Services

Before entering the ninth grade, each student is assigned a counselor for the entire four-year period. Counselors support students’ academic and social-emotional development with an emphasis on wellness and balance. They also help students learn about themselves - their interests, aptitudes, and talents. The department’s goal is to assist every student with the normal developmental tasks that all adolescents undertake. Planning for the future is an important aspect of counseling. This is done in a variety of ways and includes examining available options and helping students on their way to becoming independent, self-confident adults. Career and college planning constitutes a major focus of the department. Detailed information is available on the Newton South website under “Counseling.”

The Center is a comfortable space staffed by School Counselors to promote overall emotional well-being. The Center offers a blend of drop-in support, structured activities to foster student connection, psychoeducational groups and special events all focused on helping adolescents develop the skills and habits of mind to exercise their mental health.

The College & Career Center is located within the Student Center/Cafeteria and is staffed by a full time professional school/college counselor. The College & Career Counselor works closely with school counselors, students, parents & caregivers providing comprehensive career and college planning assistance to students in grades 9-12. Students are encouraged to drop in and ask questions and explore the many resources. Families & caregivers, along with students, may schedule appointments for individual conferences. Whether a student is interested in finding a job, internship or volunteer opportunity, seeking scholarships or needs advice in applying to college, a wide variety of resources are available including career-related publications, armed forces materials, gap year and standardized testing (SAT/ACT) information. Each spring and fall the Center hosts group meetings with juniors and seniors, respectively with college representatives. Annual volunteer and trade fairs are held during lunches in December and March. Students are encouraged to actively engage in the Center’s programming and activities to explore how their interests and skills align with their personal and educational goals.

In addition to the regular program of studies, students are encouraged to participate in the rich program of athletics, clubs, and other activities offered at Newton South. It is important for students to consider their co-curricular interests and commitments in planning their program.

The Newton South High School Library is an innovative learning center designed to support the academic goals of the school and to foster a culture of reading among our students. The physical space has resources for students to use as they explore, learn, and create while at school. The virtual space allows students to access high quality, reliable information resources (e.g, databases) and pleasure reading (ebooks and audiobooks) on a 24/7 basis. Under the guidance of professional librarians, NSHS students become effective and responsible users of a wide variety of information with the goal of becoming independent learners and critical evaluators of information. To achieve this, the library staff partners with classroom teachers to provide research-related instruction using library resources. Each fall, the library welcomes ninth grade students through library orientations. During these orientations, students learn about the resources available in the library and how to access them. Throughout the year, teachers from all grade levels and subject areas bring their classes to the library for academic research, information literacy instruction, and book selection for independent reading. Librarians also meet regularly with students one-on-one to assist them with research, citation, and book recommendations. All resources, including the online catalog and current research projects, are available on the library website.

Students may take courses on a full-credit basis at Newton Summer School, which is part of Newton Community Education. Information is available online and includes details on offerings, fees, and start dates for summer courses.

Most courses taken in summer school count for academic credit and appear on the student’s transcript, however grades from summer school are not included in GPA calculations. See your counselor for specific details. The summer school provides a wide selection of courses designed to provide enrichment and to help students improve academic foundations or to retake a course previously failed.