Please go out and cast your vote. If you are unsure of your polling place (some have recently changed) , the following link will allow you to enter you address and
1. find your polling location
2. see exactly what will be on your ballot
Click here: Where do I vote and what will be on the ballot?
The Newton Cares Coalition was formed last year to bring greater awareness to mental health issues, to help prevent suicides in our community, and to find ways to support those who have been bereaved by suicide. Newton Cares is a community partnership that requires active and broad-based involvement. Join one of the four subcommittees – Postvention (the short-term response following a suicide), Youth, Adult, Advocacy – to brainstorm ideas and develop priorities for the next six months.
Accomplishments to date include the creation of a web-based mental health screening service offered by the City, a number of recently completed and upcoming suicide and mental health training programs, coping and support strategies, and programming for youth and adults. But more needs to be done.
What can you do to help?
Come to the next Newton Cares meeting:
October 23rd, 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Newton Senior Center, 345 Walnut Street
Interested, but can’t make it? Join our mailing list and visit the website to see what’s on the horizon.
NNHS PTSO brings Dr. Michael Thompson to speak on “The Pressured Child”. The push for students to excel at school and get into the best colleges has never been more intense. Through his experience as a clinical psychologist, school consultant and speaker on the topics of children, schools and parenting, Dr. Thompson, co-author of Raising Cain, addresses America’s performance-driven obsession with the accomplishments of its kids – and provides a deeply humane response.
Co-Sponsored by: Bigelow Middle School PTO, Day Middle School PTO, the Educational Excellence Fund of the Newton North High School PTSO, PTO Council, The Newton Partnership and the Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education.
October 23rd, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Newton North Auditorium
For information about Newton PAC, please go to the Newton PAC website: www.newtonpac.org . If you have questions for the Newton PAC Board, please email info@newtonpac.org
Topics to be presented in 2014-2015:
Future Newton PAC meeting dates:
November 10th – Topic: Basic Rights
December 10th
January 8th
February 5th
March 4th
April 15th
May 14th
June 2015 – Sixth Annual Special Educators Awards Ceremony, Date TBA
We welcome Karen Manning as the new co-president joining Jennifer Abbott this year and also welcome to our Executive Board new member Doreen Rachal.
A huge thank you to Sunwoo Kahng and Lori Knowles for their service on our Executive Board for the last two years and to Frieda Dweck and Theresa Fitzpatrick who along with Jennifer Abbott have been working tirelessly as Council Co-Presidents to fulfill the purpose of the PTO Council (and so much more), as stated in our bylaws:
To serve as a fact-finding and discussion body to clarify issues related to the Newton Public Schools and to recommend or take appropriate action on such issues where advisable;
To act as a clearinghouse for information from members of the school administration and community leaders to the member Parent-Teacher Organizations and Parent-Teacher-Student Organizations (collectively referred to herein as the “PTOs”), to provide communication among the member PTOs, and to provide communication from the member PTOs to the community and to the members of the school administration; and
To act as an advocate for public education in Newton and in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Check out the newly released proposed budget here.
Many PTOs are planning end of year celebrations and fundraisers which will involve the preparation and handling of food. All food that is offered to the general public is required to meet specific quality and handling standards. Therefore, to ensure that food is served safely, it has been generally required that events at which food is served have a designated person-in charge, who is responsible for ensuring that food is stored, prepared, displayed and served in keeping with safe food practices.
A Food Service training session geared towards providing PTO representatives with the information that they need to satisfy these requirements has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 18th, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the Newton City Hall cafeteria. The Health Department will conduct the training session, and will provide you with training aids and handouts so that you can pass along information to other volunteers at a later date.
We hope that many of you will be able to receive training. The person (or persons) attending do not need to be PTO presidents, however please send a quick email to the Co-Presidents here if you will be coming so we can advise the Health Department of the number of people to expect.
The School Committee meetings for FY2015 Budget presentation and discussions are scheduled as follows:
Thursday, March 13 – Superintendent’s Budget Presentation (part of a regular meeting)
Monday, March 17 – Budget discussion of regular education, teaching and learning, professional development and technology
Thursday, March 20 – Budget discussion of student services, ELL, Career and Tech Ed and all non-instructional areas
Monday, March 24 – Continued budget discussion and straw vote
Monday, March 31 – Public hearing on the budget
Monday, April 7 – Final vote (part of regular meeting)
Meetings convene at 7:00 pm in Room 210, Education Center, 100 Walnut St. For additional information, please visit the School Committee website.
Email messages sent to schoolcommittee@newton.k12.ma.us will be forwarded to the entire School Committee. To reach individual members, find their individual email addresses here.
The committee can also be contacted by mail at: Chair, Newton School Committee, 100 Walnut Street, Newton MA 02460. Telephone messages can be taken at 617-559-6110.
The 21 schools that make up the PTO Council unanimously passed a resolution in the spring of 2013 to pursue sustainable funding for technology access devices.
Newton PTOs have been almost exclusively funding the purchase of technology access devices ever since they were introduced to the classroom. Now, in 2014, as the role of technology in our world has steadily expanded for 30 years, we have reached the point where PTO funding for these devices is no longer feasible.
As the FY 2015 budget unfolds, the PTO Council sincerely hopes to see a realistic line item in the budget for sustainable funding of technology access devices.
Wishing all of you and your families a happy and safe holiday season.