Category Archives: Events

Come Row with CRI

Come learn about youth and adult programs, recreational and competitive opportunities, programs for vets and those with disabilities at Community Rowing, Inc.

Coaches will on site to show you around the Harry Parker Boathouse and introduce to the sport. There will be opportunities to row on the Charles in the CRI Catamarans and on indoor rowing machines. No experience necessary!

Questions: email friendlyperson@communityrowing.org

Community Rowing, Inc. Open House

April 7th, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Harry Parker Boathouse,  20 Nonantum Rd. Brighton

Spring Math Festival and Open House

Come and learn more about having UN while doing MATH. Play games, do STEM activities, solve puzzles, and win prizes!

This event is open to kids (ages 4 – 12) and their parents!

Studio of Engaging Math is a pre-K-8 after-school math program whose mission is to cultivate students’ appreciation of mathematics by fostering intellectual curiosity, critical and logical thinking,spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills to build student confidence and self-esteem.

STEAM is a summer program for children ages 6 – 12. Broaden your child’s exposure to science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). The fun and intimate, hands-on activities of the classes strive to excite and inspire participants about STEAM, creating enthusiasm that will spill over to schoolwork and school choices in future years. Classes include introduction to programming, building and modeling, arts and crafts, logic puzzles and board games. The Studio also offers summer SAT/ACT preparation classes, Math Olympiad Circle, Chess, Coding and more.

Studio of Engaging Math Open House

April 7, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
320 Washington street, Suite 301, Brighton

Camp Grossman Open House

Come to visit Camp Grossman for the day and explore the 75 pine-studded acres of Hale Reservation with staff led tours of the waterfront, bunk areas and so much more. Meet with senior staff and see what a day at Camp Grossman is like!

Can’t make it? Register using a brand new online portal at bostonjcc.org/grossman-registration. Contact the Camp Grossman Office at 617-244-5124 or grossman@jccgb.org if you have any questions.

April 7th, 2:00 – 4:00 pm

Green Newton’s Schools Connections next meeting

Green Newton’s Schools Connections is a forum for parents, students, educators – with representatives from 10 schools – and the broader Newton community interested in promoting sustainability in the classrooms and beyond. Once a month, the group offers a setting for sharing experiences and ideas, as well as support in facing challenges in implementing green initiatives at their schools and in the Newton Public District.

Some of their initiatives include:

▪ Sharing of past and current efforts at individual schools

▪ Developing and sharing recycling signage for schools, in partnership with Newton Sustainable Materials Management department.

▪ Advocating for the hiring of a dedicated staff to plan and implement consistent recycling collection throughout the school district. ▪ Hosting discussions with stakeholders from the city government, committees, and elected officials.

▪ A survey about waste management in all of Newton public schools, in partnership with Newton Sustainable Materials Management department

▪ Evaluating the possibility of implementing a Food Recovery Program in Newton school cafeterias

▪ Supporting renewable energy in schools, including solar panels

For more information contact schoolconnections@greennewton.org or visit https://www.greennewton.org/initiative_category/schools/

April 11th,  3:45 – 5:00 pm
Druker Auditorium of the Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street

April Vacation at Newton Free Library

Chocolate Make & Take, April 13th, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm, Teen Area
Interested in learning how to make chocolate creations? Alongside Sadina Shawver, a former chocolatier, you’ll learn to make chocolate as well as take that chocolate home! Online registration (required) starts March 18th. There are four separate 1-hour sessions until 4:00 pm.

Teen MTG, April 16th, 3:00 – 4:00 pm, Teen Area
Meet up to play Magic: The Gathering after school. Moderated by a local Newton South student. Bring your decks or use the ones there!

Official Book Launch for Danielle: The Chronicles of a Superheroine by Ray Kurzweil, April 16th, 7:00 – 8:30 pm, Druker Auditorium
Join inventor, futurist Ray Kurzweil as we explore his vision of an extraordinary future where our brains are connected to the cloud, we have hybrid biological/nonbiological thinking, our human intelligence is enhanced a millionfold and everyone has the power of ideas to solve the world’s grandest challenges. Meet Danielle, the protagonist of Kurzweil’s new book, Danielle: Chronicles of a Superheroine – a precocious girl with super-intelligence who has the courage to question the assumptions that limit our imagination to solve world problems. Imagine if we were all Danielles! A book signing will follow.

Escape Room, April 17th, 12:00 – 7:00 pm, Special Collections/Teen Area
You’ve trapped yourself and your friends in a room. Well done! You and your team must now solve the unsolvable, unlocked the locked, and escape the inescapable within 45 minutes. Think you can do it? Test the Haunted Newton Escape Room, and while you wait, enjoy some snacks. This escape room was made and tested by the Teen/Tween Advisory Board. Online registration (required) will allow teams to sign up for 45-minute time slots. Grades 5-12.

Project Cosplay: Make You Up,  April 17th, 7:00 – 8:30 pm, Teen Area
Looking to dive into cosplay? Step up your game with special effects makeup! Makeup and cosplay enthusiasts, Erica Yuen and Julia Carlaw, will show you tips and tricks on how to make up your face. Grades 5-12.

Teen Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2:00 – 4:30 pm, Teen Area
Join to watch the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Spider-Man themed snacks and refreshments will be provided. Rated PG. Runtime 117 minutes.

NNHS Science Team Trivia, April 18th, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Teen Area
Are you a science mastermind? Join the fun and test your mastery of science! The Newton North High School Science Team will challenge players to a night of science trivia from a variety of categories from chemistry to computer science. Stretch your brain and win exciting science prizes! Come alone or with friends! Teams can be up to 6 people, and we can match you with fellow devotees. Pizza and drinks will be provided. Teens and families welcome.

For more information contact Megan Coffey at teens@newtonfreelibrary.net.

Positive, empowering experience

Looking for a positive, empowering experience to do with the girl(s) in your life? The nonprofit MEDIAGIRLS is holding a fundraiser/event: MEDIAGIRLS: Get Strong Inside & Out during which girls over age 10 and women of all ages (dads & male guardians welcome!) will experience martial-arts infused yoga, hear from young women about using social media in healthy ways, and learn “power moves” that exude confidence.

All proceeds from tickets sales and raffles go toward bringing their year-long program to 150 more girls in underserved communities in Boston. MEDIAGIRLS teaches girls and young women how to know their self-worth, and harness the power of media for positive change.

April 28th, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Brookline Teen Center

Alexandra Levie will run the 2019 Boston Marathon for Understanding Our Differences!

Support Alexandra Levie as she runs the 2019 Boston Marathon for Understanding Our Differences! Newton-based charity Understanding Our Differences (UOD) has a runner in the 2019 Boston Marathon. Alexandra Levie of Gloucester is running to raise money for UOD in support of their mission and to help grow and update the program for the next generation.

UOD’s is a model, interactive disability awareness curriculum that teaches children to see the whole person and better understand the disability. The Understanding Our Differences program educates schools and communities and fosters respect and inclusion for people of all abilities.

The curriculum covers Blindness and Low Vision, Deafness and Hard of Hearing, Autism, Physical Disabilities, Intellectual Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, and Chronic Medical Conditions including Allergic Conditions, Asthma, Diabetes, and Epilepsy.

Understanding Our Differences is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a national leader in disability awareness education, with unique expertise developed over its 40-year history.

Alex is a graduate of UMass Amherst and will complete her Masters in Public Health at Boston University in May. She believes in the mission of UOD and has volunteered at presentations of the UOD curriculum in Newton. She’s a busy young woman but training like a pro for Marathon Monday! Please support her at UOD with a donation at https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/alex-levie

Bigelow Special Education teacher will run 2019 Boston Marathon for Newton Schools Foundation

Brooke Brady, Newton Public Schools special education teacher, will run this year’s Boston Marathon to raise funds for Newton Schools Foundation (NSF). Her goal is to raise $5000 to support NSF-funded programs in the Newton Public Schools.

Ms. Brady, as she is known throughout the halls of Bigelow Middle School, is an avid
runner, having completed multiple half-marathons. This year’s Boston Marathon will be her first full marathon.

“I’m proud to have been chosen to run for Newton Schools Foundation,” Brady added.
“As a special educator in Newton for the past 15 years, I’ve had the opportunity to strengthen my skills and see first hand the positive impact that NSF-funded programs have on our students. The funds raised go directly to the professional development of the staff, and programs for the students.”

NSF is committed to expanding opportunities for all students in the Newton Public
Schools.   NSF-supported programs include initiatives in the areas of STEAM (science,
technology, engineering, art and math), sustainability, literacy, civics, the arts, cultural and social/emotional development, and closing the achievement gap.

To donate to Brooke’s run please visit Newton Schools Foundation’s website,
http://www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org/ .

Parents of Asian American Youth

An increasing number of youth are struggling with mental health issues, and cultural factors impact everything from identity and communication to well-being and mental health.

This is a rare opportunity to hear from Dr. Josephine Kim, renown counselor and educator of Harvard Graduate School of Education, who will give a two-part seminar, solely dedicated to Asian parents at the Let’s Talk! Conference. Here is the session description:

BRIDGING THE CULTURAL GAP BETWEEN ASIAN-IMMIGRANT PARENTS AND THEIR ASIAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN
“PLEASE, help me understand my child!” comes out of the mouth of most parents at one time or another, but when cultural differences between the East and West enter the mix, those words can become a cry of desperation. Let’s Talk! presents a two-part session just for parents with renowned counselor and educator Dr. Josephine Kim who will share how cultural differences manifest in daily interactions between parents and children and what parents can do to protect children from life’s stressors. Most importantly through this session, parents will learn that they are not alone.

March 30th. This two-part workshop will take place during both session times from 1:00 – 2:15 pm  and 2:30 – 3:45 pm.

*All proceeds will go towards the Let’s Talk! Conference

Maine Arts Camp Information Session

If you are looking for a great overnight summer camp for your creative 9-16 year-old, please come to an information session and find out what makes Maine Arts Camp so special.

Located on the campus of Colby College, MAC is a small, friendly camp community where children and teens feel comfortable expressing their creativity, pursuing their passions and exploring new skills with support and highly personalized attention from our team of exceptional and experienced professionals. New campers can and do start at any age, be it 9 or 10, 15 or 16 years old and everything in between. MAC provides professional instruction in the visual arts, theater, culinary arts, music, photography/videography and dance, as well as individual sports such as tennis, kayaking, hiking and biking. Add in the first class facilities at Colby College, along with traditional favorites like songs and smores around the camp fire, etc., and this is a place where creative campers can meet like-minded individuals, make life-long friendships and grow in extraordinary ways that help them lead happy, meaningful and productive lives.

Visit www.maineartscamp.com to find out more. If you would like to attend Saturday’s information meeting, please RSVP to camp director Rick Mades, at maineartscamprick@gmail.com.

March 30th, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
The Boathouse at The Farm Condominiums, 99 Florence St, Chestnut Hill. From Florence St, enter The Farm. Turn right after entering the community. Turn left after the tennis court. Turn left into the parking lot for the boathouse behind the pond).