utilize data to consider whether to add or subtract days out of school for religious observances.
Here are the survey links:
Calendar Survey: English (with language drop down at top upper right)
Complete the survey by June 2, 2023 and you will be entered to win the following:
A ride to school on a Newton Fire Department fire engine (grand prize)
One of 25 $20-gift cards to Cabot’s Ice Cream donated by Village Bank
Thank you in advance for your input!
SPORTS GAMES THIS WEEK
Tuesday, May 30, 2023:
- Boys’ Lacrosse -Home at 3:30 p.m.
- Girls' Lacrosse - Home at 4:30 p.m.
- Volleyball Intramurals 2:25 - 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 1, 2023:
- All City Track and Field Meet at Newton South - 3:30 p.m.
- Volleyball Intramurals - 2:25 - 4:00 p.m.
GO Dragons!
Andy Comings comingsa@newton.k12.ma.us
Mark Murphy murphym@newton.k12.ma.us
FALL MUSICAL
The Fall 2023 Musical will be Mean Girls.
A note from Ms. McGettrick, Day Drama Teacher, about some new policies around the fall musical. See below.
We are going to make certain audition materials for Mean Girls jr. accessible all summer, and interested families of incoming students who don't yet know Schoology will be able to get access through a Google Drive share - I've done this before through a Google Form on my website, and it's been successful for helping new families get oriented.
NEW - For the musical - We are going to formally audition only the 7th and 8th graders for principal roles and ensemble roles.
We want to maximize opportunities, but also minimize stress and pressure, as new students get acclimated to the program.
To that end - Sixth graders will have a separate two-day audition process to provide an orientation to what rehearsals and performances are like, and we will provide a more holistic approach to the audition process - for example, more small group singing in the audition, than solo singing, etc. I see this as an incredibly positive teaching opportunity as they get adjusted to middle school, in general, but seeing if Day Drama is a good fit for what they'd like to do after school.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE FALL MUSICAL, CLICK ON THE DAY DRAMA WEBSITE BELOW.
8th GRADE END OF EVENTS
Friday, June 9th: Step Up Day at Newton North High School (see the letter from NNHS linked below)
Friday, June 9th: Assembly about the 8th Grade Trip
Wednesday, June 14th: Chromebook Returns and Yearbook Distribution and Sales
Thursday, June 15th - Friday, June 16th: Overnight Trip to Boston
** Students not attending the 8th grade trip should not attend school on either day.
Tuesday, June 20th: Moving On Ceremony Rehearsal
Wednesday, June 21st: Moving On Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. (Field opens for seating at 8:15 a.m.)
MOVING ON CEREMONY- SAVE THE DATE!
Date: Wednesday, June 21, 2022
Time: 9:00 - 10:45 a.m. (Procession begins at 8:30 a.m.)
Location: Albemarle Fields
Bring your own chairs, blankets, water and sunscreen!! Families can set up as early as 8:15 a.m.
No rain date: If the weather does not cooperate, we will schedule a staggered ceremony by team in the gym.
We are working on trying to live stream this event for relatives who cannot attend - more details to follow.
There will be individual graduation pictures taken of each student at the ceremony courtesy of the Day PTO!
STEP UP DAY
STEP UP DAY at F. A. Day is on Friday, June 9th.
5th Grade Students: Will arrive at Day at 12:50 p.m. and return to home schools by dismissal
6th and 7th Grade Students: Will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m. (Lunch will be served)
8th Grade Students: Will walk to NNHS at 11:30 a.m. for Step Up Day (Lunch will be served).
SEE THE LETTER ON 8th Grade STEP UP DAY from NNHS linked below.
Team IV Community Building
F.A. Day Orchestra "Pops and Rocks"
Thursday's stunning spring Orchestra Concert, "Pops and Rock"s, not only featured many popular hits like "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga, but also incredible solo performances by 8th graders: Gina Li, Cecelia Birch, Pearl Neafsey, Felicia Xue, Maya Fendler, and Samhain Roy Chowdhury.
BUS TRANSPORTATION
Bus registration for the 2023-24 school year will begin in early June. All students who wish to ride the bus MUST register for a bus pass.
There are significant changes to the fee structure for purchasing a bus pass this year. Please note the following:
The bus fee has increased to $400 per student, with a family cap of two passes ($800.)
All elementary students who reside LESS than 2 miles from their elementary school must now pay a bus fee. We expect this to impact the majority of elementary students.
Elementary students who reside MORE than 2 miles from their elementary school DO NOT pay a bus fee.
As has been the case in previous years, all students in grades 7-12 pay the bus fee.
6th grade students: All students in grade 6 who reside MORE than 2 miles from their school do NOT pay a bus fee. 6th grade students residing less than two miles do pay a fee. Please visit our NPS Bus Fee webpage for details.
Please use this link to determine your distance from your school.
When bus registration opens in early June, you will be notified via email. You will register and pay via MySchoolBucks. Installment payment plans will be available. More information on bus registration can be found on our NPS Bus Registration webpage.
Financial assistance is available for those who qualify. Please read below for details on how to apply.
FALL ATHLETICS AT NEWTON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
Below is a note from the Newton North High School Athletic Department for the families of Rising 9th Graders:
The Fall season starts on August 18th for Football and August 21st for every other fall sport.
Please plan vacations and travel around these dates if you want to try out for high school sports. There will not be alternate dates to try out and once teams are selected they will be final.
Stay tuned for further updates from the Newton North Athletics Department.
END OF YEAR- SAVE THE DATE!
As families begin to make summer plans, I have been asked about the last day of school:
The last day of school is scheduled for Wednesday, June 21, 2023. It is an early release day with dismissal at 11:20 a.m.
8th Grade Moving On Ceremony is also scheduled from 9:00 - 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
Newton Community Education Teen Programming
NEWTON COMMUNITY EDUCATION CIT PROGRAM: NEW FOR 2023!
Calling all rising 8th & 9th graders!
Learn how to become the best camp counselor ever with Newton Community Education's CIT (Counselor in Training) program. You will get experience working with campers and counselors to develop the skills and confidence to become effective leaders in a supportive environment. Sign up for one or more sessions!
Session 2: July 24-August 4, 2023
Check out our other SUMMER CAMP OFFERINGS for middle schoolers!
Questions? Email us: nce-staff@newton.k12.ma.us
Also, Newton Community Education is interested in expanding its program for middle school aged students. Please take a moment to complete the programming interest survey below. It will help their planning efforts reflect the needs of our middle school community.
