RESOURCES AND REMINDERS: 

• WEBINAR: “Parenting in the Time of Corona; How parents can care for the social-emotional needs of their children now and in the coming months”: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 7 PM 
  SEL4Newton and Newton Public Schools will be hosting an hour-long Zoom Webinar specifically for Elementary School Parents.  With our panel of Newton experts, we will be discussing social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies for parents, particularly geared toward this unusual time of school closure and this coming summer.  We hope you will join us.
  To register, click on: https://actionnetwork.org/ events/sel4newton-webinar- 2020-05?source=flyer&

• CLOSING THE PEIRCE PTO ANNUAL FUNDRAISING APPEAL: 
  During the past weeks, we’ve taken a close look at the PTO’s budget and adjusted our spending forecast now that we know kids will be home through the end of the school year.  The major changes are in technology and community building events.  Accordingly, we’ve adjusted the Annual Appeal fundraising goal down to $20,000 (from $28,000).  If you want to support the PTO and you are still able to do so in these uncertain times, please do so this week.  This will allow us to better understand our financial position moving into next year.   Thank you for your consideration.  We deeply appreciate the generosity and support our community has shown – to the PTO and to each other. 
• Ways To Donate to the Peirce PTO:
  • Check: make check payable to Peirce School PTO. Mail or deliver to: Valerie Davisson, 239 Temple St., West Newton, MA 02465
  • Venmo: to @Peirce-Treasurer
  • Zelle: pay to [email protected]
  • PayPal: to paypal.me/PeircePTO

• PEIRCE ANNUAL DIRECTORY COVER ARTWORK CONTEST!Each Fall, the Peirce PTO distributes a School Directory.  We hope that your children will enter our annual contest to create a new design for the cover of the 2020/2021 Peirce Directory!  Please submit your child’s artwork entry via email by Friday, May 22nd.  Please note that instructions regarding how to deliver the artwork have changed.Here’s how it works:Use an 8.5 by 11 piece of white paper.Make it colorful!Show your Peirce spirit!Your child’s name should NOT appear on the artwork (Mr. Chitty wants to judge the artwork anonymously). To turn in your design, please take the best possible picture with your phone and email it to Renata Zaniratto at [email protected].   In the email, please include your child’s name, grade, and teacher when you send it.PLEASE KEEP THE ORIGINAL in a safe place – we will need it if your child wins the contest. All submissions will be shared with Mr. Chitty who will select a winner based on the artwork (names will be hidden!). Once the artwork is chosen, we will reach out to collect the original drawing.Your child’s artwork could be featured on the cover, so don’t miss a chance to participate!  If you have any questions, please contact Renata Zaniratto at [email protected].
• HONOR THY TEACHER:  Support the Newton Schools Foundation’s Honor Thy Teacher program in the name of one or more of your children’s teachers to show your appreciation for them AND support the schools. NSF will notify each teacher you have honored of your gift and share their names with Principals and the Superintendent. A list of honored teachers will appear on the NSF website and in the Newton TAB. Your tax-deductible donation will go towards funding NSF grants for promising educational initiatives, professional development, and programs that close gaps in opportunity and achievement.  In furtherance of those goals, in recent weeks NSF directed its resources toward the challenges of COVID-19 with an $85,500 grant for the Newton Public Schools to purchase 300 Chromebooks for students needing access to online learning during school closures.  It’s easy to donate online (http://www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org/honor-thy-teacher), or you can mail your donation to Newton Schools Foundation, P.O. Box 590020, Newton Centre, MA 02459. Please be sure to include the names of the teachers and/or staff that you are honoring.

• PEIRCE SPIRIT SLIDESHOW: KEEP THE PHOTOS COMING!!Once a month at school, all of the students and staff gather for a Peirce Town Meeting, often wearing their Peirce gear.  This is one of the familiar and treasured ways that our students experience the feeling of school community at Peirce.  Although we can’t physically get together right now, we CAN gather photos and create a Peirce Community slideshow!  If you’d like to participate, please take a photo of your kids, your families or yourselves (including teachers and staff!) using Peirce gear while doing an everyday activity, walking around the neighborhood, or holding a sign with a message for the Peirce community.  If you are not able to access Peirce gear right now, make a Peirce sign instead!  Email the photos to Elsa at [email protected] to join the slideshow, which will be shared with the Peirce community.Interested in ordering some new Peirce gear?  Plenty of T-shirts, footballs, blankets, and cups are in stock!          No pick up or shipping required – your order will be delivered and dropped off by familiar faces at your front door (including families who live outside of Newton)!To order Peirce gear, please click here: https://forms.gle/ZdrYdbrYs7ZHL5jCA 
• IF YOUR CHILD NEEDS A CHROMEBOOK OR WI-FI FOR DISTANCE LEARNING: 

During this time, the schools are providing learning online.  If you do not have a computer or a tablet larger than a cell phone, or if you need assistance with getting low-cost internet/wi-fi, please click here to request assistance from the Newton Public Schools: 

https://forms.gle/K3SgotNY38V1ncNe9

• SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEARNING AND MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES DURING THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK: 

How do we help young people to deal with the fears, worries and anxieties they may be experiencing and to continue to develop the social and emotional skills they will need for managing and coping with future life challenges?  Here is a collection of online resources assembled by the Social and Emotional Learning Alliance for Newton.  

COVID-19 SEL Supports

• FOOD INSECURITY:  Many are struggling to put food on the table right now. If your income has changed as a result of COVID-19, you may be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits. SNAP is a federal entitlement program  and anyone who is eligible will receive benefits. P-EBT provides households with an EBT card containing the dollar value of free school breakfast and lunch reimbursement rates for the days that schools are closed to help them purchase groceries. P-EBTIf your income has recently changed, you are encouraged to apply for Free & Reduced Lunch. If approved, you may become automatically eligible for P-EBT benefits provided directly from the state.How to apply online: The online application is easy to complete and is the quickest and most efficient way for you to confirm your eligibility and to enroll your student(s).How to call for assistance: Please leave a message at 617-559-9038 with return phone # and a representative will reach out to assist you in completing an application.SNAPSNAP benefits are given each month on a plastic card called an EBT (electronic benefits transfer) card which works like a debit card. SNAP benefits can be used to purchase food at grocery and convenience stores and some farmers’ markets and co-op food programs. You can give your EBT card to a trusted family member or friend to shop for you. Click here for a 10 second screening to see if you might be eligible. How to Apply Online: Apply for SNAP benefits today online through DTA Connect.How to Call for Assistance: If you have questions about your eligibility or how to apply for SNAP benefits, Project Bread has many resources including a confidential Food Source Hotline at 1-800-645-8333 where counselors assist callers in 160 languages. It’s open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can also reach out to Newton’s Health and Human Services Department at 617-796-1420.Where to pick up free food:

Please visit: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3632 for details regarding places where Newton families in need can access free food.  
Please visit: https://www.boston.gov/departments/food-access and click on “Food Resource Maps” for details regarding places where Boston families in need can access free food.

Grab ‘n Go meals are available Monday-Friday for all Newton Public School students AND Newton residents in need :

• Pick-up in the parking area near the auditorium entrance at Newton North between 10:00 a.m. and noon.
• Pick-up in the front parking loop at Newton South High School between 10:00 a.m. and noon.
• Pick-up at the rear parking lot of 150 Jackson Road, Newton between 10:00 a.m. and noon.

The Corner Café, at 321 Washington St., is providing free, hot lunches to Newton students pre-K through grade 12. Text “School Lunch” to 617-527-9835 for a no contact pickup.
Grab ‘n Go meals are available for all Boston-based students (you don’t have to attend Boston schools to get food): Click here – https://www.boston.gov/departments/food-access/map-meal-sites-boston

• COVID-19 RESOURCES AND UPDATES IN NEWTON: 

http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/health_n_human_services/public/covid19/default.asp

This site includes:

• a daily update of the current number of reported cases of COVID-19 in Newton 
• Mayor Fuller’s Email Updates 
• information about how to donate to the Newton COVID-19 Care Fund
• information about how to request help from the Newton COVID-19 Care Fund (see more details below)
• information about how to donate to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital COVID-19 Fund
• Newton Public Schools COVID-19 District Info and much more

Newton COVID-19 Care Fund: https://unitedwaymassbay.org/covid-19/newton-covid-19-care-fund/
The application process is open to assist those financially impacted by COVID-19 in Newton.The funding is available for basic needs, including rent/mortgage, childcare, health care, utilities, or other immediate needs.This fund is open to anyone who meets one of the criteria:

• Newton residents
• Families with children attending Newton public schools
• Families with children enrolled in Newton childcare
• People who work in Newton
• City of Newton First Responders who incur new childcare expenses or expenses as a result of the crisis

Please remember to always stay at least 6 feet away from anyone outside your household to protect everyone and to reduce the spread of the virus and wear face coverings in public settings where you cannot maintain distance from others.

• PEIRCE EXTENDED DAY REGISTRATION FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2020-2021: Follow the link below to our registration form.  You can also click the blue “Apply Now” button on our website, peirceedp.com.  Once you have registered, you can access your account through the Parent Portal. That link is also below and under the “Links” tab on our website.Peirce EDP 2020 – 2021 Registration – https://app3.jackrabbitclass.com/regv2.asp?id=535967Parent Portal – https://app.jackrabbitclass.com/jr3.0/ParentPortal/Login?orgID=535967Upon registration, a $100 nonrefundable application fee is due. Your application is considered incomplete without it. Options for payment include:
  1. Check made payable to: Peirce Extended Day Program
  2. E-check through the Parent Portal (Link is above)
  3. Cash delivered personally to the PEDP office
   
  • A few things to note about applying:
  1. Enrollment is first come, first serve. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as you are able to secure your child’s space in the Program. We did have a waitlist this year.
  2. We are assuming the school calendar for 2020-2021 will have additional early release dates as in years past–these have been FOUR 12:30 PM Release Thursdays and TWO 12:30 PM Release Wednesdays. If you sign up for Wednesdays and/or Thursdays, you will be automatically enrolled in the corresponding early release days. If you sign up for M/TU/F and also want to enroll in the Early Release days, please email the Program with your request so that we can manually add that to your child’s schedule.
  3. Current tuition rates can be viewed on our website. Next year’s rates are likely to be higher. Last year’s tuition increase was about 4.5%.
  4. Once you sign up, you may ADD or CHANGE days providing there is space but YOU MAY NOT DROP DAYS unless we need your child’s spot for a child on a waitlist.
  5. Should you require financial assistance, you will need to fill out an additional application. Please contact the Program directly and we can email it to you.