4/1/24 - 4/5/24 Weekly Update

Dear NSHS Community,

As you know, our Department Head for Counseling, Dan Rubin has been nursing a skiing injury for the past few weeks. He is on his way to recovery and making good progress. We continue to wish him well and cannot wait until he is back with us.

Shelly Borg, former Department Head for Counseling has been filling in for Dan and unfortunately this past Thursday was her last day with us. We are so incredibly thankful and grateful for the time she gave us (coming out of retirement) and for ensuring that our students experience no disruption in service, we are indebted to Shelly. THANK YOU!

While we eagerly await Dan’s return, three amazing counselors are stepping up to take on different parts of his role. Firstly, all students on Dan’s caseload will be serviced by Kara Veley. Kara is a long-standing counselor in Goodwin House and will contact all of Dan’s students and families separately. In addition, for any departmental duties that need to be taken care of Chris Hardiman of Goldrick House and Dave Kershaw of Goodwin house, will be taking this on.

Kara can be reached at: veleyk@newton.k12.ma.us

Chris can be reached at: hardimanc@newton.k12.ma.us

Dave can be reached at: kershawd@newton.k12.ma.us

Our hope is that this arrangement will only last for a few weeks and we will have Dan back soon. I will of course keep you informed as needed.

For informational purposes, I will be traveling to China from April 4, to April 17, 2024. I will be traveling with Toby Romer (Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education), Henry Turner (Newton North Principal), and Star (Yixing) Lew (Coordinator of our Global Programs) with the goal of restarting our Jingshan Exchange program. While I am away, if you have pressing concerns please contact your student’s dean directly or Vice Principal Jason Williams.

Thank you for you patience and understanding,

Tamii

In addition to Principal Stras's update above, we have a couple of logistical updates:

Monday, April 1 will have a special Advisory to kick off the Verification process. We will be asking all students to fill out a form to ensure they look over their requests one more time and everything looks correct. We will not be able to make changes to student requests after Thursday, April 4, as we will need to begin building the schedule.

To facilitate the start of the Verification process, we will run an extended Advisory on Monday that will run for 10 extra minutes. See here for the schedule.

An email will be sent to students and families Sunday afternoon regarding verification and instructions for completing the form.

We will be following a new calendar for Term 4 which can be found here.

All Students: Please double check your schedule on Aspen. Q3 courses will have ended, and Q4 classes will begin. Here is how you can change your view on Aspen to ensure you are seeing the correct classes.

Grade 9 students: Please check your schedules for your new directed studies. They will have changed and may have new teachers and/or classroom locations.

Teachers will be working this week to finalize grades for term 3 and report cards are expected to be released next week.

Here's to another week at South!

Sincerely,

Jason Williams (he/him)
Vice Principal

Thursday, April 4: Tertulia (Auditorium, all day)

Saturday, April 6, 7pm: Class of 2026 Dance

Monday, April 8: Quarter 3 Grades Due (report cards released later this week)

Tuesday, April 9, 5pm: School Council

Wednesday, April 10: AAPI Awareness Day (all day)

Wednesday, April 10: Eid al-Fitr

Wednesday, April 10, 7:30pm: Jazz Night (Auditorium)

Friday, April 12: Earth Day Celebration (all day)

Tertulia, Newton South's annual all-day showcase for student talent, will take place on Thursday April 4th during A, B, G, and E Blocks! Stay tuned for more information.

On Monday, April 8, we will be holding an optional assembly during E block to give students and staff an opportunity to see the Solar Eclipse! We will have more details next week.

AAPI Celebration and Awareness Day is a series of workshops, performances, conversations, and panels that advocate for and celebrate the diverse Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. This event is being hosted by AAPI Student Affinity Groups and the HAAPI Family Staff Affinity Group.

Newton South’s sustainability club, the “Sustainability Squad”, is a student group dedicated to making the South community more sustainable. In efforts to do so, Sustainability Squad is planning an Earth Day Fair on April 12th during WIN, D & F blocks to raise awareness about climate change and environmental activism. We are excited to host this event and hope everyone can take part!

Get ready for Newton South’s first art competition! Starting March 19th, artists from around the school will have the opportunity to submit their artwork to three categories–2D, 3D, and Photography–with a $3 submission fee sent as cash or check to Newton South High School with Art Club in the memo line (please deliver this to Ms. Nichols in room 9107)!

The top finalists of each category will receive valuable prizes, and the funds will be donated to local schools in need of more art materials!

If you are interested, please use the form below to submit your work:
https://forms.gle/a9MwXzv1ExooP6mH9

**SUBMISSIONS CLOSE APRIL 12**

Please contact Ms. Nichols (nicholsam@newton.k12.ma.us) or the Art Club for any questions/concerns!

We are excited to announce a new update for the South community: our @south.learns Instagram page! This account will showcase all the amazing activities and events that occur every week at South, from performing arts to athletics to school focused events. Feel free to give us a follow on Instagram! In the bio, there is a link for a Google Form. If you are part of an exciting event that you want to be featured on the page, fill it out. Please let us know if you have any questions!

The Sophomore Casino Night Dance is coming up on 4/6, 7-10 PM! Enjoy a night of games with professional dealers, including Roulette, Texas Hold-em, and Blackjack. Dance, take photos at the photo booth, eat pizza, and play to win a grand prize. Tickets are on sale for $30 during lunch right outside the library.

The next School Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 9 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.

The Newton Public Schools is in the process of developing a Portrait of a Graduate - a collective vision that articulates our community’s aspirations for ALL of our students. This is a first step in strengthening the vision for our school system.

Student voice is very important in this process and we need students to participate! We need to hear from you about what school should look like and what you need to know and be able to do to be prepared for whatever you want to do after high school.

We are beginning the process of gathering student feedback with student sessions at South on Wednesday, May 1st from 10:30am - 11:45am in Goldrick Commons.

Please use this Google Form to sign up. We will send a reminder closer to the date. FOOD WILL BE SERVED!

Our first Graduation FAQ for the Class of 2024 is ready and can be accessed below! This was sent to seniors and their families on Friday, March 1.

Newton South's annual Aware Day - a day dedicated to talking about all things mental health - is fast approaching on Thursday, April 25th! We are currently recruiting for student panelists. If you are interested in speaking on the student panel - or simply learning more about the opportunity - please fill out this google form.

Thank you for considering being a critically important voice in the conversation about mental health at South and beyond.

On April 9, Massachusetts superintendents, school leadership, school administrators, school resource officers, and education stakeholders are invited to attend this important virtual one-hour summit to learn about a practical strategy to counter antisemitism in K-12 schools. Please join us and invite others to attend as well.

Here is a link to register.

Enter for a chance to be featured in a Yale publication and win $300! Deadline is April 14.

Prompt: Choose a country, identify a global or domestic issue it faces, and develop a foreign policy approach that addresses the problem.

See this document for more information.

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 4 Calendar
• Lunch Schedule for Semester 2. 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.

Math Center Schedule – Located in 4201 (except for WIN 1, in 4216)

Writing Center Schedule – Located in Library, first door on your right

Play basketball, badminton, or pickleball OR create with pastels and watercolors! After school. evenings, and weekends, NCE offers enriching programs for all interests with scholarships so everyone can participate. Explore our offerings for grades 6-12 and register here. Ignite curiosity and build friendships right here at school.

SAT Coordinator: Namal Sadiq (sadiqn@newton.k12.ma.us)

AP Coordinator: Brandon Johnson (johnsonbra@newton.k12.ma.us)

Did you know that you can scan a barcode on your phone during lunch to save time in the line? You can do so using the Stocard app and following these instructions.

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!

See below for the schedule:

Attached please find the School Transfer information for the 24-25 school year. The Instructions, Policy and link to the request form are located on the NPS website under the Registration Tab.

Access the instructions here.

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