January 25, 2023
Dear NPS Families,
On Monday, the leadership team and I presented to the School Committee a preview of the 2023-24 school year budget. The presentation was designed to show how the operational override will be considered as the budget is developed. First, we shared the impact of supporting the school budget with $4.5 million via approval of the override. Then, we showed the impact on the budget if the override is NOT approved and the additional $4.5 million is not available to the district.
Since I began my time here in Newton in July, it has become very clear to me that this is a community that wants the best educational opportunities for its students. I remain optimistic that the Newton community understands the importance of supporting our district and this generation of students who have experienced significant disruption as a result of this pandemic.
The presentation we gave to the School Committee can be found here:
FY24 Budget Preview to School Committee - January 23, 2023
I will continue to share information about the budget as we move through the process. I welcome your questions and thank you for your feedback.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Smith, J.D.
Interim Superintendent
At the School Committee meeting on January 23, 2023, the School Committee was provided with an update on the superintendent search process. The presentation can be found here:
January 23, 2023 Superintendent Search Process Update
Key details include:
The job posting closed on Friday, January 13, 2023. 17 applications were received.
The search committee met and selected semi-finalists.
Semi-finalists will be interviewed on February 4, 2023
Finalists will be announced the week of February 6, 2023
Visits to district and interviews with finalists will be conducted the week of February 13, 2023
The next meeting of the Superintendent Search Committee will be on Saturday, February 4, 2023. Details of the meeting, as well as the entire search process, can be found on the search committee webpage on the district website.
Please contact the Newton School Committee with any additional questions or comments.
January 27th is Designated as International Holocaust Remembrance day. International Holocaust Remembrance Day serves as a date for official commemoration of the victims of the Nazi regime and to promote Holocaust education throughout the world, rejecting any form of Holocaust denial. Commemoration ceremonies are held to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism.
Each year the UN designates a theme for the annual commemorations; the theme of 2023 is “Home and Belonging” which asks us to reflect on what these words meant to persecuted individuals during the Holocaust and its aftermath.
Adopted from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Newton S.P.A.C.E. (Summer Program for Academic and Creative Endeavors) is a four-week summer enrichment program run by the Newton Public Schools from July 5th through July 28th. Students entering kindergarten through 9th grade in the Fall of 2023 are eligible to attend.
We offer two programs - an upper camp (entering grade 5-entering grade 9) and a lower camp (entering kindergarten-entering grade 4).
Visit the S.P.A.C.E.website for more information or REGISTER NOW!
Questions? SPACE@newton.k12.ma.us
Calling all kindergarteners for the 2023-24 school year! If you or someone you know has a student who meets the age requirement to enter kindergarten in the fall of 2023, please complete this survey.
https://forms.gle/AyDYeWbWGvJDVwgV9
In the survey, let us know you are coming and to tell us a little bit about your student. This helps us to plan staffing and programming for next year. So, if your student turns 5 prior to September 1, 2023, please join us!
Charlotte Sutcliffe, Evan Finamore, Olivia McGloughlin, and Ella Hamel, eighth graders from F.A. Day Middle School were recently selected as Newton’s 2023 Project 351 Ambassadors for their inspiring ethic of service and values of kindness, compassion, humility, and gratitude. Project 351 is a non-profit organization that empowers a youth-led movement for change powered by eighth-grade students representing every city and town in Massachusetts.
Founded in 2011, Project 351 is a youth-led movement for change powered by an eighth-grade unsung hero selected to represent every city and town in Massachusetts. Over their year’s term, Ambassadors develop the skills and confidence to mobilize schools and communities in four statewide service campaigns. At the close of their service year, Ambassadors are invited to continue to hone skills and lead communities as a member of the Alumni Organization.
Congratulations to our Day Middle School students on their selection as service heroes!
Newton South high school students Vassili Syssoev and Sam Klein were honored through the Boston Celtics' Heroes Among Us program during a Celtics game earlier this month.
The Newton seniors started a landscaping and powerwashing company and soon started offering complimentary service to seniors and those with disabilities in the Greater Boston area. Since the start of their “Community First” program to serve individuals in need, they have donated more than $3000 worth of services.
Student Landscape is online at studentlandscape.com.
The Boston Celtics’ “Heroes Among Us” program honors “outstanding individuals who have made exceptional and lasting contributions to their communities.”
Congratulations to these high school service heroes!
Would you like to work for the Newton Public Schools? We are hiring! NPS has open positions for the following:
Special education aides, Behavior Therapists,
Lunch monitors
Part time early literacy aides
Part time math intervention aides
Instructional Support Staff (substitutes)
Building aides
Following this link to apply:
