I write to you to share information on the precautions we are taking in the Newton Public Schools related to EEE and West Nile Virus. Newton remains a LOW risk community in the state for both EEE and WNV. Given the LOW risk level, the Newton Health and Human Services Department advises precautions as listed in the attached fact sheet.
NPS has taken the following actions given the elevated risk levels in other parts of the state:
Outdoor field trips to locations in "high" or "critical" risk areas have been cancelled.
Planned outdoor evening activities will be moved indoors if possible. If held outside, the Newton Health and Human Services Department advises wearing insect repellant and long sleeves/pants. (Parents/caregivers should apply/provide repellant.)
At this time, the Newton Health and Human Services Department is not advising cancelling outdoor evening activities.
At this time, outdoor activities during the day (recess and physical education) do not require modification.
Should the risk level change, these actions will be re-evaluated.
We will continue to work closely with our partners in the Newton Health and Human Services Department to monitor the situation and will make adjustments as necessary. Newton HHS is working together with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project to assess the situation in our community. We will keep you updated as new information becomes available.
Sincerely,
David Fleishman
New School Directory System:
Families Need to Set Up New Account
The Ward School PTO is excited to announce that we will be using Membership Toolkit for our Ward School Directory starting with this 2019-2020 school year. Most of the information from the old system-MySchoolAnywhere-was transferred to the new system but each family must create a new account and verify their information. A printed directory will be available.
· Use the same email and password used in the past Ward Directory system.
· Select "Create Account" and fill in the name, email, and password information.
· Click "verify my email" and then check your email for a link to complete the process. The link expires in 2 hours. If you do not receive the email, check your spam or junk folders.
· Once you have verified your email address, log back in and finish the registration process.
1. Complete the Parent/Family and Student Information. Most of this information should already be available. Please just confirm it is correct.
2. Complete the Directory/Publish Preferences.
Note: Once the Primary Account is set up, the Primary User can "invite" other email addresses to access his/her account. This allows the Secondary User to have their own login information, but still have access to the family account.
Questions? - Please don't hesitate to contact Sarah Lenz at sklenz@gmail.com.
Back to School Picnic
Welcome Back! Please join us at the Ward School PTO Back to School Picnic
Where: Ward School Field
When: Theusday, September 17, 5:30-7:30pm
Why: Food and fun!
The Ward PTO is pleased to provide pizza* and water (bring your own bottles). An ice cream truck will also be on site (please bring cash).
There will be fun and games for kids of all ages. It will be a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends and welcome our new Ward families.
Looking forward to another great year at Ward!
* If you require gluten-free pizza, please let Susan St. Pierre know prior to the picnic at sestpierre@gmail.com.
Advertise in 2019-2020 Ward School Directory
The directory team is already getting ready for the next school year. You can too! Advertise your business to the Ward Community by purchasing an ad in the 2019-2020 Ward Directory.
This is a cost effective way for your business to reach our families and support the PTO.
In addition to offsetting the cost of printing the Directory, proceeds will go toward PTO funding including Creative Arts & Sciences programming.
AD SIZES AND PRICES
A: Full Page $500 - 8.5" x 11"
B: Half page landscape $250 - 8.5" x 5.5"
C: Quarter page portrait $150 - 4.25" x 5.5"
D: Eighth page landscape $100 - 4.25 x 2.5
Email Kathy Shields at kburdetteshields@gmail.com for a sign up form or with any questions about directory ads.
Room Parents Needed
All grades/all classrooms are still in need of volunteers!
A great way to get involved with your child's class is to be a room parent. There are usually 2-4 room parents for each classroom and they provide vital support to teachers by organizing classroom events and recruiting volunteers.
Did you know that you can follow Ward School on Twitter? If you have an account or plan to make one, follow us: @ward_elementary.
Make Money for Ward When You Shop on Amazon
Simply bookmark this new link and click it every time you want to shop on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zp3zZW
Qualifying purchases made through the Amazon.com link above result in a payback range of 4% - 8.5% on total purchases.
But you have to click the link EACH time you go to shop as the cookie expires after 24 hours.
The payout percentage Ward receives on purchases through the Amazon Associates program (using the link above) is much greater than the payout percentage received through the Amazon Smile program.
Public health officials are currently investigating a multistate outbreak of severe
pulmonary disease associated with e-cigarette and marijuana vaping devices.
Newton Health and Human Services strongly urges residents to consider not using
any e-cigarette or vaping products until more information has been determined.
And we continue to encourage parents to speak with your children about never
using any vape products. Please click here for more information and to read the
entire advisory.
Deborah C. Youngblood, PhD
Commissioner of Health and Human Services
Newton, MA
617-796-1420
Community News and Advertisements
If you're looking for news about local educational and non-profit events, or services offered by local tutors, merchants, and other service providers, check out the Community Notes page maintained by the Newton PTO Council. Click here to link to their website, which you can search by category.
