Author: Mia

Volunteer to Visit Elders for Mother’s Day

Help us make Mother’s Day a little brighter for our lovely ladies.

Join us in visiting our elders on Wednesday May 6, Thursday May 7, or Friday May 8 between 9am- 5pm in celebration of Mothers’ Day! Gift bags will be available for pick up Wednesday May 6, Thursday May 7, and Friday May 8 from9am–5pm at our house.

Please click on the link below to register.

Register Now!

Feel free to call or email me with any questions!

Thank you for your continued service and friendship to our lovely ladies!

Sincerely,

Airlie Parham

Elder Services Program Assistant

aparham.bos@littlebrothers.org

617-524-8882

May 5, 2015
Book Event and Craft for Kids

Linh Nguyen-Ng

children’s book writer and illustrator

hosting Storytime

at Newtonville Books

Saturday

May 9th

11am.

There will be crafts stuff for kids to do after the reading. Her debut picture book is MOMMY’S LITTLE WORDLINGS.

Also…

Alice Hoffman will read
from her new book for
middle grade readers, NIGHTBIRD.
Ages 10 and up welcome.

4PM

May 4, 2015
Diversity Children’s Book Event

I See Me: What Happens When Kids See Themselves in Books?

Presented by Charlesbridge Publishing

Join us for a discussion with book influencers and young readers about the impact on children when they see themselves in literature.
Why does it matter? Why is it awesome?

Where: Watertown Free Public Library
123 Main St, Watertown, MA
(Parking in rear, or at the Charlesbridge building at 85 Main Street)

When: May 5, 2015
6:00 – 8:00 PM

The Experts: Maija Meadows, Boston Public Library
Gloria, 5th grade, Boston
Amir, 9th grade, Boston
Ameena Langford, Chelmsford Public Schools
Arianna, 4th grade, Chelmsford
Kelly, 9th grade, Hyde Square Task Force

Please RSVP by April 28, 2015

RSVP

May 3, 2015
Mother’s Day Gift to Help Rosie’s Place

To celebrate Mother’s Day, our Women’s Craft Cooperative has designed a brand new limited-edition necklace. For a donation of $65 or more, this one-of-a-kind statement necklace is the perfect gift for a mother, wife, daughter or special someone. This purchase will help make life a little better for the 12,000 women Rosie’s Place serves each year.

This stunning two-tier necklace is 18” in length with a 3” extension chain. Czech matte gold, faceted hematite and fire-polished crystal beads combine to create an elegant piece that is perfect for spring.

Matching earrings feature a choice of dangling gold or crystal beads and pair beautifully with the necklace. The earrings are $15 alone or as a set with the necklace for a special price of $75. A card informing the honoree of the donation in her honor will accompany the set, which will be beautifully packaged in a box and tied with a bow.

May 2, 2015
Walk to North Mobilizes
Hi Neighbors —

First, we want to thank those of you who attended the School Committee meeting last night. There were about 20-25 people there and it was great to have support. Two people spoke about our specific concerns during the open-comment time at the beginning of the meeting – Karin Beecher and Greg Pachus – thank you for presenting our concerns, again, to the School Committee!

Second, we want to give you a summary of what happened last night. Unfortunately, the SAWG did not present any new scenarios. Instead, they used scenario A.1 as an example to discuss data tables that contain much, if not all, of the information that was on the March 26^th maps but is easier to read. The three major revelations really were the following from the Student Assignment Working Group’s (SAWG’s) presentation:
1. The SAWG is considering moving an entire Kindergarten class to Zervas this fall for the 2015-2016 school year. Where this class of children is coming from, they did not say but we certainly don’t want it to be from the Peirce areas.
2. A question was asked, more than once, on how the SAWG calculated school capacity – a clear answer was not given last night but we will try to find out how they determined that Peirce is currently at 111% of capacity. It involves the number of classrooms plus space for art, music, and “several” spaces for special education. They didn’t know if a cafeteria was in the calculation or not. We need to understand how many spaces for special ed are required for their formula and whether a cafeteria is included in the calculation as well.
3. The SAWG also hedged on the question of whether they would keep siblings at the same school . . . this is worrisome.
Honestly, we had hoped to see more and learn more after so many weeks (it’s been almost five weeks since the SAWG presented its preliminary scenarios on March 26^th). For those of you who would like to watch the meeting, it will be posted again on the “District Initiatives” page of the City website where the last one was (http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/2315). As of this morning it wasn’t up yet but keep checking.

The next meeting is still scheduled for May 11^th and this will be a big one because the revised scenarios will be presented. This is also supposed to be the Public Hearing date which will put us at a disadvantage if we have to hear brand new information and then have to be prepared to speak intelligently on that new information – with only 3 minutes per person – at the end of the same meeting. We will really need to have lots of you turn out for that May 11^th meeting.

WHAT DO WE STILL NEED TO DO?

The SAWG is still trying to meet its deadline of the end of June to present a redistricting recommendation to the School Committee for a vote. Since we have had no indication that the Peirce areas are off the table, we need everyone to come together, stay focused and make sure we’re heard. So, if you haven’t written a letter yet, please do so right away. Here’s our “to do” list:
1. Mark your calendars for next Wednesday, May 6^th at 9:15am. Ward 3 Alderperson and School Committee member Angela Pitter-Wright will be coming to meet with us at Karin Beecher’s house at 42 Howland Road. Although she represents Ward 3, all are welcome!
2. Mark your calendars for the next School Committee meeting on May 11^th at 7pm at the Education Center(100 Walnut St., Frazier Room #210). NEW scenarios will be presented at this meeting. It may also still be the Public Hearing so we’ll need many of you to prepare something to say. You only get 3 minutes (and they time you) so choose a point to focus on and get ready. We need to be there! It is critical that we come out in force to show our commitment to our position that the Peirce areas should be removed from the redistricting discussion.
3. We need volunteers to spearhead some of our efforts. If you’re committed to our work, Walk to North needs your help! In order to expand our efforts we, simply, need more man power. Please email us atwalktonorth@gmail.com with “I WILL HELP” in the message line and we’ll get back to you quickly.
4. Please continue to encourage your neighbors to write letters to the School Committee and Aldermen and even write another one yourself!
Many thanks,

Walk to North
May 1, 2015
Online marketplace for children’s activities by Newton Mompreneur

Sopico, online search and booking tool for kids’ activities, now available in Newton

Sopico, an online marketplace with more than 1200 activity providers and over 3000 activities, is now available in Newton! Parents can search, compare, review, and register for children’s classes, camps, birthdays, and more on Sopico.com.

“I realized that parents, including me, struggle to efficiently research and register for activities for their children,” said Rachel Cohen, Newton mother and business development manager at Sopico. “By the same token, many activity providers spend tons of time and energy filling their classes when they would rather focus on their programs and the children benefitting from them. When I heard about Sopico, I had to get involved.”

Right now local Newton activity providers such as Newton Sewing Studio, Galoop, ABC Spanish in Motion, and The Etiquette Academy are offering classes for purchase on Sopico.

Sopico is giving parents who sign up for free before April 30, 2015 $25 toward their purchase on Sopico.com.

April 30, 2015
Mendon Twin Drive-In Improvements!

Phantom Gourmet’s Andelman brothers – Dan, Dave and Michael – have opened the gates to the Mendon Twin Drive-In for the 2015 season. In April, the Mendon Twin Drive-In will host a trio of special events including a carnival, “Welcome Back Night,” and a screening of the UFC 186 fight. Additionally, the Mendon Twin Drive-In now features new menu items, a pizza shack, an improved sound system and a performance stage in Pop’s Beer Garden.

Blackstone Valley Carnival:

Now through April 19, the Mendon Twin Drive-In has transformed itself into a carnival ground for ultimate family fun. TheBlackstone Valley Carnival is composed of “millions of dollars in steel” with the best rides, games, kid-friendly entertainment and delicious carnival fare. Admission is complimentary. Rides, games and refreshments are available at a la carte pricing. For a full list of hours, please visit: www.mendondrivein.com.

Welcome Back Night:

On April 24, the Andelmans officially will kick-off the 2015 drive-in season with “Welcome Back Night.” Before the double features on dueling screens begin, there will be a Karaoke Contest for both adults and children and a Corndog Jimmy Jam where they’ll serve up $1 corndogs at Pop’s Beer Garden. The best adult and child performer will score themselves one free corndog a night indefinitely when they visit the Mendon Twin Drive-In. Admission is $25 per car.

UFC 186 Night:

On April 25, the Mendon Twin Drive-In will be among the first drive-ins to screen a UFC fight. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse Johnson” will battle it out with Kyoji Horiguch in UFC 186 live from the Bell Centre in Montreal. General admission is $25 per car and VIP parking is available for $50 per car.

2015 Additions & Improvements:

With the new season comes improvements to the Mendon Twin Drive-In’s grounds and entertainment. The sound system has been updated to amplify across the Drive-In’s two lots. Pop’s Beer Garden also features a new performance stage that will provide entertainment for all ages.

On the food and beverage side, the Mendon Twin Drive-In debuts C’s Pizza Shack where the team will dish out pies from their new industrial pizza oven. Other additions to Judi’s Snack Bar menu include single, double and triple Fire Grilled Burgers & Cheeseburgers ($5-$8), a State Fair Corndog ($4) and Mac ‘n Cheese Bites ($6). For adults looking to imbibe, Pop’s Beer Garden will pour six beers on draft including Bud, Bud Light, Shock Top, Johnny Appleseed, Sierra Nevada and Wormtown ($5.50-$6.50).

General admission to the Mendon Twin Drive-In is $25 per car. The Mendon Twin Drive-In is located at 35 Milford Street in Mendon. For more information, please call (508) 473-1092 or visit www.mendondrivein.com. Follow the Mendon Twin Drive-In on Facebook at /MendonTwinDriveIn and Twitter @MendonTwinDriveIn.

This weekend, the Mendon Twin Drive-In will screen the much-anticipated Avengers sequel: The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The first 300 cars through the gates Friday night will receive a comic book from Bellingham-based Rubber Chicken Comics. Additionally the first five people to don an Avengers-themed costume on Friday evening will be treated to a complimentary pizza from C’s Pizza Shack, new to the Mendon Twin Drive-In this season.

Following The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Cinderella, starring Lily James and Cate Blachett, will be screened in this double-feature evening. The Mendon Twin Drive-In’s other screen will show DreamWorks’ Home, followed by Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.

ABOUT THE MENDON TWIN DRIVE-IN:

The Mendon Twin Drive-In was built in 1953 and opened on June 14, 1954. As the area’s premier destination for “first-run” family entertainment at an affordable price, the projection booth is equipped with the latest digital projection & Dolby Digital sound ensuring guests the most pleasant and convenient movie experience. The Mendon Twin Drive-In features a double feature each visit and is open nightly in the summer and weekends during the spring and fall months. The Mendon Twin Drive-In is located at 35 Milford Street in Mendon. For more information, please call (508) 473-1092 or visit www.mendondrivein.com. Follow the Mendon Twin Drive-In on Facebook at /MendonTwinDriveIn and Twitter@MendonTwinDriveIn.

ABOUT PHANTOM GOURMET:

Phantom Gourmet, Inc. owns and produces the Phantom Gourmet: Food and Fun. Phantom Gourmet is one of Boston’s best known locally grown brands, led by the Andelman brothers, with Dave serving as CEO, Mike heading the business division, and Dan heading the content division. From its humble beginnings on cable in 1993, Phantom Gourmet graduated to broadcast television on myTV38 Saturday and Sunday 10:30am and 11am. Phantom Gourmet is also a feature on the WBZ4 Evening News. The show is on CW28 in Providence Saturday at 10am and WPME-TV and FOX in Maine Sundays. Phantom Gourmet also produces Boston’s biggest and best food events, including the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival, Phantom Gourmet BBQ & Music Festival, Phantom Gourmet Wine & Food Phest, and the Phantom Gourmet Hot Dog Safari to benefit the Joey Fund and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For more information, please visit: www.phantomgourmet.com. Follow Phantom Gourmet on Facebook and Twitter.

April 29, 2015
Redistricting Proposal Objections
April 25, 2015

Dear Alder People and Members of the School Committee,

We are writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed plan to redistrict parts of West Newton out of the Peirce and Newton North district. Redistricting plans should not move children from walkable to non-walkable schools.

We live just 0.7 miles from the entrance of Newton North high school, a distance so close to Newton North that we do not even qualify for bus service. Our close proximity to Newton North is further illustrated by the fact that our polling location is at the Newton Senior Center at 345 Walnut Street, just down the street from Newton North.

My older son Kristian is a recent graduate and my daughter Madeleine is a current student at Newton North High School. As did my older son, my daughter walks to and from school frequently and is very glad for the independence and exercise that comes with taking the first and last 10 minutes of her school day walking. Further, as their parents, we like that our children have a set time each day to relax, get some fresh air, and reflect during their walks to and from school. We believe that these walks help to reinforce habits that we try to instill in our children, namely that of physical activity, energy conservation, and stress reduction – each of which have been shown in scientific studies to promote a healthy lifestyle. These “life” benefits are accompanied by an important practical benefit in that the children are able to go to school and come home from school on their own, making our life as a two parent working family much easier.

Our youngest son Connor, who is a student at Day Middle School, will soon be a high school freshman and would like to walk to school at Newton North as well. If he were to go to Newton South instead, Connor would arrive and leave school each weekday by bus or car, which would mean at 40 minute bus trip to and from school, rather than the 10 minute walk to school – adding in total an extra hour to every school day. This not only doesn’t make sense, but it is also harmful – adding significant hardship and reducing the quality of life for him and his family. These changes would have many detrimental effects, including:
- at least a tripling of our son’s commute each weekday
- increased traffic around the schools and across the city
- increased stress and reduced physical activity, where instead of walking outside for 10 minutes each way, my son would sit on a polluted bus for 30-40 minutes each way.
- an inability for Connor to get home on days when he has to stay at school past the late bus, as we are a two-parent working family
- increased parking burdens, resulting in longer commuting times for us and for other Newton residents
We moved to our home so that our kids could walk to school – to the Peirce School as elementary students and to Newton North as high school students. If redistricting is about what makes sense for the elementary schools, please note that in addition to their walking to Newton North, we also frequently walked our kids to Peirce during their elementary years (10 years). Walking our kids to school is a special benefit of living in Newton, helping to instill lifelong healthy habits in our children and helping to create a close-knit community. This is in large what makes Newton such an incredible place to live. Eliminating our walking schools and sense of community is harmful to our children, to our family, to our neighborhood, and to Newton.

We are strongly opposed to redistricting, and we will be vocal and active in our opposition. Please do the right thing and leave us where we are.

Sincerely,

Helen and MacIntosh

1169 Commonwealth Avenue

West Newton
April 28, 2015
Author Events for Kids from Wondermore

Rita Williams-Garcia
Thursday, April 30th, 7 p.m.

Wellesley Books

82 Central St.

Wellesley

Wellesley Books and Wondermore are co-sponsoring a special author reading and book-signing event. We’re thrilled to be hosting Newbery Honor winner and New York Times bestselling author Rita Williams-Garcia. Rita joins us to share her powerful and funny new book, Gone Crazy in Alabama, a companion to the award-winning One Crazy Summer and P.S. Be Eleven.

As part of our mission to ignite a love of reading and good books in under-served Boston classrooms, Wondermore will sponsor Rita’s visits to two lucky Boston schools while she’s in town.

Free and open to the public. Learn more here.

————-

Matt Tavares

Tuesday, May 5th
Tenacre Country Day School
78 Benvenue St., Wellesley

A Baseball & Books Bonanza

Wondermore and Tenacre Country Day School present a celebration of Books and Baseball! Our featured speaker is award-winning children’s author and illustrator Matt Tavares who has written and illustrated 16 picture books, among them seven awesome titles focused on baseball.

Bring your kids or invite their whole baseball team to hear Matt talk about and sign his latest book,

Growing Up Pedro, about soon-to-be Hall of Famer and Red Sox star pitcher Pedro Martinez.

Free, but space is limited. Learn more here. Register here.

April 28, 2015
Newton Taiwan Day

Newton Taiwan Day 2015

May 2nd, Saturday

12 – 4 pm

Cultural Center of Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Boston

90 Lincoln Street

Newton Highlands

April 27, 2015