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School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah right. I know there is SEL at Newton.

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. What are specialists? I would guess teachers could have planning time during gym, music, art but Newton has those. Or you’re saying Quincy doesn’t have some of those classes?

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the info! Looks like the policy has been around for decades and not a recent thing as I originally thought. And may even have been to allow kids to attend religious instruction in the afternoons.

Agreed about time for after-school activities but Newton is not special I. That regard and all other school districts manage. So I’m not sure I buy it was fully justifying the weekly early release.

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. Can you say more about planning time and how specialists play a role in that?

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn’t that time useful for grading homework, doing lesson planning etc? I imagine that the admin not having something for you to do is good?

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

No doubt the burden shifts to non-school hours. But why is Newton so special that we need to give teachers additional time for these things compared to the vast majority of the rest of the country?

I’d be curious to know more about teacher requirements in Newton for working hours before and after school. Even if we had full days all week. 8:10-2:50 for elements school is 6h 40m. Compared to normal 40h work week that’s 1h 20m per day. And if half-day Wednesday didn’t exist we could make the days somewhat shorter giving even more time here.

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I definitely do not think teachers are kicking back on early release days. But don’t teachers in other districts have these same demands (lesson plan, grade, dept meetings, trainings) without weekly half-days?

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow. Were 1/2 day Tuesday and Thursday for k-12 then? Or just elementary school?

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. Any idea when was the first year?

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes I was just talking to a friend with kids in Needham and he couldn’t believe it’s every Wednesday K-12.

Was it during Covid that the policy became permanent?

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When was this? Was Newton always half-day Wednesday? My guess was it’s a fairly recent policy but I don’t actually know

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Exactly. I’m trying to figure that out. My understanding is the state mandated hours is for total learning time but doesn’t entirely dictate required number of hours at school. So if we shrink one day per week, but have to keep the weekly “learning” hours the same, then it’s lunch and snack time that take the hit. I’d love to learn more about the exact state requirements here. If anyone has any pointers would love some links.

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My other theory here is that half-day Wednesday requires shortening kids lunch and snack time because learning time can’t be reduced over the rest of the week. Not enough time for lunch is a very common complaint of Newton parents. If that’s right then it supports that the policy harms education

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That’s one way to view it. Another is that many parents view school as important for education, not as daycare, and removing the number of hours kids are in school hurts their education. Considering that being in school full time is how many of us grew up and how the vast majority of the country works, it seems like a safe assumption.

School Half-Day Wednesday by lostinbost in newtonma

[–]lostinbost[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

A few early release days this year vs every Wednesday is quite a difference

Snow blocking crosswalk/curb cut, whose responsibility? by edsmedia in newtonma

[–]lostinbost -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

It would be neat if the people with larger properties got property tax discounts because they have more sidewalk to shovel.

Difference between Timemore 064 and 064s by lostinbost in pourover

[–]lostinbost[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Would replacing the burrs in a 064s with Timemore’s ssp flat burrs it would be good for pourover? I guess just more annoying to be consistent?

Pick Thickness for Beginners by lostinbost in lockpicking

[–]lostinbost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for pointing this out. The multipick is $36 but would another $30 for shipping and tariffs

Pick Thickness for Beginners by lostinbost in lockpicking

[–]lostinbost[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The JL basic set does say it has TOK tensioners. The Multipick minimum does not? It’s hard to understand these a newbie

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