Category Archives: Events

NewtonSERVES

NewtonSERVES announces Project Registration is Now Open for Day of Community Service on Sunday, April 26th.

Volunteer projects are welcome from Newton non-profits, Newton city departments and schools, individuals, and groups of citizens interested in accomplishing specific tasks with the help of over 1,000 volunteers from the community. Projects can easily be registered online, by visiting www.newtoncommunitypride.org/NewtonSERVES-project.php.

Projects can be in the morning, afternoon or all-day on Sunday, April 26th or they can be set up individually on an alternate date during the City of Newton’s Volunteer Week, April 27th-May 2th. In addition to gaining access to volunteers to tackle specific tasks, project sites may be eligible to receive additional resources such as mulch, garbage and yard waste bags. Project sites also benefit from raised awareness within the community and all participants receive NewtonSERVES T-shirts and refreshments in honor of their volunteer service. New projects leaders are encouraged to sign up along with recurring projects and experienced leaders.

For more information, please visit www.newtoncommunitypride.org/NewtonSERVES.html or call 617-796-1540.

Poster and Video Design Contests with Cash prizes

In preparation for the Peace and Planet March in NYC on April 26th, Mass Peace Action is holding a poster contest and a short digital video contest. Both contests are open to Massachusetts students under the age of 22 and will have cash prizes of $25 to $500. Design a poster to be printed and carried at the Peace and Planet March or make a 2-5 minute digital video to energize and inspire people to come to the march.

Entries are due by April 1st. For rules, go to masspeaceaction.org/peace-planet-contest and for more information, go to peaceandplanet.org.

February Vacation activities

The Newton Parks & Recreation Department is offering family activities over February Vacation:

  • There is a family trip to Disney On Ice – Frozen on Monday February 16th.
  • Family movies days are planned on Feb 18th and 19th at West Newton Cinema featuring Paddington and Dolphin Tale 2.
  • The department is also hosting the “Greatest Family Bingo Night Ever” event on February 18th at Post 440, 295 California Street. Players can win Boston Celtics tickets, Red Sox tickets, ski passes, restaurant gift certificates and more. Doors open at 6:00 pm and concessions include $1 a slice Sicilian pizza and $1 for a build your own Cabot’s sundae. Bingo will run from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm and includes 10 bingo games. Families and players can purchase 3 boards for $6.00 or 9 boards for $15.00. All proceeds benefit Newton Athletes Unlimited.

To learn more about any of these programs visit newtonma.gov/gov/parks then click on school vacation programs.

Youth Services Upcoming Programs

Taking Care of Ourselves and Our Teens: Reducing Stress and Enhancing Resiliency
February 3rd, February 24th, March 3rd, and March 24th, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Newton Free Library

Back by popular demand!! This four-session wellness program for parents of adolescents developed by the world-renowned Benson-Henry Institute of Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital teaches self-care skills to help cope with stresses of everyday life and aims to leave parents with a renewed sense of control and well-being. For all Newton residents or parents of teens attending school in Newton.

Topics will include:
* The physiology of stress and how it affects the body
* Self-care strategies to reduce stress and increase your resilience
* Relaxation techniques
* Easy ways to reduce or stop stress-inducing thoughts
* Tips for modeling these skills for your teens, help reduce their stress and build their resilience too

Must attend all four sessions. Free to attend but registration is required at newtonma.gov/youth. Space is limited.

Stressed Teen? Learn some helpful and healthy ways to relax
February 3rd, February 24th, March 3rd, and March 24th, 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Newton Free Library

Branching off the parent program will be workshops pertaining to teens and teen stressors. The four sessions will be directed to teens and will help teach them to cope with stresses of everyday life coming from school, home, social media and other pressures. It will teach teens to have a better sense of control and well-being. During the course teens will learn what stress is, how it affects the body, strategies for self-care, relaxation techniques and easy ways to reduce or stop stress-inducing thoughts.

Must attend all four sessions. Free. Space is limited. Registration is required. Visit www.newtonma.gov/youth to register.

Improving Academic Effectiveness
February 5th, 6:00-7:30 pm
Newton Free Library

Engaging Minds Learning Center (a local learning and tutoring center) has been instrumental in providing tools for students in order to help them learn effectively. The basis of this program is to teach the idea of “executive function” and the skills which it embraces. Executive functions are the essential self-regulating skills that we all use every Continue reading →

NEW: Minecraft Club at Newton Free Library, Feb. 4

The NEW Minecraft Club begins in February at the Newton Free Library! Come play Minecraft with your friends on the library’s server.

Thursday, February 4 & 18
4:00 – 5:30pm
meets in Computer Center on 2nd floor

We’ll have different challenges each week. Don’t have an account? No problem! Use one of the Library’s.

The Club will meet the first and third Thursdays of every month.
For grades 6-12. Online registration is required. Contact Liz at 617-796-1380 or by email  teens<at>newtonfreelibrary <dot> net.

Housing, History at Newton Community Preservation Cmte, Feb. 12

Newton’s Community Preservation Committee will meet on Thursday, 12 February, at 7 pm in City Hall Room 204 (formerly Room 209). Anyone is welcome to attend this public meeting.

Agenda items include:

  • a City Archives Strategic Plan ($20,000 request),
  • a new pre-proposal for the Newton Homebuyer Assistance Program ($992,000 request), and
  • a public hearing on affordable housing proposed for Taft Avenue (West Newton, $584,920 request).

The full agenda, pre-meeting packet, and all pre-proposals and proposals are available from the CPC program website, www.newtonma.gov/cpa. Contact Program Manager Alice E. Ingerson at 617.796.1144 or aingerson <at> newtonma <dot> gov.

Helping Boomers Make the Next Move

Are you thinking about sizing down? Do you know someone who is? Making a move is more than just packing and moving boxes. It is about transition and preparation. Hear 5 industry experts share insights to make great decisions about your next move!

Topics include:

  • Financial planning – essentials for the next chapter
  • Organization and DEcluttering – a plan of attack for cleaning out the stuff
  • Staged to sell – tips for making your home a buyer’s dream
  • Strategies to maximize your profits – It’s easy but it’s not simple

Sponsored by: Janet Porcaro & Wendy Rocca, Realtors® For more information or registration call Janet @ 617-797-9497 or Wendy @ 617-504-0532

Panel Discussion in the Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room
February 21st, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Watertown Public Library
123 Main Street, Watertown

Newton Has Talent

Calling all singers, dancers, musicians and other performers. If you have the chops, we have the contest.

The Newton Rotary Club’s third annual Newton Has Talent is a city-wide contest, open to anyone who lives or goes to school in Newton and is at least 13 years old by March 29, 2015. (If the act involves more than one person, at least one person must be a Newton resident or attend school in Newton)

Enter by uploading a video of your act to the contest’s private Youtube site http://newtonhastalent.com between February 1st and 12 midnight on February 24th. In addition to the video, you’ll be asked to submit a photo, biography and a $25 entry fee.

Ten finalists, voted on by the public via the YouTube site, will perform at Newton North High School on March 29th before celebrity judges and the public. The first place winner receives $1,000, second place — $500 and third place— $250. The top three winners will also perform at Newton Festival of the Arts on May 9th at Newton City Hall.

Newton Has Talent’s premier sponsor is Village Bank. For more information, visit http://newtonhastalent.com. For more information about Newton Rotary Club, visit www.rotarynewton.com.