NECP Updates
School year 2022-2023: May 12, 2023, Newsletter #32
GOOD MORNING NECP FAMILIES!
What a busy week it has been at NECP! First of all I need to say THANK YOU to all the NECP parents and the PTO for all the snacks and breakfast for staff appreciation week! The staff have loved having surprises in the staff lounge all week and I have loved organizing all the snacks by theme/type of snacks. Today was all the coffee and tea drinks and that was HIT on a Friday! I think I missed my calling as a party planner! Also the breakfast was just amazing and there was so much it lasted for 3 days! And thank you to the NECP PTO for sponsoring Yogurt Beach for NECP staff on Wednesday....the staff all walked over and got a fro-yo and had time to sit outside in the wonderful weather to relax and enjoy. It was so appreciated!
Gardening with Elissa has started at NECP! Check out some pictures below. The children are planting and learning about plants and growing along the way. Elissa works hard to get donations from various local businesses but we need your help too....we have one family building us raised beds so all of our students can access planting but we still need supplies. If anyone has any extra planters, soil, extra seeds or plants to donate it would be so appreciated! We do flowers and plants that produce fruit/vegetables....anything works!
It's our second week of fundraising with WECO! We're so excited to share a new menu with you. As a reminder, we’ve partnered with WECO to help raise funds for Newton Early Childhood Program PTO. 10% of all orders come right back to us, so let's raise as much as possible! To participate, just click the link below and order as many dinners for next week as you would like. No minimums and no subscriptions. If you sign up on NECP's special landing page you will be the first to know when the menu drops as the choices can go quickly! Here is the menu for this week:
Click here to see the Newton Early Childhood Program PTO Menu! WECO delivers to 400 towns throughout the North East. Share our menu link with friends, family, and colleagues. If they order dinner from our menu, they're contributing to our fundraiser! I already have my order in for next Friday's dinner. YUM!!!
Many have been asking about SCHOOL PICTURES and yes, NECP has school pictures days! We do this in June due to our matriculation patterns...we want as many of our students to have pictures as possible, and to be in our class photos, so our dates are Monday and Tuesday, June 5th and 6th. Keep on the lookout for more information from teachers soon regarding classroom specific schedules.
Have a great weekend!
Kathleen
P.S. Highlighted below is also information on the next round of Story Starters registration. Story Starters is a Newton based non-profit with a program designed for parents who want to start and strengthen conversations about race with their young children. NECP paired with Story Starters last school year for professional development for our staff. Please consider joining their fall cohort!
P.P.S. Classrooms are always in need of tissues (the good ones - ha!) and wipes too!
WECO FUNDRAISER
The PTO is pairing again with WECO! For all meals purchased NECP PTO will receive 10%! See the information and check out this informational video!
- WECO will put out a menu each Wednesday afternoon for you to order for the following week. This is not a subscription service....you look at the menu and order what looks great to you!
- We will do this for 4 Weeks! The week of May 8th through the week of May 29th (the first menu drop on 5/3 and the last menu drop on 5/24). Start thinking about NOT making dinner!!!
- Delivery can be scheduled Sundays through Fridays
- WECO's delivery area is multi-state so if an out of state family member is in their catchment area they can also support the NECP PTO
- If you know of someone who already orders with WECO share our landing page so that we can get 10% of their purchase too!
- Get the menu @bit.ly/necp-pto
A Message about WECO from Yael
Hi NECP Families!
Some of you may remember our fundraising partnership with WECO Hospitality from last year... We are excited to share that it's BACK and FOUR WEEKS LONG this year! WECO Hospitality is a daily dinner service that delivers chef-prepared, handcrafted dinners, locally made from fresh and ethically-sourced ingredients. They send their menus out the Wednesday before each week, and YOU decide what and how much to order. No minimums, no subscriptions.
My family loves the WECO model because it helps with menu planning for the week, allows us to only choose meals that look good to us, and relieves some of the work-- who doesn't like having someone else make dinner?! Even better still, their pricing model is based on the cost of the ingredients, and you get to choose what to contribute to overhead.
AND: during the next four weeks, May 5th through June 1st, 10% of all orders placed with our link goes back to the NECP PTO!! Our school's PTO is in a rebuilding year, and every dollar raised through this fundraiser (and others!) goes towards crucial enrichment activities for our kids, teacher appreciation, and community building activities.
So, join me in supporting our school AND skipping out on making dinner every night!
Yael Mito
Longtime NECP Parent
NECP PTO Volunteer
STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK
THANK YOU NECP FAMILIES FOR STOCKING THE STAFF LOUNGE WITH SNACKS ALL WEEK!
SNACKS and BREAKFAST!
WEDNESDAY BREAKFAST!
A MESSAGE FROM NECP SOCIAL WORKER JEN KOVITZ
Social Work Corner
Hello NECP Families! These last couple of weeks in Friendship Circle we read the Book “The Little Grump Truck” by Amanda Driscoll. The book is about a construction truck who normally is very happy. When she's happy, the other trucks know it. But when things don't go her way she becomes Little Grump Truck and her grumpies spread throughout the construction crew. To overcome her grumpiness, Little Grump Truck uses meditation and mindfulness to reset and get rid of her grumpiness and return to her happy self. This book helps our children understand and how to use mediation and mindfulness when they feel overwhelmed and angry. Some of the mindfulness and mediation techniques include, closing ones eyes, taking a deep breath, and focusing on the sounds around you.
Activities and Announcements in our Community
Kids Fun Fest! This Saturday and Sunday at City Hall
https://www.newtonma.gov/government/parks-recreation-culture/cultural-development/family-funfest
Newton Neighbors diaper drive is this weekend at Family Access and Post 440.
A MESSAGE FROM SEPAC
As you may know, each year, parents, guardians, and students are able to nominate NPS and Out of District teachers and staff for a Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) Award. A SEPAC Award recognizes exceptional NPS and Out of District teachers, aides, behavior therapists, psychologists, bus drivers, crossing guards, administrators, and other staff for the role they played in a student’s special education journey this past academic year. Interested in nominating an exceptional NPS or Out of District teacher and/or staff member? The deadline for nominations is Monday, May 22nd. Here’s how the process works:
- Submit a nomination through the nomination form
- All celebratory nominations will be recognized
- In early June, your nominee will receive:
- A printed SEPAC Award delivered to their home school
- A note with the kind words you wrote about your nominee
- A short slideshow of anonymized nominations lifting up the good work taking place across the district
- Each principal will receive a list of nominees from their school
- Do you need to nominate everyone from your student’s team? Please only nominate the teachers and staff members who you feel have been exceptional!
Questions? Reach out to: newtonspecialeducationawards@gmail.com
Thank you so much for your participation recognizing the exceptional NPS and Out of District teachers and staff who work so hard to support special education students. Please help us share this message as widely as possible so the SEPAC Awards can reach all corners of our community!
Warmly,
2022-2023 SEPAC Board
NECP PTO
Our next PTO meeting will be on Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 9:15. We will again do a coffee and snack meeting in person! We are now planning for an the end of the year celebration, and the start of thinking about fundraising again, to support our enrichment activities! Let's work together to make this a reality!
If you would complete this PTO Google form for the PTO to have parent contacts, it would be much appreciated.
Don't forget - The PTO also has a new ongoing fundraiser with Mabel's Labels. 20% of all sales go back to the PTO! Mabel’s Labels is the best-known brand of durable labels for families, and the line of products features baby bottle labels, allergy and medical alert products, sports labels, household labels and seasonal items. They’re extremely durable, they’re laundry, dishwasher and microwave safe – and they’re 100% guaranteed. https://mabelslabels.com/en_US/about-us/#
Extended School Year Community Peer Application
Please find our community peer application below for current or incoming NECP families! This was sent to NECP families prior but I wanted to attach it here as well. Our students who are accessing ESY through the special education process/IEP need not apply.
Newton Police Department
The Newton Police recently came to NECP to do a presentation to staff for safety in our new building. During that time and with NECP informing them of our student population they asked us to let families know of this document, where families can alert the police to any students with disabilities within the home. This helps the police officers to be more aware of how best to help a student if necessary.
Did you also know that the Newton Police Department also recently introduced their new NPD Autism Awareness Shields? It is a seatbelt cover to help first responders easily identify someone who may be non-verbal, unable to recognize danger or unable to ask for help. Pick up a seatbelt cover at Police Headquarters, 1321 Washington Street or at the Mayor’s Office in City Hall, 1000 Commonwealth Ave.
Story Starters
Story Starters is enrolling families with children ages 3-8 to participate in our upcoming Fall program. Our eight-week Family Conversations Program is designed for parents who want to start and strengthen conversations about race with their young children. Story Starters gives families age-appropriate tools and skills to have meaningful conversations about race and racism. Story Starters families learn from educators, racial justice advocates, and each other.
Our program provides families with:
A bundle of 6 books tailored to your children's ages
5 caregiver guides full of research, resources, and family activities to support and deepen family race conversations
4 curated book lists to support further exploration and conversation
3 in-person family events and 2 virtual caregiver workshops
A vibrant community of families seeking to make an impact in their homes and beyond
The program kickoff is October 1 from 3:00-4:30pm. For additional program dates and details, visit: www.story-starters.org/program.
*Now through May 31, sign up with a friend and save 20%. Use promo code BUDDIES when registering.
Food Allergen - Important Notification!
Please review this Food Allergen Notification Letter for important information on the notification process for allergens in meals served here in the Newton Public Schools. Clear communication is critical to us as we know the seriousness of food allergies for some of our students.
All ingredients for every meal served can be found on the FDMealPlanner website. If your student has a food allergy, we strongly encourage you to check the top nine allergen list and the full ingredient list as close to the day of the meal as possible. It is important to note that food vendors may change ingredients throughout the year.
SCHOOL LUNCH - DON'T FORGET TO ORDER!!!
On 7/28/22, universally-free meals for students in Massachusetts was confirmed for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year. While free, this is a different program than last year and food services does need to log who is receiving meals this year. Parents must order their student a school lunches via this google form 8pm Sunday evening for that next week. I have also linked the FD mealplanner at the top of the ordering form or here as well. The NECP menu is now live under Newton Early Childhood. Please remember to do this weekly and if you do forget teachers ask your teacher to get your student a meal for that day (they are sending 4-5 extra bagel meals just in case) and then we will log it separately.
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER
1. Memorial Day - May 29, 2023
2. Last day of school for NECP - Tuesday, June 20th, 2023
2022-2023 EARLY RELEASE DAYS
Please make note!
All students will be dismissed at 12:00PM on the following All School Early Release Days:
Thursday, September 29
Tuesday, November 8
Thursday, December 8
Thursday, February 2
Thursday, March 23
Thursday, May 11
CONTACT/FOLLOW NECP
Email: browningk@newton.k12.ma.us
Website: www.newton.k12.ma.us/NECP
Location: 687 Watertown Street Newton, MA, 02460, USA
Phone: 617-559-6050
Facebook: facebook.com/NECPNewton
Twitter: @NECP_NPS