Category Archives: Education/Enrichment

April vacation at Watertown Children’s Theatre

Watertown Children’s Theatre offers April vacation week programs for children in grades 1-4 and 5-8.

Swingin’ Safari for grades 1-4 uses dramatic play, music,movement, and visual arts to create stories of safari adventures. 9am-4pm Monday – Friday (April 15-19)

Gleek Out! for students in grades 5-8 who would like to work on vocal technique and use those skills to perform GLEE-style pop songs. 1:00-4:00pm Monday-Friday (April 15-19)

More information is available on the “Programs” page of the WCT website.

Parent Education Offerings from the Newton Partnership

The Newton Partnership is offering a variety of discussions and workshops this spring for parents of children from infants to adolescents. Topics include:
Helping Your Child Develop Empathy
Beyond a Bigger Backpack: The Transition to Kindergarten
Raising an Organized Child
Adolescent Psychology: The Parent Version
More events and details are on the Newton Partnership website.

Parent Education Offerings from the Newton Partnership

The Newton Partnership is offering a variety of discussions and workshops this spring for parents of children from infants to adolescents. Topics include:
Helping Your Child Develop Empathy
Beyond a Bigger Backpack: The Transition to Kindergarten
Raising an Organized Child
Adolescent Psychology: The Parent Version
More events and details are on the Newton Partnership website.

April vacation camp at Newton’s Boys & Girls Club

The John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club is accepting reservations for its full-day April Vacation Program.

Monday through Friday from 9AM to 6PM.
Sign ups can be made in person at the front desk.
The first 100 registrants on a first come, first served basis. 

To register, call 617-630-2066 or sign up at the Club’s front desk.

Fieldtrip information and sign-ups are available at the front desk. Trips will include: Kimballs, Salem Willows, Movies, Lazer Zone and more! Trips are limited to the first 13 members who sign up with a permission slip and payment.

April Vacation with Newton Community Education

Still making plans for April break? Fear not, NCE has your back.

Kids in grades 1-4 can sign up for our Engineering & Electricity Workshop.

Kids ages 11 and up can enroll in our Babysitting and/or CPR classes.

See the NCE website for upcoming spring classes as well, including Flag Football for grades 3-5, and Soccer and T-Ball for the younger set. Be sure to check out summer program offering, where you’ll find something for every child in the family, from your pre-school actor to your teenage technologist.

For more information or to register, call 617-559-6999 or visit the NCE website.

April teen programs at Newton Free Library

The Newton Free Library offers special events just for teens:

Teen Crafternoons, Wednesdays, April 3 and 17, 3:30 pm
Get creative on Wednesdays, April 3 and 17 at 3:30 pm in the second floor Teen Area of the Newton Free Library where we will be hanging out, working on crafts. April 3 we’ll be making mobiles & April 17 (April vacation week!) we’ll be making altoids photo albums and eating food! Grades 6-12.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Movie Screening, Friday, April 19, 2:30 pm
It’s vacation week, which means it’s time to watch movies! Relax at a screening of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” at the Newton Free Library on Friday, April 19 at 2:30 pm in Druker Auditorium. The film is rated PG-13 and runs for 169 min. The program is open to ages 13 and up.

“The Impossible” Movie Screening, Sat., April 27, 2:00 pm
The Impossible, starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts who was nominated for best actress for her performance in the film, recounts the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004. The film is based on the true story of one family who battled to survive. This hopeful story that shows the strength of the human spirit will be screened at the Newton Free Library on Saturday, April 27 at 2:00 pm. The film is rated PG-13 and runs for 114 min. The program is open to ages 13 and up.

Summer theater opportunities with Newton Youth Players

There are still a few spots open for the Newton Youth Players’ summer production of “Oliver!”. Newton Youth Players is a wildly popular theatre program for elementary school children that boasts filled registration one year in advance for its school year programs. The summer play is especially delightful because of the extra time that can be spent on the preparation.

Rehearsals are from 9am – noon, giving ample time to work on choreography, scenery and props production. The first rehearsal will take place on June 27 th at Newton City Hall in the War Memorial Auditorium. Subsequent rehearsals and performance will be at Franklin Elementary School, 125 Derby Street in Newton. The performance is July 17th. Please register at the NYP website.

For those looking for a full day of theatrical experience, Newton Youth Players offers a companion afternoon program, “Choices,” from 1pm – 3pm, June 27th – July 11th. Directed by Marlene Fereshetian and Ruth Housman, it is an original story-building program, using music, humor, magic, dance and art. This program will spend its opening day at Newton City Hall, and then continue to Franklin School. Registration and more information is on the NYP website. 

Community Concert: Meet the Orchestra, April 7

Bring your family and meet the orchestra through music, hilarity, and hi-jinx! The New Philharmonia Orchestra and the Newton All-City Orchestra present an imaginative and fun afternoon of music. Featuring music by Bach and Schubert plus a hysterical performance of “The Composer is Dead” with text by Lemony Snicket and narrated by local actor Jake Berger.

Audience members of all ages are invited to meet and try the instruments after the concert at New Phil’s famous Instrument Petting Zoo! Join us and make musical memories!

Sunday, April 7 at 3pm
First Baptist Church, Newton Centre
Tickets: $10-$15

More details at the New Phil website or by calling 617.527.9717

Community Concert: Meet the Orchestra, April 7

Bring your family and meet the orchestra through music, hilarity, and hi-jinx! The New Philharmonia Orchestra and the Newton All-City Orchestra present an imaginative and fun afternoon of music. Featuring music by Bach and Schubert plus a hysterical performance of “The Composer is Dead” with text by Lemony Snicket and narrated by local actor Jake Berger.

Audience members of all ages are invited to meet and try the instruments after the concert at New Phil’s famous Instrument Petting Zoo! Join us and make musical memories!

Sunday, April 7 at 3pm
First Baptist Church, Newton Centre
Tickets: $10-$15

More details at the New Phil website or by calling 617.527.9717

Summer Video Game Programming for Middle Schoolers

Newton Community Education is offering a special summer course for middle school students:

Bootstrap: Practical Math for Programming Video Games

Bootstrap is a computer programming course with a twist—come learn programming basics in the Racket language and use your skills to program your own video game using algebraic and geometric concepts. Put your knowledge into action to create a computer game of your own design.

August 19 – August 23
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Newton North High School
Cost: $275

Once you learn Bootstrap, these skills can be put to use in other programming environments, and even in your math class! No previous programming experience necessary. Grades 6-8.

More details are on the Newton Community Education website.