What’s Happening at the Y

Try the Y
Mondays in March are free! Present a valid ID at the welcome desk and they’ll waive the guest fee.

March Membership Promotion
March is National Nutrition Month! Sign up for a membership at the West Suburban YMCA during the month of March and receive a free healthy recipe book and three guest passes.

Fall 2019 Preschool and After-school Enrollment – Opens March 15th
Enrollment in the West Suburban YMCA’s Preschool Center for Youth Development and “Out-of-School Time” program for the 2019-2020 school year opens on March 15th. Limited spots are still available for the current school year. Financial aid is available and state child care vouchers are accepted for both programs:

Preschool Center for Youth Development
· Early education for ages 2 years 9 months to 5 years
· Year-round, full-day program (7am-6pm)
· Large, bright and open classroom with secure entrance
· 30-minute weekly YMCA Swim Lesson included

Out-of-School Time
· After school program for children in grades K-8
· School-year program follows the Newton Public School calendar, including extended hours on Early Release Days
· Transportation to the Y is available from most elementary and middle schools in Newton
· Daily activity choices include recreation, homework assistance, physical fitness and creative expression

Bloomingdale’s Shop for a Cause – March 23d
Give back with style! Join the West Suburban YMCA at Bloomingdale’s Chestnut Hill for a day of fashion and philanthropy. Bloomingdale’s will donate 10% of all tracked sales from their women’s, men’s and home stores on March 23rd. To ensure a sale is tracked, present the Y’s personal barcode upon check out, which can be obtained at the Bloomingdale’s gift wrap desk.

Blue Waves Swim Team Spring Try-Outs – March 25th, 28th & April 1st
The Blue Waves Swim Team at the West Suburban YMCA is a nationally ranked competitive swim team for ages 6-17. All new swimmers looking to join the Blue Waves Swim Team for the Spring/Summer Long Course Season are required to try out. Swimmers must pre-register for a try-out slot ($5 for members / $10 for community). Try-outs slots are available between 5:30-7:00pm. Try-out registration is available online at wsymca.org or by calling 617-244-6050.

Late Spring Program Registration opens March 25th
The West Suburban YMCA’s next program session opens for registration beginning March 25th for Y members and April 1st for non-members. Sign up for adult fitness classes, youth sports programs and leagues, music lessons, swim lessons, and more! Late spring program session will run April 22nd – June 16th.

Register for Summer Camp, Win Celtics Tickets!
The West Suburban YMCA offers three summer camps: Camp Pikati at the Y, Camp Chickami in Wayland, MA and Camp Frank A. Day in East Brookfield, MA. Each camp offers children a unique and engaging summer experience. Register for summer camp during the month of March and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win tickets to the Celtics home game versus the Orlando Magic on April 7th.

Kids Night Out –  April 5th from 6:00-10:00 pm
Parents, drop off your kids for a fun Friday night with the Y’s staff. They’ll order pizza for dinner and keep the children entertained with games, swimming, movies and sports. $25 per child for Y members and $30 for the community. A 20% discount is offered per child for those with two or more children. Go out for the night and take advantage of this low-cost alternative to hiring a babysitter.

Poetry Night – April 5 from 7:00-9:00 pm
Celebrate National Poetry Night at the Y! Organized by Barbara Helfogtt-Hyett of Poemworks, the event features readings by two local poets, then guests are invited to participate in the open mic portion of evening to share their own written work. This event is free and open to the public.

Work at the Y: The West Suburban YMCA is hiring for a variety of full-time and part-time positions in child care and youth development, aquatics, fitness and more. Great benefits, FREE membership and professional development opportunities. Please contact Laura Snow at lauras@wsymca.org or visit wsymca.org/careers.

Financial Assistance is always available for Y Memberships and Programs
The West Suburban YMCA is a non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to never turn anyone away due to an inability to pay. Please contact the Membership Department at 617-244-6050 x3653 for financial assistance with membership or program participation.

Laura Holt – Holt College Advisor

Looking for help with the college admissions process? Not sure where to visit or apply? Need assistance drafting essays or preparing compelling applications? Laura can help! She offers a decade of admissions experience and enjoys partnering with students (and their parents) to find best fit schools.

Please contact her at laura@holtcollegeadvisor.com or 617-335-7345 for a free consultation. For more information, please visit www.holtcollegeadvisor.com.

Big Night is in two weeks

Dear Bigelow parents and caregivers,
We are two weeks away from Big Night, the Bigelow community’s largest fundraiser of the year. Saturday, March 30, 7:30-10:30 pm, at the Cambridge Boat Club, is the place to be to support our wonderful school!
Please buy your tickets for this special event where you will enjoy an open bar, delicious food, music and dancing! We are also hoping you will consider a sponsorship of head coach, coxswain or crew member when purchasing your tickets!
Click here if you would like to access a discount to Lyft – please consider using Lyft so you don’t have to worry about driving!
Thank you again and see you at Big Night!
Sincerely,
Karen Markson, Chairperson 

Buy Tickets

Food Service Request for Proposal

Message from School Committee Member Matthew Miller:

“Dear Newton Parents,

I am writing to provide an update regarding the Food Service Request for Proposal.

Sodexo is currently finishing up the 3rd year of three back-to-back 1-year contracts. NPS is required to put out an RFP (Request for Proposal). We approved adding two additional years to the contract for a total of 5 back-to-back years with the hope of making us more attractive to vendors.

The FRP group includes:

Dana Bennett (K-8 PEHW Coordinator)
Liam Hurley (NPS Finance)
Cindy Brown (Purchasing)
Eva Thompson (Interim Assistant Superintendent of Elem. Ed.)
Jon Ledwick (Consultant with Edvocate)
Stephen Marshall (Grants Manager, with Food Service experience)
Matthew Miller (SC Rep)

We have met twice as a group, the most recent meeting being held yesterday to review the proposals that have come in.

At the most recent meeting we reviewed the two proposals that have come in. Those include Whitsons and Sodexo. We had expected Chartwell and Aramark to also put forth a proposal. However, they did not. We think this is b/c after crunching numbers they realized they could not make it work. We are calling them to find out more. However, one theme of our discussion yesterday was that NPS is not that attractive to vendors. Some vendors are much better suited for bigger cities where more students (if not all) take advantage of school lunch. It is also helpful to note that we have basic criteria that a potential vendor needs to meet in order to be able to send in a proposal. Given the size of our district, we are limited in options.

Both Whitsons and Sodexo have put together proposals in the form of glossy, colorful binders full of info. While this info is proprietary, the info can be found online. I am in the process of going through the hundreds of pages and will be sharing my analysis. Happy to answer questions as well.

At the meeting yesterday, we established that both vendors meet the minimum criteria to set forth a proposal. The next step is to interview each vendor. These interviews will take place on March 28th from 9-1:30P. We are inviting a team of key stakeholders to watch observe yet not speak at the interview. I am sure many of you want to be a part of this team. To be fair, we are working with the administration and PTO council to get an appropriate cross section of our community including parents, students, High School, Middle School, Elementary School, teachers, custodians, principals and community members. We are currently reaching out to those individuals. That small group of 10 reps will be able to contribute interview questions and lend insight during a debrief. As such, I will be doing my best to collect your questions ahead of time so we can represent what is important to you. After the interview, we will be able to provide a summary.

The interview is one part of an evaluation process. We will be meeting after the interview to compare notes. At that time we will make a decision about which vendor we will move forward with.

One concern that was raised yesterday is how our community will react knowing that we are going to have to choose between Sodexo and Whitsons. Numerous complaints have come in about both companies, and participation rates have not increased. This is why we are, for the first time, involving the community in the process. Both companies have the ability to provide a higher level of quality. It is important for us to work together to decide which represents the best options and the best Food Service Director.

Finally, while there are many areas that we are focused on including conservation, allergies, communication, organic options, local options, etc., as a group we agreed that the number one priority is creating meals that are attractive, delicious and healthy. We are prepared to support whichever vendor we choose so that they can focus on improving food quality first and foremost.

Thank you,
Matthew”

Original message on the Newton Parents group.

Monday: Last Big Night Planning Meeting

Our last planning meeting for Big Night is this Monday, March 18th at 7:30pm, at the home of Karen Markson, at 150 Hunnewell Ave.

We will continue our planning for Big Night, the biggest fundraiser for the Bigelow community, held this year on Saturday, March 30, 7:30-10:30 pm.

We ask for your participation so we can make this a successful fundraiser for the Bigelow community. Please join us and see how you can help!

Bigelow Teacher Runs the Boston Marathon for NSF

Brooke Brady, our own special education teacher at Bigelow, is training to run the Boston Marathon. She is committed to raising $5000 for the Newton Schools Foundation!  Even though this week was Newton Public Schools’ February break, she took no days off!

This is the link to her fundraiser page: 
https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/brookes-boston-marathon-run

As a native of Boston, she grew up watching the marathon as a spectator, cheering on the runners. Now, she will be a participant anticipating the crowd’s support, as she makes her way up Heartbreak Hill.

Message from Brooke
“I am proud to have been chosen to run for Newton Schools Foundation. The Foundation supports new curricula and learning opportunities that foster high achievement for all students.
“As a special educator in Newton for the past fifteen years, I have had the opportunity to strengthen my skills and see first hand the positive impact that these programs have on our students. The funds raised go directly to the professional development of the staff, and programs for the students.”

Donate To Brooke’s Run