As the school year is ready to begin, we are writing to update you about our school lunch program, which is up and running in all of Newton’s schools. We do need to ask for your understanding and to inform you that we still are completing the process of transitioning to a long-term solution for nutritious and affordable food service in the Newton Schools. You may recall that in light of increasing financial constraints, the School Committee approved a budget initiative that called for either contracting out the school lunch program or achieving significant savings to the existing in-house program through labor negotiations, beginning this year.

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In addition to this letter, you will receive and find on the Newton Public Schools website Mr. Clickstein’s letter explaining all the information about the lunch program, menus, how to prepay and his commitment to providing an excellent lunch program for all students. Please note that there are no increases in the lunch prices; the prices remain the same as they have been for over six years.

Dear Parents or Guardian,

We would like to welcome you to the 2010-2011 School Year. We anticipate an exciting year and would like to take a moment of your time to explain our lunch program. Service will begin on Wednesday September 8, 2010, and for aftercare students on Tuesday September 14, 2010. Starting this year parents will no longer have to pre-order meals for their child(ren) simply prepay for as many meals as you chose too. When your child goes through the lunch line or if they have meals delivered to the classroom, they will be served their lunch and we will deduct your prepayment from their account. We recommend you register your child for an on-line pre-paid account as a safe and convenient method of prepaying lunch for your children. You can find the UNIBANK link on-line at www.newton.k12.ma.us/foodservices/index.html. Below are the fees for UNIBANK.

$ 1.00 $ 99.99 $ 2.50

$ 100.00 $ 199.99 $ 5.00

$ 200.00 $ 399.99 $ 10.00

$ 400.00 $ 699.99 $ 17.50

$ 700.00 $ 1,099.99 $ 27.50

You also have several other pre-payment options: Send via the mail cash or a check to the Newton Public Schools food Service Office, 100 Walnut Street Newton, MA 02460. Also for your convenience you can send a pre- payment to your child’s school. Please make sure your payment is put into the food service lockbox located in the front office or directly outside of the kitchen.

September’s menu will be in your child’s welcome packet that you will receive on the first day of school. You can also find the menu on-line at www.newton.k12.ma.us/foodservices/index.html. Please note that Kindergarten students will begin meal service on Monday October 4, 2010. Look for the October menu in your child’s backpack during the last week in September. Please refer to the informational sheet included for Kindergartner parents for more specific information.

For your convenience this year Free and Reduced lunch family applications were mailed directly to each household in August. If you did not receive one please call 617-559-9015. You can also find the application in English as well as several other languages on our web-site. www.newton.k12.ma.us/foodservices/index.html.

Each school year we a required by law to obtain a new application for every household requesting benefits. This school year a completed application will need to be sent to the Food Service Department no later than October 4, 2010. If we have not received a new application by that date your child(ren) will be removed from the Free and Reduced Program until a new application is received and processed. The review and approval process takes approximately five business days. If your child is eligible for free or reduced school meals, your child may also be eligible for free or low cost health insurance through Mass Health. To learn more call: 1-800-841-2900.

Sincerely,
Food Services

www.newton.k12.ma.us/foodservices/index.html.

Elementary Schools

When your child is going to be absent from school or late to school, you need to leave a message on the Williams School Safety Call Back/Attendance phone line:

617-559-6499.

Please note that this is a dedicated line and is NOT the main number for the school.

It is important that you call the safety call back/attendance line (617-559-6499) by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the absence/late arrival.

A parent volunteer listens to the messages each morning and cross checks the names with the attendance sheets for each classroom.

If you know about the absence in advance, you can send a note to your child’s teacher and the main office. If you have sent a note, you do not need to call the attendance line.

If a child is absent and no message or prior note has been received, a call will then be made to the child’s home to check in.

Please help us make sure your children are safe by remembering to call if they will be absent or late.

How to safely drop off and pick up your children in the front of the school.

The “Blue Zone” consists of three areas in front of the Williams School on Grove Street, and is used for drop-off and pick-up of students.

The smaller Blue Zone on the school side of Grove Street is for buses only–no parents may park or stop in this area.

The driveway in front of the school is the main Blue Zone area; when using this area for drop-off and pick-up, please pull all the way up and get as close as you can to the car in front of you.

It is illegal for cars to block the crosswalks at either end of this Blue Zone area; no part of your car, even your back tires, can be on the crosswalk.

If there is no space in the Blue Zone, you may not park on Grove Street; instead, you must continue past the school and around the block. Depending on the time, it may make sense to pull around and park someplace for a couple of minutes. Please observe traffic signs–you may not make a left turn from Grove Street into the Blue Zone or a left turn onto Grove Street from the Blue Zone.

There is also a Blue Zone area on Grove Street across the street from the school. Children (and parents) must use the crosswalk when crossing Grove Street; this Blue Zone area works best for children in the upper grades who can cross at the crosswalk with the crossing guard, without parental assistance.

When using the Blue Zone areas, please remember to turn your car engine off, and to remain in your car and wait for your child to come to you. If your child cannot buckle the seat belt, please help them to gain this skill, as parents must remain in their cars in the Blue Zone.

It is important that parents do not use cell phones while in the Blue Zone, as it can be distracting and dangerous.

If you will be using the Blue Zone for pick-up, please ask your children to come right out after dismissal and not to linger in the hallway. You may also want to consider coming to pick up a few minutes after dismissal time, after the rush, and/or forming a carpool to reduce the number of cars using the Blue Zone.

Be sure to check out our updated page about the Williams School teachers and staff.

It includes links to the teachers’ websites and background information.

Newton Superintendent David Fleishman sent this letter explaining preliminary MCAS test results for Newton.

Click on the image to download the full letter

There will be an Open House on Thursday, September 2, from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.

This is the only time prior to the first day of school when students and parents are welcome to come into the school and say hello to the teachers, specialists and other professionals in the building.

Hello, Williams Community!

It seems amazing, as it always does, but summer is in her waning days and the beginning of school is just a couple of weeks away.

I hope that you and your family have had a restful and enjoyable summer and are ready to start what will be a wonderful school year full of inquiring, learning and having fun.

Here is some important information for you to be aware of before the first day of school on Tuesday, September 7.

• An email blast announcing classroom placements will be sent out on Friday, August 27.
• There will be an Open House on Thursday, September 2, from 10:30 a.m.  until 11:30 a.m.  This is the only time prior to the first day of school when students and parents are welcome to come into the school and say hello to the teachers, specialists and other professionals in the building.
• We have three new staff members at Williams this year.  Our new first grade teacher is Ms. Lynn Mullholand, our new third grade teacher is Ms. Stephanie McKenna and our new Inclusion Facilitator is Ms. Sarah Wilson.  Please join me in welcoming them to our school community. We are very lucky to have such a talented group join the professional ranks at Williams.
• I have two extended maternity leaves to announce.  Ms. Jen Ortega, a second grade teacher, will be spending an additional eight weeks at home, and Ms. Mimi McClain, who has been at Williams before with great success, will take over until she returns.  Ms. Michele Bilodeau, a Learning Center teacher, will also be extending her leave for eight weeks, and I have final interviews scheduled this week to fill her position until she returns.
• As many of you know, we will begin a before school program at Williams this year.  The program will begin each day at 7:30 a.m. at the cost of $8 per day, per child.  If you have any questions about registration please contact Danielle Niro at (617) 559-9051.  Children who are not enrolled in the morning program will not be allowed to enter the school building until 8:20 a.m. All doors will be locked until that time and students will be expected to be outside on the playground or basketball court until the first bell.

Although it can be difficult to see summer end, one of the wonderful things about working in a school is the utter excitement that comes with the beginning of a new school year!

I will be in touch again soon, and I am very much looking forward to a positive, smooth and exciting beginning to this school year!

Best,

Dr. Midge Connolly
Williams School Principal
Midge_Connolly@newton.k12.ma.us

All parents and guardians of students at Williams are members of the Williams PTO. We whole-heartedly invite you to participate in PTO meetings and activities throughout the year. Parent involvement in the school is a fundamental part of what makes the school experience here so special. We need both your financial support and your efforts. No matter what your interests or working style, there is a job or task here that will suit you. Volunteer!

We would like to invite you to join us on the Williams School playground to meet other Williams families with incoming kindergarteners!

The PTO is sponsoring two summer Kindergarten family get-togethers at the Williams School playground (we will meet in back on the playground–not in the school–the school building will not be open).

We have scheduled get-togethers on two dates:

• Saturday, July 31st from 3:30 to 5:00pm
• Monday, August 16 from 6:00 to 7:00pm

We will serve Popsicles on both dates.

Please contact Christina Hardway (PTO Kindergarten Coordinator) with any questions: chardway@gmail.com

Welcome to Williams!  We look forward to meeting you all.