Winter Solstice Celebration, Dec. 21

All are invited to the Iranian Association of Boston’s special event celebrating Yalda Night, the longest night of the year.

Saturday, December 21
7 p.m.
Watertown Middle School, 68 Waverley Avenue, Watertown

Come see Persian dances, hear live music, a choral recital, and poetry readings from Hafez.

Admission fee for online tickets is $20 for adult, student and senior members; $25 for non-members; and kids 3 – 12 years of age are $10 each. Additional $5 per ticket at the door. Please visit the event website to learn more.

Any questions, please email Newton South parent Susan Ghafouri.

A conversation about teens, parents and media use for parents of middle schoolers

A conversation about teens, parents and media use featuring: Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics and  David Luis Ortega, Private Practice, Cambridge, MA,  moderated by Nancy Baym, Microsoft Research New England.

This event will bring experts and the community together to discuss many of the concerns parents and teens have about media use. Discussions will bring research evidence and practical advice to bear on understanding questions like: What realistic risks may teens face with their media use? How can teens benefit most from digital media? How can parents create and enforce appropriate boundaries for their teens’ media use to best balance risks and opportunities?

The session will conclude with a half hour for parents to mix and mingle and compare strategies and experiences. Parents from all of the Newton middle schools are welcome.

Wednesday. December 11th, 7:00 pm
Auditorium, F.A. Day Middle School

Make your shopping merrier with the Arts Stroll & Shop: Dec 13th – 15th

NCA’s Arts Stroll & Shop is back for its third year and they’ve expanded to three villages over three days. Enjoy spontaneous performances and pop-up galleries while you shop and dine in Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre and West Newton this December 13th – 15th.

December 13th from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm: Kickoff Event at THE STREET (Chestnut Hill)

December 14th from Noon-6:00 pm THE STREET at WEST NEWTON SQUARE

December 15th from Noon-6:00 pm NEWTON CENTRE at THE STREET

Don’t miss the special discounts, giveaways, exclusive items, and, of course, the arts and culture that the Stroll brings to town! You’ll feel great after you Shop Local. Eat Local. Art Local. Click here http://www.artsstrollandshop.com/ to access the new Stroll website with detailed participant and schedule information.

Yoga for all

Down Under Yoga provides an environment in which children learn to exercise their minds as they move their bodies. Winter class offerings include yoga for ages 3-6, 5-7, 8-11, families, tween, and teens. Young yogis are taught practices to calm and strengthen their bodies, balance stress, and respect the needs of themselves and others. These are skills to last a lifetime which can be applied to any aspect of their daily lives. Series classes offered throughout the year. Drop-ins are welcome!

For more information see the website: www.downunderyoga.com   or call 617-244-9642.

NewtonPAC Evening Meeting: Stepping Up: Transitions to Middle and High School

The NewtonPAC will hold an evening presentation on December 10th on the topic of Stepping Up: What Parents Need to Know to Prepare for the Transition from Elementary to Middle School and Middle to High School.

Representatives from Bigelow and Brown Middle Schools and Newton North and Newton South High Schools will present on the issues involved in transitions, from the first planning IEP meetings to navigating the new social environment.  The meeting is free and open to all, and will be held in room 210 of the Education Center at 100 Walnut Street, Newtonville.   If you have any questions, please contact Eileen Sandberg at eileen.sandberg.newtonpac@gmail.com.

Networking and refreshments will begin at 7:15 pm., and the meeting will begin with the Elementary to Middle School portion from 7:30-8:15 pm.  The Middle to High School portion will follow from 8:15-9:00 pm .

NewtonPAC Open Board Meeting December 5th

The first NewtonPAC open board meeting of the school year with Judy Levin-Charns, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services, will be this Thursday, December 5th, 9:00 am -10:00 am.

The meeting is open to the public and all are welcome.  The topic on the agenda is the role of the new Team Specialists at the elementary schools.   If you have any questions. please contact Eileen Sandberg at eileen.sandberg.newtonpac@gmail.com.

Room 216, Education Center
100 Walnut Street, Newtonville

Holiday Singing at the Waban Tree Lighting Festivities

It’s that time of year when the Waban Improvement Society is gearing up for its annual holiday tree lighting festivities to take place on December 8th, at 4:30 pm right in front of Starbucks in Waban Square. As part of the festivities, the Newton Family Singers will lead the community in singing some great holiday songs. Please join the fun!!!

In addition, they will hold an open community rehearsal on Wednesday, December 4th at 7:00 pm, at the Waban Library Center. The rehearsal and the event are free and open to all ages and experience levels! If you have any questions, please email newfamilysingers@gmail.com. RSVPs are appreciated but not required.

Happy Holidays!!

Celebrate Newton crafts fair, Dec. 8

Celebrate Newton, Newton’s own holiday crafts fair, is around the corner!

Sunday, December 8th, at Newton South High School
10:00 am-4:00 pm
$3 admission (free for children under 12)

There’s live music, a kids crafts table, food, and most importantly, a host of fabulous artists and craftspeople, most of whom are your Newton neighbors. Come see their work, and shop for one-of-a-kind gifts for yourself and/or friends and family. Please visit our website to learn more about the fair. The fair is sponsored by Newton Community Education; your admission fee of $3 will help us expand our program and grow our scholarship fund. (Kids under 12 are free.)

Get a sneak peak at NCE’s winter Kids class offerings at the fair, too.

THIS TUESDAY – PTO Meeting

Please join us on Tuesday, December 3rd, 7pm for our next PTO meeting.

The meeting will feature a presentation by Dr. Jordanna L’Esperance-Chouinard, Bigelow school psychologist, and Lee Doyle from The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center about safe and respectful use of social media by middle school students.

This is an interactive discussion which will offer guidelines, resources, and tools for helping parents manage their child’s use of technology, and will include information about developmentally appropriate, and inappropriate, social media interactions.

Please note:  We will have a few PTO announcements and a review / vote on the 2013 – 2014 PTO budget at the beginning of the meeting. 

We hope to see you there.  Please contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you have any questions.