[CabotCommunity] School Notes Newsletter from Newton PTO Council

[marykathf at aol.com]

Dear Cabot Community, 
 
This message was forwarded to us by the Newton PTO Council for your information.  This is a City wide organization that is launching its own newsletter, called "School Notes" to be distributed approximately every other week.
 
Please read on for more information.
 
Thanks!
 
The Cabot PTO
 
 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Parents,


We are writing to you as co-presidents of the Newton PTO Council (an umbrella organization that brings together all the individual school PTOs in Newton), to bring your attention to our recently launched email newsletter, “School Notes from the PTO Council,” which follows.  The newsletter was established as a way to reach the Newton parent body at large. Although each school has various PTO communication tools such as newsletters and email lists, their 21+ different schedules, deadlines, and editorial policies make it difficult to distribute information to the whole parent body effectively, since parents at different schools receive different information at different times – or sometimes not at all. The list was established to address this gap.

“School Notes” will be issued approximately once every two weeks.  It will include summaries of school committee meetings; information from the school system (such as the notice in this issue about the change in the school system’s email addresses and website); and programs and events about education or parenting that are open to a citywide audience.  We hope eventually to be able to include information such as questions and answers with NPS administrators or school committee members, or other information that parents request. The list will not carry political endorsements, commercial advertisements, or opinion, although it will be open to announcements about political events, such as invitations to join lobbying efforts, petitions or campaigns that are closely related to education.

If you are interested in receiving this newsletter in the future, please visit www.newtonptocouncil.org, where there is an opportunity to enter your email address and click "Join." Alternately, you can read the newsletter online, since every issue will be posted in the "Email Archive." Finally, every issue of the newsletter will contain a link to "Unsubscribe."  All addresses will be kept confidential and used only for the purposes of this list. For more information about this list or about the PTO Council, please see the links at the top of the newsletter.

Thank you,

Lisa Mirabile            Sue Flicop
617-332-5374             617-232-2310
lisa at birchile.com        suef at aol.com
Co-presidents, Newton PTO Council
      www.newtonptocouncil.org 
 



 
SCHOOL NOTES 
from the Newton PTO Council
The content of "School Notes" emails is intended to complement the information you receive from your individual school's PTO newsletter or email notes, but there will be occasional overlaps. 

[about this email list] [about the Newton PTO Council] 



October 8, 2006
IN THIS ISSUE 
Coming up soon
October 12 — Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair on “Counteracting the negative influences of our popular culture on girls” 
October 22— Jordan Bennett Weiss Three on Three Basketball Tournament 
October 30 — School Committee interactive forum on Short Term Space Needs 
November 2 — Making Peace with Autism 
 
News & Notes
Newton Public Schools Website, email addresses to change 
Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAP) Seeking Volunteers 
School Committee Update 
NewTV schedule 
 



COMING UP SOON 



 
Thursday October 12 at 7:30 P.M.
Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair
Counteracting the Negative Influences of Popular Culture on our Children
Join us for a PTO Speaker Forum on Thursday October 12 at 7:30 P.M. in the Mason-Rice Auditorium. Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair is a clinical psychologist, school consultant, author and teacher whose areas of expertise include the healthy development of girls and boys and the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. This internationally known expert will give parents specific strategies to counteract the negative influences of our popular culture on children, particularly the intense pressure to be thin, and the message that what we look like is more important than who we are.
This program is jointly sponsored by Angier, Mason-Rice, Peirce, and Zervas PTOs. 
For more information, contact Carol Gray at 617-969-9309. 
 
 



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Come play in the First Annual 
Jordan Bennett Weiss Three on Three Basketball Tournament!
The tournament will be held on Sunday, October 22nd from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the John M. Barry Boys and Girls Club of Newton. The Jordan Bennett Weiss Fund is committed to increasing public awareness of the prevalence and warning signs of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For more information, to register for this event, or to make a contribution, please go to www.newtonasc.org. Thanks to our friends at Newton Athletes Serving the Community for allowing us to use their web site to publicize this event.
 
 



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October 30, 2006
School Committee interactive forum concerning short-term space needs
Oak Hill Middle School Library, 7:30 pm
 



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The Newton Parents Advisory Council (PAC) for Special Education presents: 
Making Peace with Autism
Thursday, November 2 at 7:30pm 
Education Center, Room 318
Susan Senator, author and parent of a son with autism, will speak on her family’s experiences and on her book, Making Peace with Autism: One Family’s Story of Struggle, Discovery and Unexpected Gifts. Margaret L. Bauman, Pediatric Neurologist, Mass General Hospital says “I LOVE THIS BOOK!! This is a book that every parent and professional working with autistic children should own, read and reread… These children have such enormous potential in their own way. It is so refreshing to know that someone else sees it too.”
 
Sue will discuss her experiences, her book and her ongoing work to build the best life possible for her son. She says on her website, “Throw away expectation and you may be pleasantly surprised.” You can buy signed books at the meeting or order on Amazon. Sue is a Brookline resident and her website is www.susansenator.com.
 
Please contact Leslie Lockhart if you need additional information: 617-527-5046 or newtonspedpac at yahoo.com.



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NEWS & NOTES 



Newton Public Schools Email Addresses Will Change
Newton Public Schools are changing all staff email addresses from newton.mec.edu to newton.k12.ma.us effective immediately. Please note that usernames have not changed format (firstname_lastname). Although emails sent to the old mec domain (newton.mec.edu) will be routed automatically for the next two months, we are encouraging you to start using the new address. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Technology Department at 617-559-6190.
School Department and School Committee Join in Single Website
The Newton School Committee will be linked to the new and improved Newton Public School website beginning October 15, 2006. The School Committee’s decision was based on findings from a web use survey conducted during the last school year. Respondents to the survey indicated an interest in a single site with easier navigation and more timely information. The School Department and School Committee websites will merge on October 15, 2006 under the new address www.newton.k12.ma.us.
The School Department will manage information about individual schools, central administration, curriculum & instruction, pupil services, human resources, transportation, food service, emergencies and snow days. The School Committee site will focus on the School Committee including its purpose, membership, subcommittees, meeting information, key topics or action items, budget, policies, and the document archive.
The new site will provide reports and other materials to be discussed on the day of School Committee meetings, post summaries of recent meetings, and introduce relevant information about School Committee matters.   The School Committee is committed to maintaining the important archives that were carefully posted and preserved on www.newtonpublicschools.com. Transitioning the document archive to the new site is expected to take several months. Archived documents that are not yet available on the new website can be obtained upon request from the School Committee secretary.
At the present time, there is no plan to post community events anywhere on the www.newton.k12.ma.us site.  Both the School Committee and the School Department will consider posting these events after the initial phase-in of the district site.
The School Committee hopes that our users will find this new, improved website the authoritative source for School Committee information. We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge and thank former School Committee member Andris Vizulis for his six years of service as webmaster of www.newtonpublicschools.com. School Committee member Reenie Murphy will be assuming responsibility for keeping the School Committee link on the Newton Public Schools website current. 
 



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Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAP) Seeking Volunteers
Each year CAP volunteer Prevention Specialists present 125 workshops to students in Newton’s elementary schools in grades K, 2 and 5. The CAP Prevention Specialists work in three-person teams to deliver the CAP curriculum during school hours.
The curriculum teaches children simple strategies to reduce vulnerability to assault and violence by presenting basic, age-appropriate, skill-oriented workshops that focus on bullying, stranger safety and assault by known persons. The curriculum consists of discussion and role-plays for each of the topics. It ends with Review Time when the children have the opportunity to talk 1:1 with a Prevention Specialist.
Skills:
Lead classroom discussions with children 5-11 and respond to their questions and comments 
Participate in simple, short, scripted role-plays 
Listen non-judgmentally to children in Review Time and support their problem solving skills 
Work as part of a team under the direction of the designated team leader and the Director of the CAP program, giving and receiving feedback 
Time Commitment:
Attend all 7 sessions of the training, 21-24 hours over 4 weeks 
One school year, October – May, presenting three 2-hour classroom workshops each month, based on school schedule and your availability 
The next training will begin in mid-October, 2006. 
For more information, call Gail Sommer at 617-969-5905, ext. 143, or email gsommer at ncscweb.org 
 
 
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE UPDATE 
 
Upcoming Docket
NEWTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
DOCKET FOR REGULAR MEETING – OCTOBER 10, 2006
EDUCATION CENTER, FRAZIER ROOM (Room 210), 7:30 P.M.
School Committee meetings are aired live on NewTV on the second and fourth Mondays of the month (Tuesdays in case of holidays), and they are rebroadcast throughout the week, M-F, 8am; Tu-F, midnight; Sat & Sun, 7:30pm. See more NewTV information below. 
 
Open Session — 5:30 p.m. A motion to convene in executive session for the purpose of discussing matters related to collective bargaining will be entertained. If passed, the executive session will end by 7:30 p.m., at which time the Committee will return to open session. 
 
Call to Order 
Public Comment 
Student Representatives’ Discussion 
Recognitions 
Approval of School Committee Meeting Minutes 
Reports 
                              1.            High School Building Project Update 
                              2.            Operations Status Report 
                              3.            Superintendent’s Personnel Report 
                              4.            Staffing Reconciliation Report 
                              5.            FY07 Budget Update 
                              6.            Special Education Update 
Discussion Items 
Appointment of Budget Guidelines Subcommittee and Initial Discussion of FY08 Budget Guidelines 
Continued Discussion re: Short-Term Space Needs — Enrollment Update 
Discussion of MASC/MASS Conference Resolutions 
Action Items 
Vote to Approve Grant 
Vote to Accept Donation 
Communications 
Public Comment 
Adjournment 


 
 
Action-in-Brief: 9/25/06 School Committee Meeting
The Committee reviewed the first standard monthly Superintendent’s Personnel Report, which showed all the activity that has occurred over the summer. It was noted that there are 120 new Unit A members and 56 staff attained professional teaching status. 
Carolyn Wyatt, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, and Jonathan Bassett, History & Social Sciences Department Head at Newton North High School, presented this topic. In the summer of 2005, a group of teachers and department heads from both high schools received a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education to design a district-based teacher licensure program – the Newton Teacher Training Institute (NTTI). NTTI was approved by the State to grant initial teaching licenses in history, English, math, and three sciences (biology, chemistry, physics). Candidates will spend a year at the school site learning to teach under the guidance of experienced Newton teachers, who will be employed by NTTI as instructors of Methods of Teaching courses. It is anticipated that NTTI will improve performance of student teachers in Newton’s classroom, recruit a high quality and diverse teaching staff for the high schools, and retain the most talented and energetic teachers who can advance themselves by teaching in the program. Newton is the first community outside of underserved urban areas to be accredited by the State to offer this kind of program. It is hoped that if this model is successful it can be expanded to other grade levels. 
The Committee heard an update from Reenie Murphy around the status of the new School Committee website. The website subcommittee has been working with the Information Technology staff in designing the site, which will be a link on the Newton Public Schools site and no longer a separate entity. It was noted that this was an opportune time for change as the Newton Public Schools’ URL will change as of January 2007 from www.newtonpublicschools.com to a single address for both sites - www.newton.k12.ma.us. They plan to contract short-term services to assist the district in designing a template for uniformity and formatting for all users. A target date of 10/15 has been set for this transition, but the old site will be accessible through the end of the year. They will also need to develop a process to upload the archived documents that exist on the old site realizing that this may take months to transition every document to the new site. Documents will be accessible during this time on CD. 
The Committee continued its discussion on elementary short-term space planning, which is geared specifically to address classroom space needs at this level for September, 2007. They reviewed and discussed the database of inventory of space at all 15 elementary schools, which was presented by Michael Cronin, Chief of Operations, and Sandra Guryan, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning. At the next meeting they will be reviewing actual October 1 enrollments and seeing how those numbers impact the space in each building. 
The Committee approved their calendar/docket items for the year, including most of the recommendations for additions that were requested by members at the last meeting. It was noted that this calendar is subject to changes throughout the year as the Committee and/or Superintendent deem necessary. 
 
School Committee meetings are aired live on NewTV, and rebroadcast throughout the week, M-F, 8am; Tu-F, midnight; Sat & Sun, 7:30pm. See more NewTV information below. 

 
 
Action-in-Brief: 9-11-06 School Committee Meeting
The Committee welcomed everyone back after the summer, explained how the schools had handled 9/11, including a statement read at some schools at the time of the Pledge of Allegiance, and observed a moment of silence for the 9/11 tragedy five years earlier.
The Committee reviewed the standard monthly reports:
Operations Status Report -included summer projects that were completed in the buildings -- the installation of the lift at Mason-Rice Elementary School, windows at Peirce Elementary School, phase one of the bathroom renovation plans, and the usual painting, carpeting, tiling, etc. 
High School Building Projects Update - Work was done over the summer on some of the punch list items at Newton South. The Committee requested a report from the Building Commissioner on the timeline of completion of the rest of the projects they had hoped to accomplish over the summer. The City’s Law Dept. continues to work on the outstanding issues relating to the contractor. Discussion was had about the commissioning of the building and the fact that the position to handle troubleshooting the HVAC system is still not in place. The Board of Aldermen approved the site plan (5A) for Newton North High School. The architects have had numerous summer meetings with staff refining the spaces, programmatic needs, adjacencies, etc. and will continue this work through the fall. It is expected to have completed plans by the end of October. Preliminary geotechnical testing performed on the site found no issues in terms of constructability. Two grants were submitted to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to research the feasibility of renewable energy for the project. Committee members emphasized the need to continue to vocally support this project and asked members of the community to do the same. The Mayor noted that a successful effort to hold a referendum could mean the loss of $50 million in state funding, loss of a chance to borrow money at a low interest rate from the state to cover cost increases from the time a project was approved, no guaranty of future reimbursements, and loss of placement on the State list. 
Final FY06 Budget Update – The school department ended the year with a balance of $1,043. There was discussion about the huge increases in utility costs, particularly electricity. From FY05 to FY06 costs increased by $1.4 million while usage decreased. The staggering difference between electricity costs at North and South was noted showing the inefficiency of Newton North. They will continue their work on the energy efficiency projects that the consultants outlined after conducting their energy audits, but they are slightly behind schedule in this area due to a turnover of staff at the consulting company. 
The Committee discussed their 2006-2007 proposed calendar and agenda items and made several recommendations for additions. It was agreed that the list would be reviewed at the next meeting prior to a vote on the calendar. 
Discussion of the 2006/2007 Systemwide Goals was had and the Superintendent noted the Committee’s desire to move to more of a strategic planning process vs. the traditional voting of a set of annual goals. He has had several meetings with Dori Zaleznik and Claire Sokoloff, who are working with him on this project. They became interested in the work of Jim Collins, author of the business best seller Good to Great, and a subsequent monograph he published entitled Good to Great and the Social Sectors: Why Business Thinking is Not the Answer. He is recommending that they enter into a strategic planning process this year by designing a process that is balanced and inclusive and at the same time task-oriented. The end product must be attainable and not just an intellectual process. It should be connected to the four core challenges (education for the global age, organizational/workforce development, physical assets, and public engagement/communication). He recommends forming four working groups consisting of 12-15 participants from the staff and community, with one dedicated to each of the challenge areas and with a School Committee member serving on each. They should also retain a consultant/facilitator who is familiar with the Collins conceptual framework. The groups would be aided by trained facilitators, with the assumption in all areas that Newton Public Schools is already very good but wants to become even better and needs a road map and resources to reach that goal. A small steering committee is being suggested to select the members of the working groups and two-way communication between these groups themselves and the public will be important. Although this process would replace the annual setting of the Systemwide Goals, they plan to continue with numerous other projects and ongoing work connected to the goals. 
Discussion was had about the Elementary Short-Term Space Planning, which is geared specifically to address classroom space needs at this level for September, 2007. Work has begun this summer to inventory space and create drawings for each school, as well as a collection of data on school enrollment, population changes, and housing turnover. A timeline was presented with specific topics on this subject for each upcoming School Committee meeting, with a plan to have the Committee take a vote on the space policy on December 11, 2006. Options to be addressed include purchase of modular classrooms, a number of short-term redistricting possibilities, moving some city-wide programs, use of the Carr School among others. An interactive forum around short-term space needs is planned for October 30 at Oak Hill. The Committee is also committed to hiring a consultant to conduct a long-term facilities study of the elementary and middle school facilities and a Request for Proposal (RFQ) is underway, with a consultant expected to be on board shortly after the new year. 
The Committee voted to approve grants totaling $4,210,105 and voted to approved a $1,500 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund donation to the Oak Hill Middle School from Mr. & Mrs. John Norman, to be used for the purchase of additional materials that support the mission of raising the academic achievement of students and the purchase of additional software to enhance efforts in upgrading technology. 
School Committee meetings are aired live on NewTV, and rebroadcast throughout the week, M-F, 8am; Tu-F, midnight; Sat & Sun, 7:30pm. See more NewTV information below.

 
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NewTV SCHEDULE
NewTV Red, The Government Channel (Comcast 9 / RCN 13)
Regularly Scheduled Programs 
School Committee
meetings start at 7:30LIVE on 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month (Tuesdays in case of holidays) 
Board of Aldermen
meetings start at 7:45 LIVE on 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month (Tuesdays in case of holidays)
Each week's meetings are then usually replayed: 
Monday - Friday, at 8am 
Tuesday - Friday, at Midnight 
Saturday & Sunday, at 7:30pm 

Newton News: Live, Wed's at 6pm; replayed daily at 6 am & 6 pm 
Other programs of interest this week (see www.newtv.org/redprogramguide.html for times)
Health on the Hill: Childhood Obesity 
Child and Family Today: Raising a Multi-Ethnic Family 
At The Library: Children's Summer Reading Special 
Coming of Age: Surviving Summer in Newton 


 
NewTV Green, The Education Channel (Comcast 26 / RCN 3)
Regularly Scheduled Programs
Bigelow Network News 8:10 am, M-F
WORD / Day Middle School Morning Report 5:30 pm, M-F
Tiger Magazine / NNHS 7:00 pm, M-F
Education News Parents Can Use4:00 pm daily
Other programs of interest this week (see www.newtv.org/greenprogramguide.html for times)
Project INTERFACE: Who's Game is it Anyway? 
Words that Cook: Windows and mirrors of literacy 


 
For other program listings, visit NewTV online at: www.newTV.org. Please note that program listings are subject to change.



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