Monthly Archives: March 2012

Oak Hill/Brown Speech Team

Interested in finding out more about the Oak Hill/Brown Speech Team? 

You are invited to SPEECH TEAM NIGHT
Tuesday, April 10th from 6pm – 8pm
Oak Hill Middle School Auditorium

This special event will showcase our talented students’ performances in several categories, including prose, poetry, children’s literature, duo/multiple interpretation, original oratory, declamation, demonstration and impromptu.

We look forward to sharing the results of the team’s hard work and dedication, earning accolades and honors in both practice sessions and tournaments throughout Massachusetts. 

Speech Team provides students with skills that last a lifetime – the ability to present oneself in small and large groups, overcoming the fear of speaking in public, being a part of a competitive yet supportive team environment and experiencing the excitement of major tournament competition. The Oak Hill/Brown Speech Team is a proud member of the Massachusetts Middle School Forensics League (MMSFL) and competes in MMSFL Tournaments throughout the state during the school year.

Come see why our students earn top honors in state-wide competitions!

Questions? Email Coach Robyn Steinberg at robyn@massallergy.net.

Kim Vanaman, Robyn Steinberg, Jeff Bodner and Kathy Goldberg

Oak Hill/Brown Speech Team Coaches

New Student Registration will begin early next fall

Ribbon, Ball, and Clubs Workshop at Rhythmic Dreams!

Rhythmic Dreams, an afterschool rhythmic gymnastics program for girls located on Washington St. in West Newton, is offering a fun workshop for girls ages 4-16 on Saturday, March 31st, from 10am to 12pm. The workshop will include a warm-up, stretching, basic apparatus handling, and tosses/catches, with ribbons, balls, and clubs! The girls will also learn a short dance to music. Younger girls (ages 4-6) will be using ribbons and balls, and older girls (ages 7+) will learn one of rhythmic gymnastics’ trickiest apparatus- clubs. The cost is $20 for two hours. For more information or to register, please call 617-233-4493, or email info@rhythmicdreams.com. Don’t wait, space is limited!

Eating Out with Food Allergies

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
“Eating Out with Food Allergies”
Speakers: Allergist Michael Pistiner, MD and Paul Antico, AllergyEats.Com
7:00 p.m. at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Free.
For info, call the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America – New England Chapter at (781)444-7778.

Make Eating Out Less of a Challenge for Families with Food Allergies
Practical tips for eating out safely with food allergies will be the topic of the Metro-Boston Allergy and Asthma Educational Support Group meeting on Tuesday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. The program is free and open to the public. There will time for questions and discussion. Pre-registration is not required.

Allergist Michael Pistiner, MD and Paul Antico, CEO of AllergyEats.Com will discuss how to read a menu and ask the questions that need to be asked about ingredients, how to know when to leave or not eat something if it doesn’t seem completely safe, and more. “It is important to teach children to have the confidence to tell the waitstaff, manager or chef about their allergies, ask the right questions and make safe decisions when they eat away from home,” said Sharon Schumack, Director of Education for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, New England Chapter, which is sponsoring the meeting.

Dr. Pistiner, a resident of Newton, is a Pediatric Allergist at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, and author of Everyday Cool with Food Allergies, a book for parents and children to teach and communicate about living with food allergies. He is an instructor in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital, Boston and runs a coping group there for children with food allergies.

Antico confronted the challenge of eating in restaurants with his own children, who have food allergies. He founded AllergyEats.com, a website designed to help people with food allergies find restaurants where they can comfortably dine.

Pistiner and Antico serve on a statewide committee overseeing the 2009 law that required Massachusetts restaurants to become more “food allergy friendly.” They are members of the Board of Directors of AAFA New England.

AAFA New England organizes educational support group programs throughout the region, publishes a newsletter, and runs a telephone resource and referral line for people coping with allergies and asthma. For more information, or a free copy of “Eating Out with Food Allergies” or checklists for managing food allergies in school and child care, call (781)444-7778 or see www.asthmaandallergies.org.

Project ADAPT at McLean Hospital

Project ADAPT at McLean Hospital is recruiting 13-18 year old depressed adolescents for an investigatory group treatment program, which includes a concurrent but not combined parent group. Throughout the 10-week course of treatment, adolescents learn to utilize cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal approaches to reduce stress and depressive symptoms. The 5-week parent protocol teaches coping and relaxation strategies and provides psychoeducation about depression. Overall, the program seeks to examine the efficacy of the intervention as well as examine clinical, behavioral, and neural factors that may facilitate symptom reduction from pre- to post-treatment. It is important to note that there is no cost for the group therapy program, and further, adolescents may earn up to $115 for their participation. 

The next group will begin on March 14. If you believe your child is interested in participating, or if you have questions pertaining to the program, please contact Casey Gardiner at (617) 855-4240.

Drive a Senior–Make a Friend!

Drive a Senior–Make a Friend!  Newton at Home, a member organization dedicated to helping Newton seniors age in their own homes, is looking for volunteers who can give rides to seniors.  Make a new friend while helping someone get to a doctor’s appointment, the supermarket, a social event or the airport.  Volunteer as much as you can at your convenience, and know that you have made a difference in a Newton senior’s life. You’ll meet interesting people and share great conversation along the way!  Upcoming training sessions will be held on: Thursday, March 1, from 12:30-2pm; Wednesday, March 14, from 10-11:30am; and Monday, March 26, from 10-11:30am.  For more information, call Julie Plaut Mahoney at volcoord@newtonathome.org.

April Break Rock Performance Camp

April Break Rock Performance Camp (4/16-4/20) still has room for 4 guitarists, 3 bass players, 1 keyboardist, 7 singers, and 2 drummers! Ages 7-17 accepted. Camps run 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at our 120 Elm Street location in Watertown and are staffed by instructors from the Berklee College of Music. Please email Boston@schoolofrock.com or call 617-923-3434 to receive your information packet.

Historic Newton

NEWTON COMMUNITY WEEKEND – Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, noon-5:00 PM
NEWTON’S REVOLUTIONARY ROOTS – Thursday, March 15, 7:00 PM
THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS BY ISABEL WILKERSON – Monday, March 19, 7:30 PM
HISTORIC NEWTON BOOK CLUB MEETING – Thursday, March 29, 7:30 PM

Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, noon-5:00 PM
NEWTON COMMUNITY WEEKEND
Newton residents are invited to enjoy free admission to the museum.

Thursday, March 15, 7:00 PM
NEWTON’S REVOLUTIONARY ROOTS – THE 2012 NEWTON HISTORY SERIES
Newton’s Horticultural Revolution: Sowing the Seeds of Change
From settlement to the dawn of a new republic, Newton’s landscape was dramatically transformed from an economy dependent on small family agriculture to one of Boston’s most prominent horticultural communities. As field crops gave way to the latest hybrid fruit and flower introductions, Newton’s citizens were transformed from farmers to gardeners. Come explore this transformation with landscape historian Lucinda Brockway as she describes how Newton’s horticultural revolution was born. At the Newton Free Library, Homer Street, Newton. Free.

Monday, March 19, 7:30 PM
THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS BY ISABEL WILKERSON
Join Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson for a discussion of her book about the epic journey of African Americans from the Jim Crow South to U.S. cities in the North and West in search of a better life in the early half of the twentieth century. She interviewed more than a thousand people and gained access to new data and official records to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. Co-sponsored by: the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society of New England, Historic Newton, Myrtle Baptist Church, Newton Free Library, and the Newton Human Rights Commission. At the Newton Free Library, Homer Street, Newton. Free.

Thursday, March 29, 7:30 PM
HISTORIC NEWTON BOOK CLUB MEETING
The club’s book selection is The Plains Across: The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi West: 1840-60 by John Unruh Jr. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history and the winner of seven awards for historical writing, The Plains Across is a thoroughly researched study of the Oregon/California Trail. Relying on contemporaneous newspaper reports, letters, personal journals and diaries, Unruh explores the reasons emigrants undertook the arduous journey and the hardships, perils, and sacrifices they endured to establish a new life in the West. In reviewing the book The Washington Post Book Review wrote: “Magisterial….Unruh has not only produced the best book yet written on the overland journey, but has also laid to rest a magnitude of popular myths…The book is so rich in anecdotes, so sparklingly written… it might have come from the pen of a best-selling popularizer.” The book club is free and open to the public. New members are always welcome. At the Newton Free Library, Homer Street, Newton. Free.

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
NEW EXHIBITION Confronting Our Legacy: Slavery and Antislavery in the North: This new exhibition transforms the lower gallery of the museum into a three-dimensional learning center with hands-on activities and information about colonial slavery, the Underground Railroad, and some local abolitionists. It draws on fresh new research, focusing on the Jackson family that lived in the Homestead, Historic Newton’s headquarters, as well as on other abolitionists from Newton or with Newton ties. Historic Newton is fortunate to have rare artifacts, on loan from the Bostonian Society, that relate to the contentious Anthony Burns trial in Boston, an event of national significance that involved citizens of Newton. By exploring the important roles of ordinary (non-famous) abolitionists, the exhibit seeks to inspire visitors to reflect on current attitudes toward race and slavery and to use history to understand today’s issues.

Newton and the Civil War: In celebration of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Historic Newton will be featuring a changing exhibit showcasing Newton residents in the Civil War. Among the items on display will be prints, photographs, and Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) documents.

Peeking into Newton’s Toy Chest: The values and lessons toys teach us, as shown by the Historic Newton collection. Children’s attractions include hands-on toys and a model train on an elevated track.

Mapping a New Town: 1714-1874: Maps depicting Newton’s growth over the centuries are displayed; special activities for children are also featured.

Norumbega: Romance and Recreation by the River: An exhibit on Newton’s now vanished amusement park and swing-era ballroom.

Newton Salutes! Adams Street Synagogue: Celebrating Our Centennial: Newton’s oldest synagogue is celebrating one hundred years of service to Newton’s Jewish community as an Orthodox synagogue serving a diverse congregation and the broader community. The exhibit describes the history of the congregation, illustrated by historic photographs.

The Newton History Galleries feature tools, furniture, clothing, and toys to illustrate the Newton of the past.

The Jackson Homestead and Museum is open from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays and 12:00 noon to 5:00 PM weekends. It is closed on Mondays.

If you need special assistance for any of these programs or exhibitions, please call 617.796.1450.