Be Ahead of the Game still has space in our soccer & swim camp, tennis camp, and flag football camp, in Newton or Weston. My son did the tennis camp with Coach Mike last summer and LOVED it!
Garden City Soccer Camp 2012 at Newton North High School
Youth soccer camp, now in its 13th year, to be held at the fields at Newton North High School
Camp runs from 9 am to 4 pm during the week of July 2nd-6th (no camp on Wednesday, July 4th) and 9 am to 3 pm during the week of July 9th-13th
Designed for boys and girls ages 7-14
Opportunity to learn from some of the top coaches in the city
Directed by Brian Rooney – former Girls’ Varsity coach at Newton North and Boys’ Varsity coach at Newton North and Newton South
Counseling staff includes current and former players from Newton North and Newton South boys’ and girls’ soccer programs
Daily technical training (dribbling, passing, shooting, receiving, heading, etc.)
Daily tactical training (1v1 offense and defense, 2v1 offense and defense, etc.)
Individual and group skills competitions each day
Competitive scrimmages or tournaments each day
Prizes and awards given away daily
Swimming at the Newton North Pool offered daily
Cost per week is $275
For more information, contact Brian Rooney at brian_rooney@newton.k12.ma.us. There is still room for next week. Contact Brian Rooney to find out more.
My daughter is doing Garden City and she raves about it. She especially likes swimming in the afternoon to cool down after soccer. Brian Rooney was her coach for Newton Girls Travel Soccer last year and he’s wonderful! Parents praise him for being calm at all times, making all players better, giving positive instructions, and emphasizing having fun.
Who even knew that NewTV had a art gallery? I certainly didn’t. But they do – just outside the offices -and showcase many talented local artists (previously featured artists include Marian Dioguardi and Coleman Rogers) and save the date for the Gallery Reception of The Small Stage: Still Life, Part II on July 18th, 7-9 pm.
Featuring Local Artists – Sharon Schindler, Emily Sper, Jeffrey Hayes, Amy Kaufman, Jeanne Gugino, Jessamyn Martin, Douglas Weisman, and Myra Abelson.
This is a great way to see these artists in a casual setting. You can also see Sharon Schindler’s work in the lobby of the Newton North High School (there is a beautiful photo of the old Newton North printed on birch wood just outside the main office) and some gorgeous photos of Israel at Temple Reyim on Washington Street, Newton.
Save the Date!
Please join us for a wine and cheese reception at NewTV as we celebrate our newest exhibit, The Small Stage: Still Life, Part II. Presented by Newton Open Studios, and curated by Ellen Fisher. Eight artists from Newton Open Studios explore the still life format, presenting a varied and delightful sampling that challenges preconceived notions of the genre. These still lifes often peer into unusual places, occasionally verge on abstraction, and tackle both conventional and unexpected subjects. Exhibit runs through August 20.
From the website:
At the NewTV Art Gallery, we offer a moment to reflect upon a photo, painting, collage, or any frameable medium. We encourage local, emerging and established artists to submit work for one of our quarterly group or solo exhibits, art openings, and on-line exposure. Work is for sale, with pricing established by the individual artists. Please support our state of the Arts!
As I explored the website I learned of the many class offerings – what a tremendous resource. Classes include Animation Workshops, Studio, Field and Post Production classes and even a Screenwriting class. and Any Newton resident, non-profit organization or business can join NewTV for a small, annual membership fee. Once you’ve signed up, you are eligible to take any classes or workshops offered by NewTV, use any of NewTV’s equipment and book the Conference Room or Studio, all free of charge with your membership.
NewTV is also running a NewTVSummer Raffle
EXCLUSIVE TO NEWTV MEMBERS!
Spread the word about NewTV’s fantastic membership opportunities to your friends and you can enter our Summer Raffle. It’s easy! All you have to do is refer a friend for a NewTV membership. Once they sign up, you are automatically entered in the raffle, with the opportunity to win one of three great prizes!
The Commonwealth Museum is most appreciated by students who are studying (or who have already studied) early Massachusetts history or government. However, a visit to the museum can be an ideal introduction for children who are going to study the history. School groups visit us during the school year (we are booked almost every day,) primarily they are third through eighth graders. When the school groups come in they use grade level educational packets that are aligned to the state frameworks.
Our museum focuses on life in Massachusetts from the colonial period, through the revolutionary, federal and industrial reform periods. In the Colonial gallery, there is a large touch table where students can study and learn about documents from the colonial period. In the Revolutionary gallery, students are invited to make rubbings from of one of Paul Revere’s engravings. Other interactive exhibits include:
Salem Witch Trial Game – students question one another to see if they might have been accused of being a witch in the 1600’s.
Know Your Rights Interactive Video– individual rights are brought to life and made relevant by students telling their stories, visitors decide whether the individual’s rights were violated and why.
Travel Game – students compare different methods of travel from 200 years ago.
Spindle Game – students power and operate a simulated factory machine from a textile mill, which brings to life the hardships put on mill workers which fueled the need for workers’ rights and education reform.
Children are always interested in our treasures gallery where they have the opportunity to see the copper plate engraved by Paul Revere and our state’s founding documents up close and personal. They love to speculate what might have caused the stain in the upper right hand corner of the 1691 Charter of the Province of Massachusetts and to see John Hancock’s larger than life signature on the Declaration of Independence.
A visit to the museum is concluded with an uplifting 10 minute movie in our state of the art surround sound theater that ties up the themes of democracy and individual rights.
We are always free to the public . Our hours are Monday- Friday from 9-5, excluding major holidays.
The Commonwealth Museum is located in the State Archives Building next to the JFK Library
220 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125
By Car (free parking) From the north: Rte 3/I-93S to exit 15 (Morrissey Blvd/JFK Library). Follow signs for UMass and JFK Library.
From the west: Rte I-90/Mass Pike to I-93 South. Follow signs for UMass and JFK Library.
From the south: Rte 3/I-93N to exit 14 (Morrissey Blvd/JFK Library). Follow signs for UMass and JFK Library.
By MBTA
Take the MBTA Red Line to JFK/UMass station. Free shuttle Bus #2 stops at the Archives Building and the JFK Library. The bus runs every 20 minutes from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the hour and 20 minutes after and before the hour.
1. You don’t have to be really young to start. You can start as late as freshman year in high school and still become a great volleyball player with a little persistence and hard work.
2. It’s a growing sport in New England. Although we aren’t as strong as the west coast in volleyball quite yet, New England clubs are starting to compete in and win tournaments across the United States proving that volleyball is on its way up on the east coast.
3. It can be played all year round. It’s never too hot or too cold for and indoor sport. It’s always volleyball time!
4. You don’t have to be 6 feet tall to play. Despite what most people think, not all positions in volleyball require height. One of the best players on my team is less than 5 feet tall! There are plenty of postitons for people who aren’t super tall.
5. It requires a lot of teamwork. Volleyball teaches a lot of communication, teamwork, and trust skills. All 6 people on the court need to work together and trust each other in order to be a successful team.
6. There are so many great clubs to try out for. Besides playing for high school, club volleyball is a great way to gain skills. Here are some of the main clubs in Massachusetts:
7.Volleyball appeals to all kinds of athletes. Whether you’re a fierce competitor or more of a social butterfly, volleyball is a great sport to play. It has intense the competition and activity but also has the all the fun of being a team sport and spending time with kids your age that share the love for the game.
8.It is a great way to stay active. Some people feel that volleyball isn’t a true sport because there isn’t full out sprinting involved. However, volleyball has many active parts to it. You must stay low for long periods of time, move quickly and fluently side to side, chase after balls, and even dive. Plus, volleyball tournaments often last up to 8 hours! Trust me, you’ll be thoroughly exercised by the end.
9.There are so many opportunities to play over the summer. Volleyball camps, clinics, and leagues take place all summer long for kids of all levels to play. Here are just a few:
Beantown Camps
S.M.A.S.H Camps
Boston College Volleyball Camp
Nike Camp at Curry College
Bay State Games
i.Tryout required
MGA Sports Inc.
i.Tournaments, clinics, lessons, and open gym time
10.It’s fun of course! Volleyball is a blast to play. It’s exciting, intense, and fast paced and always keeps you on your toes. So get out there and play!
Caroline Beck is an uprising sophomore at Medfield High School who plays volleyball at SMASH Volleyball Club in Newton. She also enjoys singing, playing guitar and piano, playing tennis, and of course writing!
Photogs! Have you tried to capture 4th of July fireworks only to be disappointed? Here are 7 tips courtesy of Pholium, the digital photo book design and giving app for the iPad, with 7 do’s and don’ts to help amateur photographers take a series of sparkling photos to capture the show, just in time to capture the fireworks show in Newton.
And a plea for financial support for the Newton Fireworks show:
For the past 23 years, Newton Community Pride has sponsored the July 4th Festivities for the City of Newton. With the help of our sponsors, this celebration has been totally free to the public.
Like most non-profit organizations, Newton Community Pride is feeling the pinch of the present economic crisis. We cannot continue without your help. Having enjoyed this event for so many years, free of charge, we hope that you will help keep this tradition alive. As Newton Community Pride celebrates its 23rd Anniversary, please consider giving $23 (or any amount you choose) to help continue this fun-filled day for another 23 years!
Send a check payable to Newton Community Pride to 225 Nevada Street, Newton, MA 02460 or use your credit card to make a tax deductible donation on-line.
Yes, I want to help support the Newton Fireworks! Make an on-line donation.
p.s. A great place to view the Newton 4th of July Fireworks is on the hill near Albermarle Field and the Fessenden School.
1. DO have the right equipment. A camera with manual controls and a tripod are crucial, with a remote shutter release being a close second.Setting the camera on manual allows you to control the focus of your pictures, and a tripod provides a stable place to rest the camera while taking shots – which also allows you to join the photo-taking fun!
2. DON’T use the flash. A flash is not necessary for capturing fireworks displays since it’s already brighter than the light we normally photograph. Turn off your flash setting and let the natural light take control.
3. DO use a lens that is wide enough to capture a more visible area than you think you need. You don’t want to miss the candid shots of your kids running around while the fireworks are in motion.
4. DON’T be afraid to reposition. When the fireworks start going off, look at your preview screen and reposition your camera to frame the images the way you want. Feel free to move the tripod around and make sure the landscape is captured as you intend.
5. DO lower your film speed. Lowering your film speed (or ISO in tech terms) reduces the opportunity for shadows, color specs and grain and makes for a clearer image. Because the fireworks you are capturing will be very bright, 100 ISO is an ideal place to start.
6. DON’T forget to adjust the f-stop. The f-stop measures lens aperture and will show you if the fireworks photos are over or under exposed. If colored fireworks are white and not well defined, the shot is overexposed and the f-stop number needs to be increased. If the fireworks aren’t bright enough, the aperture needs to be opened by reducing the f-stop number.
7. DO adjust your shutter speed. Because the length of each fireworks blast varies, setting your shutter speed to B instead of a pre-determined setting will allow you to control how long your camera’s shutter is open to capture blasts. The B setting allows you to keep the shutter open for as long as you press it to capture the perfect shot.
In the end, fireworks displays offer the opportunity to experiment with your camera and have fun with your photos.And, once all the images are captured, you can use Pholium to create a digital photo book that tells a story that can be shared with family and friends.
24 year old Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, MA is headed to London for the 2012 Olympic Games this July. Sacramone started competitive gymnastics at age 8 and her career has skyrocketed since then. She has had some ups and downs in her career, including a devastating fall in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a temporary retirement that followed. Just one year later, Sacramone came out of retirement and soon redeemed herself with a gold medal in vault at the 2010 World Championships. Now, she is on her way to the 2012 Olympics to show everyone what she is capable of.
I am excited for Newton’s Farmer’s Markets to open this week! I go to both some weeks. Friday’s has better parking but a more limited selection. Tuesdays also has the ice cream truck parked inside with premium ice cream as a way to get the kids to come along without complaining.
What is your favorite stand or item to buy? My vote is the peaches and the fish guys.
Tuesdays
New Cold Spring Park
1200 Beacon Street
Newton, MA 02464
July 3 – October 30
1:30PM – 6:00PM
New this season at the Tuesday Market will be fresh Mushrooms and Raviolis.
15-year-old Joshua Sander, a junior at Newton South High School, is the winner of Boston’s Operation Sail essay competition and will ride on the U.S. Coast Guard tall ship, Eagle, at the start of OpSail Boston on June 30. – Photo – Tamir Kalifa for The Boston Globe
As part of Operation Sail 2012, high school essay contests were held in all the participating cities. This is the winning essay from Boston, written by Newton South High School junior Josh Sander. It was chosen by the chief judge of the OpSail Essay contest, William H. White, author, historian, and board member of both the USS Constitution Museum and Operation Sail, Inc.
The story of the Revenue Cutter Service
By Josh Sander
During the Revolutionary War, many captains smuggled their goods past the British to avoid paying taxes on it, and many saw no reason to stop at the end of the war. As a federal debt crisis loomed, the Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton saw an opportunity to seize revenue and submitted a proposal for the creation of a “Revenue Cutter Service” to “seize vessels and goods in the cases in which they are liable to seizure for breaches of the Revenue laws.” In 1790, the Revenue Cutter Service was created. Later, its mission was expanded to include enforcing the unpopular embargoes passed by Congress to protest European violation of American neutrality.
Despite the unpopular laws, the RCS earned respect for their quality, responsibility, and fairness in administering them. The Revenue Cutters were also responsible for rescuing distressed sailors, bringing supplies to lighthouses, carrying messages, and charting the coast. To do this, the RCS was equipped with ten fast and agile shallow-draft cutters, each based at a major trading port. The cutters could be equipped with ten carronades (though the ships rarely carried a full complement of guns), and a crew of fifteen to thirty men. The RCS, most notably the USRC Pickering, first fired in anger during the “Quasi War” with France, which took place almost entirely at sea. By the time the War of 1812 had begun, the Service had expanded to fourteen ships.
More than 100 years of research show that kids do more poorly on standardized tests given in the fall than on those same tests before summer vacation, and on average, kids lose two months of math skills over the summer. Prevent summer slide by doing some of these ideas both offline and online.
1. KlabLab – On KlabLab’s website, kids can listen to songs and watch music videos that cover topics like cellular structure and the order of operations. This isn’t cheesy educational music—it’s stuff you would hear the radio. Kids also download free templates to create and upload their own educational songs.
2. Starfall – Starfall takes a systematic phonics approach and uses games and interactive multimedia to teach kids to read.
3. Ten Marks and IXL – From counting to algebra, IXL makes math practice fun with interactive games and practice questions.
4. Scratch – Scratch is a programming language created by the MIT Media Lab that makes it easy for kids to create interactive stories, animations, games, music and art, and share Fun, educational animated videos on Brain Pop’s website take kids through subjects
Unplugged Learning
1. Library summer reading programs – Stop by Newton Free Library to ask about summer reading programs, which reward kids for reading throughout the summer. Barnes & Noble and Half-Price Books also run summer reading programs.
2. Free museum days – Museums across the country have days when kids and families can visit for free. You can find a list of free days in and around Boston here.
3. Card or board games – Use a deck of cards to play “War” but with 2 cards instead of 1 that you add, subtract or multiply, learn Chess with an online tool like ChessKids Academy to stretch logic skills, or play Scrabble to practice spelling and vocabulary.
4. Summer journal – Encourage kids to write throughout the summer by keeping a journal. Don’t forget to illustrate it with drawings and photos of fun summer activities.
• NO food is permitted; flat mail is the predominant and preferred method; most camps do not allow care package boxes, or permit a very limited number per summer
• If camps do allow them, or even for those sending flat mail, here are some suggestions and tips:
o Make it personal – what makes your child smile; books or magazines they enjoy reading at home; for kids obsessed with sports stats, send them good old fashioned newspaper print-outs of team scores
o Make it shareable – a bunk activity is great; camp is about collaboration, friendship and communication
Be Ahead of the Game still has space in our soccer & swim camp, tennis camp, and flag football camp, in Newton or Weston. My son did the tennis camp with Coach Mike last summer and LOVED it!
