Author Archives: Bigelow PTO

Honor Thy Teacher

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” ~ Henry Adams

It’s that time of year again to honor exceptional Newton teachers and staff who have touched your child’s life. The suggested donation is $25 per teacher/staff member. Newton Schools Foundation celebrates Newton Public Schools teachers and staff by:

Notifying honored teachers and staff of your gift
Listing all honored teachers and staff in the Newton TAB and Patch
Sharing honoree names with the Superintendent and Principals
Ensuring your donations go to support teaching & learning in Newton schools.

To honor a teacher or staff person go to www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org.

Artwork on drab electrical boxes

Have you noticed the gorgeous artwork that has been beautifying the city
on those drab electrical boxes? There are more boxes that can be painted!
If you would like to submit your design to paint one, please submit your
application soon. The deadlines are June 15 and August 1. The application
is on line at www.newtoncommunitypride.org or on the City of Newton
website/Government/Cultural Affairs/Mayor’s Office for Cultural
Affairs/Public Art RFP:NewtonSERVES Box Art Project. Call 617-527-8283 for
more information.

Indian Festival

After the excitement and interest caused by the recent Russian Festival at the Newton Cultural Center, the Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs is planning an Indian Festival in November. If you are interested in participating in the planning stages and sharing any ideas, we would love your input. We would also love to hear ideas you may have about other Festivals that we could hold at the Newton Cultural Center. The Festival could feature music, dance, fashion, history, art, crafts and anything that would celebrate a culture and share it with the community. The next planning meeting for the Indian Festival is June 7, 10:00am at the Newton Cultural Center, 225 Nevada Street. If you would like to attend, please contact jsmith@newtonma.gov or call 617-527-8283

KIDS’ KARATE

Early Fall Free Trial Classes–Now at Lasell College. Friday, Sept. 14, 5:00-6:00 p.m. or Saturday, Sept. 15, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Girls and boys, entry ages 1st thru 5th grades. $79 for once-a-week or $99 for twice-a-week, per 7-Week Session. Free uniform for those who enroll. For more information, please see kids-karate.org or leave message for Rich Jacobs, KIDS’ KARATE Director, at (617) 527-8052

Call for Local Artists!

Newton Community Education would like to invite all Newton artists to apply for a display spot at this year’s Celebrate Newton crafts fair, to be held on December 2nd, 2012 at Newton South High School.

Celebrate Newton is an annual juried arts and crafts fair that honors the work of outstanding artisans who are residents of Newton or are in some other way connected to the city. Over 50 artisans display and sell their work at the fair; they include weavers, jewelers, quilters, potters, printers, photographers and more. Live music, food, and crafts activities for kids make the fair a wonderful, warm family event. Applications are available on our website www.celebratenewton.com.

This citywide event is sponsored by Newton Community Education, a self-sustaining arm of Newton Public Schools that offers a large variety of classes for both children and adults. Proceeds will benefit our scholarship fund and will help us to grow our program of course offerings.

EXCITING NEW CLASSES AT NEWTON COMMUNITY FARM THIS SUMMER!

Down Under Yoga of Newtonville join us to offer Family Yoga at the Farm. Friday July 20th, July 27th, and Friday August 17th, and August 24th, 9:30am – 10:30am
What better way to spend a Friday morning than doing yoga outside on the Farm with your child? We are very excited to welcome Christyn Schroeder of Down Under Yoga, Newtonville for a summer series designed for children aged 4 – 8 yrs old to enjoy alongside a parent or caregiver.

Farm Sprouts – We are excited to announce that we are now offering our popular pre-school summer program on Thursdays as well as Tuesdays during July and August. Join us for an hour of fun and exploration at the Farm. Together we will learn about farm life as we read a story and participate in a hands-on activity.

Farmer in Training (Grades 3 -5) We are now offering this popular summer program for an additional week, Tuesday June 19th – Friday June 22nd. Spend a week outdoors with your peers and the staff of Newton Community Farm exploring plant and animal life through hands on, interactive learning.

For more information visit www.newtoncommunityfarm.org/education/classes

Brookline Music School

Brookline Music School (BMS) presents a Faculty Concert with pianist Franco Leon, featuring works by Scarlatti, Mozart, Chopin, Satie and Mahler on Tuesday, June 12 at 7:30pm in Bakalar Recital Hall for free.

The program includes:

Scarlatti: sonata K.27 in b minor and K.119 in d major
Mozart: 12 variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” K. 265 (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Mahler: adagietto from the 5th symphony (arranged by J. Scheide)
Satie: Gnossiennes nos. 3,4 and 5
Chopin: nocturne op.27 no.2 and
Scherzo no. 2 op.31

Guitar Lessons this Summer

My name is Dylan Grossman. I will be a freshman in the Fall at Emerson College, studying audio production. I have been playing guitar for seven years and producing music for four. I am looking for guitar students for the summer and have a unique and fun approach to teaching. As opposed to more rigid methods of learning instruments I encourage students to play around and follow their own interests. All levels and ages are welcome. I have a flexible schedule, and the first lesson will be free of charge! Please call or email me for pricing/scheduling or further questions. 617-276-2152 dylan.grossman@yahoo.com

Newton-Beijing Jingshan Exchange Program

Learn about the Chinese culture through the eyes of a teenager, or a teacher. Newton’s exchange program is in need of host families for the 2012-2013 school year. In particular, host families are needed for female sophomores, a male middle school teacher and a female elementary teacher.

Host families for students need not have high school age students, as families with younger children also make a great connection with the Chinese exchange students. The exchange group will come to Newton in mid-September and stay for 4 months, departing in mid-January. The exchange group will travel on the two long weekends, Thanksgiving and winter break.

Host families provide meals when the visitor is not in school, their own room (shared room with same gender is allowed), and treat the visitor as a family member. All exchange students attend either North or South while teachers teach at one of the middle schools or the high schools. They all make presentations at some of the elementary schools and all the middle schools. We ask host families to just be themselves and share their family traditions and American culture with their visitor.

For more information, or to make queries, please contact donna_fong@newton.k12.ma.us.

Would your family like to win an iPad?

The John. M Barry Boys & Girls Club of Newton and Honda Village are holding the Driving Creativity Contest between now and May 31st. Kids and teens ages 2-18 are encouraged to create an interpretation of a Future Honda Vehicle on a piece of 8 ½ -11 sheet of paper. Winners will be announced at the Driving Creativity Gala Night reception on Thursday, June 7^th.

All drawings should include the child’s name, parent’s name, age, and a cell phone number, and should be dropped off at the Boys & Girls Club of Newton or at Honda Village . The different categories include: Overall Winner, Best in Class for Preschool, Elementary, Middle and High School, Best Use of the Honda or Honda Village logo, and Honorable Mentions for creativity and realism.

Judging for this contest will primarily take place online on Honda Village’s Facebook page facebook.com/hondavillagema where the public can vote by “Liking” images. Entries can also be viewed in person at Honda Village after each is displayed. Judges are allowed to vote for as many drawings as they may like, but can only vote for each image once.

There will be various prizes for contest winners including an iPad, art lessons, art museum experiences for the family, a certificate for art supplies and a summer camp experience. For any additional information you can contact me at this email address or Jade Giacoppo at Honda Village at Jgiacoppo@hondavillage.com .