Come Be Part of Acafest!

The Newtones’ annual end-of-year a cappella show is just around the corner! Acafest consists of different high school acts from around Massachusetts. They hope you can join them for a fun night of singing! This year’s acts include Perfect Pitch (Brookline), Northern Lights (Newton North), Euphoria (Lexington), and Accent (Lincoln-Sudbury).

General Admission tickets are $8.00. Purchase online: Eventbrite tickets for Acafest. Tickets also available at the door. Proceeds benefit Music and Youth Initiative: www.musicandyouth.org

May 13th, 7:30 pm
Newton South Auditorium

10th Anniversary Seedling Sale

It’s almost time to start your home garden! Come get your seedlings for vegetables, herbs, flowers, and that favorite summer crop, tomatoes! The greenhouse is already busy with hundreds of varieties from the same seeds they use to grow the produce they sell. Get seedlings specially selected for local growing conditions and support your local community farm in the process.

The Newton Community Farm is a non-profit, that operates for the benefit of the community. If you would like to send in a preorder to be picked up during the Seedling Sale, use the Preorder Form, (due on May 9th). Preorders are only available to Friends of the Farm. Not a Friend of the Farm? Become one today! Please visit the website for more information.

May 14th and 15th , Noon – 3:00 pm
Newton Community Farm

Join the Newton Family Singers

Come to a very special concert. In addition to performing songs by legendary folk rock artist Neil Young, NFS will be singing some well-known and beloved songs by Crosby Stills & Nash, John Fogerty and Buffalo Springfield, as well as a few song surprises. In recognition of Neil Young’s environmentalism and advocacy for small farmers, proceeds from this concert will benefit the educational programs of the Newton Community Farm. The farm’s mission is to teach and model sustainable agricultural and environmental practices in our community, on the historic Angino Farm.

So bring your family to enjoy the Newton Family Singers benefit concert on May 14th! It will be a fun filled afternoon including great music, concern for our environment, education and community.

To purchase tickets online, please visit www.newtonfamilysingers.org. Please also consider purchasing a family sponsorship for $100. Family Sponsors will receive four tickets, a mention in our program and our undying gratitude!

May 14th, 3:30 pm at the Newton South High School auditorium.

Upcoming Teen STEAM Programs @ the Library!

Impact Entrepreneurship: Making a Difference in Your Community Through Technological Innovation Ever dreamed of becoming the next Zuckerberg? Have an idea to change the world? Come learn how to create real-world technological solutions that help your community. High school entrepreneur and Girls Who Code alum Anaya Tipnis will discuss the process of building a startup and the benefits of learning to code. All ages welcome! Register online. May 3rd, 7:00 pm, Druker Auditorium.

CodeCampKidz: You’ll be amazed by what your Web creations look like when you see them on an iPhone, iPad, or laptop, not just on a wider screen! In this course you will take a “mobile first” approach and build a series of re-usable Bootstrap Tools that you can use over and over again on your own responsive design projects. Topics covered include: the Bootstrap Grid system, fixed & fluid layout, responsive layouts and media querry, panel, other UI effects; and others.

Full details are available at http://codecampkidz.com/liveclass/level2. Free hosting provided. For kids in grades 7 and 8. Online registration (required) begins on April 13th. When you register, you register for all 4 classes. Wednesdays, May 4, 11, 18 and 25, 4:30 pm, second floor Computer Center.

Minecraft Club: Come play Minecraft with your friends on the library’s server. We’ll have different challenges each session. Don’t have an account? No problem, use one of the library’s. The club meets the first Thursday of every month. Minecraft Club is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Grades 6-12. Register online. May 5th, 4:00 pm, second floor Computer Center.

Teen Tinker Club: Learn how to code LEGO WeDos using Scratch! Tinker Club is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Grades 6-12. Space is limited, please register online. May 19th, 4:00 pm, second floor Computer Center.

Etiquette Boot Camp

The Etiquette Academy of New England will be offering an Etiquette Boot Camp for Teens.

The 4-hour Etiquette Boot Camp is designed to prepare ages 13-17 for the next family dinner and social gathering. Participants will learn how to start and maintain conversations with adults and peers, how to introduce themselves, when to interrupt, and how to knock when entering a room.

The program will help reinforce a young adult’s basic etiquette, conversation techniques, and table manners in a fun setting with their peers. Participants will learn how to set the table, use their napkin, pass food, and use utensils the European and American way. For more information and to enroll visit TheEtiquetteAcademy.org or call 617-608-3920.

May 15th, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm in Coolidge Corner
1309 Beacon Street, 3rd Floor. Brookline.

Newton PTO Council 2016-05-01 13:06:13

Get your hands dirty on the farm with the summer GreenPower program for middle schoolers! Participants have the chance to interact with farmers, care for animals, work in the Junior Farmer field, set-up the Farm stand, participate in hunger relief, learn cultivation techniques, participate in irrigation and building projects, and more!

For more information, please click here for flyer.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION re: Proposed Self-storage Facility for Newtonville Avenue

A 113, 000 square foot self-storage facility (1.5 times larger than Whole Foods in Newtonville) is being proposed for the corner of Newtonville Avenue and Lewis Terrace. Why is this important for Bigelow Families? The streets of Newton Corner and Newtonville are already unsafe for our kids walking to and from Bigelow. This facility will bring increased traffic and truck traffic to congested streets, as well as bringing individuals with no vested interests into our community, and will increase safety concerns for our children. This is also adjacent to Cabot Park, which many of our families use.

The Land Use Committee is voting on this proposal on May 3, 2016 – please consider supporting a petition of the residents opposing this facility, and attending the Land Use Committee meeting at 7 pm at City Hall on May 3.

Click here for a flyer with more information regarding the proposal.

Thank you

Friends of Newtonville Avenue Neighborhood

Friendsofnewtonvilleave@yahoo.com

NewtonSERVES THIS SUNDAY – PLEASE Sign up today

PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING WITH THIS COMMUNITY EVENT!!

SIGN UP HERE FOR NewtonSERVES on May 1st: http://www.newtoncommunitypride.org/NewtonSERVES-volunteer.php

Join us as we beautify the grounds and interior of Bigelow Middle School, and build upon the strong and productive turnout in 2015. We plan to clean and mulch garden beds, prune shrubs and trees, plant some shrubs and flowers, etc. outdoors. We will also tackle an indoor project as well.

Please bring gloves, shovels, trowels, pitchforks, wheel barrels, pruners, power drills, etc. (Please, remember to label them.)

Adults and students are all welcome. We will have coffee and donuts for the morning shift and will be providing lunch for those who sign up to work the whole day.

More information on NewtonSERVES can be found here http://www.newtoncommunitypride.org/NewtonSERVES.html

Please email bigelowbulldog@gmail.com with any questions.

Deadline to order this FRIDAY ~ Bigelow Middle School 2015-2016 Yearbook

All-color pages
Durable hard cover with original design by 8th grade artists
Price: $25
Deadline: EXTENDED UNTIL FRIDAY, 4/29
Payments: cash or check

Order today at ybpay.lifetouch.com (Bigelow’s code: 1945916)

If you would rather pay by cash or check (payable to: Bigelow Middle School), please place payment in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and homeroom written on the front. Your child should give the envelope to their homeroom teacher.

Mindfulness: Two events

Finding Your Quiet Place: Mindfulness Skills for Children & Families
Being a parent can be stressful. When your child experiences a meltdown or has difficulty concentrating and following directions, it can be difficult to keep your cool-let alone help your child to calm down and focus. Mindfulness can help. In this discussion, Mindfulness authors and clinical social workers Deborah Sosin and Carla Naumburg share their experiences helping parents and children learn how to pay attention to the present moment with kindness and curiosity.

In addition to learning the benefits of mindfulness, participants will practice fun exercises that they can do at home to bring peace to their daily lives and build more harmonious family relationships. Register online at newtoncommunityed.org or call 617-559-6999. Tickets: $14.00 in advance ($20.00 at the door).

May 3rd, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Newton South High School

Growing Up Mindful: Encouraging Compassion and Connection in Children and Teens
Many of us are seeking ways to share Mindfulness with our children to prepare them for a world that is often less than compassionate. We cannot protect them from every challenge, but we can offer them the lifelong gift of mindful awareness to ease their way.

Christopher Willard will discuss how Mindfulness can help kids build resilience for dealing with life’s challenges and cultivate emotional, cognitive, and spiritual intelligence. Willard is a Boston-based psychologist and educational consultant specializing in Mindfulness for adolescents and young adults. He has been practicing meditation for over 15 years and teaches at Harvard Medical School and is a published author. Copies of his new critically acclaimed book “Growing Up Mindful” will be available for purchase.

May 10th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Newton South High School