Did you know that Newton residents are required to remove the snow and ice from their paved sidewalks within 24 hours?  A $50 fine after an initial warning was added for 2019.  The Newton Safe Routes to School Task Force asks that residents do their part so students can keep walking to school all winter.  The extra bit of exercise and fresh air is particularly important this year before students start their very structured school day.

We need residents to clear the snow and ice from their sidewalks to keep our community safe.  Download the “Newton MA 311″ app for your mobile phone or use the web portal to report concerns immediately, pinpoint the exact location, and include a photo.  You can report anonymously or with contact information so you can track the progress of the report.  In addition to sidewalk repairs, sign and traffic signal problems, and brush covering the sidewalk, there are many categories for reporting snow concerns, including sidewalks that are not cleared and corners that are blocked.  You can also call the City at 617-796-1000.

Our wonderful local indie bookstore, Newtonville Books, is offering a way for us to give books to kids in Newton’s Title I program.  Click on the link to find out more and donate a young reader bag filled with books!:

https://checkout.square.site/buy/KPQZCW6G3ULVBYXRXJB36KQK

(And if you’re still shopping for books you can’t find in our online book fair, we recommend the Newtonville Books Bookshop page — a great way to shop online anytime and still support a local bookstore!)

The Newton North STEMentors are hosting 6 sessions this Winter, starting on Tuesday!  There are 5 drop-in classes for K-3, 4-6, Girls in STEM, and STEAM.   For all drop-in classes, parents will receive a Zoom link and a list of needed household materials in advance. Classes are hands-on and station-based.  All materials are likely ones students already have at home, such as water, pennies, cups, markers, etc.  On January, 13th, we will also be hosting Dr. Ken Lutchen, Dean of Engineering at BU, to talk about his experience as a biomedical engineer.

More info and the Sign-up Genius are on our website: STEMentors UPCOMING EVENTS

Dear Newton Public School Families,

We have recently contracted with an internet filtering company, Deledao. We have already been filtering access to the internet from within a Newton Public Schools (NPS) building, but were not able to filter devices when off of the NPS network. This change means NPS devices and accounts will have NPS filtering while connected to the internet at home or to any other network.

Please know that no internet filter is perfect. As we do in schools, we strongly encourage you to speak with your child about appropriate use of technology and to monitor your child’s use of devices and access to the internet. See our Acceptable Use Guidelines on the Student/Family Tech Resources Page.

Timeline for implementation:

December 9:  Elementary Filtering implemented on iPads and Chromebooks

December 16: Middle and High School Filtering implemented on Chromebooks

What is Internet Filtering?

Using predefined categories, such as “adult content,” filtering services analyze websites a user is trying to view to determine whether or not to allow access. The service is set-up to block certain content by category. We are not able to customize for each child, but are customizing settings by level (elementary, middle and high school).

On a Chromebook (not an iPad) this filtering product also involves “real-time” analysis of videos and images. For example, if a child is watching a Youtube video, and the system detects content that matches a blocked category, it will blur the content of that video.

Impact:

• iPads: Students using an NPS issued iPad will begin to be blocked from accessing certain websites

• Chromebooks and NPS Google Accounts:

  • A new extension called Deledao will be installed on Student NPS Google Accounts

  • Students will be blocked from accessing certain websites

  • Filtering will affect Chromebooks and Chrome browsers when logged in using an NPS student GSuite account

  • “Browse as Guest” on NPS Chromebooks will be disabled – students MUST sign in to Chromebooks with their NPS Google Accounts

We are new to this product and expect to have to adjust settings during implementation. The web filtering product also comes with a parent portal option. Once we have implemented the web filtering, we will test the use of the parent portal to determine feasibility of implementation later this school year.

Please note that we are purchasing this product for the remainder of the 2020-2021 academic year only. We will reevaluate the purchase of the product for 2021-2022 based on performance and available budget.

Thank you.
Steven Rattendi, Director of IT and Libraries

Tomorrow, November 30th, is the last day to fill out the survey sent out by Newton Public Schools.  Per Superintendent Fleishman’s email:

“Attached is a survey, which gives you the opportunity to provide feedback on your child(ren)’s  academic and social and emotional experiences.  This information will be invaluable as our elementary team continues to work to meet the needs of students under very challenging circumstances.”

Links to the survey and translations:

English: https://forms.gle/eiZ9RwwUKmkgsvb19

Chinese: 中文：

Japanese: 日本語：

Korean: 한국어 :

Portuguese: Português

Russian: Русский язык

Spanish: Español

Please join Newton SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) for a presentation on:

Special Education Rights during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Monday, November 23, 2020
7:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83029946801?pwd=ZkcvMVZ0M3l3V0YreDZURTBsaXRlQT09

Presented by:
Daniel Heffernan, Esq., Newton parent and Special Education Attorney at Kotin Crabtree and Strong, LLP

Dan will discuss the most current DESE decisions and guidelines affecting special education students in Massachusetts during the pandemic.  Some of the areas Dan will cover include IEP service delivery, compensatory services, evaluations, administrative timelines, etc.  We will also have time for Q&A from families.

This school year, Whitsons is partnering with NPS to provide free breakfast and lunch for ALL students, including our DLA students.  Please see the information below for more details!

Every year, Stop & Shop offers its customers the opportunity to earn money for their school through the A+ School Rewards Program.  This has been a great source of fundraising for Lincoln-Eliot in the past, so if you haven’t signed up yet, we’d love to ask you to join to support our school!  (If you have previously registered your card, you do not need to sign up again this year.)

Click here for instructions to sign up:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jA8TtGg82fDRbZwOLqp1pGctpCtOafUu/view?usp=sharing

Stop+Shop A+ Instructions Flyer

And please reach out to us if you have any questions!