Deck Your House and Win $100,000 for Newton Public Schools

Patch is holding a contest this month that could bring a big chunk of change to Newton Public Schools.  The contest asks locals around the country to submit photos of their houses all decked out for the holidays. Residents can submit photos from now until Dec. 26 and once they submit, residents in the community can vote for their favorite houses online. The top 24 houses in the country receive $500 toward their December electric bill and the grand prize winner wins $100,000 for his/her home school district, no strings attached.  Even if the winner has children in a private school, it’s the public school district in the winner’s town that gets the money.

I know the times are tough and money isn’t necessarily available to be spent on holiday decorations…not to mention the large number of families who don’t decorate houses! I can totally relate. One suggestion was to actually get a group of families together to decorate one house as a team, and then get a whole neighborhood to work on voting for that house.  There are a few more details available for the contest, and they’re in this article here: http://newton.patch.com/articles/deck-your-house-and-win-100-000-for-newton-public-schools.  To upload photos of houses visit : deckthehouse.patch.com/contest/newton. If you know any Newton residents with great, decked-out houses, encourage them to post — it could bring $100K to NPS.  If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to call or email Newton Patch.

Math Tutoring

My name is Alex Peterson and I can offer math tutorage for middle school students in Newton. I am a senior at Newton South High School and am currently taking AP BC Calculus and AP Statistics. I scored a 790 on Math level 2 subject test and a 760 on the Math section of the SAT 1. Because I have worked with my brother and sister (who currently attend brown) with their school work I have a fresh feel for the middle school curriculum. My hours are flexible with the exception of Monday afternoons. You can contact me by email at alexconorpeterson@gmail.com or on my cell at 617-699-0458. Please let me know if you are interested!

Be a Winter Buddy

Be a Winter Buddy: Join Newton at Home’s New Winter Buddy Program!

We all know our New England winters are long and there are storms aplenty. Newton at Home has designed a new Winter Buddy Program to encourage connections between seniors and other community members when the snow and wind are swirling outside. Being a buddy means that a volunteer or volunteer family would connect with a Newton at Home member to:

1. Advise that a storm is coming.
2. Assess the need for essential supplies (milk, bread, flashlights and batteries, etc).
3. Develop plans for snow removal.
4. Call your buddy every day of the storm.
5. Direct your buddy to appropriate help when necessary.

Volunteering as a Winter Buddy will require minimal time commitment, but would give Buddies a sense of connection and satisfaction from helping others. If you would like to participate, please contact Bonnie Katz at bkatzdesign@gmail.com or 617.244.0694.

Newton at Home is an organization dedicated to empowering Newton’s seniors to age at home comfortably, independently, and with peace of mind through a membership-based organization that offers access to comprehensive practical services and fosters social supports and a sense of community.

We will hold a short Winter Buddy Training session on Wednesday, Dec 14, at 11:30, as well as several dates in January. Training sessions will be held at our office, 206 Waltham St, in the Scandinavian Living Center building. For more information about the Winter Buddy program and Newton at Home, please check our website at www.newtonathome.org.

Historic Newton – CHANGE OF DATE

DATE CHANGE
Tuesday, December 27, 2:00 PM
STORIES IN THE SNOW
A Vacation Week Family Program

Greet winter with open arms at this family program. We’ll read White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt, and make snow globes to take home. Kids of all ages can enjoy the warmth of the Jackson Homestead, where we’ll serve hot cider and snacks. Cost: $15 per family ($10 for members); includes museum admission, materials, and snack. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call 617.796.1450 to register.

Three Suzuki Workshops in January at Brookline Music School

EVERY CHILD CAN! Introduction to the Suzuki Method
Sunday, January 8, 2012, 9:30am – 4:30pm
An introduction to Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy and its application to Suzuki education. For parents, teachers, prospective teachers and others, this new course provides an inspiring, in-depth look at the Suzuki approach to teaching and learning. This course is required for all new Suzuki teachers, but open to prospective teachers, parents, administrators and all others interested in learning about Suzuki approach to education. It is not instrument-specific. There are no instrument proficiency requirements. No audition is required. For a brochure click here. 

8TH ANNUAL SUZUKI FLUTE WORKSHOP
Sunday, January 15 & Monday, January 16, 2012, 9:00am – 5:00pm
This two-day workshop features a master class, group class and ensemble or reading class each day, and ends with an informal concert. Non-Suzuki flute students are welcome to join in the fun but should be familiar with some of the repertoire from the Suzuki Method. For a brochure click here.

2012 SUZUKI FLUTE TEACHER TRAINING:
Thursday, January 12 – Monday, January 16, 2012, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Flute Book 2 (Kimberly Lorimier)
Flute Book 4 (Laurel Ann Maurer)
Over the course of five days, trainees will receive 15 hours of classroom time and eight hours of observation time, in conjunction with the 8th Annual Suzuki Flute Workshop. For a brochure click here.

For more information, visit the Suzuki page or Contact Amy Poliakoff: amyflute@comcast.net

or contact Brookline Music School at www.bmsmusic.org, 617-277-4593

Newton Community Ed classes for Middle Schoolers

Registration is now underway for Winter classes through Newton Community Education. Coming up for middle schoolers we have Lego Robotics at South on Tuesdays and Fridays, The Stockmarket Game at Oak Hill on Tuesdays and Angier on Fridays, Fencing at Bigelow on Mondays, Archery at Oak Hill on Tuesdays, and Babysitting at South on Saturdays and North over February and April vacations. Also during both vacations we are offering our ever-popular Make a TV Show program at NewTV, and during February break, new this year, we are offering Advanced Domino Physics. All our classes are for kids from all schools. We have family cooking classes: Two Continents, Many Dumplings, and The International Chocolate Chip. We also have Saturday sports options for kids ages 2 and up, and weekday afternoon sports options for younger kids, such as Dodgeball, Basketball and Sports Jam. For more information or to register, call our office at 617-559-6999 or visit our website at newtoncommunityed.org. Be sure to check out our adult classes too, and look for our summer Kids catalog, coming in January.

Historic Newton Calendar December

  • Museum Shop Holiday Sale
  • Map Night with GIS Mapping
  • Stories in the Snow
  • Candles are Wick-ed Cool  

MUSEUM SHOP HOLIDAY SALE
During the entire month of December, find wonderful small gifts for both adults and children at the annual Holiday Sale at the Jackson Homestead and Museum, and support Historic Newton with your purchase. Enjoy 10% off all purchases such as note cards, games, DVDs and more. Members receive a 20% discount.

Tuesday, December 6, 7:30 PM
MAP NIGHT WITH GIS MAPPING
Explore the many layers of information embedded in the city’s online “Newton GIS Browser” with Doug Greenfield, Newton’s GIS Administrator. Learn if your home is in a preservation district with the click of your mouse! Or join Allison Carter in looking at our collection of historic atlases to find out the answers to questions such as: Whose farm was subdivided to make your houselot? When was your street first laid out? All ages are welcome. Free.

Sunday and Monday December 25 and 26
MUSEUM CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAY

Tuesday, December 27, 2:00 PM
STORIES IN THE SNOW
A Vacation Week Family Program
Greet winter with open arms at this family program. We’ll read White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt, and make snow globes to take home. Kids of all ages can enjoy the warmth of the Jackson Homestead, where we’ll serve hot cider and snacks. Cost: $15 per family ($10 for members); includes museum admission, materials, and snack. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call 617.796.1450 to register.

Thursday, December 29, 2:00 PM
CANDLES ARE WICK-ED COOL
A Vacation Week Family Program
Bring the whole family to this fun, hands-on workshop where you will learn how the Jacksons made candles in the 1800s, and then do it yourself! Bring your candles home and light up the dark nights of winter. Cost: $20 per family ($15 for members) includes museum admission and materials. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call 617.796.1450 to register.

Freshman Cabaret!!

Newton North’s current Freshman showcase their amazing talent through a fun-filled evening of songs, sketches and dances in Freshman Cabaret.
Performances are on December 15th and 16th at 7:30PM in The Performing Arts Center at Newton North High School. Tickets are $7 and available at www.theatreink.net or at the door.

Newton Partnership: Upcoming Parent Ed Opportunities

  • “Parents Helping Parents” Support Group
  • Connecting With Your Child in a Digital World
  • Future dates   

“Parents Helping Parents” Support Group
Are you a parent or guardian feeling stressed or overwhelmed? Could you use the support of peers to help? Come to an anonymous support group run by a trained facilitator. This group will meet weekly on Wednesdays begining December 7 at Brigham House, 20 Hartford St., Newton Highlands. For more information, please call Meg at 617-926-5008 ex 108. Child care provided. FREE. http://thenewtonpartnership.org/attend-an-event/

Connecting With Your Child in a Digital World
Parenting in the digital age can be challenging. Social media and technology have become such an important part of your child’s daily life. Please join us for an interactive workshop where we will examine your child’s use of technology, increase awareness of the potential challenges around technology use, and learn practical parenting strategies to maintain connections with your child. The workshop will be facilitated by Middle School Prevention/Intervention counselors Amy Comeau, M.Ed. and Rolanda Prophete, LICSW. This workshop will take place on Tuesday, December 13 from 6:30-8:00 p.m at Brown Middle School, FREE. http://thenewtonpartnership.org/attend-an-event/

Save these dates for January/February 2012:
January 5 – The Importance of Routines in Successfully Parenting Young Children with Janet Lucey and Beverly Mobilia
January 11- Sleep and Your Child with Dennis Rosen
February 8 – From Princesses to Pop Tarts: What the New Culture of Girlhood Means for Girls and the Grown-Ups Who Care About Them – talk and book signing with NY Times best-selling author Peggy Orenstein

Details will be posted at http://thenewtonpartnership.org/attend-an-event/