Monthly Archives: May 2018

Looking for programs for your kids for this summer?

Send them to Newton Community Farm to learn about farming, healthy cooking, and have a great time digging in the dirt, and being outside at Kids at the Farm: Summer 2018,“ a place to dig, learn and grow”.

Experience the beauty and bounty of Newton Community Farm and give summer a whole new meaning! Dig, plant, weed and water. Harvest farm fresh produce and prepare delicious snacks. Feed the chickens, collect eggs and explore the world through the lens of farming and food.

Learn more about the programs: http://newtoncommunityfarm.org/education/summer-summer-programs/

Calling all runners, joggers and walkers!

Come for the run, stay for the fun!

We encourage parents and children to sign up for the Newton Highlands Village Day 5K. It’s a low-key, family-friendly run starting and ending at the Hyde Center in Newton Highlands. Many kids from elementary school to high school run their first 5K at this event which is such a great accomplishment. (It’s also fun to watch kids trying to out sprint their parents at the finish!)

Village Day in the Highlands follows at 11:00 am with all sorts of great activities — from bands to food to booths, face painting and more. Registration is $30.00 per adult, $15.00 per child.

Register online by clicking this link: villageday5k.racewire.com. Online registrations before May 28th are guaranteed a t-shirt in their requested size. Contact Maureen Oates at villageday5k@gmail.com if you have any questions! Happy run!

June 10th, 10:00 am
Hyde Center, Newton Highlands

Summer Camp with Einstein’s Workshop

Come visit the staff of Einstein’s Workshop at the Newton PMC Kids Ride and Waban Village Day to learn more about their summer camp options at Zervas Elementary.

They’ll be on hand for fun activities with the kids and to answer questions about camp classes on Minecraft, Robotics, Coding, and Making & Inventing. They have summer programs in Newton for children entering grades K-6 with half day and full day options available. Students will have the benefit of a highly-rated classroom experience as well as access to indoor and outdoor playspace.

For more information or to register, please see www.einsteinsworkshop.com/summer-camp.

May 20th
Waban Village Day
Newton PMC Kids Ride

Newton’s 1st Annual PorchFest

PorchFest is an afternoon of free music performed outside of people’s homes. Over 100 cities across the country hold PorchFests. Now Newton is holding one too, starting in Auburndale, with hopes the event spreads to include more Newton villages next year.
Click here for the the block schedule and here is a map with bands and locations
This is an all-ages event!

Over 60 musical acts (dancers and storytellers too) are scheduled to perform. There’ll be a diverse line up of local talent from country to pop, classical, reggae, blues, rock, jazz, Latin, R&B, and more.

Bring a chair or a blanket and appreciate music performed on a unique venue, the front porch, (driveways and lawns too!) Parking is available on the Comm. Ave carriage lane, the municipal lot behind The Village Bank, the lot at the Cove, and around Lasell College. Please be mindful of the narrow streets; strolling is the name of the game.

June 2nd, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm

Auburndale PorchFest is affiliated with the Newton Community Pride and pleased to be part of Newton Festival of the Arts, Spring 2018. Printed versions of Newton’s PorchFest Official Schedule & Map will be available around town in early May.

Bigelow’s Civics Day: All parents invited

Please join us for Bigelow’s Civics Day on Tuesday May 22nd, 8:45 -10am. The day will begin with a parent coffee in Bigelow’s library at 8:45am, when Jean Singers, Bigelow’s 8th grade history teacher, will speak to parents from all grades about proposed changes to the Massachusetts history/social studies frameworks.

Following the parent coffee, cluster 8E students will be presenting civic action and advocacy projects they have been working on this year, as part of the Generation Citizen pilot program Ms. Singer is leading. Generation Citizen is an action civics curriculum in which students identify issues in their community, research the root cause and then advocate for change.

Focus issues proposed by the students:

Dress code in Newton schools: gender biased language
Healthy food in school cafeterias: Meatless Mondays
Affordable Housing in Newton: zoning redesign
Marijuana use amongst teens: drug prevention education

Bigelow’s Civics Day
8:45-9:00 Tea and Coffee
9:00-9:15 Program introduction
9:15-10:00 Student presentations
Parents from all grades are welcome to arrive or leave at anytime

Please RSVP to Ms. Singer: singersj@newton.k12.ma.us

Save the date: Annual PTO Meeting

At the last meeting of the year, the PTO presents the proposed budget and votes for the incoming board members for the 2018/19 school year. All members of the Bigelow Middle School community are part of the PTO and are invited.

If you would like to become more involved in the strategic aspect of the Bigelow PTO, helping direct and manage the overall program for 2018/19, you are encouraged to join the board in one of the open positions:

Co-Treasurer
Co-Presidents Elect (in preparation for the 2019/20 school year)
Nominating committee members (one per feeder school)
Teacher Appreciation Committee co-chair
METCO representative

You can also help the PTO fulfill its purpose/mission by being a Committee Chair or a volunteer in some of our activities. Check here the opportunities for next year.

PTO Spring Annual Meeting
Monday, June 11th 2018, from 7pm to 8pm
Bigelow Library

Understanding the Jewish – Cancer Connection

You’re invited to the Oneinforty symposium provided to educate the community about Ashkenazi Jews’ one-in-forty risk of inheriting a BRCA gene mutation. People who have a BRCA mutation are at high risk for developing ovarian, prostate and male and female breast cancer that, in many cases, can be prevented or detected early.

Come learn about genetic counseling, screening for BRCA mutations, misconceptions about hereditary cancer, how BRCA-positive individuals can manage their risk of developing cancer, emotional support resources available for you and your family and the new BRCA Founder Outreach (BFOR) Study being conducted by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Jewish cancer survivors who have a BRCA gene mutation will also share their stories. Following presentations by each of the panelists listed below, there will be a Q&A session.

This symposium is free-of-charge and open to the general public. Kosher refreshments will be served. Follow the link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/knowledge-is-empowering-understanding-the-jewish-cancer-connection-tickets-42474258651

Questions? Please contact Lauren Corduck at 617-823-3630 or laurenc@oneinforty.org

May 23rd, 7:00 pm
Temple Beth Elohim, 10 Bethel Road, Wellesley

Amy H. Comander, MD
Medical Director, Auerbach Breast Center
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Lauren Corduck
Founder & Executive Director
Oneinforty
BRCA+ ovarian cancer patient

Kimberly DeLeonardis, MS, CGC
Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Camila Gabriel, MS
Senior Research Project Manager, BRCA Founder Outreach (BFOR) Study
Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Whitfield B. Growdon, MD
Center for Gynecologic Oncology
Massachusetts General Hospital

Debbi Shamon, LICSW
In private practice in Boston, MA

Presented by Oneinforty, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of the one-in-forty risk to Ashkenazi Jews of inheriting BRCA gene mutations and provides the support individuals and families need to effectively manage their cancer risk.

Spanish Language Tutor available

Newton parent and experienced Spanish teacher, certified and licensed in
grades 5-12, and fluent in Spanish provides tailored, expert tutoring that can:

Help your child finish the 4 th quarter strong
Give your child targeted summertime practice and the opportunity for catch-up or
advancement for September
All levels of grammar, literature, conversation, writing

Contact Libby Sands at libby@libbysands.com or 617-256-4780.

Summer Test Prep and College Essay Support

SAT, ACT, SSAT, ISEE. Former Brookline and Concord teacher (30 years experience–elementary, middle and high school English, and certified Reading Specialist) will provide individualized Test Prep and support for the college essay.

Excellent parent and professional references available. Summer is a great time for students to prepare for Fall tests and to get a head start on their college essays.

Contact Cynthia Carpenter at 978-952-8871 or cscarp@gmail.com.

Volunteer with the Newton North PTSO!

NNHS PTSO is pleased to announce new roles on the 2018-2019 Board of Directors overseeing Communications, Technology, Fundraising and Volunteer Coordination. These roles typically have two people and most already have one person in place. Also available are committee co-chair positions ranging from programming to fundraising to service projects. Interested in hearing more? Please contact co-presidents@northptso.org