12/4/23 - 12/8/23 Weekly Update

Newton South Students and Families,

Welcome to the first full week of December! We are just a couple of weeks away from midterm comments, and three weeks away from the holiday break.

A few important updates this week:

Conferences will take place from 2 - 5 PM on Tuesday, December 5. Please visit Pick a Time to find a list of appointments you have booked. If you have any questions about your appointment, please reach out to your student's teacher.

Please note that signups for conferences closed on Sunday, November 26 at 11:59pm. At this point, we are no longer accepting new signups for conferences. If you would still like to meet with a teacher, please reach out to them directly to schedule a time after conferences that works for both parties.

See below for the full conferences memo:

South will have two early release days this week, both with the last class ending at 12:30pm and buses pulling out at 12:55pm:

• December 5 is a half day due to Parent Teacher Conferences taking place between 2 - 5 PM. Here is the schedule.
• December 7 is a PD early release half day. Here is the schedule.

We will be holding assemblies for grade 9 students on the following dates in the Auditorium:

• 12/4: Goodwin House
• 12/11: Wheeler House

During this assembly, the deans will reinforce our core values and civic expectations for the 9th grade class to ensure they have a successful four years at NSHS. Grade 9 students, please report to the auditorium at the beginning of advisory when it is your house's turn.

Here's to another week at South!

Sincerely,

Jason Williams (he/him)

Vice Principal

Newton South High School

Monday, December 4, Advisory: Goodwin House Grade 9 Assembly in Auditorium

Tuesday, December 5: Early Release (12:45pm Dismissal)

Tuesday, December 5: Parent Teacher Conferences, 2 - 5pm

Wednesday, December 6: Disability Awareness Day (all day)

Thursday, December 7: Early Release (12:45pm Dismissal)

Monday, December 11, Advisory: Wheeler House Grade 9 Assembly in Auditorium

Tuesday, December 12, 5pm: School Council

Wednesday, December 13: Q2 Midterm Comments Due

Thursday, December 14: Passin' Time (WIN 2)

If any member of the Class of 2024 hasn't had a senior photo taken through Legacy yet, you have two remaining chances: Saturday, Dec. 2, or Saturday, Dec. 9. Just go to legacystudios.com and set up an appointment today if you haven't yet.

We want everyone's picture in your senior book, so please come in and get your photo taken if you haven't!

NSHS will be hosting Disability Awareness Day on Wednesday, December 6! Disability Awareness Day seeks to foster Newton South High School’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion by providing opportunities to embrace disability as part of the natural fabric of our community. There will be events during D & E blocks. The events of the day will focus on the value that people of all ability levels bring to our school. More information about specific events and sign-ups to come.

Write a letter, change a life. Activists around the world are fighting for basic human rights, and many have been silenced by their governments. It’s our turn to fight for them and show them that they are not alone. Join us on Sunday, December 10, Human Rights Day, from 1:30-4:30 PM at the Newton Free Library for a letter writing marathon for Amnesty International's 2023 Write for Rights campaign. We will write letters on behalf of eleven individuals who have been wrongly silenced, either to government officials to pressure for justice, or to the activists themselves in solidarity. Write for one or write for all, even one letter can make a difference! All materials will be provided, we just need your passion and penmanship.

RSVP here!

Applications for the NSHS / INDBLR Exchange just outside Paris, France are now OPEN!

Students from our exchange school in Bourg-la-Reine will be in Newton from April 2 through April 12 (approximate dates) and Newton students will travel to France at the end of June (tentative dates from 6/26 to 7/6).

Students have the outstanding opportunity to share their family and school lives with a peer as they deepen their language skills and cultural understanding.

There will be an informational WIN block in room 6157 on Thursday, December 7. Interested 9th, 10th and 11th grade students of French should speak with their teachers now.

Applications are due Monday, December 11 and can be found here. Please consult the application for essential program information. Contact Mme Hahn or Mme Murphy-Ferguson with any questions.

The class of 2025 merch sale is back! We are in a new year and ready for some new gear! At the beginning of the school year, we asked NSHS juniors to submit merch designs, then we held a vote, and the class has spoken! Please use this link to access our fundraiser!

When you put in an order, the apparel will be bulk shipped to South and your student will be contacted about when they can come and pick it up. If you are a parent or guardian ordering for your student, please put the student's name in the comment box in order to help us with the distribution! In lieu of buying merch, we also accept donations on the website.

The store is open until Monday, December 4th! Just in time for the holiday season! If you have any questions, please email the class faculty advisors, Lexi Michaels (michaelsa@newton.k12.ma.us) or Talia Gallagher (gallaghert@newton.k12.ma.us), or students can speak to a class officer at school (Aviv Hoitash, Michael Shen, Clio McAneny, Chloe Hu, Shayla Bellucci, Dhruv Vallurupalli)

The next School Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 12 from 5:00 - 6:00 PM. A full agenda can be found here.

If you would like to attend for public comment, please email strast@newton.k12.ma.us directly.

This only applies to grade 10 students.

Before Thanksgiving, Julie McDonough sent a letter to all grade 10 families informing them of the School Connectedness Survey that we will administer. Here is a copy of the letter that was sent to families.

This survey helps us ensure that each school in our district is a welcoming, supportive, and safe space for all our students. The survey is confidential and the data will not be disclosed outside of NPS, with the exception of Newton city officials focused on youth and education, who may receive district-wide summarized results.

Newton South will administer this survey on Monday, December 18 during the Advisory period. As stated in the letter, the survey will take about 15 minutes to complete, and your student may voluntarily opt out or may choose to skip ant questions they feel uncomfortable answering.

If you choose to opt your student out of completing this survey, please see the letter above for details. Although the letter states opt-out forms were due this past Monday, we will take them until the end of school on Wednesday, December 13.

Thanks to the community and our long-term program supporters. "Reaching Across Borders," a 9-min documentary, will make its debut on December 14th. We welcome you to this monumental event that signifies restarting of the in-person exchange between Newton Public Schools and Beijing Jingshan School.

See more information below:

All seniors in the Class of 2024 are encouraged to apply for the

Newton South Local Scholarships

Opened Friday December 1, 2023

Local scholarships are awarded through Newton South High School and through the generosity of individual and business donors, community organizations and memorial funds.

To apply, 1) complete the online application 2) Get a recommendation from someone outside Newton South. The links for these steps are below.

The application deadline is Friday February 2, 2024.

Based on the criteria of each scholarship, recipients will be selected and notified. While some scholarship awards are announced in March/April. Most will be received in early June.

Links:

Local Scholarship Application

Local Scholarship Recommendation Form (share this link with your recommender)

Questions?

Please contact Ms Sabet, NSHS Scholarship Coordinator

On the 19th, during Lion Block in the student center, the sophomore class officers will be providing free hot chocolate and $5 freshly made waffles with a varied topping bar.

*This is catered towards the sophomore class, but others are welcome to support us in our fundraising efforts for the sophomore dance.

The most recently released district newsletter was on Wednesday, November 22. You can access it here.

Use this form to report an absence:

• Cutler

• Goldrick

• Goodwin

• Wheeler

Attendance Standard for the 2023-2024 School Year

Attendance Standard FAQs

District Procedures Regarding Attendance

We will excuse up to two college visits per term in term 3 and 4 for juniors, and anytime during the year for seniors.

Our academic honesty protocol can be found here. This protocol is taken directly from the district's Rights & Responsibilities Handbook.

Bus Schedules

Boston Bus Schedules

Cell phones should not be seen or heard in class, and should be in a student's pocket, backpack, or door holder in the classroom. Consequences include a verbal warning, the teacher temporarily taking the phone, etc. If you need to contact your student during school, you should go through the house office, as students will not be able to check their messages during class.

We aware aware and mindful that students may need a cell phone for vital functions such as glucose monitoring. If you have any concerns, please reach out to your house office and work with them to find a solution that works best for both parties.

Please see the following letter from the Newton South Faculty Council regarding cell phone use.

• Year at a Glance: Overview of the 2023-2024 school year
• Term 2 Calendar: This calendar has more specific dates and times. One will be released each term.
• Lunch Schedule for Semester 1. Classes are assigned lunches based on what wing of the building they are in.
• Public Calendar of Events: We keep an updated calendar of events on the school website - this is a combination of events from the NPS calendar and our individual school's calendar.

Sign up for Newton Community Education college prep and enrichment classes this fall! From arts to academics, NCE programs empower your child to learn, grow, and connect. NCE classes can also inspire their passions and boost confidence. Preview our wide range of classes in the Teens At-a-Glance. Secure your teen's spot now at www.newtoncommunityed.org!

The SAT coordinator is Namal Sadiq. She can be reached at sadiqn@newton.k12.ma.us.

The AP coordinator is Brandon Johnson. He can be reached at johnsonbra@newton.k12.ma.us.

Did you know that South has a school store?

The South store is centrally located right next to the Student Center and is open several blocks throughout the week.

Come check out our different selections of Seltzer, Snacks, and South gear - or just come by to say hi!

We accept cash, debit/credit cards, and Apple Pay.

We can’t wait to see you there!

Students use MyFlexLearning to sign up for WIN blocks.

All students are assigned to a space.

• If you do not sign up for a WIN by the day before that WIN occurs, you will be pushed to a teacher's WIN based on available space. You will be pushed to a Wednesday WIN on Tuesday afternoon, a Thursday WIN on Wednesday afternoon, etc. If you continuously do not sign up for WIN block, we will follow up with you and determine a strategy to make sure you are making the most of this important time on learning period.
• If your teacher is absent the day of your WIN, you will be unscheduled from that WIN and pushed to another space.
• You have up until an hour before a WIN block starts to reschedule; after this, your WIN assignment is locked.

The library is not freely open during WIN block. To be in the library during this block, you must be signed up with a teacher who is assigned to this space. We will ask teachers to not send you to the library, as the library will send you back to the class from which you came.

List of Clubs & Activities at Newton South

Athletic Calendar