Dear Parents, Students and Community:
Spring registration for fall classes is approaching quickly. As always, it is an exciting time of the year, especially for our incoming sixth grade students. We anticipate a smooth scheduling process for you and your students. As you are well aware, due to budget cuts in LPS, Newton will no longer be able to fund and deliver the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program as it currently exists.
This change does not mean we are lowering our standards or rigor at Newton; in fact, it is just the opposite. We have looked at this change as an opportunity to recreate ourselves. Next fall all students will receive a minimum of 80 minutes of instruction everyday in Language Arts and Math.
We will continue to offer advanced classes in Language Arts and Math as well as regular classes in Social Studies and Science. Students will be able to select elective classes in the areas of Spanish, Physical Education/Health, Band, Orchestra, Technology Education, Art and Choir. Unfortunately with the large staffing cuts we had to make at Newton we will no longer be offering French and Computer classes. Technology will now be infused in the core academic areas of Language Arts, Social Studies, Science and Math.
An example of a student schedule is included below. The schedule is just an example and will look differently based upon the block of time each grade level has electives and what classes your student chooses to take.
7th Grade Sample Schedule
Monday (odd) | Tuesday (even) | Wednesday(all) | Thursday (odd) | Friday (even) |
1 – Social Studies | 2 – Science | 1 – Social Studies 2 – Science | 1 – Social Studies | 2 – Science |
3 – Tech 2 | 4 – Art 7 | 3 – Tech 2 4 – Art 7 | 3 – Tech 2 | 4 – Art 7 |
5 – Lang Arts | 6 – Lang Arts | 5 – Lang Arts 6 – Lang Arts | 5 – Lang Arts | 6 – Lang Arts |
7 – Math | 8 – Math | 7 – Math 8 – Math | 7 – Math | 8 – Math |
Knight time | Knight time | Homeroom | Knight time | Knight time |
We will continue with our block schedule with time built into the regular school day for interventions for struggling students and enrichment classes for all. Even though we will no longer officially carry the IB label we will continue to ensure Newton’s focus on inquiry-based educational opportunities for students. We will continue to employ instructionally sound best practices and develop students who inquire, seek knowledge, care about their community and strive for intercultural understanding and respect. Our objective is to provide all students with a quality education while meeting their individual needs. We believe in making connections with both students and parents and forming an important partnership with you to meet our goals for your child.
We wish your student the best in their middle school career here at Newton and look forward to the 2010-2011 school year.