Raffle ticket sales end Monday 4/14 – Get yours today!!

From the 8th Grade – Help fund the NYC and Quebec trips

Don’t miss out on your chance to win in the 8th Grade Raffle! Prizes include a tour for four at KISS 108 with Matty in the Morning, 2 tickets Sox vs Rays on May 1, or a Galaxy Tablet.

All students can purchase tickets at $5 for one ticket or 5 tickets for $20. Purchase your raffle tickets by April 14 to win! Prizes will be drawn on April 17.

8th graders have received a packet of raffle tickets to sell outside of school to family and friends. Funds raised help pay for the New York and Quebec Trips so all can attend.

Five top sellers will win $25 iTunes gift cards. Two runners up will win Starbuck gift cards. Panera Bread is donating gift cards to reward more sellers.

Dining for Dollars Night at Bertucci’s

April 29th is Dining for Dollars Night at Bertucci’s to support the Bigelow 8th grade field trips.  Bring the attached flyer to the Newton Corner Bertucci’s at 275 Centre Street and Bigelow will recive 15% of any purchase on April 29th.  Join friends and family to eat, socialize and support scholarships for Bigelow Students. Dine-in, take-out, or order delivery.  Please forward the attached flyer to local friends, colleagues and family, and post it on social media.  Please contact Deana Lew at deana_l@yahoo.com with any questions.

The Bigelow Used Book Sale needs your donations!

Bigelow Middle School Used Book Sale needs your donations!  Students, families and teachers, please leave your gently-used young adult books in one of the boxes in the office.  A used book sale will be held during lunch periods in April and May.  Hardcover books will cost $1, paperbacks, 2 for $1.  Please bring only books appropriate for 6th-8th graders, in good condition, no adult or younger children’s books.  This is a great way to clean out your bookshelves and support the 8th grade field trips!  Donations will be accepted between April 9th and May 5th.  Please contact Deana Lew at deana_l@yahoo.com with any questions.

April School Health Newsletter

April 2014 School Health Newsletter
        Newton’s school nurses are a part of the Health & Human Services Department, and during National Public Health Week, April 7 to 13, we would like to share a few stay healthy tips.
1. Healthy Eating- Choose plenty of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and low fat dairy.  Select lean meats (poultry, fish) and beans for protein.  Be sure to watch serving sizes! Eating together as a family when possible is a great way to develop good habits together. Ideas for fun, healthy, kid-friendly recipes can be found at www.chopchopmag.org.
2.  Exercise- Exercising as a family can be fun for parents and kids.  Jumping rope, playing soccer, swimming, and dancing are ways you can enjoy physical activity together.  Exercising can help strengthen bones, reduce blood pressure, reduce stress and anxiety, increase self-esteem, and help with weight management. And remember, it doesn’t have to be scheduled, a spontaneous dance party in the living room does wonders for the body!
3.   Hand washing- Germs can get on to your hands from almost everything you touch.  Teach children to wash their hands after using the toilet, before and after eating and any other time during the day when they look or feel dirty. Modeling this behavior yourself is a great way for children to learn and keep the whole family healthy.
4.  Be prepared- Emergencies can happen any day at any time.  Keep your family prepared with an emergency supply kit in your home with enough of “the basics” that will last you at least three days. And make sure you and your children have a paper list of important phone numbers and addresses in your backpack, purse or wallet so everyone can get in touch easily. For more information, visit www.ready.gov.
Join the Social Media Scavenger Hunt to celebrate Public Health Week!
Follow us on Twitter (@NewtonHealth) or check us out on Facebook (Newton Health and Human Services) to follow the scavenger hunt.  To participate, respond to clues provided by various Newton organizations via Twitter or on the HHS Facebook page. The scavenger hunt will run from Monday, April 7th to Friday, April 11th and all participants will be entered into a raffle to win one of two great prizes, yoga classes or a massage.

Stay Healthy,

Sue

CREATED EQUAL: The Civil Rights Movement Then and Now

Tuesday, April 8th, 7:00 pm
Film Screening — Freedom Riders
The Freedom Rides of 1961 were a pivotal moment in the long Civil Rights struggle that redefined America. Based on Raymond Arsenault’s recent book, this documentary film offers an inside look at the brave band of activists who challenged segregation in the Deep South. At the Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds, 286 Waverley Avenue. Free.

Thursday, April 17th, 7:00 pm
Panel Discussion — Civil Rights Activism Past and Present
Activism took many forms in the sixties, as it does today. Hear stories of people who fought for equality then – from Freedom Riders to local residents – and their discussion about the successes and failures of the Civil Rights movement. Join in the discussion with your own stories and thoughts about how we can apply these lessons to the present and future. Panelists include Paul Breines (Freedom Rider), Katherine Butler Jones (METCO founder and director), and Walter Carrington (Commissioner 1957-1961, MA Commission Against Discrimination). At the Newton Senior Center, 345 Walnut St. Free.

Wednesday, April 30th, 7:00 pm
Lecture — The New Black
Harvard Law Professor Kenneth Mack will speak from his latest book, entitled The New Black: What Has Changed – and What Has Not – With Race in America, which reexamines the familiar framework of the Civil Rights movement and challenges our understandings of the politics of race, racial identity and race-based inequality in a new century. Ranging from the challenges of contemporary civil rights organizing strategies, to immigration, to racial profiling, to the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, he will attempt to sketch for us the new boundaries of the debate over race in America. At the Newton Senior Center, 345 Walnut St. Free.

The Jackson Homestead and Museum is open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Tuesday through Friday, and Noon to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. The Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds is open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Wednesday through Friday, and Noon to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. Visit www.historicnewton.org for more information about  museums and programs.

Bike Donations Wanted:

Do you have an unused bike in your garage? Please consider how much it could benefit someone in a developing country. Get rid of clutter, keep trash out of landfills, and make a difference by donating a used bike to Bikes Not Bombs.

Bring bikes of any size or condition to the First Unitarian Church in West Newton, 1326 Washington St., on April 27th between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm along with a $10 donation per bike. For more information see https://bikesnotbombs.org/bike-drive/520.

Registration is still open for the Heartbreak Hill Road Race

One mile, up and down famed Heartbreak Hill. For runners ages 8 – 90. Runners compete in their own age and gender groups. 1st, 2nd & 3rd place trophies for each race. Every runner gets a race medallion, goody bag, seedling tree, free pasta/pizza party ticket, and an official digital clock time.

The first 500 registrants receive a free t-shirt. Come to the pasta/pizza party dinner on Friday, April 18th at 5:30 pm at Newton City Hall – free for all registrants, just $3 for guests.

Not a runner? Join in the family walk at 3:00 pm and walk the course with your family, friends and neighbors. It’s fun! More information and registration at www.newtoncommunitypride.org.

Saturday April 19th, Noon – 3:00 pm
Newton City Hall

Technology Speaker: Free Event

The Futures of Learning in a Networked World is a free event to be held at Mason Rice School on April 9th.  Digital technologies are transforming civic life and the working world, and they are reshaping the skills and dispositions that young people need to thrive. How should schools adapt to a changing world, and what practices should be held constant as the world changes?

Understanding the answers to these questions requires understanding how computing technologies are rearranging the kinds of work that people do, and the new possibilities for learning created by new technologies. Join in a conversation through this terrain with Justin Reich, Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society and the co-founder of EdTechTeacher.

Justin is a co-author of Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology: A Practical Guide for Teachers by Teachers, and his academic work has been published in Educational Researcher, Social Education, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, and other venues.  His website is www.edtechresearcher.com and his bio is can be seen here https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/jreich

Wednesday April 9th from 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Event co-sponsored by Cabot PTO, Mason-Rice PTO, and the PTO Council

Mindfulness in Education

Newton Community Ed & Newton Public Schools sponsor: Mindfulness in Education

Newton Community Ed’s spring Mindfulness series should be of special interest to parents in the Newton community. It is running in partnership with the Newton Public Schools, and focuses on the growing field of Mindfulness in education. Mindfulness has been introduced in K-12 school systems nationwide; it has been shown to enhance motivation and focus, and to improve emotional and educational outcomes for students.

Hear from experts in the field and explore the research, uses, and results of this practice. Sessions run on Thursdays May 1th, 8th, & 15th at Newton South High School from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. The cost for individual talks is $35, with a discounted series price of $90. Call NCE at 617-559-6999 or visit www.newtoncommunityed.org for more information or to register.

The Highlands After-School Program

Enrollment Deadline: APRIL 15th (for the 2014-15 school year)
OPEN HOUSE – Saturday, APRIL 12th from 5:00-6:00 p m

The Highlands After-School Program – just for middle school kids, serves children attending Brown and Oak Hill Middle Schools. It’s different than other programs because it’s geared to meet the needs and likes of middle school kids. It has a home base at Brigham House in Newton Highlands, with regular access to the Hyde Community Gym and other wonderful resources in the Newton Highlands area. Transportation is arranged from the middle schools daily.

The program is open from school dismissal time until 6:00 pm and offers special programs on early release days. Activities include sports, arts, cooking, science, homework, field trips, community service and team building. It’s a place to go and hang with friends, enjoy activities, and get a head start on homework.

For more information contact Rochelle Acker at 617-999-4617 or highlandsafterschool@gmail.com or check www.highlandsafterschool.org