Category Archives: Events

The Secret Life of a Massachusetts Teen

Do you wonder…What teens are really thinking? Why they don’t share their fears? How we can better support teens? How we can become better parents? This is a high-energy presentation for that actively focuses on what teens are really thinking, what they fear, why they do not share their fears, and how parents can more effectively support their teen.

This presentation will cover areas such as acting out behaviors, drug and alcohol use, depression, suicide, and more. The workshop will be facilitated by Jon Mattleman, a mental health counselor and trainer with 30 years of experience working with youth, parents, and families. This event is cosponsored by Newton Youth Services and Newton Cares. Please register online at this LINK.

November 19th, 7:00 pm
Druker Auditorium, Newton Free Library

You’re Invited: 4th Annual UOD Family Book Event Oct. 20th

Great minds don’t always think alike! That’s the message of the children’s book, Fish In A Tree, to be featured at Understanding Our Differences’ 4th Annual Family Book Event with a disability theme. Author Lynda Mullaly Hunt will talk about and sign her New York Times bestselling novel, about a girl with learning disabilities who discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label.

Free for children and Newton Public Schools teachers and staff. Requested donation at the door is $10 for adults. Registration is required in advance: http://understandingourdifferences.org/fish-in-a-tree/ For additional information please email : in**@*************************es.org

October 20th,  Program is 7:00 – 8:00 pm, book signing follows.
Newton South High School Auditorium, 140 Brandeis Road

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Harvest Fair

Newton Celebrates the 40th anniversary of Harvest Fair. What’s new to look for at Harvest Fair?  Performance Art!

Newton School teachers set the tempo with their band: ‘Loose Change’ while local artist Franklin Marval will transform a huge blank canvas into a work of art before your eyes, all set to the live music of Jane’s Great Dane – Americana, Country and R & B music with a Cajun kick!

Don’t be surprised by the man on stilts, walking through the Fair – and look for a beautiful statue…wait, did it just move? And representing Newton’s young musical talent will be Jared and the Giants, a fabulous middle school band you won’t want to miss, not to mention dance performances, the YCCA Rock Band and a performance by the amazing students of the Suzuki School of Newton.

The favorites at Harvest Fair are still there…free pumpkin decorating sponsored by Wegman’s, Newton Center beautifully decorated in corn stalks sponsored by Whole Foods Market, kiddie amusement rides, the 100 different craft and business booths selling everything from hand-made beautiful jewelry, clothing to imaginative gifts, countless activities for kids including amusement rides, and the Green Expo, sponsored by the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce, with  exhibitors offering solutions for reducing your carbon footprint. As always, gotta have great food and they do!

Harvest Fair is a two day event on the Newton Center Green: kiddie rides only on Saturday, October 17th  from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and the Craft Show, Green Expo and all of the fabulous entertainment on Sunday, October 18th from 10:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Visit www.newtoncommunitypride.org for more information.

Halloween Window Decorating

There are still some spaces remaining for budding artists, or kids in grades 3 through 8 that just want to paint on a store window! The Halloween Window Decorating contest takes place on Halloween this year! Can’t get more festive than that.

Register at www.newtoncommunitypride.org to be eligible to paint a Halloween-themed painting on a store window in one of 6 Newton villages. Don’t be put off by not painting in your own village, if the spaces are filled. It is a really fun way to explore a different part of Newton!

Sign up soon, the deadline is Friday, October 16th. Any questions, please call 617-796-1540.

Newton Inspires November 9th

Bestselling Authors, Seafood Entrepreneur, Worldwide Travel Executive, Business Startup Guru, and Fundraising Visionary top the Newton Inspires speaker list.

Newton Schools Foundation will present the fifth annual Newton Inspires: An Evening of Ideas and Community. Since 2011, Newton Inspires has been uniting Newton residents for an evening of discussion with some of Newton’s brightest, most accomplished and most interesting community members.

This year’s program features headliners, Anita Diamant, author; John Harthorne, founder and CEO, MassChallenge; Billy Starr, founder and executive director, Pan-Mass Challenge; Stephen Kaufer, president and CEO, TripAdvisor; Roger Berkowitz, president and CEO, Legal Sea Foods; and Neil Swidey, journalist and author.

The program will take place November 9th, 7:00 – 9:45 pm at Newton South High School. It is FREE for Newton residents, $15 for non-residents, and this year high school seniors are welcome to attend. Space is limited, so advance registration is highly recommended. For more information on the program and to register, go to www.NewtonSchoolsFoundation.org

In addition to the six headliners these speakers will participate Continue reading →

Building Healthy Communities

Building Healthy Communities: Moving Beyond Domestic Violence

Everyone in our community is affected by domestic violence, but it can be invisible and hard to fight. Join this free, informative event for adults, with speakers and panelists from Second Step, Journey to Safety, the Domestic Violence Program, and the Newton Police Department.

Attendees are asked to bring donations of toiletries, gas cards, food cards or linens for Second Step. Coffee and dessert will be served. For more information, contact Ba*************@***il.com.

October 22nd, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Temple Shalom of Newton, Room 101
175 Temple Street, West Newton

Free voice workshops

Get to Know Your Voice: an exploration for singers, non-singers, and instrumentalists, ages 16 – Adults.

Every time you speak, you are skillfully playing one of the most complex instruments in the world – the one that lives inside your body! So why do so many of us believe we “can’t sing”? Come explore what your voice is capable of in a free, low-pressure hour of music-making at the All Newton Music School.  Instructor: Rachel Rynick

Sign up here:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YqIjtkhVPalKOIXkENbt5FemdE36lKjyoBKW_jc6_e0/viewform

Workshop dates:
October 29th
November 18th
December 1st
7:00 – 8:00 pm

All Newton Music School

Cub Scouts Pack 208 in Waban for Boys in Grades 1-5

Does your 1st to 5th grader like to discover new things? Take part in unique experiences? For 80+ years, Cub Scouts have been having the time of their lives making friends and learning new things in an environment designed to help them embrace challenges and celebrate achievements. Hiking, astronomy, wood crafts, derby car racing, museums, camping on a professional baseball field . . . definitely not the ordinary.

Learn more by joining the next Pack meeting and enjoying a presentation by Creature Teachers on October 14th, 7:00 – 7:45 pm at the Waban Library Center, 1608 Beacon Street. Come by and/or contact Russ Stein at cu*******@*************08.org or Barb Bower at bd********@***oo.com.

Upcoming Programs at the Newton Free Library

Chess Club, Mondays, October 5th and 26th, 7:15 – 8:00 pm, second floor Teen Area: Introducing a new chess club for teens! Have fun playing chess the first and fourth Monday of the month with general instruction and open play. All levels welcome. Chess sets, puzzles and strategy will all be provided. For ages 10-13. Space is limited.

Helping Your Child Navigate Life after High School, Tuesday, October 6th, 7:00 pm, Druker Auditorium: Help your child navigate the challenging landscape of life after high school. Nanci Ginty Butler, LICSW, Assistant Director, School and Community Services at Riverside Community Care and Heather Byrns, LMHC, Clinical Supervisor, MSPP INTERFACE Referral Service at Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP) will facilitate. Intended for parents. Sponsored by Newton Youth Services.

Linux for Teens, Wednesdays, October 14th, 21st, 28th and November 4th and 18th, 7:00 pm, second floor Computer Center: This series, for grades 6-12, is an introduction to GNU/Linux operating system. It will cover: the UNIX shell, creating a document, networking, email and encryption, operating system components (memory management, the file system, devices, the kernel), etc. In addition, the class will address the free software philosophy, privacy and data security concerns, and ways to protect personal data and other sensitive information. Assignments will include programming which takes advantages of the operating system features. Register online.

School Assignments: How Parents Can Help, Thursday, October 22nd, 7:00 pm, Druker Auditorium: Professional writers have editors who read their words before their work is shared. Student writers should have the same opportunity before submitting their work to teachers. Jane Hirschhorn will facilitate a program designed to help parents learn how to help their children with writing assignments in a way that is productive, respects the child’s ownership of his or her work and avoids some common pitfalls. Ms. Hirschhorn, of JBH Tutoring, a professional writing tutor with more than two decades of experience working with Boston-area students in both classroom and one-on-one settings, tutored writing at the Mount Ida College Writing Center where she was also a supervisor. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University. This program is for parents.