Dear Needham Public Schools Families:

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Allow me to share the following updates as we conclude the school year and head into summer vacation:

•  Portrait of a Needham Graduate  Attached to this email is the Portrait of a Needham Graduate FY20 District Plan presentation the School Committee reviewed at its meeting on Tuesday evening, June 18th.  If approved by the School Committee at their July 12th meeting, the plan will frame the district's work for next school year and beyond.  I encourage you to provide any feedback or suggestions about the plan by contacting the School Committee via email:  schoolcommittee@needham.k12.ma.us
 
• Administrative Appointments  Several Needham staff members recently were appointed to new roles in the district:   Jamie Singelais  has accepted my offer to become the district's new Director of English Language Learner Education (ELL).  High Rock's Maggie Charron and Hillside's Raylene Roberts have been appointed to the position of assistant principal at their respective schools:  Ms. Charron will serve in the permanent position after a year as the interim AP, and Ms. Roberts will serve as the interim AP at the new Sunita L. Williams Elementary School.  Andrea Vargas, who has been serving in the role of interim assistant principal at Newman, has been appointed to the permanent assistant principal at that school, and Erin Vacaro, who has also served as interim assistant principal/special education coordinator at Hillside, has been appointed to the position of special education coordinator at the Sunita L. Williams Elementary School.  NHS science teacher Mary Kay Alessi has accepted the position of interim assistant principal at the high school. Thanks to these dedicated and talented educators for stepping up and into these important administrative roles in our district!

•  Student Accolades  It's been over two weeks since 430 NHS grads received their diplomas on Memorial Field under  sunny skies!  As the year has concluded, several students throughout the district have received the following recognitions:

- Girls' Lacrosse Academic All-Stars NHS Coach Paula Kelley shared the exciting news that an unprecedented number of lacrosse players were named as academic all stars:  Maeve Barker, Abby Dateo, Chloe Newman, Lilly Callahan, and Elena Oberle.  To put this success into perspective, the EMASS region that Needham is included in covers 170 schools and only the top 25 girls qualify for the US Lacrosse All Academic Team.  To have 5 of the total 25 come from NHS is awesome and speaks to their abilities, their parents' support, and their coach's and teachers' dedication.

- Needham High School students John Lively, Zachary Lu, Shayan Raza, and Anne Stein earned the National Speech & Debate Academic All American Award which recognizes academic rigor, competitive speech and debate success, and personal excellence.

- Needham High School senior, Ethan Lee, was selected as one of 621 semifinalists in the nation to advance to the final round of the 2019 Presidential Scholars competition based on academic achievement, personal characteristics, leadership, and service activities.

- Hillside School submitted podcasts to the National Public Radio (NPR) Podcast Challenge and two podcasts were recognized as "two of the absolute top submissions."   Students in Laura Miller's class who created the  "Clowning" podcast were Isabella Lee and Francesca DePaul; Raylene Roberts' student podcasters who produced "Stop Touching My Hair" were Engelika Perez Torres and Madison Swan.  

- Pollard National History Day Team Congratulations to the National History Day team from Pollard: Sylvia Azer, Audrey Finelli, Eve Kirstein, and Caroline Pinti who won first place in the Boston National History Day Regionals for their research project on the impact of the Flu of 1919 on Needham. 

• Superintendent's Blog Please check out my most recent post about the generosity and innovative spirit of the Needham Education Foundation (NEF):  Superintendent's Blog

• Needham Schools Spotlight Please check out the most recent Needham Schools Spotlight cable show featuring the backgrounds and experiences of seven of Needham's amazing teachers.  The program is available on local access TV, the Needham Channel or online:  Needham Schools Spotlight

Now, after a long year, it's time to enjoy the summer break and have fun with families and friends.  Please know I am proud to serve as your superintendent and value your continued collaboration as we support the hopes and dreams of your children.

Happy Summer!

Respectfully,

Dan Gutekanst
Superintendent
Needham Public Schools