Mass of the Sacred Heart
To engage the Roman Catholic tradition of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to provide an opportunity for families to come together, each class in the Upper School will have the opportunity to celebrate the Mass of the Sacred Heart in our Chapel, followed by a community supper. All family members are welcome. The 11th Grade and their families are invited for mass and supper on Thursday, March 6th at 6:30 p.m.
Advisory Meetings
Upper School parents are reminded that their daughter’s advisor will contact them to schedule the Spring Family Conference. These meetings will provide time to evaluate current academic concerns and to finalize course selection for next year.
Science
On Saturday, March 1, the Science Bowl Team will participate in the New England Regional Science Bowl competition at Boston University. Students will be judged by how fast they can correctly answer questions taken from the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, general science, astronomy, mathematics, and technology. Students attending this year are seniors Jill Carlson, Maria-Ines Carrera, Maritza Ebling, and sophomores Madison Sargis and Lauren Grimes. Dr. Tam will accompany the group during the event.
On Saturday, March 15, a group of students will participate in the Massachusetts State Science Olympiad high school division to be held at Framingham State College. They will participate in a variety of hands-on projects and competition. Students participating include: seniors Jill Carlson, Maritza Ebling, and Anne-Marie Suciu, junior Ellen Hurley, and sophomore Amanda Leonardi. Mrs. Carlson and Mrs. Ebling will accompany the group.
Boston Invitational Model UN Conference
The Newton Country Day Model United Nations team to BosMUN set new school records. The February 2008 delegation broke participation and elite committee selection records with 44 students attending the international MIT and BU sponsored Conference. Sixteen members were selected to Crisis Committees and Specialized Agencies. Newton was represented on every one of the Crisis Committees. Four Newton delegates and two committees on which NCDS delegates served were voted award winners by the BU/MIT committee chairs.
Award winners include: Jill Carlson ’08 – Outstanding Delegate Award for the Spartan Council, Daria Les ’08 - Honorable Delegate Award for the COBRA Modern Crisis Committee, Nora Hajjar ’08 – Honorable Delegate for the Russkaya Mafia Specialized Agency, Kathleen McCoy ’09 – Best Position Paper Award for Commission on International Trade Law. Olivia Bennett ’10 representing the Italian newspaper Il Tempo, published 2 articles in the Apogee Chronicle, the BosMUN newspaper for developed nations. COBRA was voted the Best Crisis Committee. Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural won the Best Large Committee Award. Additionally four Newton students were quoted in the BosMUN newspaper.
Massachusetts State Drama Festival
NCDS will participate in the Preliminary Round of the Massachusetts State Drama Festival at Attleboro High School on Saturday, March 1 at 4:30 p.m. They will perform an excerpt from A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Upcoming Trips for Spring
Ninth Grade to Camp Chewonki: May 14 - 16: The Freshman Class will be participating in an outdoor program at Camp Chewonki in Wiscasset, Maine from Wednesday, May 14 - Friday, May 16. The Chewonki Foundation offers experiential education programs whose goal it is to encourage participants to develop their personal potential, gain a sense of community, and heighten their interest in and understanding of the natural world.
Newton Country Day School faculty members will accompany the group and will assist the Chewonki faculty. The freshman class will be divided into small groups and will follow an encampment campsite model. All encampments are located on a tidal shore with access to salt water. Each encampment is self-sufficient with all the food and equipment needed for the entire program. Most lessons, activities and meals take place outdoors. Indoor space is available in case of severe weather. The recommended equipment list will be enclosed in April Newton Notes and should be followed carefully
Senior Retreat, Senior Project Presentations and Graduation Rehearsals: June 2 - 12
College Guidance
Juniors: We would like all juniors to make an initial appointment before spring break. We encourage each junior to visit colleges over spring break. You may schedule tours and information sessions by calling the college’s admissions office.
Junior parents may call to schedule appointments with College Guidance throughout the rest of the semester.
The internet program that College Guidance uses to manage the college application process is called Naviance. Each of the juniors has been given a user name and a password and will be expected to register and log onto the Naviance system; it is very user friendly. We rely on the program to help manage both the research and application process; we have found it to be very efficient and quite helpful to both students and parents. The address is http://tcci.naviance.com/ncds.
Save the Date:
BISCAA College Fair at Milton Academy
Sunday, April 27, 1:00 – 4:00 This is an excellent opportunity to make initial contact with representatives from a number of colleges around the country. The fair is for all students from independent schools in the Boston area. We highly recommend attendance. The juniors have been given a list of the day’s events and of the colleges that will be present. For more information and directions: www.milton.edu.
NACAC College Fair at the Bay Side Expo Center
This fair is much larger than the Milton Academy one and less personal. We do not recommend this fair.
Spring Testing Schedule:
ACT Administration and Deadlines:
ACT Date Registration Deadline Late Registration
April 12 March 7 March 8 - 21
June 14 May 9 May 10 - 23
SAT I/II Administration and deadlines:
SAT I/II Registration Deadline Late Registration
March 1
May 3 April 1 April 10
June 7 May 6 May 15
Notes to Parents of Seniors about the 2008 Yearbook
Portrait Photos: Each of the seniors will be assembling her own page for the 2008 yearbook between now and mid-May. At the top of each page is a portrait photo. That photo need not be taken professionally, but if you want a professional portrait photo for your daughter and have not arranged for it yet, please do so right away so that finished photos will be available for us by early May.
Recognition Ads: You’re proud of your daughter’s accomplishments. Put your thoughts and feelings into words and pictures. Yearbook recognition ads are a great way for parents, families and friends to commemorate student achievements and important milestones. In addition, revenues from recognition ads help us to create a better yearbook. Watch for the flyer coming to you by mail, telling you how to go about placing such an ad in the yearbook. Start thinking about what words or photos you might want to use in such an ad. All ad orders must be placed online by April 1.
Yearbook Orders: Most yearbook orders are placed at the time textbooks are purchased before the start of the academic year, but many families miss that item and thus have not ordered 2008 yearbooks for their daughters. If you wish to do so, please write a check to NCDS for $65 ($70 if you want your daughter’s name inscribed on the front cover) and send it in to school, to the attention of Mr. John Tierney. Feel free to call him at (617) 559-4741 if you are uncertain as to whether you have already purchased a copy.
Tenth Grade Sleepover
The Class of 2010 will enjoy their sleepover March 7, following Multicultural Night. Morning pick-up for the girls is Saturday at 8:00 a.m.
Athletics
Congratulations to the varsity ice hockey team that captured the Eastern Independent League title and the EIL Tournament trophy. The team won the EIL title with a final regular season 2-0 victory against Winsor. In post-season play, the #1-seed Newton team defeated #4-seed Winsor 5-2 in the EIL Tournament semifinals. Varsity hockey went on to clinch the EIL Tournament trophy with a 3-2 decision in the Championship game against #3-seed Portsmouth Abbey.
Congratulations to the squash team who received the sportsmanship award in the Class C tournament.
Spring sports (golf, lacrosse, sailing, softball, and tennis) tryouts will begin Monday March 3. Please check the website for up to date practice times and the tentative game schedule.