On January 17, the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) published a response to the NPS slides and discussion points presented by School Committee Chair Chris Brezski at a question-and-answer session held by NPS with PTO leaders and the public on January 16 (see Fig City News article on that session). Among…
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I don’t think I would know anything about the NPS/NTA contract negotiations if it weren’t for The Lion’s Roar newspaper. As young(ish) students, we are privileged enough to believe that “ignorance is bliss” when we see our teachers “coincidentally” wear blue shirts on Tuesdays, or rally outside of the building…
School Committee files Petition for Strike Investigation. Since the start of the new year, rumors regarding an imminent strike by Newton Public Schools (NPS) educators have gained traction, first on social media, then in the Charles River Regional Chamber of Commerce newsletter on January 12, and then over this past…
As Katani Sumner started to perform Lift Every Voice and Sing on January 15, she encouraged the entire audience in the Newton North High School auditorium to join in as the moving lyrics were projected behind her. The Newton South High School METCO counselor’s rousing rendition of the more than…
On January 16, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) released the results of a study of the past 20 years of the impact of the METCO program on METCO students and their suburban peers. This longitudinal study, conducted by Tufts University Assistant Professor of Economics, Elizabeth Setren, found that…
On Sunday, January 14, over forty Newton parents, teachers, and elected officials met at the Scandinavian Cultural Center for an informal discussion about school funding. Horace Mann parents Alli Franke, Dan Evans, and Matt Mazer organized the meeting just days earlier and publicized it with the assistance of the Newton…
“Twilight and evening bell, / And after that the dark! / And may there be no sadness of farewell, / When I embark,” are just some of the moving lines from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, “Crossing the Bar.” Later set to music, the song is one of many soothing and…
Newton’s four Neighborhood Area Councils — Newton Highlands, Waban, Upper Falls, and Newtonville — are beginning their 2024 season by electing officers and setting goals for their two-year cycle. Much of their focus in recent years has been the redesign of their village centers as well as a number of…
Among the Boston Globe’s Fall 2023 All-Scholastics for high-school athletes and coaches are the following honorees from Newton. Girls Volleyball Athlete of the Year — Division 1: Sasha T. Selivan, Newton North, Freshman All-Scholastics Coach of the Year — Division 1: Nile Fox, Newton North Honorable Mention — Chloe Lee,…
Since 1999, the students of Brown Middle School have organized a gift drive for the families of Brookview House in Dorchester. Each year, students collect gifts, load them onto a box truck, and send them to Brookview, where they are given to the caretakers to wrap and gift to Brookview families. King Movers…
Recent honors, appointments, and arrivals for people who live or work in Newton…
Fig City News board member Tamirirashe Gambiza will run the 128th Boston Marathon to raise funds for Fig City News. He aims to raise $5,000 to expand our payments to local reporters and student interns. You can donate here and then join Fig City fans along the route cheering Tami…