August 25, 2023

Dear NSHS Community,

As I sit here at South reflecting on the summer months, I have to ask myself, where did the summer go?! This has felt like an exceptionally quick season, and I cannot believe that we are only a few weeks away from having our students back in the building! Our custodial staff have been working exceptionally hard to ensure that our physical plant is ready for our students. Our team made many upgrades over the summer, but the following are a few highlights: we have an entirely new floor in our Student Center, and our lines in the main, Cutler, and Breezeway parking lots have been repainted to allow for bigger, safer parking spots, and have recarpeted the entire auditorium floor! We are currently working with our Facilities Department to upgrade some of our current cameras to 360 cameras throughout campus, as well as updating our bathrooms to improve safety and accessibility for all students. We are also working on installing new automatic door openers across many other entrances of our building, including the Breezeway and Wheeler entrances. Finally, the city has been working diligently to replace the turf on both our Brandeis Field as well as at Winkler Stadium, and–perhaps the most exciting part of Winkler Stadium–we finally have Wi-Fi there!

Over the last few months, I have been balancing work with family time, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to recharge and create some lasting memories. I hosted my family from Dubai and Tennessee to our area over the Fourth of July, visited Poland and Ogunquit, Maine for shorter adventures, drove to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina with family, and celebrated my daughter–Isla–turning one! These moments allow me to reflect on the richness that I have in my personal life and the gratitude I feel for this fantastic community that I have been a part of for three years now!

While the summer is a time to rest and recharge, it is also a time to hone leadership skills and participate in discourse of best practices with others through professional development. These experiences make me a better leader for our school community by continually expanding and refining my practices. Highlights of these workshops include a conference on Women in Leadership run by Research for Better Teaching, where we analyzed leadership struggles, designed effective supports, and discussed navigating tensions within education. I also enjoyed the Soul of Leadership, which is run by the Massachusetts School Administrators Association (MSAA), with the goal of holding a stronger sense of purpose and integrity, paired with the courage to live and lead authentically. Our district also hosted an AI and technology-based workshop on the strengths and deltas of AI and technology, and how we can best support our school community to continue utilizing technology in a productive way. These development opportunities were truly exceptional; below are a few of my takeaways I would like to share with our community:

• Increased ability to be fully present and listen in ways that affirm and heal
• Enhanced capacity to build the relational trust that helps schools pursue their aspirations and goals and promote an equitable, anti-racist school community
• Mindfulness and compassion practices essential to well-being
• Increased awareness of how to balance school leadership work and personal life in a way that is sustainable

Every year, our school community sets goals and I want to remind all of us that we are still striving towards achieving these goals. Our progress each year is tangible–I am proud of the progress we have made, and excited to continue to support our students and staff members with work on the following:

• Continuing to build positive relationships and community with each other by creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all

• Continue honing in on our skills as proud anti-racist teachers by delving into culturally responsive, high-quality rigorous instruction by examining our grading practices

• Continuing to support all students using our multi-tiered systems of support

• We will continue to keep our students' social-emotional well-being at the forefront by making educationally sound decisions that are in the best interest of the whole child.

As always, we strive to support each student with an equitable, unbiased education of the highest quality. Our staff is both passionate and excited to continue this work, as your student’s social, emotional, and academic success is our utmost priority while ensuring that equity is the throughline that supports all the work we are so proud of.

In addition to the goals that we set as a school community, surrounding ourselves with strong, capable, and diverse leaders who center decisions around our students is always a goal of mine. This year we have had a few shifts in leadership due to retirements or promotions. As a reminder, we have three new school leaders this year. They are:

1. Talia Brown - Department Head for Fine and Performing Arts

2. Ted Dalicandro - Dean for Cutler House

3. Caitlin Brown - Dean for Goodwin House

While we did have a few changes in personnel, there are a few other changes, as related to your student's high school experience that I would like to outline for you:

Through the work of our state government, breakfast and lunch are universally free to all students as this is now included in the state’s budget. Our meal acquisition procedures will remain the same, and we are excited to continue serving top-notch meals to our students with the knowledge that every member of our school community has equal access to appropriate nutrition.

To better align NPS with Massachusetts attendance laws, we have updated the protocol for reporting absences. Starting this year, you will use a Google form to report your student’s absence from school. Additionally, families will be required to provide a written note with a reason for the absence in order for an absence to be listed as excused. More detailed information will be coming soon from our Vice Principal, Jason Williams.

Classrooms are places where we engage with each other to master complex ideas and tackle important issues. In the best classes, everyone is present and engaged. We have found that cell phones can prevent students from being fully engaged in learning essential classroom material. To minimize these disruptions and better align with the work that Massachusetts is also doing in this field, we will introduce new procedures for cell phone use in class this year. More detailed information will be coming soon from our Vice Principal, Jason Williams.

As Newton Public Schools continues to strive for excellence and equity in student learning, we also continue to evaluate our grading procedures and work to align these as a district. Beginning in 2020, all district staff have worked to determine and discuss research-backed best practices for assessing student learning and outcomes through professional development. Our goal this year is to continue moving towards unbiased and equitable grading to ensure the best possible outcomes for all students. As this is an ongoing initiative, staff will continue to engage in professional development this year and forward, and will present you with clear grading guidelines in their syllabus at Back to School Night, which will be held on Thursday, September 14th. More information about Back to School Night is forthcoming.

The Newton South School Council is a representative school-building-based committee comprised of teachers, parents, students, and community members. The council advises the principal on improvement plans and other issues of general interest to the community. School Councils are required at schools pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 59C. Please find the NSHS bylaws here and additional information from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education information here. For this upcoming school year, our meetings will be scheduled for the second Tuesday of the month (October-May) from 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. at Newton South High School. If you are interested in serving on our School Council for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school year, please email me directly at strast@newton.k12.ma.us. Please note: this is a two-year commitment, and we are delighted to welcome new members!

As evident, we have had a very busy summer, including our wonderful grade 9 family coffee hours! I have visited four different neighborhoods in Newton and Boston over these past two weeks to engage with our incoming grade 9 students and families. We do have a virtual night coming up this Monday 8/28. If you and your family are new to South, and were unable to attend one of our in-person sessions, please visit the PTSO website to sign up for our virtual session. Thank you to the PTSO for organizing and hosting these amazing events! Engaging with all the families who have attended has been one of the highlights of the summer!

Here at South, we do our best to keep you as informed as possible. To this end, with the multitudes of information that will (no doubt!) be coming your way through the year, please reach out to your student’s house office if you or your student have questions or concerns; we are always happy to hear from you. The needs of our South community drives much of my work, and the ability to problem solve and work creatively with our community members reignites my love for our Lion Pride. As we prepare to kick off our 2023-2024 school year, I am thrilled to welcome our students and staff back to South and thank all of our staff who have worked the summer months to ensure we are ready to provide a top-notch experience to our students. I have so enjoyed starting to welcome our fall athletes back to practices, as this is a precursor for our halls being full of engagement shortly! This new year will bring many moments of learning, laughter, and excitement; I am looking forward to these moments, and everything in between!

Best wishes and see you all soon,

Tamara (Tamii) Stras