Dear Needham Public Schools Families: Good Monday morning! Allow me to share the following updates: *• Portrait of a Needham Graduate *Over the last half year over 50 parents, staff, community members, and students have been working to develop a vision for Needham's students. Please check out my latest Superintendent's Blog <http://npssuperintendent.blogspot.com/> to learn about the Portrait of a Needham Graduate process and provide input. Your understanding of this important work *and* your feedback will be critical to our success! *• Needham METCO Documentary Premiere *Please join us this Wednesday, October 17th at 6:30 p.m. in the Newman auditorium for the world premiere of *METCO: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow*, a documentary produced by our very own NHS teacher, Natalie Guthrie. The film tells the story of METCO in Needham through the eyes of staff, parents, and students. You can check out a trailer here: METCO Documentary Trailer <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDJFh-jFgLs&t=18s> *• School Committee Open House *The Needham School Committee will host an Open House at Needham High School on Saturday morning, November 17th from 9:00 until 10:30 a.m. This is an opportunity for parents and members of the community to 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 about the proposed new Police and Fire Building Projects and the strong collaboration and partnership between the Needham Police Department and the Needham Public Schools: Needham Schools Spotlight <http://www.needham.k12.ma.us/news/what_s_new/needham_schools_spotlight> *• 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 commended or named semi-finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test: *Semi**-Finalists: *Ethan Lee, Jackson Schwartz, Noah Schwartz, Benjamin Shapiro, Shaashwat Sharma... *Commended Students:* Alexander Berney, Daniel Blumenstein, Daniel Borowsky, Pedro Caceres, Samuel Feuer, Anton Geyyer, Samantha Gilarde, Benjamin Glanz, Stephanie Godes, Kevin Grady, Connor Healey, Julia Leshchiner, Shane Morley, Calvin Mueller, Claudia Sesso, Danielle Shaw, Rui Ming Shen, Alon Trogan, Michelle Veiner We are proud of these and all of our students who each day demonstrate a commitment to scholarship and personal growth! 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