Category Archives: Community Notes

Albemarle Parking Party Thursday 4/21

Hi Albemarle Friends,

We wanted to let you know that we have rescheduled the Albemarle Parking Party to take place Thursday 4/21 from 7:00-10:00 AM on Albemarle Road near Gath Pool. (Rain date is Friday 4/22).

This will be an opportunity to learn more about the head out angled parking proposed in the Albemarle Traffic Calming and Bike Lane Project, and try it out in your own car! .  Please note we cannot provide a car for you to use, so please bring your own, or come with a friend!

Information on the parking party is attached. For more information on the project, please visit: https://www.newtonma.gov/government/planning/transportation-planning/projects/albemarle-traffic-calming-bike-lane

We hope to see you there. Please feel free to share the information with your friends.

Keep smiling,

Nicole Freedman

Director of Transportation Planning

City of Newton

(617) 879-8148

Newton-Needham PMC Kids Ride

PMC Kids Rides are back in person and we have joined forces with Needham to create a Newton-Needham PMC Kids Ride!

We hope that you will join us as we raise money for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Schedule of Events

  • 8 – 9 am – Rider and volunteer check-in, bike tune up
  • 8:45 am –  Opening Ceremonies
  • 9 – 10 am – RIDE!
  • 9:45 – 11 am – Post ride celebration with music, entertainment, raffles and more! 

TO LEARN MORE: Please visit https://kids.pmc.org/newton-needham

Newton Food Pantry – School Break

With the upcoming school breaks, The Newton Food Pantry wants to make sure that anyone experiencing food insecurity knows how to get help, even when school is not in session. Two easy options are the Newton Food Pantry and the Newton Community Freedge.

The Newton Food Pantry is now serving over 1,800 Newton residents at our renovated City Hall basement location, 1000 Commonwealth Avenue. Clients are able to shop for the items they want and need, selecting from a variety of dry goods, fresh produce, dairy, proteins, personal care items and culturally-relevant foods. Walk-in shopping hours are every Wednesday from 3pm to 7pm.

Shoppers at the Newton Food Pantry must be Newton residents (or they can be Newton-based college students or staff), provide proof of residency and complete a New Client Registration Form, found here.

The Newton Community Freedge is at 420 Watertown St. The Freedge is a free refrigerator & pantry stocked by community and local businesses in the parking lot of Central Drapery & Dry Cleaner.  It can be accessed 24 hours a day by anyone.  No forms or Newton residency required.

Additional information about the Newton Food Pantry and Freedge can be found, translated in 4 languages, on our Get Help  page.

Newton’s Earth Day Festival – April 24th

Celebrate Earth Day with a festival on Sunday, April 24 from 1-4pm outside of City Hall! With electric vehicles and entertaining performances, bike rides and bees, ice cream and info on home energy improvements, we’ll have something for everyone to mark the day.

See a full list of activities at GreenNewton.org/EarthDay. 

Event will take place rain or shine. Newton’s Earth Day Festival is hosted by Green Newton, the City’s Climate Team, and Newton’s EV Task Force. 

Bike Rodeo event on May 1st

Hello Newton School Families,

Celebrate safe biking in Newton at the Bike Rodeo hosted by Newton Parks and Recreation.  MA Safe Routes to Schools instructors will teach and review bike riding skills.  Volunteers from Bike Newton will help teach fun stations including knowing signs and hand signals, how to care for your bike, and more. 

The Bike Rodeo event will be on Sunday May 1st at Newton South High School and space is currently available for children in grades 2 – 6.  The Bike Rodeo is for children who live in Newton or attend Newton Public Schools, have their own bike, and are comfortable riding independently.  Helmets must be worn and an adult must attend. 

Please check out the registration website at https://newtonma.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=30165 for more information and to register. 

For questions, please contact Channon Ames at cames@newtonma.gov
When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be kept confidential.

Social Media and Our Youth: A VIRTUAL Mental Health Forum

On Sunday, May 1st, the Becca Schmill Foundation will present “Social Media and Our Youth: A VIRTUAL Mental Health Forum,” at 2:00 pm EDT. Please join us for this free event which includes two consecutive and informative panels featuring nationally recognized and esteemed researchers, child/adolescent mental health professionals, teachers, and youth advocates. Panelists will discuss the significant evidence linking social media use to the skyrocketing increases in rates of clinical level depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and eating disorder cases among adolescents, the impact screen overuse is having on children’s ability to focus, and what changes are needed to reverse these trends. There will also be an opportunity for Q&A at each session.

This mental health forum follows on the heels of President Biden’s State of the Union statement, in which he acknowledged the harms of social media. Furthermore, in the pre-speech Fact Sheet, the White House states “..[T]here is mounting evidence that social media is harmful to many kids’ and teens’ mental health, well-being, and development. As the Surgeon-General has said, ‘…[T]hese tools can pit us against each other, reinforce negative behaviors like bullying and exclusion, and undermine the safe and supportive environments young people need and deserve.’“

To learn more about the event and to register for free click here. To learn more about the Becca Schmill Foundation, please visit www.Beccaschmillfoundation.org.

Registration Available Now – Tim Mayotte Tennis Newton – Newton Parks, Recreation & Culture

Former world top ten player and Massachusetts native, Tim Mayotte, is overseeing Newton’s city-wide tennis-in-the-parks programs.

Registration is open for summer camp, after-school and weekend junior tennis programs. Beginners to advanced players – red, orange, green and yellow ball classes.

Schedules, registration: www.newtontmtennis.com.

Locations: Angier, Warren, Newton North, Newton South.

Newton Food Pantry – School Break

With the upcoming school breaks, The Newton Food Pantry wants to make sure that anyone experiencing food insecurity knows how to get help, even when school is not in session. Two easy options are the Newton Food Pantry and the Newton Community Freedge.  

The Newton Food Pantry is now serving over 1,800 Newton residents at our renovated City Hall basement location, 1000 Commonwealth Avenue. Clients are able to shop for the items they want and need, selecting from a variety of dry goods, fresh produce, dairy, proteins, personal care items and culturally-relevant foods. Walk-in shopping hours are every Wednesday from 3pm to 7pm.

Shoppers at the Newton Food Pantry must be Newton residents (or they can be Newton-based college students or staff), provide proof of residency and complete a New Client Registration Form, found 
here. 

The Newton Community Freedge is at 420 Watertown St. The Freedge is a free refrigerator & pantry stocked by community and local businesses in the parking lot of Central Drapery & Dry Cleaner.  It can be accessed 24 hours a day by anyone.  No forms or Newton residency required.   

Additional information about the Newton Food Pantry and Freedge can be found, translated in 4 languages, on our Get Help  page. 

11th Annual Newton Inspires to Showcase Creativity in the Classroom and Honor our True Inspirations: Newton’s Teachers and Staff

Tuesday, May 3rd from 6-8 pm at Angier Elementary School

Newton Public Schools teachers and staff will be the center of attention at the 2022 Newton Inspires event presented by Newton Schools Foundation.  On Tuesday, May 3rd from 6-8 pm at Angier Elementary School, our emcee former WGBH host Barbara Howard will lead a live conversation with NPS teachers, who will discuss their work in the classroom and what keeps them inspiring our students to learn and achieve.  Tuesday, May 3rd is also Teacher Appreciation Day.

Join other community members for lite fare, musical performances, testimonials and a short film highlighting some of the NSF grants that are being implemented in all of our schools.  Tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased here.  NPS teachers and staff are invited as NSF’s guests.

This year’s lead sponsors are Northland and The Village Bank. Individuals and businesses wishing to support public education in Newton through a Newton Inspires sponsorship can visit  https://newtonschoolsfoundation.org/sponsor-newton-inspires/. All proceeds go to Newton Schools Foundation, which funds grants to allow teachers to try new approaches in the classroom, professional development for educators, and programs that address inequities associated with race, income and social identity.

Newton Schools Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to advance excellence and equity in the Newton Public Schools. www.newtonschoolsfoundaiton.org

Pickleball Clinic

I’m a Physical Education teacher at F. A. Day Middle School and I would like to get the word out about an exciting 2 day clinic I’m offering during April vacation.  It’s for grades 4-8 on April 21 and 22 from 9:00-12:00 at Day Middle School.

Pickleball is a combination of ping-pong, badminton and tennis and it’s the fastest growing sport in America with 4.5 million people playing it. It is easy to learn and multi-generational. Many older people play and now it’s moving to the youth population!  

Thank you,
Amanda Church
F.A Day Middle School