Category Archives: Community Notes

Hands-on math and science courses for high school students

Magizo is offering small-group math and science classes for students in sixth grade and up. Classes offered include math circles for students in grades six through nine and physics courses for grades eight and up.

Students learn the application (or “the point”) of the material and open class discussions are encouraged. In addition, courses are hands-on and often involve a student elected, group project towards the end of the semester. The fall semester starts on October 4th and registration closes on the 1st. Please visit http://magizo.com for more information or call 617-851-0321.

Bridge Club

Would you like your son or daughter to learn a game that is enjoyed by just about everyone who has learned the game? And which, studies have shown, will improve their academic performance?

If you answered “yes”, then talk to your son or daughter (grades 5 to 9) about registering for the Bridge Club beginning on October 7th at Newton South High School. Newton parent Jeff Lehman will be teaching participating students how to play the card game of bridge. For more information and Registration visit Newton Community Education’s website here: Bridge Club.

Bridge is a game full of strategy and tactics. It is part science, part math, part reason. Bridge embodies teamwork, logic and problem-solving. Bridge can be played in social or tournament settings, and also online.

Oh, about that impact of learning bridge on academic performance? Well, one study showed that young bridge players outscored their non-playing counterparts on standardized test scores by 39.31% in Science, 24.22% in Math, and 22.74% in Social Science.

The Bridge Club lesson plans are designed just for youth. No more than ten minutes of each club meeting will be spent on formal instruction. The rest of the time will be spent doing what your children want most to do, play. Although bridge is a game of infinite nuance and sophistication, it is also a game of very few rules. As a result, your children will be playing bridge by the end of the first class!

Will your child enjoy learning bridge? Well, listen to this video and you will hear how much fun other youth have learning to play bridge, even traveling to tournaments and winning scholarships. http://www.youth4bridge.org/about/why_play_bridge_video.php

Newton Community Education charges $195 for the Bridge Club. All services and material are provided to students free of charge by the tax exempt charity New England Youth Bridge, Inc.

Please contact Jeff Lehman by phone at 617-332-2134 or by e-mail at Jeffrey.Lehman.MA@verizon.net with any questions.

Piano Lessons

Bachelor of Music in Composition from Berklee College of Music, Master of Music in Jazz Studies from New England Conservatory, 30+ years teaching experience.

Learn Jazz/Blues/Classical, theory, sightreading. Build a high quality musical foundation with a patient, upbeat, and caring instructor. Beginners especially welcome. Have a positive and successful learning experience. For information, please call Gloria Jasinski at 617-566-9704 or email piano566@comcast.net.

High Holidays at Congregation Mishkan Tefila

All are welcome to family services from 10:00 -1 1:15 on Rosh Hashana: Thursday, September 25th, Friday, September 26th and Yom Kippur on October 4th. Join the services at 5:00 pm on September 25th at Hammond Pond for a musical Tashlich with free childcare available for children 21 months to 5 years old. Please call 617-332-7770 for more information and tickets.

Registration for Ma’or Enlightened Jewish Education is Open

Ma’or (illumination) is a joint program of Congregation Mishkan Tefila and Temple Emeth of Chestnut Hill, and Temple Reyim of Newton. Ma’or offers student-centered enlightened Jewish education for grades K-5 organized around five pillars of study/torches of illumination: Israel, Torah, Community Service, Spirituality, and Hebrew and other Jewish languages.

Classes meet at the JCC in Newton; grades K-5 meet on Sunday mornings and grades 2-5 meet on Tuesday afternoons. Please call 617-564-0460, email maorboston@gmail.com or visit www.maorboston.org if you have any questions.

Destination Imagination

Come to a “DI Info Night” to find out more about enrolling your child in a life changing experience.

Tuesday, September 9th, from 7:00-8:00 pm
Zervas Elementary Library at 30 Beethoven Avenue

Wednesday, September 10th, from 7:00-8:00 pm
Burr Elementary Cafeteria at 171 Pine Street

Monday, September 15th, from 7:00-8:00 pm
Cabot Elementary Cafeteria at 229 Cabot Street

Wednesday, September 17th, from 7:00-8:00 pm
Memorial Spaulding Auditorium at 250 Brookline Street

Monday, September 22nd, from 7:00-8:00 pm
Horace Mann Elementary at 687 Watertown Street

The Destination Imagination program encourages teams of learners to have fun, take risks, focus and frame challenges while incorporating STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), the arts and service learning. DI students learn patience, flexibility, persistence, ethics, respect for others and their ideas, and the collaborative problem solving process.

More than 1.5 million youth have taken part in Destination Imagination problem-solving challenges in the past 30 years. Participating in DI has helped them develop critical thinking skills they can apply to their future schooling and careers to give them a competitive advantage for the rest of their lives. Last year, 80 students from nine different Newton Public Schools participated in Regional and State competitions.

NCE Fall College Prep Classes

This fall, NCE is offering a variety of affordable classes to help families prepare for college admissions:

ACT Math/Science Review  4 Wednesdays @ NSHS, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, 9/24-10/, $185
ACT English/Reading Review  – 4 Tuesdays @ NNHS, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, 9/23-10/14, $185
SAT Math Review  – 4 Thursdays @ NSHS, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, 10/9-10/30, $185
SAT Verbal Review Mondays @ NNHS 9/29-10/27, $185
Write Successful Essays for Your College Application – 4 Thursdays @ NNHS, 7:00 – 8:30 pm 10/2-10/23, $185
You Can Do It: Manage Your Own (Child’s) College Application Process– 2 Mondays/1 Wednesday @ NNHS, 7:30 – 9:00 pm, 9/22, 9/29, &10/15, $75

For more information, or to register, please visit newtoncommunityed.org or call 617-559-6999.

NewtonPAC meeting

The Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education (NewtonPAC) will meet on September 17th for a session for the parents and guardians of any child with special needs. They will have a dessert potluck (contributions welcome!), with time for networking and getting to know each other, and will plan the PAC’s meetings and events for the 2014-2015 school year. Come and meet other parents of kids with special needs in a relaxed, informal setting!

Any questions, or if you’d like to sign up to bring a dessert, feel free to email Eileen Sandberg, PAC chairperson, at eileen.sandberg.newtonpac@gmail.com.

September 17th,  7:30-9:00 pm
Room 210 at the Education Center, 100 Walnut Street

 

When schoolwork goes the wrong way..

Call Y3K Tutor in your home today. Their many years of experience in teaching and educational consulting has developed the right way to motivate, the right way to teach, be understood, and be remembered. They tutor special ed. such as ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s, Autism, Executive Function, and gifted as well as regular ed. and test preparation.

In addition to academic subjects, they teach children organizational skills, homework coaching, study skills, and time management. All subjects and ages are taught. Parents can now receive 25% off the first lesson. Call 781-492-8700 or check http://www.Y3KTutorInYourHome.com

The Maestro Musicians Academy

The Maestro Musicians Academy is now taking students for the fall semester of 2014!

Expert lessons in Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Trumpet, and Voice. Locations at the Young Israel of Brookline in Coolidge Corner and the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association in West Newton. Perfect for children ages 4 and up.

Stellar faculty with emphasis on developing the potential of every unique student. FREE TRIAL LESSON for all students who get in touch with the academy by September 18th. Contact Artistic Director Daniel Broniatowski, D.M.A. at 857- 756-5230 or visit http://www.maestromusiciansacademy.com