Taking Care of Ourselves and Our Teens: Reducing Stress and Enhancing Resiliency
February 3rd, February 24th, March 3rd, and March 24th, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Newton Free Library

Back by popular demand!! This four-session wellness program for parents of adolescents developed by the world-renowned Benson-Henry Institute of Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital teaches self-care skills to help cope with stresses of everyday life and aims to leave parents with a renewed sense of control and well-being. For all Newton residents or parents of teens attending school in Newton.

Topics will include:
* The physiology of stress and how it affects the body
* Self-care strategies to reduce stress and increase your resilience
* Relaxation techniques
* Easy ways to reduce or stop stress-inducing thoughts
* Tips for modeling these skills for your teens, help reduce their stress and build their resilience too

Must attend all four sessions. Free to attend but registration is required at newtonma.gov/youth. Space is limited.

Stressed Teen? Learn some helpful and healthy ways to relax
February 3rd, February 24th, March 3rd, and March 24th, 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Newton Free Library

Branching off the parent program will be workshops pertaining to teens and teen stressors. The four sessions will be directed to teens and will help teach them to cope with stresses of everyday life coming from school, home, social media and other pressures. It will teach teens to have a better sense of control and well-being. During the course teens will learn what stress is, how it affects the body, strategies for self-care, relaxation techniques and easy ways to reduce or stop stress-inducing thoughts.

Must attend all four sessions. Free. Space is limited. Registration is required. Visit www.newtonma.gov/youth to register.

Improving Academic Effectiveness
February 5th, 6:00-7:30 pm
Newton Free Library

Engaging Minds Learning Center (a local learning and tutoring center) has been instrumental in providing tools for students in order to help them learn effectively. The basis of this program is to teach the idea of “executive function” and the skills which it embraces. Executive functions are the essential self-regulating skills that we all use every day. They help us plan, organize, make decisions, shift between situations or thoughts, control our emotions and impulsivity, and learn from past mistakes. This program is FREE and includes: an explanation of the term “executive function” and why these skills are important in school and in other aspects of education in today’s fast paced world, tips and strategies geared towards parents and teachers in order to help strengthen students’ skills, real life applications and take home toolkits to maintain effective learning. Free, drop-in, no registration required. Two separate sessions, do not need to attend both.

Mayor’s STEM Night
February 12th, 6:00 pm
Newton North High School Cafeteria

Mayor Setti D. Warren has started a new event series with local STEM industry businesses featuring an interactive, participatory experience to spark Newton students’ interest in STEM. These nights are a time for our students to get their hands on the latest technology, hear from local innovators and get excited about all that STEM has to offer. Each evening will be a partnership with a local business in the STEM field and will involve a speaking program as well as an interactive workshop for young people. This is a wonderful opportunity to expose students to potential career paths!

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