Dear Needham Public Schools Families:

Allow me to share the following updates as we begin a new week:

•  Sunita L. William School Open House  The Needham School Committee will host an Open House at the new Sunita L. Williams Elementary School, located at 585 Central Ave., on Saturday morning, October 19, from 9:00 until 10:30 a.m.  This is an opportunity for parents and members of the community to tour the new school and chat informally with your School Committee and share ideas, questions, and concerns.  Please join us!

•  Needham Schools Spotlight  Please check out the latest cable show featuring a discussion with the School Committee about challenges and opportunities in the year ahead:  Needham Schools Spotlight . You may also view the program on local cable.

• Superintendent's Blog I try to update my blog monthly to ensure parents and members of the community are updated on current school news, information, and happenings.  Please check out my latest post, What is Your Why?

•  Bus Updates on Twitter  There are times a bus or van can be delayed due to road conditions or a mechanical issue.  Parents and students who wish to receive updates about school transportation can sign on to Twitter to receive timely, updated, and helpful alerts: https://twitter.com/NeedhamPSTrans  Parents and students are also encouraged to follow me on Twitter to receive important school news and updates, including weather-related school cancellations: https://twitter.com/NPS_Supt  

•  Student Accolades  Congratulations to several Needham High School students for being named Semi-Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test:  Matthew Culver, Jason Hedman, Anne Kiely, Zachary Lu, Annie Stein, Cindy Zhang, Helena Zhang. Congrats also to Commended Students:  Itai Abraham, Andrew Atallah, Noah Basson, Caleb Boyer, Ora Caperton, Andy Feng, Josh Fleckner, Jess Hung, Joseph Kim, Andrew Li, Isabelle Liu, John Lively, Isabelle Lockhart, Max Mazzarese, Logan Packard, Matt Peijovich, Kelly Putnam, Will Roberts, Kelsey Rondini, Leroy Shaigorodsky, Zach Stickles, Drew Siegenthaler, Colin Wells, Eric Xu, and Lucy Ying. We are proud of these and all of our students who each day demonstrate a commitment to the competencies embedded in the District's Portrait of a Needham Graduate Strategic Plan !

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments:  781.455.0400, extension 11203 or dan_gutekanst@needham.k12.ma.us

Have a great week!

Dan Gutekanst

Superintendent of Schools