Dear families,

We are looking forward to seeing all our hybrid students tomorrow as we expand our in-person learning.  A reminder that this week will be slightly different as we have two early release days to allow time for parent/teacher conferences.  We will have a 12:30pm dismissal on Monday, April 5th and Thursday, April 8th, along with our new regular 1:00pm dismissal on Wednesday, April 7th.

For DLA families, our next supply pick up will be this Thursday, April 8th and Friday, April 9th between 9am-12pm.  Please note that the pick up location has changed to the library door, which can be accessed from Pearl Street.

Walking, Biking, and Cycling to School!

As we plan for a full return to school, we know there will be increased traffic at our schools.  To help mitigate traffic congestion and improve safety, our Safe Routes to School Teams have been working hard to identify safe and efficient ways for students to walk and bike to school.  They have even identified spots for families to park a few blocks away from the school building and walk the rest of the way.  We do ask families who are driving to review the Blue Zone rules.

Below are links to information and resources available on the NPS website:

Walking and Biking: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3320

Safety Information and Maps: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3426

Safe Routes to Schools website: https://sites.google.com/view/newtonsaferoutes

COVID-19 Testing

As NPS prepares for a full in-person return to school for students at all levels, we strongly encourage families to enroll their student (s) in our COVID-19 testing program.  Testing is one of the best ways we have to quickly identify infection and reduce the possibility of in-school transmission.

Here are 3 reasons to enroll:

1. It’s easy!  Complete the opt-in in Aspen (here’s the link!)  High school students then create an account at JCM (do it here!) for access to a QR code they use to check in their sample.  Pre-K – 8th grade students will receive their QR code from school staff.

2. It’s painless!  This is NOT the “touch your brain” swab!  This is a sample taken from the front of your nose with a Q-tip like swab.  It’s super-fast and painless.

3. It makes a difference!  The more students who participate, the better data we have on infection rates in our community.  This means we can quickly identify infection, reduce the risk of in-school transmission, limit quarantines, and keep our schools open in person.

We ask all families to strongly consider enrolling your student today.  Thanks in advance for doing your part to keep our schools safer.

We hope you had a great weekend and look forward to a wonderful week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Dear families,

We are actively seeking new board members for the PTO next year — if you have any interest in getting more involved or would just like to know more, please reach out to us at president@lepto.org!  We especially need new co-presidents to keep the PTO running, but there are also many other open positions, and we’d love to help you find something that works with your availability and interests.  It’s a really fun way to find out more about what’s happening at school and shape the events and experiences our kids have.  All the board members are available to answer any questions about what’s involved, so please email us with those anytime!

A reminder that there is no school this coming Friday, April 2, and that April vacation week is coming up April 19-23.

Fifth grade parents of students moving on to Bigelow Middle School, there is a virtual “Fifth Grade Parents Night” this Wednesday, March 31, 7-8:15pm, followed by a 30 minute Q&A about special education services with Courtney Rau-Rogers from 8:15-8:45pm.  A link to the event was sent out on March 18; if you did not receive it, please reach out to Jessica Pierce at piercej@newton.k12.ma.us.

As we prepare for the full reopening of schools and the continued use of outdoor spaces at our schools for student learning and play, we ask all community members to please follow the City guidelines regarding dogs and the use of school property:

• Dogs are NOT permitted on school property during the school day.
• Dogs must be leashed when on City sidewalk and/or at parks outside of school hours (exception: designated off-leash parks)
• Please clean up and dispose of dog waste immediately.
• The City of Newton has designated off-leash dog parks.  Click here for more detailed information about Newton’s off-leash dog parks and rules.
• School grounds/playgrounds are closed to the public during school hours.

Please help spread the word.

Have a great week, and happy Passover to those who are celebrating!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Dear families,

It was great to see everyone who attended our PTO meeting last Tuesday; thank you all for joining us!

Please mark your calendar for Thursday, March 25th from 9-9:45am for a virtual parent coffee, where I will be available to answer any questions you may have about the in-person changes that will take place on April 5th.  A Zoom link was sent out yesterday, but please reach out to the office if you did not receive it.

There were some questions about COVID pool testing for hybrid students at the PTO meeting, so we wanted to share this link with more information about the program and how to participate:

https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3826

Have a great week, and we hope everyone has a chance to enjoy the sunshine!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Dear families,

We hope to see everyone at our PTO meeting over Zoom this Tuesday, March 16th, at 6:30pm!  Watch your email for a link in the next couple of days.

A reminder that due to the Special City Election this Tuesday, our usual Tuesday and Wednesday schedules will be switched this week.  Cohort A will attend in person on Wednesday, March 17th, and everyone will follow their Wednesday remote schedule on Tuesday, March 16th.  DLA students will also be switching their usual remote schedules on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Please contact the office with any questions.

We also wanted to share the link to MA’s pre-registration system for the vaccine, in case this is helpful for anyone:

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/preregister-for-a-covid-19-vaccine-appointment

Stay safe, and have a great week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Dear families,

We know there are a lot of questions about the upcoming changes to the elementary school schedule and about the new MCAS testing window.  As soon as we know more from DESE about MCAS, we will send out an updated schedule to everyone.

You can also see the current information from the district below and on their webpage, and we will update you with anything we know at our next PTO meeting: Tuesday, March 16th at 6:30pm.  A link for the meeting will be sent out the day before; we hope you can join us!

Elementary Return to Full In-Person School
The Newton Public Schools plans to return elementary students to full in-person school the week of March 29th or April 5th.  This means that Cohort A and Cohort B will be merged and will attend school together five days a week.  More details on the class schedule, school hours, and health and safety protocols will be shared as soon as the planning is finalized.

To return to full in-person school, distancing in classrooms will be reduced to approximately 3 ft.  Given this change, we are asking ELEMENTARY families to complete this form to indicate their intent to request a change in learning model for their student.  Please complete this survey ONLY if you intend to request a change to learning model: survey linked here.

At the same time, a planning group is meeting to make comparable improvements to the Elementary Distance Learning Academy.  More details will be shared with DLA families as those plans take shape.

All information from the planning teams can be found on this webpage.

Calendar Changes and Updates
City Special Election:  Due to the Special City Election on Tuesday, March 16th, the in-person day for Cohort A will be switched.  Cohort A will attend in person on Wednesday, March 17th.  They will follow their Wednesday remote schedule on Tuesday, March 16th.  DLA students will also be switching their usual remote schedules that Tuesday and Wednesday.  Please contact the office with any questions.

Elementary Conferences:  Students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m. on April 5th and April 8th to provide time for elementary school conferences.

Juneteenth:  The City of Newton is observing Juneteenth on Friday, June 18th.  The Newton Public Schools will be doing the same to observe this important day in our history.  Therefore, our current last day of school for students is Tuesday, June 22nd.

Have a great week!

Principal Morrissey and the PTO

Dear families,

March is Youth Arts Month!  To celebrate, the NPS Fine Arts Coordinator is organizing a Youth Arts Month Elementary Virtual Art Exhibit, and all students in grades K-5 are invited to contribute a favorite piece of art.  Submissions are welcome March 1-26 at this link and we encourage everyone to participate!  For more information and instructions please see:

Elementary Call for Artwork

Calendar Change for K-8 on March 16th
Due to the Special City Election on Tuesday, March 16th, we need to switch the in-person day for Cohort A that week.  Cohort A will attend in person on Wednesday, March 17th.  They will follow their Wednesday remote schedule on Tuesday, March 16th.  Please contact the office with any questions.

Have a great week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Dear families,

We hope everyone has a wonderful winter break this week.  I wanted to share a list of some fun vacation week activites, organized by the Highland Street Foundation:

https://www.highlandstreet.org/sites/default/files/program_download/Winter-Camp-Opportunities2.12.pdf

And don’t forget the FORJ Concert with Claudia and Dan Zanes this Wednesday, February 17, at 6:30pm, in honor of Black History Month.  For more information and to RSVP, click here!

Calendar Change for K-8 on March 16th
Due to the Special City Election on Tuesday, March 16th, we need to switch the in-person day for Cohort A that week.  Cohort A will attend in person on Wednesday, March 17th.  They will follow their Wednesday remote schedule on Tuesday, March 16th.  Please contact the office with any questions.

Stay safe, get some rest, and have a great week!

Principal Morissey & the PTO

Dear families,

We hope you all had a safe and warm weekend and enjoyed the snow!  Thank you to everyone who participated in our Bertucci’s Fundraiser last week.  We had 35 redemptions of the Lincoln-Eliot code, which earned a total of $263.08 to support our school!

DLA families:  A reminder that on Thursday, February 11 from 9am-12pm and Friday, February 12 from 12-3pm, we are asking DLA families to drop off any books that have been given to students since the beginning of the school year.  Books can be dropped off at the Lincoln-Eliot main door on Pearl Street.  No supplies will be given out at this time.

Progress reports will be available to families via Aspen this Wednesday, February 10.  Hopefully you all saw the note that went out about progress reports on January 31; please reach out to your child’s teacher with concerns or questions.

And just a reminder that our February break is coming up, Monday, Feb. 15 to Friday, Feb. 19.

Have a great week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Dear families,

We had a great turnout for Lincoln-Eliot Trivia Night on Friday — a big thanks to Kwok Yu for organizing it, and congratulations to Team Quizzy, our first Lincoln-Eliot Virtual Trivia Night Champions!

Mark your calendars for our PTO Bertucci’s Fundraiser on February 3rd.  From 11am-9pm, order from any Bertucci’s location and enter the unique code 229-633-235 (when ordering online), and Lincoln-Eliot’s PTO will earn 15% of the proceeds.

Also, if your family has had any phone number or emergency contact changes, please remember to update Aspen so that we have the most current information.

Have a great week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO