The Waban Library Center Winter Yoga Classes:
Starting Tuesday January 3 and/or Thursday January 5, 2012
Join us for Yoga on Tuesday and/or Thursday mornings from 8:50am-10am for 10 Tuesdays/Thursdays. Enjoy a moment to challenge yourself and breath. Cost will be $150 for a 10week session. Sign up for both, Tuesday and Thursday classes, you will receive a 10% discount. ($270 for both Tues/Thurs)Drop ins are welcome at $18 per class. Classes go for 10 Tues/Thurs starting January 3/5 – March 20/22
The Waban Library classes will be small, intimate and easily adapted to the particular interests of the individuals participating each time.
To sign up email us at wabanlibrary@gmail.com or check out the website for more details, www.wabanlibrarycenter.org
Monthly Archives: December 2011
International Pancake Film Festival (IPFF)
International Pancake Film Festival (IPFF): Friday night, December 16, 7-10pm and the same screening again on Saturday night, December 17, 7-10pm at the New Art Center in Newton!
The IPFF is a film and video celebration of all things pancake. As the world’s only film festival dedicated to the pancake, all genres of short film and video are welcome. In addition to our traditional pancake programming, this year’s festival will have a holiday spin. A Holiday Spirit Award will be given out to the film best exemplifying the spirit of winter or winter holidays!
PG 13! Free Admission!
Complimentary pancakes will be served (with butter and syrup, naturally). Beer and wine will be available for purchase, as will festival merchandise (posters, buttons, and DVDs).
About the International Pancake Film Festival (IPFF)
Artist and Somerville resident Damon Bishop enjoys eating pancakes, as well as making and watching movies. He brought these loves together and founded the IPFF in Chicago, IL in 2007. Since then, there have been near-annual festival screenings in several locations. The IPFF has entertained from San Antonio and Austin, TX, to Chicago, IL and Cambridge, MA. This year’s program will screen in Portland, OR as well as Newtonville, MA.
The IPFF is a film and video celebration of all things pancake. As the world’s only film festival dedicated to the pancake, we welcome all genres of short film and video. We only stipulate that all submissions draw some inspiration from pancakes. Join us and you may discover documentaries, animation, dramas and comedies, sci-fi, westerns, art films, horror and action, horrific action, dramadies and parodies. This much is guaranteed: at least 75% of screen time will be devoted to our friend, the pancake.
In addition to our traditional pancake programming, this year’s festival will have a holiday spin. We’ve encouraged filmmakers to include references to snow, Santa, the festival of lights, Rudolph, Kwanzaa, winter sports (e.g. hockey or curling), wooly sweaters, and other seasonal symbols. A Holiday Spirit Award will be given out to the film best exemplifying the spirit of winter or winter holidays.
For additional information, please visit the IPFF tumblr page: http://internationalpancakefilmfest.tumblr.com/
Deck Your House and Win $100,000 for Newton Public Schools
Patch is holding a contest this month that could bring a big chunk of change to Newton Public Schools. The contest asks locals around the country to submit photos of their houses all decked out for the holidays. Residents can submit photos from now until Dec. 26 and once they submit, residents in the community can vote for their favorite houses online. The top 24 houses in the country receive $500 toward their December electric bill and the grand prize winner wins $100,000 for his/her home school district, no strings attached. Even if the winner has children in a private school, it’s the public school district in the winner’s town that gets the money.
I know the times are tough and money isn’t necessarily available to be spent on holiday decorations…not to mention the large number of families who don’t decorate houses! I can totally relate. One suggestion was to actually get a group of families together to decorate one house as a team, and then get a whole neighborhood to work on voting for that house. There are a few more details available for the contest, and they’re in this article here: http://newton.patch.com/articles/deck-your-house-and-win-100-000-for-newton-public-schools. To upload photos of houses visit : deckthehouse.patch.com/contest/newton. If you know any Newton residents with great, decked-out houses, encourage them to post — it could bring $100K to NPS. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to call or email Newton Patch.
Math Tutoring
My name is Alex Peterson and I can offer math tutorage for middle school students in Newton. I am a senior at Newton South High School and am currently taking AP BC Calculus and AP Statistics. I scored a 790 on Math level 2 subject test and a 760 on the Math section of the SAT 1. Because I have worked with my brother and sister (who currently attend brown) with their school work I have a fresh feel for the middle school curriculum. My hours are flexible with the exception of Monday afternoons. You can contact me by email at alexconorpeterson@gmail.com or on my cell at 617-699-0458. Please let me know if you are interested!
Annual Appeal Letter
Dear Bigelow Families,
We hope that you have gotten through the craziness of the beginning of the school year unscathed and are now settled into the school year routine. Breathe a sigh of relief and relax now because before you know it, the end of the year chaos will be upon us.
Thank you for making last year so successful for the PTO. Your valuable donations \help in providing scholarships, enrichment programs and technology that would not be otherwise available. In addition, last year we were able to purchase track team uniforms, music and science department equipment and scheduling software for teacher conferences. We try very hard to enrich many departments in the school each year so that every child can benefit from our efforts. This year we hope to finish our two-phase purchasing of all new equipment in the computer lab, begin a multi-phase sound system upgrade for the auditorium, buy additional sports uniforms and more.
The PTO budget this year is almost $50,000 – and we need your help. We are not requesting a specific donation amount from anyone, but our goal is to have a 100% participation rate in this fundraising endeavor. No amount is too small (or big) to give to the PTO – and all gifts make a difference. With your financial help, all children at Bigelow can enjoy many exciting, enriching and fun educational programs. Please consider making a donation today. You can contribute by either writing a check (please make it payable to the Bigelow PTO and send it directly to the school – \attention PTO), or do it electronically via our website – www.bigelowpto.org. Your generosity can even be made in recognition of a teacher at school, and that teacher will receive a card honoring him/her. Remember, we are a recognized 501(c)3 all contributions all tax deductable to the fullest extent of the law.
Thank you for your anticipated support. We hope your children enjoy all of the programming and support the PTO provides this year. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com.
Be a Winter Buddy
Be a Winter Buddy: Join Newton at Home’s New Winter Buddy Program!
We all know our New England winters are long and there are storms aplenty. Newton at Home has designed a new Winter Buddy Program to encourage connections between seniors and other community members when the snow and wind are swirling outside. Being a buddy means that a volunteer or volunteer family would connect with a Newton at Home member to:
1. Advise that a storm is coming.
2. Assess the need for essential supplies (milk, bread, flashlights and batteries, etc).
3. Develop plans for snow removal.
4. Call your buddy every day of the storm.
5. Direct your buddy to appropriate help when necessary.
Volunteering as a Winter Buddy will require minimal time commitment, but would give Buddies a sense of connection and satisfaction from helping others. If you would like to participate, please contact Bonnie Katz at bkatzdesign@gmail.com or 617.244.0694.
Newton at Home is an organization dedicated to empowering Newton’s seniors to age at home comfortably, independently, and with peace of mind through a membership-based organization that offers access to comprehensive practical services and fosters social supports and a sense of community.
We will hold a short Winter Buddy Training session on Wednesday, Dec 14, at 11:30, as well as several dates in January. Training sessions will be held at our office, 206 Waltham St, in the Scandinavian Living Center building. For more information about the Winter Buddy program and Newton at Home, please check our website at www.newtonathome.org.
Historic Newton – CHANGE OF DATE
DATE CHANGE
Tuesday, December 27, 2:00 PM
STORIES IN THE SNOW
A Vacation Week Family Program
Greet winter with open arms at this family program. We’ll read White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt, and make snow globes to take home. Kids of all ages can enjoy the warmth of the Jackson Homestead, where we’ll serve hot cider and snacks. Cost: $15 per family ($10 for members); includes museum admission, materials, and snack. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call 617.796.1450 to register.
Three Suzuki Workshops in January at Brookline Music School
EVERY CHILD CAN! Introduction to the Suzuki Method
Sunday, January 8, 2012, 9:30am – 4:30pm
An introduction to Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy and its application to Suzuki education. For parents, teachers, prospective teachers and others, this new course provides an inspiring, in-depth look at the Suzuki approach to teaching and learning. This course is required for all new Suzuki teachers, but open to prospective teachers, parents, administrators and all others interested in learning about Suzuki approach to education. It is not instrument-specific. There are no instrument proficiency requirements. No audition is required. For a brochure click here.
8TH ANNUAL SUZUKI FLUTE WORKSHOP
Sunday, January 15 & Monday, January 16, 2012, 9:00am – 5:00pm
This two-day workshop features a master class, group class and ensemble or reading class each day, and ends with an informal concert. Non-Suzuki flute students are welcome to join in the fun but should be familiar with some of the repertoire from the Suzuki Method. For a brochure click here.
2012 SUZUKI FLUTE TEACHER TRAINING:
Thursday, January 12 – Monday, January 16, 2012, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Flute Book 2 (Kimberly Lorimier)
Flute Book 4 (Laurel Ann Maurer)
Over the course of five days, trainees will receive 15 hours of classroom time and eight hours of observation time, in conjunction with the 8th Annual Suzuki Flute Workshop. For a brochure click here.
For more information, visit the Suzuki page or Contact Amy Poliakoff: amyflute@comcast.net
or contact Brookline Music School at www.bmsmusic.org, 617-277-4593
Newton Community Ed classes for Middle Schoolers
Registration is now underway for Winter classes through Newton Community Education. Coming up for middle schoolers we have Lego Robotics at South on Tuesdays and Fridays, The Stockmarket Game at Oak Hill on Tuesdays and Angier on Fridays, Fencing at Bigelow on Mondays, Archery at Oak Hill on Tuesdays, and Babysitting at South on Saturdays and North over February and April vacations. Also during both vacations we are offering our ever-popular Make a TV Show program at NewTV, and during February break, new this year, we are offering Advanced Domino Physics. All our classes are for kids from all schools. We have family cooking classes: Two Continents, Many Dumplings, and The International Chocolate Chip. We also have Saturday sports options for kids ages 2 and up, and weekday afternoon sports options for younger kids, such as Dodgeball, Basketball and Sports Jam. For more information or to register, call our office at 617-559-6999 or visit our website at newtoncommunityed.org. Be sure to check out our adult classes too, and look for our summer Kids catalog, coming in January.
Historic Newton Calendar December
- Museum Shop Holiday Sale
- Map Night with GIS Mapping
- Stories in the Snow
- Candles are Wick-ed Cool
MUSEUM SHOP HOLIDAY SALE
During the entire month of December, find wonderful small gifts for both adults and children at the annual Holiday Sale at the Jackson Homestead and Museum, and support Historic Newton with your purchase. Enjoy 10% off all purchases such as note cards, games, DVDs and more. Members receive a 20% discount.
Tuesday, December 6, 7:30 PM
MAP NIGHT WITH GIS MAPPING
Explore the many layers of information embedded in the city’s online “Newton GIS Browser” with Doug Greenfield, Newton’s GIS Administrator. Learn if your home is in a preservation district with the click of your mouse! Or join Allison Carter in looking at our collection of historic atlases to find out the answers to questions such as: Whose farm was subdivided to make your houselot? When was your street first laid out? All ages are welcome. Free.
Sunday and Monday December 25 and 26
MUSEUM CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAY
Tuesday, December 27, 2:00 PM
STORIES IN THE SNOW
A Vacation Week Family Program
Greet winter with open arms at this family program. We’ll read White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt, and make snow globes to take home. Kids of all ages can enjoy the warmth of the Jackson Homestead, where we’ll serve hot cider and snacks. Cost: $15 per family ($10 for members); includes museum admission, materials, and snack. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call 617.796.1450 to register.
Thursday, December 29, 2:00 PM
CANDLES ARE WICK-ED COOL
A Vacation Week Family Program
Bring the whole family to this fun, hands-on workshop where you will learn how the Jacksons made candles in the 1800s, and then do it yourself! Bring your candles home and light up the dark nights of winter. Cost: $20 per family ($15 for members) includes museum admission and materials. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call 617.796.1450 to register.