Late Autumn 2019 Newsletter

Dear Newton North community,

I wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season and December Vacation!

Educational Excellence Campaign
Please watch for a mailing about Educational Excellence, the Newton North PTSO’s annual fundraising campaign, and please take the time to review the contents. This year I have asked the PTSO to renew money for our Tiger Talk Fund--A fund to provide financial support and tokens of appreciation for guest speakers.

One of the great gifts of being a student at Newton North High School are the opportunities to attend our cultural and special interest assemblies, such as Sustainability Day, Black Culture Day, To Be GLADD Day, Body Confidence Day, Entrepreneurship Day and others. With the Tiger Talk Fund we are able to invite leaders, thinkers and performers, from well known leaders such as Michael Dukakis to Newton North Alumni Nick Fofana ‘14 who was recently listed in Forbes 30 under 30 Entrepreneurs.

Over the last three years, Tiger Talk Fund has been among the most sought after sources of money by teachers and has significantly expanded our guest speaker program. Below are two quotes from teachers who used the Tiger Talk Fund.

“With a generous contribution from Tiger Talks, we were able to bring in the one-man performance ‘Thurgood,’ which portrayed the powerful life story of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, to the junior class at Newton North….Tiger Talks is so valuable in its mission to help teachers supplement the teaching and learning taking place in our classrooms every day with enriching speakers and presenters."--Kate Shaughnessy

"The funds allow me to sponsor the Argentine Choir "Vocal de Cámara Platense" for a performance in our school. The choir empower our students with their music, and made them more aware of the diversity that constitutes Latin America."--Cristina Schulze

This year’s EdEx Campaign will help us grow our speaker program and provide a small gift to thank the guests who visit us and share their stories.

Please join your fellow parents and consider making a tax-deductible contribution through the PTSO. You can donate using the pledge card included in your mailing. Or you can donate online.

Thank you for your support.


E-Cig Update

In October 2017 we alerted the Newton North community for the first time about the

e-cig/vaping/JUUL crisis. Since that time we have taken many strides to reduce teenage use of these addictive nicotine products, including a proactive educational approach as well as helping students who are addicted to these products. We are also appreciative of the support and partnership between the Newton Public Schools and Newton Health Department. We are finding some success in our approach. We also recognize that students continue to use vaporizers at school and outside of school and that some students are using vaporizers to consume THC (the active ingredient in marijuana).

We’d like to share with you some information about new vaporizer products that are on the market and maybe less familiar to you than JUUL vaporizers and pods. Once again, these seem to be aimed toward teenagers.

Puff Bars are brightly colored, precharged and disposable products that contain 5% nicotine and approximately 200 “puffs”, the equivalent of 20 cigarettes. The bars come in flavors such as cool mint, strawberry, mango, lychee, lush ICE, peach, cafe latte, blue raz, blueberry, watermelon, grape, pomegranate, and pineapple lemonade.

STIGs or VGOD products are also precharged vaporizers that are disposable and contain approximately 20 cigarettes equivalent of nicotine per pod. Many are sold in 3 packs. They come in flavors such as tropical mango, mighty mint, lush ice, mango bomb, and cubano cigar. You can see a photo here: www.stigpods.com

Although these items cannot be sent through the mail to Massachusetts at this time, we are seeing them here at NNHS and want you to be aware of what they are and what they look like. We are here to partner with you to keep your children healthy. Please feel free to contact Alison Malkin, NNHS Prevention/Intervention Social Worker, or Jolleen Filio, School Counselor, with any questions.

Club Activity Updates
Tiger Friends: Meets X-Block and participate in a variety of activities with some of our special needs students. This year they have attended soccer games, walks into Newtonville, shopped for ingredients to prepare a snack. 

Hiking Club: They have gone on two hiking trips this season, one in the Blue Hills Reservation and last weekend hiked Wachusett.

The Business Club: President Eli Richmond, founder of MentorBuddies, was named Young Entrepreneur of the year by Newton Chamber of Commerce.

Climate Advocacy Group: They held a clothing swap on Main Street on November 21st during X-block.






Newton North’s Mock Trial Team:Won the local Garden City preseason invitational tournament on October 19-20 when they placed first of eight schools. They are now beginning to write scripts and develop performances based on a fictional case for main season state-wide tournament.

Northern Lights: had a wonderful turnout this year! We have powered through a few very productive rehearsals, currently working on our fall/holiday season set list. We have just finished learning an arrangement of Time Machine by Ingrid Michaelson. Stay tuned for gigs!

Hugs for Benin: Has put a box out outside the cafeteria and we had a table set up at club night showing some cool goods from Benin.

Russian Culture Club: We had a great start to the school year. Some of what we have done so far includes learning about the history of the Russian nesting doll and featuring at North's Multicultural Night.

STEMentors: 37 students been planning engaging lessons to bring to K-8 students throughout Newton. Group lesson plans include motion, climate change, static electricity, magnetism, circuits, and more!

Ultimate Frisbee: Had a great fall season where lots of student athletes were able to train and get experience for the spring season

Book Club: We are enjoying our second book of the year: an emotional and in depth, intelligent story, “ All the Ugly and Wonderful”, by Bryan Greenwood

D&D club:
1. Character Creation!
2. Intro to D&D

The Model UN team: We hosted our own TigerMUN conference for several other high schools. 15 students attended Clark University MUN where several won awards, including two freshmen

STEAM Club: has had a great start to the year! Some exciting experiments we have worked on are creating a dry ice smoke ring launcher and elephant toothpaste. Additionally, we were honored to host Keith Ellenbogen, MIT professor and award-winning underwater photographer. The goal of his work is to create intimate, personal connections to inspire positive social change and a global understanding of the world around us. Overall, through this club we have given students the opportunity to deepen their scientific and artistic understanding in unique and engaging ways.

LigerBots: have been working on hosting the First Lego League Competitions at Newton North-- elementary and middle school kids compete with Lego robots to complete tasks to earn points. Each event gathers over 1000 people, and we host a makert fair and STEAM expo, inviting local businesses and organizations to show their recent STEM projects. The first event is November 23 and the second is December 14th.

International Club: hosted a Thanksgiving potluck on November 21 during X Block, and there was a great turnout! It was really nice to see so many people from different backgrounds connecting over food.

Newton North’s Mock Trial Team: won the local Garden City preseason invitational tournament on October 19-20 when they placed first out of eight schools. They are now beginning to write scripts and develop performances based on a fictional case for the main season state-wide tournament.

Jewish Student Union: We have come back to school with a great turnout. We've had the opportunity to learn from some special guests, and we've had some great discussions about religion and current events. We will be planning a Hannukkah party before winter break, so be sure to join us!

Girls Coding Club: We’ve been learning about web development and animation, and we’re starting to learn the basics of introductory programming languages.

Academic Decathlon: We have been studying 10 different categories to prepare for regional and state competitions in February! The categories range from math, economics, art, and interviews but focus on one main idea, this year the category being health and wellness.

Fencing club: We are learning basic foot work and practicing lunging to prepare for when we use equipment. In the next few weeks, we should be having our club at Gold Fencing Club and we will start using equipment. We have also been selling candy to fundraise for some new equipment as well.

Next Gen Voices: We began planning for a local government day this winter and is helping students find ways to be civically engaged (educating about how to contact elected officials, local initiatives to be aware of, and local organizations to get involved with) on Main St at Sustainability Day this Tuesday during lunch.

Future Business Leaders of America: On November 23rd, FBLA volunteered to sell 50/50 raffle tickets at the Bruins game. We raised over $19,500 for FRAXXA, a nonprofit whose mission is to find a cure for Fragile X syndrome in children.

Celtic Music Club: Members are learning new tunes (e.g., “Britches Full of Stitches,” “Gain Ainm,” “Kesh Jig,” Haunted House,” “Sculley’s Reel,” etc.) A number of members had no background in Celtic music and had to learn how to play the tin whistle, which I have now taught them to play. Some had a background in Celtic music but couldn’t play the bodhran, which I have now taught them to play. I’m also compiling a folder of recordings of tunes (members learn by ear.), which I plan to finish up and send out soon.

Fashion Club: We collaborated with ThreadEd and will present during Sustainability Day tomorrow.

Ribbon Cutting of the covered bike rack on November 22, 2019.

NNHS and NSHS Irwin Blumer Book Award Recipients received their awards at School Committee.

Great food and company at NNHS 3rd annual Multicultural Festival on November 14, 2019.

Seniors gearing up for Spirit Week at North during the week before Thanksgiving.

Sustainability Day on November 26, 2019.

October 2019 Newsletter

It has been a great start to the school year! It’s hard to believe that we are already nearing the end of October.

October 25th marks the end of the first term. This year, the first term was shorter than usual and good teaching practice is to spend a good chunk of the first quarter fostering relationships among students and with their teacher. As a result, we should anticipate that there will be fewer grades in most classes than a typical quarter. As with any quarter, please do not consider your child’s quarter grade as a demonstration of what their grades will be for the rest of the year. Each quarter is a glimpse into the progress of your child’s growth as a student.

Having said that, if you have concerns about your child’s progress at this point in the year, there are many academic resources to consider, such as X block, Peer Tutoring, and the After School Program (for students with grades below a C-). Please reach out to your child's school counselor who can discuss the various options and make appropriate referrals.

Safety

You may have read in the Superintendent’s Newsletter that all Newton Public Schools are updating and enhancing our safety procedures. We have created a video that will be viewed by students on November 5th, during an extended homeroom. Safety Day will be held on November 21st and will be an opportunity for students and staff to go through all safety procedures. You can review the Superintendent’s Newsletter here.

Relief Sculpture in Honor of Long-Time Track Coach

In honor of long-time track coach Jim Blackburn, Evan Morse (class of '05) is working on a relief sculpture to be installed at NNHS. The sculpture will be a gift to the school from past-athletes and supporters of Coach Blackburn. To learn more about the project, visit https://www.gofundme.com/manage/hs6asg-test

Club Day 2019

All freshmen and new students were encouraged this year to sign up for one club. Thank you to Meghan Smith, our new Club Coordinator, for organizing this successful event this year. Also, thank you to all advisors for working with students in preparation.








Main St. Mural
Thank you to Sue Brooks and the students for displaying the 2D replica of the Main St public art project. We are hoping the final product will rest on Main Street by the end of the school year. A big thank you to the Production Center for producing the 2D print.





FORJ

Newton North FORJ (Families Organizing for Racial Justice) is a group that supports Newton North by engaging families around issues of race by providing the opportunity to learn, connect and take action together. Steadily they are trying to broaden the FORJ community and would like to include NNHS educators and students. All are welcome at their meetings. The first meeting of the school year will be held on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, from 6:30-8:30 pm in the International Cafe at NNHS. For those of you who don't know, the International Cafe is located on the first floor on Main Street, next to the cafeteria. Please use the Sign Up Genius to register for the pot-luck dinner

The topics of discussion at this meeting will be excerpt(s) from the book How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi, followed by a brainstorm on what you would like to see at our NNHS meetings for the rest of this academic year.

Lawsuit Regarding NNHS and NSHS History Departments

This message was shared by the Superintendent’s Office this Summer:

Lawsuit Dismissed

On August 14th, the district was informed that the Plaintiffs in the lawsuit related to our history curriculum voluntarily withdrew their suit against the district. We view this as an acknowledgement on the Plaintiffs’ part that their claims have no merit – a position we have maintained all along in this matter.

Our history curriculum is a curriculum that teaches students to appreciate the historical, religious, political and cultural influences that shape the countries and the people of the world. Students not only learn factual information about specific historical events and details, but are also exposed to a range of perspectives on those particular events. Teaching with objectivity, respect, and intellectual rigor, our skilled faculty and administrators provide students with the skills to separate fact from opinion, challenge their own thinking, and develop opinions through the study and testing of ideas. As has always been our practice, we focus on teaching students how to think rather than what to think.

These legal proceedings created a very challenging environment for our faculty and staff, particularly our educators named in the lawsuit. We are grateful for their professionalism, patience, and cooperation throughout this process. We also are appreciative of the organizations that filed an amicus brief in support of the Newton Public Schools. The support from these organizations and from families, staff, and residents of Newton underscore this community’s deep commitment to ensuring that our students receive a first-rate education. With the lawsuit behind us, we are ready to move forward together and begin another successful school year.

World Language
The World Language department exchanges are well under way! The start of school coincided with the visit of an enthusiastic group of twenty-two students from Florence, Italy hosted by our students of Italian. Highlights of their visit were participating in the home life activities of their host families, an excursion to Newport, a special invitation to the Italian Consulate in Boston (and an incredible view atop the Federal Reserve building) and the many relationships formed during their stay.

The special energy and unique impact brought to the community by our exchange students continue strong this month as we welcome twenty-four students from Burgos, Spain. In the meantime, we are getting organized for the French exchange, and new this year, a ten-day trip to China in April for students of Chinese.

Fine & Performing Arts
In early September, Jazz Ensemble 1 and the Advanced Jazz Combos performed at Newtonville Village Days. Additionally, members of these combos performed at the first Mature Luncheon hosted by the Tiger's Bistro. 

This current week, the Theatre Department opened their season with a student directed, staged reading of "The Big Meal." Later in the month the Theatre Department travels to Babson College for a performance and workshop where they will work with a NNHS Theatre alumna central to the Babson performance.

Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 4pm a North / South art exhibit featuring prints from both schools opens in the recently renovated Young Adult Area at the Newton Free Library. Music at the opening will be provided by North's String Ensemble and art will be on display through the winter.


Raising Awareness and Movember

For the past few years, a “growing” group of NNHS faculty and staff has raised both money and awareness of men’s health issues through Movember. This charity encourages men to grow mustaches from scratch in the month of November, and then justify this decision by having conversations with people about the impact of testicular and prostate cancers, depression and anxiety, substance abuse, and other issues that affect men’s health, and collecting donations to combat these issues. If you’re interested in participating this year or donating, check out https://moteam.co/nnhs or contact Rick Michalka.

Dismissals at NNHS

Grade 9 / Class of 2023 - Beals House - 617-559-6330
Grade 10 / Class of 2022 - Riley House - 617-559-6340
Grade 11 / Class of 2021 - Barry House - 617-559-6320
Grade 12 / Class of 2020 - Adams House - 617-559-6310

1.) Communicate the dismissal/pick up time and location to your student.

     You do not need to enter the building to pick up your student.

2.) Call the House Office or have the student bring a note to the House Office by 10 am. Please be sure to include the date, time and brief reasoning of the dismissal.

3.) Instruct your student to visit the House Office in the morning to pick up their dismissal pass. If the door to the House Office is locked, please follow the instructions posted on the door. If the student does not get a dismissal slip prior to leaving the school, the absence(s) will be considered unexcused. If a dismissal is reported after the student has already left, it will not be excused.

4.) At the correct time, your student hands the dismissal pass to their teacher and leaves class/school to meet you outside.

5.) If the student returns to school later that day, they should report to the House Office to check back in before proceeding to class. If the door to the House Office is locked, please follow the instructions posted on the door.

Notes/Reminders:

Students who become ill during the school day should be dismissed by the School Nurse. If the student goes home sick without first visiting the Nurse’s Office or House Office, the absence will be unexcused.

Students who are dismissed may not be on school property.

We do not:

• use the intercom to find students who are being dismissed
• call students out of class to be dismissed
• send parents to a classroom to find their child.

Last minute dismissals are discouraged except in true emergency cases. In this case, please remember to still call to notify the House Office of the dismissal before arriving to school.

If you tell your student that you are going to try to get an appointment, but are unsure about time, you can ask your student to check in with the house office after first block and you can leave a message for the student about a last minute appointment with the house secretary. But the student must check in with the secretary, the secretary can not find the student to deliver the message.

Single block absences during the school day (not first or last block) require a doctor's note upon return to school in addition to following proper dismissal procedures.

If you need to drop off something for your student at North, you must sign-in in the main office and then deliver it to their HOUSE office. Your student must pick it up from the house office. We do not notify students about deliveries and we do not deliver items.

May Newsletter 2019

NNHS May Newsletter 

Sophomore Family Chromebook Feedback Survey

If your student is a sophomore, please take this survey regarding the Chromebook Pilot. This survey was designed by the NNHS School Council.

https://forms.gle/jqh1ohYtrVz2aR7E8

Newton North Mission

When I entered Newton North as principal in 2016, North experienced some significant tension within our school. In the Spring incidents of racial and anti-semitic comments occurred and rightfully upset many students, staff, and families. Then in September, a group of students drove around Tiger Drive waving the Confederate Flag which added to this tension. Of the different ways that we responded to these incidents, it was clear that we needed to come back to our Mission Statement. If you remember some of my newsletters from 2016, I spent a lot of time talking about "who we are as a community", "coming back to the Mission of our School", and "Prioritizing our Social and Civic Expectations". We have a strong Mission Statement at Newton North, and walking through this building there are many examples of how we live up to our mission...

"The Newton North High School community believes that learning sustains the human spirit.

We strive for excellence in academic, vocational, athletic and artistic endeavors. We celebrate the dignity of all people, teach and learn to the depth and distance of our abilities, take responsibility for our actions and conduct ourselves with integrity and civility.

Recognizing that we are a small world within a much larger one, we create opportunities for open-minded, honest communication about the broad range of human experience to foster social awareness, generosity, and compassion.

Newton North High School provides all members of the community with the opportunity and freedom to discover and reach their potential as individuals while taking responsibility for the common good."

However, when you walk around our building the actual language of our Mission Statement is not present. In the winter of 2016, I reached out to Sue Brooks and the students in our Design Program to help make our Mission Statement come alive and become more visible in the building. I thought I was proposing a small project and expected to see small posters created with our Mission Statement. However, Sue and our creative design students dove into this project and committed to the idea that making our Mission Statement more visible can help shift our culture and strengthen our community.

Over the past 2 1/2 years, the students have been working hard on developing a public art project to be displayed as a permanent fixture on Main Steet. Over that time several grades of students have participated in this project.



















The students in the Design Program have been the driving force of this project throughout the past 2 1/2 years. In addition to the benefit that this project will have on Newton North, Design students have engaged in learning activities that have helped them to develop real-world skills. Their work has included, conducting market research, presenting sketches and prototypes to students, educators and community members, fundraising, and collaborating with 3-D imaging vendors. One of the recent highlights was a recent donation of $10,000 from Village Bank after a presentation by our students.

This project is a great example of the learning opportunities we want to continue to see at Newton North, where students are taking on civic-oriented challenges and developing skills that prepare them for their future. Through problem-solving, collaboration and creativity, these students have participated in an incredible learning opportunity while also helping to strengthen the community of Newton North. To follow the 2 1/2 year project please go to the NNHS Design Website.

Making Caring Common: Turning the Tide

In connection to our focus to Social and Civic learning, this year Newton North has participated in the Making Caring Common (MCC) project at Harvard University. MCC works with school communities with the hope to foster social skills among our students, such as empathy, care, and service. Now more than ever these skills are vital as we continue to work with how we engage with people with different backgrounds and different beliefs.

Recently, MCC published a report, Turning the Tide, that seeks to make the college admissions process "to elevate ethical character, especially concern for others and the common good, to increase access and equity for economically disadvantaged students, and to reduce excessive, damaging achievement pressure in many communities." As part of this report, MCC received endorsements from 50 college admissions deans.

I encourage you to take a look at the report (at the very least the executive summary). In this report, you will find recommendations for schools as well as families. If you take a look at the report you may find some areas that are very relevant for Newton North. We are thinking about hosting a couple of evening events for a school community discussion around the findings of this report.


Art Morning--All Day

Thank you to the Art Department for a very successful Art Morning--All Day on Friday, May 9.

February Newsletter

Newton North FUEL Program

While Newton is commonly regarded as a wealthy community, there is still poverty and need in our town and in our school, especially during this government shutdown. With that said, I am excited to announce the start of the FUEL program at Newton North.

FUEL is a program to provide weekend food for hungry students. It is a collaboration between the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill and the Centre Street Food Pantry, and it is currently working with Newton elementary and middle schools. Every week, FUEL volunteers shop for nutritious, non-perishable food, and they pack and deliver anonymous backpacks each week in the basement of Redeemer. The bags also contain information about how to access the numerous resources of both the Centre Street Food Pantry and the City of Newton. FUEL will now offer weekly backpacks to North students who do not have enough to eat on the weekends.

The FUEL program prides itself on student anonymity, so FUEL backpacks are nondescript. If you or your student is in need of food on the weekends, your student can approach any trusted adult in the building about picking up a FUEL backpack. All North staff have been introduced to the FUEL program as well so they will direct your student to their Dean’s Office, where bags will be kept. Based on the number of students who ask for a FUEL bag, a number of bags will be delivered to each Dean’s Office every Friday afternoon, where students can pick them up before leaving school for the weekend.

If you have any questions for the FUEL program, they can be reached at fuel@redeemerchestnuthill.org. Any questions or concerns regarding the process of picking up a FUEL backpack or the FUEL program, in general, can also be directed to Jack Goldsmith, a current senior at North (jackgoldsmith4@gmail.com), or The Newton North Center for Civic Engagement and Service (nnhs.ccesinfo@gmail.com). We are excited to collaborate with FUEL to provide a source of food to our students in need.

Speaker at Newton North

Last week, NNHS Center for Civic Engagement and Service was offered an opportunity to welcome David Hogg to speak at Newton North. This is a short turnaround, but we think that he can provide an important opportunity for our students.

David is an inspiring speaker and is a survivor of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018. While best known for advocating for gun violence prevention and for organizing the March for Our Lives, he will bring a powerful message that promotes civic engagement and highlights the impact that young people can have.

Knowing that David's presentation may have an emotional impact for some of our students, counselors will be available for students.

GELF--The Jennifer Price Global Education Leadership Fund

Many of your children have either traveled or will be traveling on an educational trip with the schools, and there are many students in our community who cannot afford to participate in these trips without help. The Jennifer Price Global Education Leadership Fund (GELF) raises funds to provide financial aid to these students so that they too can participate in our life-changing international opportunities. Many recipients of GELF scholarships speak about the pivotal role these experiences have played in their personal and academic lives.

Every international program at North this year includes at least one (and sometimes as many as 6 or 7) students receiving GELF scholarships. So far this year, an incredible 30 low-income students from Newton North and South have already been awarded a combined nearly $60,000 in scholarships! This level of funding takes community support.

With 200 community attendees, the GELF benefit dinner is a great way to meet other parents from both sides of town. Superintendent Fleishman and I along with other Newton principals will be your servers, and the night includes a 5-course gourmet meal, live music and dancing, fine beer and wine pairings, an auction and raffle.

Early-bird ticket purchases or donations of $150 or more before March 11 are eligible for entry into an exclusive early-bird raffle! The early bird raffle prize, generously donated by Sam Adams, will be a VIP tour of the Sam Adams Brewery for up to 20 guests, a copy of Jim Koch's (Sam Adams CEO)'s book, and a bottle of Sam Adam's exclusive Barrel Room Collection beer.

There are lots of ways to get involved:

Join the GELF Dinner Planning Committee!
This is a fun organizing crew led by North parents Helena Han and Liz Haas-Joffe. The Committee works on many different projects and the time commitment can be as large or small as you want. Most importantly, this committee is looking for volunteers who are excited about the mission of GELF and who can commit to helping out. To join, please email Newton's Global Programs Manager Samantha Mandel at mandels@newton.k12.ma.us, and mark your calendars for a planning meeting at February 28th at 7pm in Newton Northís Room 103.

Do you have valuable items that you no longer need, or a vacation home that you could donate for a week? Donate to the GELF auction!
Popular items in the past have included stays at community membersí vacation homes or timeshares and tickets to sporting events. Also gratefully accepted are gift certificates of any kind, artwork items: ceramics, scarves, etc.

Most appreciated of all are personal connections with companies that might be interested in sponsoring our deserving GELF students.

To donate an item or to alert us to a corporate connection, please get in touch with GELF Benefit Dinner Planning co-chair Liz Haas Joffe.

French students learning to make Crepes

NNHS Dance Team

Students showing Tiger Spirit at boys Basketball Game

Students discuss with a presenter at Black Culture Day

Jubilee sings during lunch for Black Culture Day

Sophomore Speech Final Round

Welcome to our new Nurse Ms. Staulo