Category Archives: Community News

Principal Update 1.26.20

Dear families,

Please review the following message from the school nurse:

Winter Illness: January 2020 School Health Newsletter

Even though the temperatures have been spring-like lately, it is still winter, when clusters of respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI) illness occur in our schools and communities.

Newton school nurses monitor illness among students in the schools and have recently received reports of confirmed influenza.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health posts a weekly flu update most Fridays with the latest information about influenza and influenza-like illness (ILI) in the state. https://www.mass.gov/report/2019-2020-season-weekly-flu-reports

Here are a few highlights from the latest report (1/17/20):

  • The percentage of influenza-like illness visits to health care facilities for Massachusetts has increased and is higher than the previous two years in the same week.
  • Overall influenza-like illness activity for Massachusetts is high this week. The region that includes Newton (Inner Metro Boston) is reporting moderate ILI activity.
  • Nationally, influenza-like illness activity remains elevated and influenza B is most common.

Flu vaccination for all people age 6 months and older continues to be recommended. It’s not too late to get a flu shot.  For people who get vaccinated but still get sick, the severity of illness is reduced, according to the CDC.

Anyone can make an appointment with the public health nurse at City Hall for a no-cost flu vaccine by calling 617-796-1420.

Help the school nurses monitor illness in the schools. Report diagnosed strep infection, influenza or other respiratory infections to the school nurse.

It may seem elementary, but in conjunction with a flu vaccine, thorough handwashing is the best way to prevent all kinds of illness including the flu.

If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs and might not remove harmful chemicals.

It is important for families to keep sick children at home, in accordance with school policy outlined below. These guidelines are also good common sense for adults in the workplace.

  • Keep your children home from school when they are ill, following the school exclusion policy. A student will be excluded from school if they have:
    • A fever of 100°F or greater in the past 24 hours (must be fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication to return)
    • A communicable disease diagnosis
    • A cold in the active stages – coughing, sneezing, nasal drainage
    • A sore throat and/or swollen neck glands
    • Vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours
    • Acute pain that requires relief by narcotic medication

Thank you for reading and following these guidelines — we appreciate your help in keeping our school community healthy!

S.P.A.C.E. Camp Summer Program

S.P.A.C.E. Camp is a four week summer enrichment program run through the Newton Public Schools, for students entering Kindergarten through 9th Grade.  S.P.A.C.E. has it all:  music, arts, STEM, performing arts, project based learning, sports, and language arts.  The dates for summer 2020 are July 6th – July 30th.  Please see their website for more detailed information.

Upcoming Dates To Note:

Thursday, February 6th:  Early release day; 12:30pm dismissal
Friday, February 7th:  Movie Night, 6pm
February 17th-21st:  No School — February Vacation Week

See you Monday!

Principal Morrissey

Online Auction Coming Up — Donations Needed!

Dear families,

Every year, Lincoln-Eliot holds an online silent auction fundraiser for two weeks in the spring.  The Online Auction Committee asks local businesses to donate goods and services to auction off.  Our online auction will begin on March 23rd.

This year, we would like to have community donations as well. We are hoping that each classroom can donate some “delivery donations” as well as some “hosting donations.”

Delivery donation ideas could be:
• Gifting a meal – this could be a homemade dish you are famous for, or a traditional meal that you love to make
• Cake delivery – make your best cake and give to the highest bidder
• Wine delivery – gift your favorite bottles of wine to the winner
• Handmade items – if you have a hobby like knitting or pottery, let us auction off one of your pieces!
• Special talents – Rubik’s cube lessons, flower arranging, tax help, language lessons, dog-walking.  You name it!

Hosting donations work a little differently.  You decide the number of guests, and bidders purchase a spot at your gathering.  Please note, these spots are only open to the children in your child’s class or grade — you may specify.  You are donating your time by organizing and providing the materials and space for the event.

Feel free to be creative, but some ideas include:
• Hosting a playdate for 3-5 classmates with a theme – crafts, cooking, science, outdoors, etc.
• Host a movie or video game night at your house with popcorn
• Hosting a parents’ or moms’ night out with drinks and appetizers at your house

Please email your Room Connector or president@lepto.org with the details of your donation.  (Please be as descriptive as possible in any food-based donations to keep in mind the buyers who may have allergy and dietary restrictions.)  The deadline to submit is February 14th.  We will follow up with you after that date to confirm the details as we get closer to the auction.

Thank you for your consideration.  Not only are we raising money for the school, but this is a great way for us all to get to know each other better!

Best,
Online Auction Committee
Lincoln-Eliot PTO

Newton FORJ Book Group Events

Newton FORJ (Families Organizing for Racial Justice) will be hosting the following upcoming book groups and invite anyone interested to attend:

Tuesday, February 25th:
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Newton Free Public Library, Room B, 6:30-8:30 pm
Adults only (no childcare provided)

Sign up at: http://evite.me/fYrnjYdgMn

Wednesday, April 29th:
White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
Newton Free Public Library, Room B, 6:30-8:30 pm
Adults only (no childcare provided)

Contact: Jennifer Dirga (jenniferdirga@gmail.com) with any questions.

Share the Road: Safety Reminders from Newton Safe Routes to School

Newton Safe Routes to School reminds families that pedestrian safety is a shared responsibility. All our schools have high traffic volume in the morning and most children are pedestrians for part of their route to school, whether they walk from home, walk over from a nearby street (Park & Walk maps), walk to the bus stop, or walk from the Blue Zone.  The following guidelines are adapted from the National Safety Council. However you get to school, put your phone down and pay attention. More at www.newtonsaferoutes.org.

Sharing the Road with Young Pedestrians

  • Always stop for a school patrol officer or crossing guard in a crosswalk or intersection. Sometimes young children need more time to cross the intersection than the light allows.
  • Don’t block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn, forcing pedestrians to go around you; this could put them in the path of moving traffic.
  • Never pass a vehicle stopped for pedestrians.
  • Do not pull into driveways to turn around, especially near schools. You may not see a child on the sidewalk approaching on bike or on foot.
  • Be extra cautious when backing up.
  • Take extra care to look out for children in school zones, near playgrounds and parks, and in all residential areas. School Zone speed limits are 20 mph.
  • Don’t honk or rev your engine to scare a pedestrian, even if you have the right of way.
  • Always use extreme caution to avoid striking pedestrians wherever they may be, no matter who has the right of way

Sharing the Road with School Buses

  • If you’re driving behind a bus, allow a greater following distance than if you were driving behind a car. It will give you more time to stop once the lights start flashing. It is illegal in all 50 states to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children.
  • Never pass a bus from behind – or from either direction if you’re on an undivided road – if it is stopped to load or unload children
  • If the yellow or red lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended, traffic must stop
  • The area 10 feet around a school bus is the most dangerous for children; stop far enough back to allow them space to safely enter and exit the bus
  • Be alert; children often are unpredictable, and they tend to ignore hazards and take risks

Sharing the Road with Bicyclists

On most roads, bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as vehicles, but bikes can be hard to see. Children riding bikes create special problems for drivers because usually they are not able to properly determine traffic conditions. The most common cause of collision is a driver turning left in front of a bicyclist.

  • When passing a bicyclist, proceed in the same direction slowly, and leave 3 feet between your car and the cyclist.
  • When turning left and a bicyclist is approaching in the opposite direction, wait for the rider to pass.
  • If you’re turning right and a bicyclists is approaching from behind on the right, let the rider go through the intersection first, and always use your turn signals.
  • Watch for bike riders turning in front of you without looking or signaling; children especially have a tendency to do this.
  • Be extra vigilant in school zones and residential neighborhoods.
  • Watch for bikes coming from driveways or behind parked cars.
  • Check side mirrors before opening any door.

Reminders for Pedestrians

  • Whenever possible, walk on the sidewalk; if no sidewalk is available, walk facing traffic.
  • Follow the rules of the road, obeying all traffic signs and signals
  • Cross streets at crosswalks.
  • If no crosswalk is available and your view is blocked, move to a place where you can see oncoming traffic
  • Look left, right and left again before crossing the street, making eye contact with drivers of oncoming vehicles and wait until they wave you through.
  • Stay alert – avoid cell phone use and wearing headphones or earbuds.
  • Wear bright and/or reflective clothing, and use a flashlight at night.
  • Watch for cars entering or exiting driveways or backing up.

Last Chance for Lincoln-Eliot Spirit Wear!

Our online Lincoln-Eliot Spirit Wear store is still open for just a little while longer — if you haven’t had a chance to order yet, check it out!  Go to https://lepto-spirit-gear.myshopify.com/ to find over 90 products for adults, kids, toddlers, and even pets, including shirts, blankets, hats, pajama pants, water bottles, backpacks, outerwear and more.  There are so many great ways to show your school spirit and support our school at the same time . . . and the online store will be closing at the end of January, so take a look now!

All-School CAS Program: Women in World Jazz

This past Friday, January 17th, Lincoln-Eliot welcomed the group Women in World Jazz to perform for the entire school (grades K-2 at 9am, grades 3-5 at 10am).

Women in World Jazz presents an educational performance featuring an international ensemble of all-female performers showcasing music from around the world.  The concert features musical styles from Cuba’s cha cha to Cape Verde’s Coladeira as well as songs from Israel, Brazil and Japan, mixed in with jazz favorites.  The ensemble’s goal is to give the audience a taste of different cultures from around the globe through the expression of music and dance.  They will be visiting all the schools in Newton this spring, starting with Lincoln-Eliot.

Ask your children which countries they heard music from, whether they got to play instruments or clap along, what they learned about the blues, and which instruments they saw being played!

This performance was brought to Lincoln-Eliot by the PTO’s Creative Arts and Sciences team and paid for by our fundraising all year long — thank you for supporting the PTO so we can keep bringing in programs like these!

Save the Date: Screenagers, Feb. 11th

On Tuesday, February 11th, everyone is invited to a showing of the documentary Screenagers at Newton North High School at 7pm.  This event is sponsored by the Newton PTO Council and four Newton elementary schools, including Lincoln-Eliot, and will be followed by a discussion and Q&A.

Screenagers synopsis:  “Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well.

“In SCREENAGERS, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health, Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.”

Principal Update 1.12.20

Dear families,

Congratulations to our 4th and 5th graders on a terrific winter concert this past Thursday!  We were all so impressed with the hard work of our scholars and our music teacher, Ms. Schoepflin.

Thank you to all the parents who came out for our PTO meeting on Tuesday, and to Superintendent Fleishman and the School Committee members who joined us.  It is always wonderful to see how much this community cares for our school, and we appreciate all your voices so much.

Upcoming Dates To Note:

Monday, January 20th:  No school — Martin Luther King Day
Thursday, February 6th:  Early release day; 12:30pm dismissal
Friday, February 7th:  Movie Night, 6pm

See you on Monday!

Principal Morrissey

School Committee Meeting this Monday, Jan. 13th

This Monday, January 13th, at 7pm, there will be a School Committee Meeting in Room 210 of the Education Center located at 100 Walnut Street.  These meetings are open to the public and anyone is welcome to attend!

At this meeting in particular, there will be an update from the Equity Committee, including a discussion of PTO spending across all the elementary schools last year.  This was a topic of great interest at our PTO meeting last week, so we encourage anyone who is interested to go to the SC meeting to find out more.

Meeting information at the SC website

Or if you can’t attend the meeting in person, all School Committee meetings are televised live by NewTV and archived meetings are available at NewTV’s website (https://newtv.org/school-committee-meetings).

Watch Live Meetings Broadcast on NewTV

Please reach out to us at secretary@lepto.org if you have any questions!

January 2020 PTO Meeting Recap

Thank you so much to everyone who came to Tuesday night’s PTO meeting with Superintendent David Fleishman and the School Committee members — we had a great turnout and were able to discuss several topics of importance to our community.  Most notably, there were several questions about the new building and about equity.

Click here for the full January 2020 PTO meeting minutes.

For more information about the Equity Committee and the current policy, please see the School Committee Equity page and FAQs.  

At the School Committee homepage, you can also sign up for their email updates by filling out the form at the bottom of the page.  The updates include School Committee meeting minutes and any news about the progress of building projects, high school start times, etc.

The new Lincoln-Eliot building at 150 Jackson Rd. is currently expected to be ready in three and a half years, and the Design Review Committee has room for another LE parent on it.  If you are interested or want to find out more, please reach out to John Mulligan or Principal Morrissey!

As always, if you have any questions or thoughts, please reach out to us at secretary@lepto.org or president@lepto.org!  Thank you again to everyone for coming and supporting our school (and apologies for anyone we missed on the attendance list!)!  We hope to see everyone at our next PTO meeting on Tuesday, March 10th!