Category Archives: Community Notes

Happier Now talk

Please join a evening with Happier founder and TED Talk speaker, Nataly Kogan. Nataly will share her game-changing strategies and insights on how you can live a happier life. She will talk about her new book, Happier Now, and about her time volunteering at the SEGA girls school in Tanzania, Africa.

Books will be available for purchase at the event. Reception to follow. Presented by Nurturing Minds, www.nurturingmindsinafrica.org. Purchase tickets at the event website www.tiny.cc/happier. For email inquiries please contact info@nurturingmindsinafrica.org

May 15th,  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown

Preschool registration open

The Rockwell Preschool at Lasell College is currently accepting applications for the 2018-19 school year. Rockwell has a half-day morning preschool and transition kindergarten and will be offering a full day, full year program as well as flexible extended day hours until 6:00 starting in September, 2018.

Conveniently located on the Lasell College campus near the junction of routes 16 and 30 at 70 Studio Road, Auburndale. Please contact Kathleen Rudnicki at 617-243-2355 or krudnicki@lasell.edu for more information or to schedule a tour.

College Consultant available

Are you thinking about the college admission process but don’t know where to begin?

Are you feeling overwhelmed by all of the complex (and sometimes conflicting) information on college admission?

Are you wishing your family wasn’t fighting over college application issues?

If you answered “Yes!” to any of these questions, an independent, comprehensive college consultant can help. Maruta Vitols guides families through every aspect of the college admission application process, from thinking about possible careers/majors to creating a college list to comparing award letters. She’s uniqely qualified, having experienced elite college admissions from the perspectives of faculty, staff, and student. Maruta is also a graduate of Newton South (Class of 1994), and a lifelong resident of Newton.

Check out www.apluscollegeconsult.com for more information, and contact her at mvitols@gmail.com to schedule a free consultation. 🙂 Maruta Z. Vitols, Ph.D.

School Committee Update

Dear Friends,

This update is for the 03/26/2018 and 04/02/2018 Newton School Committee meetings, as well as additional information about recent program open houses:

1). At both 3/26 and 4/2 meetings, the main topic was the 2018-2019 proposed budget. The question and answer periods were relatively short as we had covered quite a bit of ground at our previous budget meetings (see previous newsletters). The meeting ended with a unanimous straw vote supporting the budget proposal.

2). At the 3/26 meeting we discussed a draft revision of the policy: Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Use for Students. The impetus for the new draft was the new requirement for SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) screening. SBIRT is an evidence-based practice used to identify, reduce, and prevent problematic use, abuse, and dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs This is a verbal screening for students in grades 7 and 9. A number of revisions were suggested and a final draft will be proposed at an upcoming meeting.

3). School Committee Members were invited to a open houses at Central High School located at 100 Walnut Street and the Harbor Program on the campus of Newton South High School. The facilities for both programs are in renovated spaces as of September 2018. Directors and faculty of both programs discussed how the renovated spaces have made a positive impact on addressing student needs. Central High School, as described by the NPS website, is a small, highly structured, therapeutic setting with a behavior management system built into the school day. The Harbor Program, previously known as the High School Stabilization Program, is a short term program for students in crisis. This program allows students to continue their courses of study with additional clinical supports.

We hope you have found this summary useful. You can access all School Committee meeting documents via the NPS website (https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/domain/69).

Additionally, if you are interested in watching an SC meeting from home or a recorded meeting, you can obtain access via www.newtv.org.

As always, we are very happy to answer any questions or discuss any concerns you may have. Please feel free to contact us via the email address below.

Sincerely,

Newton School Committee

schoolcommittee@newton.k12.ma.us

NCE Spring Yoga

Our springtime yoga classes are starting up soon, and if you haven’t already signed up, we’d love to have you back! There’s still space in these classes:

To register, just click a link above! Any questions, please check our website or give NCE a call, 617-559-6999. Think SPRING!

Reminder about Small Choices – Big Impact

Join a presentation by former New England Patriot Chris Sullivan and his wife Kathi Sullivan. Listen as they share their own personal stories about addiction, mental health and making good choices. This talk is geared to parents and teens. For more information and to RSVP (requested, not required) visit www.newtonma.gov/newtonpath .

April 10th, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Newton South

Film screening and discussion

Discussing depression, anxiety, and suicide is a challenge, but the best possible way to prevent suicide is to talk about it, ask questions, and listen.

“Not Alone” introduces several teens who have struggled with mental health issues and raises awareness about the warning signs and prevention methods. Unlike popular TV shows which provide inaccurate depictions and sensationalize suicide, “Not Alone” sparks an important dialogue and gives teens a context within which they can discuss their feelings or struggles with mental health.

Parents and Teens are invited to view a short film “Not Alone” with experts from Newton Wellesley Hospital and Riverside Community Care. Light Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by Newton Free Library Teen Department, Newton Cares, and the Newton Health and Human Services Department. For a flyer about this event, please click Not Alone.

April 9th, 6:30 pm
Newton Free Library, Druker Auditorium

Thinking about your spring re-awakening?

Join Newton moms Jen Riff and Michelle Hubbard for these new, exciting classes! Each 1 hour class includes a 30 minute lecture and a 30 minute yoga/pilates movement portion. Bring a mat, a friend, and your wonderful energy! Children are welcome.

Choose one, or do all four:
1. Stress Management: Education and practice of understanding what stress is and reducing it in ways that work for the individual and family. April 5th, 11:30 am

2. Resiliency: Education about the definition of resiliency and how to increase factors that help you bounce back faster from negative events. April 29th, 4:00 pm

3. Anxiety: Education on what anxiety is — positive and negative anxiety, and how to manage it. May 4th, 11:30 am

4. Sleep: Education around why we sleep, the parts of sleep, and what we CAN do to sleep better. May 20th, 4:00 pm

RSVP to MSHEL267@aol.com to reserve a spot or express interest. Each class will cost $30.00 per person.

Dr. Jennifer Riff, Ph.D. in clinical psychology, uses evidence based approaches while focusing on outcomes and results. Specialties include coping with divorce, building resiliency to disease, managing depression and anxiety, building social skills, and strengthening family systems. She strives to support individuals while challenging them to increase their coping strategies and resiliency to risk factors. With her experience and advanced training in a range of treatment modalities, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, family systems, and play therapy, Dr. Riff takes an integrative and collaborative approach to her work. Dr. Riff has a private practice in Newton Highlands.

Michelle Silberman Hubbard, founder of Posture for Performance, is a Stott Certified Pilates instructor and yoga instructor for the past 20 years. Posture for Performance has designed yoga and Pilates based workshops at such companies as Harvard Business School, Stern School of Business, Faulkner Hospital, Roger Williams Law School, Suffolk Law School, and Tufts medical school, in addition to working with hundreds of individuals over the past two decades. A dancer all her life, Michelle studied Theater and Dance and Duke and holds an MFA in Theater from Brandeis. Michelle has a strong daily yoga practice and is passionate about creating daily wellness and joy. A class with Michelle includes core posture work and alignment awareness, with a gentle yoga/pilates combination that will stretch, tone and strengthen you all over. You can contact Michelle at MSHEL267@aol.com for additional information.

Register now for 2018-19 at Bowen Cooperative School

Does your child have September – December birthday or do you feel they could benefit from another year of preschool? Register now for 2018-19 classes at the Bowen Cooperative Nursery School!

Founded in 1955 in Newton, Bowen is one of the longest-running cooperative nursery schools in the country: not just a school for children, but a school for families. At Bowen, everyone has a chance to learn and grow, make life-long connections and become deeply involved in the preschool experience.

Visit the website for more information and to register: http://www.bowencoop.org/ or contact Nina Tebaldi at 617-332-3923 or director@bowencoop.org.

Newton Girls Softball

There are still a few spots open in the Grade 1/2 and the Pre-K/Kindergarten T-Ball divisions. Newton Girls Softball welcomes players of all skill levels and will provide your daughter with an experience that fosters positive self-esteem, team spirit, and individual growth through personal achievement and as a team member.

For information and to register, visit www.newtongirlssoftball.org.