Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Spend a day not texting, but calling or chatting in-person, as part of the month-long Needham Youth Services program Needham Unplugged.
If someone shoots you a text message today, Needham Youth Services hopes you won't reply--call them back instead. Today is Text-Free Tuesday, part of the month-long series of Needham Unplugged events, aimed at reminding students that "there is more to life than what is on the other side of a plug." For March 26, Youth Services is encouraging both residents and businesses to reach out to friends and business associates by phone or in person, rather than punch out a text on your phone. They also suggest you contact them to let them know why their texts may go unanswered. Earlier this month, students joined in Make a Statement Day, a day when Needham High students can wear their feelings on their sleeves--literally, as well as email-free …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Needham High's spring sports season kicks off today.
The following is an edited list sent by the Needham High Athletics Department: Students who do not have all paperwork in (GOLD Form, GREEN Form & current Doctor's Physical) or have an unreturned uniform from the fall or winter, will not be eligible to begin today. Eligibility lists are posted outside of the Athletic Office and have been sent to all coaches. Questions should be directed to Ms. Langley or Mr. Hauben and please check http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/athletics for weather updates and changes. (students should bring gear and clothing for inside & outside workouts) (students should bring gear and clothing for inside & outside workouts) The Spring 2013 Athletic User Fee Payment Deadline is Tuesday, April 2nd - Please either mail in…
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Training session for mental health program Icanhelp later in the month. Organizers hope to have people registered by the end of today.
If you have four hours to spare, and want to help Needham youth, then your time is running out to do so. Icanhelp is a mental health program which aims to create safe spaces for struggling students and act as a conduit to resources around town. The program has a four-hour training session coming up, March 20, 4-8 p.m. at Needham Town Hall. To introduce the program, the Publich Health Department held a one-hour presentation at Town Hall in February. The concept of the program, according to a Health Department press release, is loosely based on CPR. You can learn more at the Icanhelp website, their Facebook Page, or by Following @icanhelpme on Twitter. The Needham Coalition for Youth Substance Abuse Prevention is sponsoring the program…
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Friday, Needham goes email free as part of the annual Needham Unplugged series of events.
Email may not get you a response come Friday, as Needham Unplugged moves into Email-free Friday. Heavy email users are asked to step away from the computer and cease mailing items electronically on March 15. On this day, residents and business are urged to contact people by telephone or face-to-face meetings. In an email, Needham Youth Services encouraged students, residents and businesses not only to skip emails on Friday, but to set up an automated out-of-office reply. They suggest the following: I will not be looking at or replying to emails today as part of Needham Unplugged--learn more about this program at www.needhamma.gov/youth/unplugged. Instead of e-mailing me, please don’t hesitate to call me at 781 -_ _ _ - _ _ _ _ as I …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Friday's snow day pushes back events at the High School and Pollard School, which are both on for today.
Friday's unexpected snow day canceled Needham schools across the town. There were a couple of events planned for the day which were also put off by the snow. At the High School, students geared up for Make a Statement Day on Thursday by decorating blank shirts with slogans and logos that mean something to them. The plan is to wear them at the end of the week, on Make a Statement Day itself. Needham Youth Coalition's Michelle Butman told Patch by e-mail that today is the day: students are wearing their shirts on March 11 for Make a Statement Day. Check out Patch's gallery of Make a Statement Day shirts, and add your own. Meanwhile, at the Pollard Middle School, Needham Olympian Aly Raisman was bringing Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and …
Friday, March 8, 2013
Teens from Needham wear their feelings on their sleeves, literally, for one day of the year.
[Update: Because Needham Public Schools Closed Today, Needham Youth Services tells us the shirt-wearing part of Make a Statement Day will be on Monday, March 11. 5:34 p.m.] On Make a Statement Day, students and faculty wear white t-shirts decorated with inspirational, funny or artistic quotes--often a phrase that means something to them. The school provides blank shirts and decoration supplies--not to mention pizza and music during one of the decoration days. Patch stopped by the second decoration day, saw some of the shirts, and chatted with Needham High School principal Jonathan Pizzi. Make a Statement Day is today, March 8. Students decorated their shirts on Wednesday and Thursday, the latter day in the cafeteria. See more from past…
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Between the High School and middle school, Needham kids netted more than 125 awards in the 2013 Boston Globe Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Needham was certainly well-represented in this year's Boston Globe Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, with over 110 students bringing in awards this time around. At Needham High School, 39 students took home 49 awards, including 27 Gold Key Awards, 11 Silver Key Awards and 11 Honorable Mentions, according to a spreadsheet released on the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards website. See samples of the art on the Boston Globe website. Pollard Middle School 13 students took home a total of 13 awards, including one Gold Key Awards, six Silver Key Awards and eight Honorable Mentions. In addition to the High School and Middle School, about six awards went to Art in Needham students, including two silver keys, and four Honorable Mentions, according …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Training for Icanhelp, a volunteer mental health program aimed at connecting students with resources and safe places, begins later this month.
While working as a Biology teacher several years ago, Michelle Muffett-Lipinski had a student who was often staying after class working. Eventually, that student opened up, telling a story of abuse by a family member. At the time, she did not know what to do for that student. "I was her person. I didn't know that," Lipinski said. "I should have gone to somebody, but I didn't." This student went on to become a teacher, and this story--and others like it--inspired Icanhelp, a mental health program which aims to create safe spaces for struggling students and act as a conduit to resources around town. The program was created by Lipinski, who is now Northshore Recovery High School Principal and research psychologist, Barbara Bruhns Frey. You …
Monday, February 25, 2013
A look back at Needham High School sports in the last week.
The Rockets made a few waves in the sports world last week, as one player picked up an award and a team has been seeded in an upcoming tournament. Gatorade and USA Today's High School Sports section teamed up to award their Player of the Year award to a Needham Rocket last week. For the 2012-13 season, Needham High senior forward Mac Steeves has been named Player of the Year by the paper and sports drink maker. He lead the team to a 21-1-3 record this year. See more on Mac Steeves on the Patch piece from last week. The Mass. Interscholastic Athletics Association recently released its 2013 seed rankings, and Needham Girls Basketball is #13 for the upcoming tourhament. The first game is Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Needham High School Athletics sent…
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Needham High senior forward named player of the year.
Gatorade and USA Today's High School Sports section teamed up to award their Player of the Year award to a Needham Rocket earlier this week. For the 2012-13 season, Needham High senior forward Mac Steeves has been named Player of the Year by the paper and sports drink maker. He lead the team to a 21-1-3 record this year. "The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Steeves as Massachusetts’s best high school boys soccer player," according to a press release from Gatorade (see right). Off the field, according to a release from Gatorade, Steeves has maintained a 3.06 GPA, and has volunteered as a…
