The Lincoln-Eliot PTO Auction is officially open!
Whether you’re looking for something unique for yourself, searching for a gift for a special someone, or looking to add a little adventure to your life, you’re sure to find something in their auction which runs through March 29th. Thank you for your support!
You can conveniently access the site using your computer or phone!
Web: https://www.biddingforgood.com/lepto191
Optimized for mobile: https://bforg.com/lepto191
On March 28th, the School Committee working group in charge of hiring the new food services management company for Newton schools will be interviewing representatives from Sodexo and Whitsons (the two companies that sent proposals) in order to determine which vendor we will be moving forward with once the current contract with Sodexo expires later this year.
While the interview is not open to the public, Matthew Miller from the School Committee feels that the parent/student/community voice needs to be heard. As such, they have assembled a form to collect questions.
Please send your questions and/or comments here: https://goo.gl/forms/4Fq3vABGNG6zJwrq2
The Newton Early Childhood Program (NECP), Newton’s only public preschool, hosts its largest school fundraiser of the year starting March 28th.
Get ready to bid for great deals on restaurants, summer camps, birthday parties, gym memberships, and more! Over 100 amazing items from across Newton and the Boston area. Auction proceeds will fund education enrichment programs, community-building events, and classroom materials for our city’s youngest learners.
Visit NECPPTO.ORG/AUCTION. Bidding ends April 6th at 9:00 pm. Good luck!
Support Alexandra Levie as she runs the 2019 Boston Marathon for Understanding Our Differences! Newton-based charity Understanding Our Differences (UOD) has a runner in the 2019 Boston Marathon. Alexandra Levie of Gloucester is running to raise money for UOD in support of their mission and to help grow and update the program for the next generation.
UOD’s is a model, interactive disability awareness curriculum that teaches children to see the whole person and better understand the disability. The Understanding Our Differences program educates schools and communities and fosters respect and inclusion for people of all abilities.
The curriculum covers Blindness and Low Vision, Deafness and Hard of Hearing, Autism, Physical Disabilities, Intellectual Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, and Chronic Medical Conditions including Allergic Conditions, Asthma, Diabetes, and Epilepsy.
Understanding Our Differences is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a national leader in disability awareness education, with unique expertise developed over its 40-year history.
Alex is a graduate of UMass Amherst and will complete her Masters in Public Health at Boston University in May. She believes in the mission of UOD and has volunteered at presentations of the UOD curriculum in Newton. She’s a busy young woman but training like a pro for Marathon Monday! Please support her at UOD with a donation at https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/alex-levie
Plugged In’s April Vacation Camp is open to ages 11-18 of all skill levels. Students will get placed in a band with band members their age and skill level. Each band will write and record a song and make a music video. On the last day, bands will perform in a livestream performance from Plugged In for friends and family to watch online.
The Plugged In Band Program is a unique non-profit rock band program in Needham teaching kids of all skill levels and needs about using music to help others. In addition to ensemble band classes, private lessons, songwriting workshops, summer camp and community performances, five times a year students perform in benefit concerts that raise money for causes and organizations chosen by the students themselves. Plugged In provides a nurturing and supportive community to which young musicians of all levels and needs feel a sense of belonging, have an opportunity to express and be acknowledged for their musical interests and a chance to use their music to help others around the world.
Registration is also open for Plugged In’s 2-day Songwriting Workshop on May 25th & 26th and Summer Day Camps in July and August. Registration for private lessons is ongoing. Registration and more info about all Plugged In programming is at www.pluggedinband.org.
Founded in 2002, Plugged In now has over 150 students from all over Massachusetts. Some of our students experience emotional and learning difficulties, such as ADD, depression, and low-self-esteem and/or have special needs such as autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. In the loving and non-competitive atmosphere at Plugged In, all differences are transcended through a shared passion for music, the teamwork involved with using music to help others and an atmosphere of compassion and fun.
An increasing number of youth are struggling with mental health issues, and cultural factors impact everything from identity and communication to well-being and mental health.
This is a rare opportunity to hear from Dr. Josephine Kim, renown counselor and educator of Harvard Graduate School of Education, who will give a two-part seminar, solely dedicated to Asian parents at the Let’s Talk! Conference. Here is the session description:
BRIDGING THE CULTURAL GAP BETWEEN ASIAN-IMMIGRANT PARENTS AND THEIR ASIAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN
“PLEASE, help me understand my child!” comes out of the mouth of most parents at one time or another, but when cultural differences between the East and West enter the mix, those words can become a cry of desperation. Let’s Talk! presents a two-part session just for parents with renowned counselor and educator Dr. Josephine Kim who will share how cultural differences manifest in daily interactions between parents and children and what parents can do to protect children from life’s stressors. Most importantly through this session, parents will learn that they are not alone.
March 30th. This two-part workshop will take place during both session times from 1:00 – 2:15 pm and 2:30 – 3:45 pm.
*All proceeds will go towards the Let’s Talk! Conference
If you are looking for a great overnight summer camp for your creative 9-16 year-old, please come to an information session and find out what makes Maine Arts Camp so special.
Located on the campus of Colby College, MAC is a small, friendly camp community where children and teens feel comfortable expressing their creativity, pursuing their passions and exploring new skills with support and highly personalized attention from our team of exceptional and experienced professionals. New campers can and do start at any age, be it 9 or 10, 15 or 16 years old and everything in between. MAC provides professional instruction in the visual arts, theater, culinary arts, music, photography/videography and dance, as well as individual sports such as tennis, kayaking, hiking and biking. Add in the first class facilities at Colby College, along with traditional favorites like songs and smores around the camp fire, etc., and this is a place where creative campers can meet like-minded individuals, make life-long friendships and grow in extraordinary ways that help them lead happy, meaningful and productive lives.
Visit www.maineartscamp.com to find out more. If you would like to attend Saturday’s information meeting, please RSVP to camp director Rick Mades, at maineartscamprick@gmail.com.
March 30th, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
The Boathouse at The Farm Condominiums, 99 Florence St, Chestnut Hill. From Florence St, enter The Farm. Turn right after entering the community. Turn left after the tennis court. Turn left into the parking lot for the boathouse behind the pond).
Come celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Project Manna Concert. This spring marks the 30th anniversary of a sacred partnership between two communities of faith, Temple Emanuel of Newton and the Mass Avenue Baptist Church of Cambridge. For 30 years they’ve been doing Project Manna concerts together, which raise funds that support the food pantry and soup kitchen at the church.
Project Manna is a double blessing, helping feed the hungry, and in an age of division, black and white, Christian and Jew, church and synagogue, coming together in love. They are the sum of their commitments that they renew and deepen. Renew and deepen your commitment to decency, to repair, to building bridges. Renew and deepen your commitment to sacred song that inspires sacred deed.
All proceeds support the church’s Project Manna hot meals program and food pantry to benefit the homeless and hungry. Tickets are $20.00 for adults and $15.00 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online.
https://www.templeemanuel.com/event/project-manna-concert/
April 2nd, 7:00 pm
Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton
Choirs participating:
Massachusetts Avenue Baptist Church
Massachusetts Avenue Children’s Choir
Timothy Baptist Church
Boston Children’s Chorus
Shir Shalom, Temple Shalom
Temple Beth El Center – Belmont
Kol Emanuel, Temple Emanuel
Zamira
Guys in Ties
Polkadots
Kol Keff
Paamonim
The Newton Family Singers present “You’ve Got a Friend: A Celebration of the Music of James Taylor”.
Tickets for the next Newton Family Singers show celebrating the music of James Taylor are on sale now at http://newtonfamilysingers.seatyourself.biz/. James Taylor is an iconic American singer-songwriter whose prolific repertoire contains familiar hits and unexpected gems. Sing along as they bring new life to the songs you know and love, and let them share some amazing songs you may have never heard before.
April 7th, 4:00 pm
Newman Elementary School, 1155 Central Ave, Needham
Want something to do during April school vacation? Stories! Movement! Art! will provide students in grades 3-6 the opportunity to tell stories through their art! By using low-tech materials, they’ll create art that physically moves or uses optical illusion to showcase movement!
The program will take place inside the Carriage House at Gore Place in Waltham (the large building next to the parking lot). This program is $20.00 for the whole week, or $5.00/day. Tickets: https://art-workshop.bpt.me
April 15th – April 19th, 1:00 – 3:30 pm