Newton’s Third Annual Citywide Food Drive is underway and will run untilDecember 30. Last year more than 300 boxes of donated items were distributed to the four Newton food banks, and we hope to do even better this year.
You can donate the following items at more than 30 drop-off locations throughout Newton before December 30: canned fruit and vegetables, jarred pasta sauce, peanut butter, jelly/jam, ground coffee, tea, cake and pie crust mixes, baby food, juice boxes and bottles, vegetable oil, bar soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, and children and adult diapers. Items should be unopened and should not have an expired use by date.
On Thursday, December 31st, volunteers will gather at Newton City Hall beginning at10 a.m., to help sort and package the donations. All are welcome to help including children. For more information and a complete list of drop-off locations, please call 617-796-1540 or visit: www.newtonma.gov/fooddrive.
Food instability is not just a problem around the country but is here in Newton too. Overall about 7% of public school students in Newton receive free or reduced lunches, and, in five of our elementary schools that rises to 30% of the children. Our city has four food pantries that serve at least 1,200 families and individuals each month.
Please contribute anything you can to the food drive or provide a monetary donation. I appreciate anything you can do to ensure that everyone in our city has enough to eat.
With college-application deadlines approaching and campus tours in the offing, WalletHub ranked 326 U.S. cities and towns that promise the best combination of academic, social and economic opportunities for students.
Here’s what Wallethub ranked the college experience in Newton, with 1 being the best, and 163 average:
315th – Adjusted Cost of Living for Young People
96th – Quality of Higher Education
217th – Cost of Higher Education
297th – Number of Nightlife Options per Capita
133rd – Percentage of Part-Time Jobs
198th – Brain Drain
42nd – City Accessibility
158th – Student Gender Balance
83rd – Number of Students per Capita
I hope you are enjoying the beautiful December weather. However, it is time to provide you with some important information regarding school closings and delayed openings, due to inclement weather. The decision to close or delay school is made by me, in consultation with the Police Department and the Department of Public Works. Safety is our primary consideration when making a determination on whether to open or close school during challenging weather situations. Please understand that these very difficult decisions are made based on a number of factors including weather forecasts, as well as street, sidewalk, and school parking lot conditions. We are very sensitive to the childcare challenges that you face when schools are closed and only do so if the latest information we receive indicates that we should.
In addition to the possibility of closing schools due to inclement weather, we may also use a delayed opening. In order to ensure greater safety, the opening of schools may be delayed by either one or two hours. Should there be a delayed opening, students will be expected to go to their bus stop or to leave their homes (if they walk to school) one (or two) hours after their regularly scheduled time. The bus company and crossing guards will know about the delay and will rearrange their schedules accordingly.
In the case of a two-hour delay, all preschool classes and therapy sessions at the integrated pre-schools in the Education Center and Lincoln-Eliot will be canceled for the day. In the case of a one-hour delay, therapy sessions before 10:00 a.m. will be canceled. When school is canceled due to inclement weather, Before and After School Care Programs are also canceled. If the opening of school is delayed, Before School Programs will be canceled. During vacation weeks, if school buildings are not open due to inclement weather, Before and After School Care Programs will also be canceled.
SchoolMessenger is the communication system utilized in the Newton Public Schools. This system enables us to communicate with you about emergency situations, school events and important issues affecting your child. In case of a school closing or a delayed opening due to the weather, as soon as a decision has been made, we will be calling the number(s) designated by you in the ParentCONNECT parent portal. Please make sure your child’s emergency information is kept up to date at all times. You may use the ParentCONNECT portal to view or request updates to your contact information, but if you decide that you do not want to receive our early morning automated calls, please notify the main office at your child’s school. In addition, when general phone messages are sent to parents via SchoolMessenger, there is an accompanying e-mail message sent to that parent that contains an audio link of the phone message.
Typically, you will receive a phone message from me by 6:00 a.m. There may be occasions when a decision can be made the previous evening, but normally it will not be made until the early hours of the day in question. In addition to utilizing theSchoolMessenger communication system, we will call in “No School/Delayed Opening” announcements to the following radio stations and television channels:
If a storm occurs during a school day, school will ordinarily remain in session. We are advised by the Police Department that once students are in school they are better off remaining there than being released early because of a storm. The reasons are several: (1) the City has more time to service major accesses to and from schools prior to dismissal; (2) parents of many younger children may not be home to receive them; and (3) drivers may not be as cautious during hours that they expect students to be in school. However, parents should also make certain that their child knows where to go in the event schools have to be dismissed early. Should an early dismissal be necessary, we will utilize the SchoolMessenger communication system and will also notify the referenced radio/television stations, the web site, and the dedicated emergency telephone line.
Hopefully, you will not hear my voice too often in the early morning hours.
Holiday Fundraiser to Benefit Boston Children’s Hospital
WHAT: When your child is sick, it’s hard to keep up a normal daily routine, and even harder doing so during the holiday season. This is something that Paul Turano, executive chef/owner of Tryst located in Arlington, MA and Cook in Newton, MA, knows all too well, having spent time with his son at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant Units during past holidays. Both Turano’s children have Severe Combined Immune Deficiency Syndrome (SCIDS), and when his son was just two months old he had a bone marrow transplant at Boston Children’s Hospital that saved his life.
This holiday season, Turano is once again giving back to the hospital that was there for his family by holding a holiday fundraiser for the Patient and Family Resource Room, a program that helps provide services to families whose children are being treated at Boston Children’s Hospital Oncology and Hematology Center.
In cooperation with Boston Children’s Hospital, Turano has set up a branded donation page online and will be encouraging holiday donations for the family resource program from December 1st, 2015 through December 31st, 2015. To donate, guests can visit the donation page online on either one of the restaurant’s webpages. In exchange for donating, Turano will give donors a gift certificate to Cook or Tryst (for up to $20) with proof of donation.
“I can’t emphasize how much The One Mission Resource Room helped my family and I when we were going through this difficult time. It’s because of their team and services that we were able to maintain a sense of normalcy and routine, and I want to be able to give that back to other families that are going through it,” said Chef Turano, Executive Chef/Owner of Tryst and Cook.
Funded through donations from area businesses and families, The One Mission Resource Room is staffed by a patient and family educator who can help patients and families learn about their medical treatment. Receiving treatment for cancer and other serious disorders can keep families in the hospital for weeks and months on end, a process that takes a toll on their emotions. The One Mission Resource Room ensures that families who pass through the Hematology, Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant, Neuro-oncology and Intensive Care units have the help they need at what is probably the most difficult time in their lives. It also offers a space for patients and families to relax and connect with others going through a similar experience. Whether the donated money be used for a morning coffee at the local Dunkin Donuts, or towards purchasing a generic American Express donation that can be used towards gas, or parking (daily routines that are often overlooked), each donation will help parents regain a sense of normalcy in their lives. With the extra help of these funds, Chef Turano will be putting the holidays back in the hands of these families.
ADDITIONAL: Limited to one gift certificate per person. Gift certificates cannot be combined with any other offer, and certificates to Cook cannot be used at Tryst. Non-transferable. To receive gift certificate diners must visit Cook or Tryst. Cannot be done online or via mail.
Senior Tonino Sarandrea is collecting old eyeglasses to send with a group of doctors from New England College of Optometry to the Dominican Republic.
If you have any eyeglasses that you no longer need, please place them in the collection box outside Mr. Turcotte’s office in Adams House at Newton North High School.
Local celebrities and riders will celebrate the launch of the new located at 15 Newton Street, in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Saturday, December 19.
This Triumph Bonneville Reborn Tour stop, commemorating Triumph’s most significant product launch in 15 years, introduces consumers to the next generation of the legendary Bonneville motorcycles. Guests will have the opportunity to be among the first people in North America to lay their eyes and hands on the new Triumphs. These motorcycles were the culmination of a four-year project redesigning them with a timeless appeal with modern rider technology.
“We’re incredibly excited about the new Bonneville family of motorcycles and can’t wait to show off these premium products to both our dealer partners and enthusiasts in the Boston area,” said Matt Sheahan, COO of Triumph Motorcycles America. “Not only will local dealership staff get to dive into these products for training, but also consumers get to interact with the brand and be some of the first to view these all-new iconic motorcycles.”
The new Triumph Bonneville motorcycle family consists of the Street Twin, Bonneville T120, Bonneville T120 Black, Thruxton and Thruxton R. These five bikes were redeveloped from the ground up with three new Bonneville engines and all-new chassis and suspensions, to provide the optimal modern classic riding experience.
Visit www.TriumphMotorcycles.com to learn more about the new line of Triumph Bonneville motorcycles and locate your closest dealer. Triumph dealers are accepting deposits now towards the purchase on these Bonneville models with the Street Twin arriving in showrooms in January, the T120 and T120 Black in March, and the Thruxton and Thruxton R in April and May. For additional questions on the Bonneville Reborn Tour, please send messages to BonnevilleRSVP@gmail.com.
About Triumph Motorcycles
Triumph Motorcycles is the British premium, lifestyle brand, which produces a wide range of distinctive, cool, and authentic Modern Classic, Adventure, Sport, Cruiser and Touring motorcycles.Also the oldest continually produced motorcycle brand, the first Triumph was manufactured in 1902. The company’s global headquarters are located in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, solely owned by Bloor Holdings Ltd. Triumph Motorcycles America Ltd., its North American subsidiary, is based in Atlanta, Ga., and is home to the motorcycle industry’s first 24/7 Customer Support team. To see the full range of Triumph motorcycles, visit www.TriumphMotorcycles.com.
Soccer on the Mat will be held in the brand new studio of Artemis Yoga in Watertown, MA.
Artemis Yoga
639 Mt. Auburn Street
Watertown, MA 02472
For Winter Session, we are offering two different classes: Soccer on the Mat and Brazilian Fast Footwork. We have two times for each class weekly, for a total of four classes.
To register, please go here. Scroll down that link to find the class you are interested in.
Soccer on the Mat
Soccer on the Mat is a unique and innovative soccer and yoga program designed to empower young girls (ages 11-15) while improving their soccer fitness and technique and decreasing soccer specific injuries. The curriculum created by Coach Alison Foley focuses on building and celebrating the physical and emotional growth through a variety of drills, poses and conversation. Each class will strengthen both the body and mind of the soccer athlete while also providing opportunities to build confidence and body awareness through teamwork and mindfulness focused activities
Coach Foley supervises and trains each Soccer on the Mat teacher who is uniquely skilled in both yoga and soccer instruction.
Makeup Date (in case of weather cancellation/school closing): 3/24/16
Soccer on the Mat Session Cost : $350.00
Brazilian Fast Footwork
Brazilian Fast Footwork is a class developed by Boston College Women’s Soccer Head Coach, Alison Foley. This unique fast footwork class for girls ages 11-15 focuses on increasing physical foot speed by utilizing the ladder and resistance bands to make you quicker and more explosive. It’s a high intensity class that pushes your mastery on the ball.
We have a combination of fast footwork soccer drills that are guaranteed to make you more confident on the ball, improve your first touch and master your dribbling 1 v 1 moves. We combine the use of a size 5 ball and the mini-Brazilian ball for the ultimate technical challenge!
Please bring your size 5 ball, we provide the rest!
Coach Foley supervises and trains each Brazilian Fast Footwork teacher who is uniquely skilled in both yoga and soccer instruction.
