"20th Century" presented by the highly acclaimed Theatre Ink 
This hilarious, fast-paced comedy will have audiences laughing from Chicago to Grand Central Station!  "20th Century" follows financially ruined theatre producer Oscar Jaffe's zany plots to win back his former lover and leading lady, Lily Garland.  Outrageous characters and wild twists drive this over-the-top farce, complete with a religious zealot writing faulty checks and a plan for a Passion Play starring a menagerie of wild animals.  November 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30pm.  Lasker Auditorium at NNHS, 360 Lowell Avenue, Newtonville.  Tickets $7 at www.theatreink.net or 617-559-6406. 

 

Out-of-District Policy Statement
Out-of-District placements for students who wish to attend a school in Newton other than his/her district school are limited.  Such placements are made on a space available basis only.  Newton families, as well as members of Units A, B, C, D, E, NESA, Custodians and Boston parents of students in the METCO Program, should call the Elementary Education Office (grades K - 5) at 617-559-6105 or the Deputy Superintendent's Office (grades 6 - 12) at 617-559-6115 for information.  Students who receive acceptance for Out-of-District placement must remain in the school selected for the duration of the school year.
 
Applications for the following school year must be submitted on forms which will be available beginning November 2 in the Elementary Education Office (grades K - 5), Room 218, or the Deputy Superintendent's Office (grades 6 - 12), Room 214, at the Education Center.
 
If necessary, a lottery will be implemented to determine the order in which placements will be made.  Completed applications, signed by the in-district principal, can be submitted no earlier than January 4, 2010 and no later than March 31, 2010.  Applications submitted after March 31, 2010 will not be included in the lottery.
 
Class size in a given grade, in a given year, in a specific school, may preclude any placements including siblings.
 
Parents will be responsible for transportation.
 
Tuition Free Enrollment is limited to the per pupil cost of regular education.
 
Strategic Plan Task Forces: Call for Volunteers
In the process of strategic planning, a number of promising ideas were put forward. We are establishing task forces to study three of these ideas in greater depth. Each task force will have a team leader and include both educators and community volunteers. The team leader will establish a process for selecting other team members who will work together to establish goals and timeframes. After they are constituted and have developed a timetable, each task force will report to the School Committee about their proposed work. The three task forces are:

• Partnerships with academic institutions and businesses
• Virtual learning opportunities
• Expanded learning time

Each task force will have 8 to 12 members, and will include (at a minimum) 3 teachers, 2 administrators, and 3 community members.  At this point in time, we are looking for representatives to serve on each of these task forces. 
 
Meetings will take place monthly according to the following schedule:
 
Monday, October 26
Monday, November 23
Monday, December 14
Monday, January 11
Monday, March 1
 
All meetings are 3:30 -- 5:30 PM.
 
Please consider joining one of these task forces.  If you are interested in serving on a particular Task Force, please email the Task Force Leader of your our interest by October 16, 2009.
 
Task Force on Partnerships: This task force seeks to forge partnerships that will enhance professional development, curriculum and program development, and in turn, the quality of teaching and learning.  Such partnerships would foster a dynamic learning environment, as well as create mechanisms through which NPS will more systematically hire and retain top quality, diverse educators. We intend to investigate various partnerships with local colleges, universities, businesses and organizations to rethink teacher training and professional development programs in order to attract and maintain a reliable pool of high quality, talented and diverse educators who are equipped with the mindset and skills necessary to realize the NPS's mission of developing students for a global age.  Please contact Joe Russo at joseph_russo@newton.k12.ma.us regarding the Partnerships Taskforce.
 
Task Force on Virtual Learning:  The NPS as a Permeable Campus Working Group (spring, 2009) has recommended that "NPS should expand and explore online learning options for preK-12 students and the use of other online resources."  During the past eight years, the Newton Public Schools' technology infrastructure (network, hardware, software, and professional development) has expanded to take advantage of a variety of online resources for students and teachers. Additionally, NPS has begun to offer online courses in two ways. One is for teacher professional development; the other is a blended learning opportunity for students.  This task force will review these and other online models in order to make recommendations regarding the future and potentially expanded use of virtual learning in the Newton Public Schools.  Please contact Shelley Chamberlain at shelley_chamberlain@newton.k12.ma.us regarding the Virtual Learning Taskforce.
 
Task Force on Expanded Learning Time (ELT).  Quoting liberally from the recommendation of the Permeable Campus Working Group:  Expanded Learning Time (ELT) rethinks and retools the traditional six-hour day/180 day school year. Today's students are required to know and do more than previous generations to remain competitive in our global economy.  As we strive to teach more and more content, the constraint is time, and we endeavor to squeeze more and more into the school day.  With ELT we treat time as "permeable;" it is a fundamental restructuring of the school day/week/year to accommodate student learning.  It may provide 1) more instructional time in core subjects to support student achievement, 2) an opportunity to integrate enrichment and applied learning opportunities into the school day; and 3) more time for teachers to do common planning, engage in professional development and collaborate with community based organizations.  The task force will review the potential of employing ELT in Newton, and make recommendations based on its research.  Please contact Paul Stein at paul_stein@newton.k12.ma.us regarding the Extended Learning Time Taskforce.

Newton Community Ed classes at Cabot
Registration is now underway for fall classes with Newton Community Education. Coming up at Cabot we have Mad Science on Wednesdays, West African Drumming and Pottery on Thursdays, and Chess and Girls Science Club on Fridays. Check out our family programs this fall (they include two kayak trips, Family Night Under the Stars, the returning favorite Chocolate Connection, Stargazing, and more), and our classes for older elementary schoolers, like Fencing at Bigelow; Robotics,  Bio Lab, or Sewing at South; Archery at Day; Babysitting; and lots more. For younger kids as well as for soccer moms we have Saturday soccer, and for middle school siblings we have lots going on after school too. In addition we have a wide variety of classes at schools throughout Newton, and we welcome kids from all schools at all of our classes. For more information or to register, call our office at 617-559-6999 or visit our website at www.newtoncommunityed.org.
 
Newton's One to One Program
Could your child, ages 6  to 11, benefit from the consistent, caring friendship of a Newton teenager?  Newton's One to One Program has an enthusiastic new group of high school seniors from Newton North and Newton South High Schools.  If you would like the opportunity to have your matched this academic year with a "Big Brother/Sister", please call Nancy Holczer, Program Director, at 617.559.9063 by the end of October.  Please leave a message on the answering machine, which includes your name, address, and phone number. A program of the Newton Public Schools since 1972.  Funded by The Newton Partnership (formerly the Newton Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative).
 
Wednesday, October 21st - Kickoff meeting for Inclusive Schools Week
Please join us at 100 Walnut Street, Newtonville, Room 210, at 7:30pm to discuss Inclusive Technology.  We will plan the citywide celebration that takes place the week of December 7th to 11th, 2009.  More details at http://www.inclusiveschools.org/node/1767
 
The Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education serves as a resource for parents and as a liaison between parents and the school administration.  All parents, teachers, specialists and others with an interest in education are welcome.  Contact info@newtonpac.org
 
You are invited to the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Understanding Our Differences on November 10, 2009, 7- 9 PM at the Brae Burn Country Club in Newton. The guest speaker is Governor Deval Patrick. Leadership Awards will be presented to Carol Kanin, past President of the Board of Directors who has led with passion and wisdom to promote UOD's mission and Ming Tsai, chef owner of Blue Ginger Restaurant for his work with State Senator Cynthia Creem in promoting food allergy awareness. The Understanding Our Differences curriculum team members will be honored for their expertise and extraordinary dedication in updating the curriculum and developing the new Autism Spectrum Disorder unit.  For more information or tickets, visit our website: UnderstandingOurDifferences.org or call 617-559-6075.
 
The School Committee is pleased to announce that Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates has been engaged as consultants for our superintendent search. HYA has done over 700 superintendent searches nationwide, many in communities similar to Newton. They were chosen for both their national recruiting ability and their track record in guiding superintendent search processes.
 
Meet the new interim superintendent -- Wednesday, October 21,7:30-9:00 p.m., Day Middle School auditorium
All members of the community are invited to an evening session to meet and hear from Interim SuperintendentDr. James Marini. He will speak about the state of the schools and his experience in Newton thus far, followed by a session allowing for questions and answers.
 
Free Parent Workshop 
Helping Children Cope with Divorce - How can children be supported through this major family change?, Wednesday, October 28th from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Newton Community Service Center, 492 Waltham St. 02465.
 
Preregistration required by emailing ssklan@ncscweb.org or by calling 617.969.5906 x 125.  Child Care Available.  Susan Sklan, LICSW will address the social and emotional developmental needs of children of divorcing and divorced parents.  Focusing on the best interests of their children, parents will discuss how to co-parent effectively. 
 
Co-sponsored by The Newton Partnership and Newton Community Service Center.