January Elementary Progress Reports are now available from the Newton Public Schools through the ParentCONNECT Parent Portal. Below you will find your login information for ParentCONNECT.

In order to view, print or download a copy of your child’s January progress report which includes narrative comments, please do the following:
1) Log into ParentCONNECT with the login information below.
2) Click Academics on the left hand side and select the Report Tab.
3) Click “Click here to see Report Card for…”

To review the descriptors for progress report categories, click on the appropriate grade level at the top of the page when reviewing the progress report and enter your login at the prompt.
ParentCONNECT web site: https://parentconnect.newton.k12.ma.us/

If you do not remember your password please use the “Forget your password?” link at the bottom of the login page.

If you have any technical issues or questions please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions: Click here to review Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any technical issues or questions please contact us at parentconnect@newton.k12.ma.us

FAMILY SCIENCE NIGHT: Lincoln Eliot’s first Family Science Night was a wonderful evening of curiosity and learning! There was much to learn and do with over 60 student projects and interactive exhibits with the NE Aquarium Tide Pool Tank, the Marshmallow STEM Technology Challenge, a Computer Coding Station, and the High School Robotics and Science Clubs.

The evening ended with a countdown to a Volcano Eruption. Thank you to all our young scientists for presenting and to all the families and faculty who attended the evening. It was a wonderful community event. Students are already talking about next year’s projects!

PROGRESS REPORTS will be available online for all families on Tuesday, February 3^rd at Noon. At that time an email will be sent to all parents that the progress reports are ready and supply their login information. There is a link for ParentCONNECT on our school web site and there is one on the district web site as well. The address for the portal is: https://parentconnect.newton.k12.ma.us/

Don’t forget- This Wednesday, Feb. 4^th is an early Release Day for Teacher Professional Development. Students will be dismissed at 12:30. Faculty in grades K-5 will be learning a new literacy assessment (Benchmark Assessment System) that will be used beginning the fall of 2015.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY- Over the last year the L-E School Site Council and our Safe Routes Committee has worked with the Aldermen and the Traffic Commission to make the Jackson Road Drop off safer and to reduce traffic. We now have a LIVE Drop Off in the morning along Jackson Road and traffic flow is ONE way from Jackson onto Capital.

A continued area of concern is pedestrians crossing from Capital directly to the Jackson Road entrance to the school. There is NO CROSSWALK at that point. Pedestrians are competing with cars dropping off children and pulling out, cars turning onto Capital, and through traffic continuing down Jackson. Daily, I witness close accidents as L-E families try to cross at this dangerous point and compete with all the traffic. We have been told that the city WILL NOT put a crosswalk in at that intersection due to safety issues with the pedestrian light at Pearl and the crossing guard located at Pearl.

PLEASE take the extra few minutes to walk down to the pedestrian light (and crossing guard) at Pearl. It is important that children learn pedestrian safety. You can help your child by modeling this behavior and insisting they take these safety steps.

.

• PTO MEETING Monday, Feb. 23rd 8:20-9:15 AM – Meeting with Superintendent David Fleishman and
members of the Newton School Committee for their annual visit to our PTO.

The meeting will include a brief update on district initiatives (e.g. the new PARCC standardized test and new building plans), followed by an interactive session to answer your questions and listen to feedback.

• MARK YOUR CALENDARS UPCOMING Early Release Dates: Please note that the following Thursdays will have dismissal at 12:30 for the purpose of professional development and conferences: February 4^th (Wednesday), March 12^th, and May 7^th.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY– Over the last year the L-E School Site Council and our Safe Routes
Committee has worked with the Aldermen and the Traffic Commission to make the Jackson Road Drop off safer and to reduce traffic. We now have a LIVE Drop Off in the morning along Jackson Road and traffic flow is ONE way from Jackson onto Capital.

A continued area of concern is pedestrians crossing from Capital directly to the Jackson
Road entrance to the school. There is NO CROSSWALK at that point. Pedestrians are
competing with cars dropping off children and pulling out, cars turning onto Capital, and through traffic continuing down Jackson. Daily, I witness close accidents as L-E families try to cross at this dangerous point and compete with all the traffic. We have been told that the city WILL NOT put a crosswalk in at that intersection due to safety issues with the pedestrian light at Pearl and the crossing guard located at Pearl. 

PLEASE take the extra few minutes to walk down to the pedestrian light (and crossing guard) at Pearl. It is important that children learn pedestrian safety. You can help your child by modeling this behavior and insisting they take these safety steps.

 
THIS THURSDAY IS FAMILY SCIENCE NIGHT!
Come join in the science learning and fun!
Thursday, January 29th 2014 from 5:30-7:00 PM

• Highlight of the evening- Student Presentations. Every student who presents a project will receive a Science Medal.
• New England Aquarium Tide Pool Tank
• Computer Coding Station
• STEM Challenge- Put your technology/engineering thinking cap on!
• The Ligerbots- (Newton North & Newton South High Schools Robotics Club) will bring
  their robot!
• The Newton North Science Club will host a presentation.
• PIZZA will be sold in the cafeteria. Proceeds to go the our Fifth Grade Camping Trip.
  * Students can bring projects to school to set up that afternoon or parents can bring
  projects after school to the cafeteria.
• PROGRESS REPORTS will be available online for all families on Tuesday, February 3rd.

Access information will be emailed from the district shortly before that date. Students’ current performance levels in a variety of academic and social objectives are reported in reference to our grade-level benchmarks. Students who are meeting or are on track to meet year-end benchmarks receive a “3.” “4” indicates performance beyond grade-level benchmarks. “2” and “1” indicate varying degrees of required growth toward benchmarks. If your family does not have internet access, please call the school and we will print a hard copy for you.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE UPDATE:
The school committee is discussing the need to move elementary school district lines in order to alleviate over crowding in a number of Newton elementary schools. The student assignment planning work is being done this year in order to match the timing of the various school construction projects, as the projects will provide additional classroom space.
Please note that there will be an update on the Student Assignment Process at Monday night’s School Committee meeting on January 26, 2015. As we proceed, we will inform you of future meetings that will be solely devoted to this topic.
The Superintendent and School Committee members will also discuss the Student Assignment Process during the PTO meetings being held in each school during the next few months.

PTO MEETING Monday, Feb. 23rd 8:20-9:15 AM – Meeting with Superintendent David
Fleishman and members of the Newton School Committee for their annual visit to our PTO.
The meeting will include a brief update on district initiatives (e.g. the new PARCC
standardized test and new building plans), followed by an interactive session to answer your
questions and listen to feedback.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS UPCOMING Early Release Dates:
Please note that the following Thursdays will have dismissal at 12:30 for the purpose of professional development and conferences: February 4th (Wednesday), March 12th, and May 7th.

PARCC ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE:
Newton Elementary students will be taking the PARCC Assessment this year instead of the MCAS. For elementary students, this exam replaces the MCAS exams in all areas except Grade 5 Science. For Massachusetts, this is Year 2 of the pilot program for the PARCC assessment. The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will vote whether to fully adopt PARCC as the state’s new testing program in fall 2015.

The PARCC Assessment has two components. The first component (called the Performance
Assessment) is administered at the end of March and the second component (called the End of the Year Assessment) is administered in May. Please note the following dates as you are lanning family vacations and appointments: Grade Performance Assessment ELA Performance Assessment Math End of Year Assessment ELA End of Year Assessment Math
 

 
Important Recess Reminder: We go outside every day, EVEN IN THE SNOW, unless the
temperature drops below 20 degrees F. Please ensure your children dress appropriately with coats, hats, mittens, and boots.

Food Lunch Balance: Every Tuesday and Friday e-mail notices are sent out from Whitson’s
Food Service notifying families of outstanding balances. If you are not receiving these e-mails, please call the school to let us know. In addition, you can always check your balance and make electronic payments on the “My School Bucks” page on the Newton Public Schools website.

TUESDAY & FRIDAY PIZZA AT L-E…
L-E PIZZA TUESDAYS (12:15-1:00) & FRIDAYS (3:00)
At the Jackson Road Entrance-­‐ $2 per slice Pizza is Popular and disappears quickly! Avoid disappointment and pre-­‐order your Whole Pizzas by noon -­‐-­‐ $10.00 each. Email Susanne at susanneg4@hotmail.com to order. Pickup a Pizza or two on Friday nights for dinner! Proceeds benefit the 5th Grade 2015 Graduating Class…we appreciate your support!

FUNDRAISING…
JANUARY SCRIPS ORDER FORMS ARE AVAILABLE AND HAVE BEEN SENT HOME HARD COPY  AND ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON-­‐LINE. When you purchase SCRIPS Gift cards you receive the
full value of each card and the school receives a percentage from the company.

Get Your Taxes Done and Raise Money for Lincoln-Eliot!
Shaul Berechman, a Senior Tax-Advisor with 12 years experience with H&R Block, is donating
to the PTO the higher of $10 or 10% ($5 for returns costing less than $70) of tax preparation fees from members of the LE community. Personal US income-tax only please (no foreign  countries, corporations, estates, partnerships, gifts,etc.) Last year we raised $175 for L-E!
You can call him at home: 617-332-1690, or make an appointment directly with his office at 617-254-6207.

Amazon.com Shoppers:
With the upcoming holiday season, don’t forget to access amazon.com through the PTO website.  Our school receives up to 10% of all purchases simply purchased through this
link.

Don’t forget to bring   in your Box Tops, Coke Points and your Labels for Education labels into
school.  This is an easy way to raise money for programs at L-­‐E. Drop off boxes are located
near the Main Office. Check for labels on the following products: BIC, Campbells, Dannon, 
Emerald, Glad, Pace, Pepperidge Farm, Pop Secret, Post, Prego, Spaghettios, Swanson, V8 Beverages, and Wolfgang Puck! With your support, office supplies were just ordered for Donna McLoughlin!

STOP AND SHOP:
Thank you to Diane Collins for organizing our Stop & Shop A+ Rewards Program. The total
to date that L-­‐E families has earned is $1,334.95! This is a wonderful source of revenue
for L-­‐E since it comes from dollars our families spend anyone on weekly groceries. If you have not yet signed up your card please register. If you are not sure if your current registration is activated please re-­‐register. Just log on to www.Stopandshop.com/aplus
to register online. Our school ID is 05887. Or, dial 1-­‐877-­‐275-­‐2758 to register your card over the telephone. Ask family members to register too and select Lincoln-­‐Eliot!

DONOR’S CHOOSE:
Ms. Blanchard, Learning Center Teacher, has a new Donor’s Choose Project. Project Cost: $543.00 Funding Left to GO:$118.00  Almost there!

Description: My wish is that my Learning Center room will represent another place for positive learning and growth development. A classroom rug will bring some color and excitement to the small, concrete room. My students try to overcome some of the hardest academic challenges therefore, they should be given a space to learn that displays a sense
of comfort. Funding this project will make my students not only feel more accepted in the school, but be able to work in a positive place for learning. I want my students to be accepting of their differences and embrace their differences. You can support Ms.  Blanchard by helping to fund her project at:
http://www.donorschoose.org/profile/teacher.html?teacher=522996&verify=-­‐1368213929&active=true

COMMUNITY NEWS…
Please check out the new Community Directory at https://lepto.org/business-­‐directory for all community events and services.

NEWTON EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS is a student-run program at Newton South High School for 4th and 5th graders in Newton public schools. Every year, a group of dedicated high school students teach classes to the elementary students for five Saturdays between February and April. There are classes for everything, from arts and crafts classes to sports and cooking classes.

This program has been running for ver 20 years, and we would love to continue the program this year and involve even more students than last year. In addition, our program donates all proceeds to a different charity every year, and we are going to be donating to the Make-A-Wish Foundation this year go to: http://newtonws.wix.com/homepage

for more information Please sign up for this great program by sending a check for $50.00 to  Newton Educational Workshops and mailing it to:

Newton Educational Workshops
140 Brandeis Road
Newton, Massachusetts 02459

PJ STORY TIME WITH NEWTON COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS:
Wednesday, January 28, 2015, 6:30 PM
AT NewTV, 23 Needham Street. Children (ages 3 – 7) come in pajamas to hear stories. Mayor Setti Warren will be a guest reader. For the first time, the story time will be taped at NewTV and aired on the Newton channel. Please call Beverly at 617.559.2062 to confirm your attendance.

If you have been watching the news, you know about the the winter weather/blizzard warnings in place for the beginning of this week.  Just a reminder that if the Newton Public Schools close for the day, we are closed as well.  Snow is supposed to start snowing Monday afternoon. As of right now we plan to be open, but there is always a chance that the weather could change again and that Plowshares could close their sites early.  We are asking families to have back up plans for pick up in case of an early closure.  

We will contact families first by email for any changes in the Plowshares program day.  Please reply to us that you received the messages. Any families we can not contact by email, we will call.  Our main office will also put cancellations/early closings on Channel 7 Boston.  By visiting their website, you can sign up for closing alerts on your phone for Plowshares and the Newton Public Schools.

Registration for the 2015 Newton Little League Spring Season is now OPEN!  Register your son or daughter today at www.NewtonLLBaseball.org.

‘Newton Little League’ is a new name, but based on the same great experience that children have enjoyed for decades in Newton North, Newton Central and Newton West Little Leagues!  Whether beginners or advanced players, all eligible children will be placed on a team. 

Majors players (Ages 10,11,12) must register and attend the Feb. 7 tryout, even if they played on a Majors team last year.

See website for information on tryouts and younger player evaluations, as well as ‘early bird’ and family discounts.

Please spread the word and

WELCOME TO NEWTON LITTLE LEAGUE!

Newton Cultural Affairs Offices and Newton Chinese Language School will host this year’s Chinese New Year Celebration at City Hall.
Chinese New Year Celebration!
Newton Cultural Affairs Offices and Newton Chinese Language School invite you to join this delightful day of events:
Saturday, February 7, 10am – 3pm
Newton Cultural Center at City hall

• 10am – 1pm Chinese painting and art exhibition
• 10am – 1pm Kids’ crafts and games
• 11am – 2pm Chinese Dim sum for sale*
• 11am- 12 pm Chinese painting demo
• 12pm – 1pm Chinese instrument demo
• 1pm- 3pm Performance

Free admission. Please bring an item for the Newton Food Pantries.
*We recommend preordering the Dim Sum for $12/box, as quantity is limited. http://www.newtonchineseschool.org/2015CNY-Celebration.php

John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club of Newton has begun a new partnership with Newton Community Education. The LEGO ROBOTICS and GIRLS ANATOMY ACADEMY programs offered below will take place at the Boys & Girls Club and they represent the Club’s first step towards a renewed focus on Education at the Club.

We know that asking you to register through a third party and pay a fee represents a change from the normal way the Club does things. Although these high quality programs are offered at an additional fee, we hope that you will find that the engaging, innovative subject matter is more than worth the cost. Thee classes are offered at a fee of $255 per 12 week experience. If you are interested, please register through Newton Community Education by following the, tested, working links below.

If you would like to sign up your child for the classes, but cannot afford to pay the fee, contact Les Whitham, Program Director at lwhitham@newtonbcgc.com.   Financial Aid is available to those who qualify.

Thank you,

David Sellers
Executive Director
John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club of Newton
675 Watertown Street | Newton, MA 02460
P: 617.630.2066

E: dsellers@newtonbgc.com

Citizen Speak:
The city is going to review the traffic/crossing light at the end of Capital Street and see if it should be moved to the end of Pearl. This will support L-E students and families who need to cross Watertown Street and will be helpful during the winter months because Pearl Street sidewalks are plowed for students whereas the sidewalks in Capital are not plowed.

Principal Updates:
Building Update: The window in the Music Room that has been broken for several years has been fixed.  Our school has 2 new computer carts, one Mac Air laptops and one Chrome Book. In the future, we are hoping for funding for one additional cart so the school can have easy access to a cart on each floor. In addition, the school has 3 new printers.
L-E will add a third section to the 5th grade next year. This will make our school full with three sections at each grade level. Preschool classes will be move to a different facility. L-E is currently the only school that houses pre-school classes.
A new reading support program called the Lesley Literary Initiative (LLI) has begun at L-E for students with below average language ability. L-E is piloting the program in first grade and will most likely be added to the second grade next year.
We are looking for help at two upcoming events:  RafflePalooza and Newton Serves. More detail will becoming soon.

PARCC Assessment
L-E will be giving the students the PARCC Assessment. The school decided to join this year as a pilot.  The results of this test will not affect the school’s Level 1 status. Students will take a timed, paper and pencil test for English and Math that intends to test critical thinking skills and assess college readiness. Interested Parents can go to the PARCC website and view practice test samples.
http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/

Site Council
The L-E Site Council met with the Alderman to review building issues. There is a flooding problem on the playground near the entrance of the playground near the path. L-E plans to have Parks and Recreation here to see the playground when it is icy and muddy in the hope of fixing drainage issues. The current ice expands to the spot where the children enter the playground and where they line up. The danger of the ice can keep kids from going out to recess.

Fund Raising
The L-E PTO gets a fair amount of support from programs like Scrips, Stop and Shop, and Amazon. The group discussed more ways for parents to shop online that benefit parents. Much of this information is already on the website but we intend to add a dedicated page to the site for on-line shopping and fundraising options.

SUPPORT FOR L-E TRAFFIC SAFETY…

CHANGE IN PARKING METERS: On January 22nd the Traffic Council will be meeting and there are two items that may be of interest to L-E Parents. Item #TC63-14 is a request to change the time limit on the meters located in Nonantum (all meters in Nonantum currently have a 1-hour limit) to meters with a mix of a two-hour and a twelve-hour time limit.

MOVE THE CROSSING LIGHT ON WATERTOWN ST. TO PEARL STREET INTERSECTION.
If you would like to send a letter of support to move the crossing light from Capital St to Pearl St, you can send a letter of support to Dave Koses (dkoses@newtonma.gov), Bill Paille
(wpaille@newtonma.gov), or to one of the Ward 1 Aldermen – Alison Leary, Jay Ciccone or Scott
Lennon.
Main reasons why MOVING THE CROSSING LIGHT TO WATERTOWN AND PEARL is safer for L-E
families:

1. Kids are crossing at Pearl Street now as it is the main thru way from Nonantum to L-E. With no light and no guard, cars often run right thru the cross walk.
2. The guard for crossing Jackson is at Pearl so families have to walk back and forth. Cross Watertown at Capital and cross Jackson at Pearl. We DO NOT want families crossing Jackson at Capitol. There is no crosswalk, no guard, and lots of drivers either dropping off kids or trying to pull around cars that are dropping off kids. This is very, very dangerous for pedestrians. L-E wants families approaching the school from Pearl and crossing at Pearl. The Pearl Street entrance is the main entrance to the school and the doors open at the same time there as they do at Jackson.
3. The city allows each school a limited number of routes for snow clearing during snow storms. Pearl street is our route. Right now families need to choose between safe crossing at Capital or safe sidewalks on Pearl.

Juniors/IM registration is now open for the spring 2015 NGS soccer season.

(This message does not apply to players currently registered for our travel program.)

Register Now

Registration Deadlines – Register by the deadline to avoid a late fee and wait list placement, and to have a friend request considered.

• K & Grade 1 Programs: Please register by February 28.
• Grade 2 – 9 Programs: Please register by February 15.

IMPORTANT Note about Uniforms:  The uniform for all girls playing in the Juniors/Intramural program is a reversible (orange on one side, white on the other) NGS intramural jersey.  Players may wear any color soccer shorts, socks, and shin guards; these items can be purchased on your own from any retailer.

The jersey ordering process for all grades (K-8) for the upcoming spring 2015 season has changed; you will now order your intramural jersey via the new NGS Online Store (more merchandise will be available in the fall).  Jerseys cost $25 and are available in sizes Youth Small – Adult Large.  Your order will be shipped directly to you from our vendor, generally within 7-10 days.  However, please place your order at least two weeks before the season begins to ensure that your player has a jersey for the first game.

Because these are custom orders, no returns or refunds are accepted.  We suggest that you confirm the size before placing an order.  Sample sizes will be available to try on at Lapels Dry Cleaners located at 319 Walnut Street in Newtonville (617-527-6700).

To order a new IM jersey please click on the following link: Order IM Jersey.  You only need to order a jersey if your daughter doesn’t have one or if her current jersey no longer fits.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the new streamlined process and hope it will launch us into another successful and fun soccer season.  If you have any questions about the new process please email the registrar at registrar@newtongirlssoccer.org.  Any questions about the product or your order should be directed to num1source@aol.com.

Sibling Discounts: NGS provides a $20 discount per-child for additional children in the same family.  However, our online registration system will only automatically apply the sibling discount if you register two or more children in the same NGS program (e.g., both in travel, both in IM 3-9, both in J2, etc.) at the same time.  If your children play in different NGS programs, email registrar@newtongirlssoccer.org BEFORE you register so that we can provide a $20 discount code.  We cannot apply the discount after you have already registered and paid.

Scholarship Requests: Send scholarship requests to the NGS President, Mac Blythe, president@newtongirlssoccer.org.

Coaching:  If you would like to be a parent coach (J1, J2, and IM 3-9 programs only), please be sure to sign up as a volunteer when you register your daughter(s).  It is a rewarding experience and you’ll receive a considerable amount of support.

Other Helpful Information:

• Girls that played Travel in the fall DO NOT need to register for the spring season.  Occasionally, we have openings on travel teams in the spring.  Typically, we will announce travel team openings in March.
• For IM programs, every girl registered by the deadline is guaranteed a spot on a team.  Girls that register after the deadline will be put on a wait list.
• In order to honor friend requests (J2 and IM 3-9 programs only), they must be mutual and registrations must be received by the deadline.

Please email me at registrar@newtongirlssoccer.org with any questions.  The NGS Website is also an incredibly useful resource (and it never sleeps).

There will not be pizza for sale on Friday at Lincoln-Eliot.