Category Archives: Community Notes

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year?

Enter the Newton Patch’s “Deck the House” contest and you could win $100,000 for the Newton Public Schools and $500 to pay your electric bills! The Patch’s annual Deck the House Contest is now open to find the most over-the-top holiday decorations in America—the best “decked” house in the country—the one home so spectacularly decorated that everyone in town jokes your holiday decorations could rival Rockefeller Center’s.

If this sounds like your house, upload a photo or video of your home to the contest page here from November 26th to December 16th.

Only residents of Patch towns are eligible to enter. There will be 24 regional finalists selected, and from them, one grand prize winner. Patch will pay up to $500 of the utility bill for each finalist, while our national winner will have $100,000 donated to his or her local school district.

Backpacks for Kids in the Rockaways

When the kids lost their home and belongings, they lost their school supplies. Perhaps you and your kids would consider shopping at Amazon.com for a backpack and supplies (notebook, pens, pencils, markers, etc.) for a child in the hard hit area in

the Rockaways. This is the area where the poorest families live, and where the devastation was the greatest. Add a goodie, such as warm socks or mittens, and a personal note (if you mark the package as a gift you can add a personal note). Have Amazon.com send it to:

Church of St Luke & St Matthew
520 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238

Or drop a backpack with supplies inside in the box in the foyer at First Unitarian Society in Newton, 1326 Washington St, across from the Newton police station. If you send a backpack via Amazon.com, please send an email to Margaret Z. at ma******@*ol.com, so she can keep track of how many backpacks are sent and can tell OccupySandy how many backpacks are coming!

Newton East Little League Registration now open

Online registration for the Newton East Little League’s spring baseball season is now open for boys and girls aged 4 to 12. The programs run from April through the middle of June.

The programs run by NELL:
– T-BALL – kindergarten or entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2013; – Farm Division – 1st and 2nd grade;
– College Division – 3rd-6th grade: This division is a developmental league;
– Cooperstown Division – 3th through 6th grade: This division is a more advanced league. Players who wish to play in the Cooperstown Division must attend the tryout. Little League age 12 players may play in this division by waiver only;
– Major League Division – 4th through 7th grade: Open to players who are aged 10 to 12. To be placed on a Major League team you must try out.

The registration fee for T-Ball and Farm League players is $130 and for College, Cooperstown and Major League players $155. If you have more than one child in NELL, you will receive a $30.00 fee reduction for each additional player. The registration deadline is March 31, 2013 for T-Ball and January 31, 2013 for all other leagues. After the deadline, placement is not guaranteed and a late registration fee will apply (except for T-Ball). For more information and to register, visit NELL’s website

Y3K Tutoring in your Home

Our many years of experience in teaching and educational consulting has developed the right way to motivate, the right way to teach, be understood, and be remembered.

We tutor special ed. such as ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s, Autism, Emotional/Be

havioral, and gifted.

We also tutor regular ed. and test preparation. All subjects and ages are taught. Parents can now receive 25% off the first lesson.

Find more information or register online or call 781-492-8700

Children’s Book Fair, Dec. 15

Don’t miss the Newton Community Service Center’s Book Fair,
December 15, 9am – 1pm.

Books and gifts for ages infant to 5 years. Activities for children of all ages. Featuring books from Scholastic, Inc.<

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Entertain your children while you shop:

– sing with Hugh Hanley 9:30-10:30,
– Big Joe the Storyteller 10:45-11:45,
– Newton Fire Truck 10:00- 11:00,
– Puppet Making with Puppet Showplace Theatre 10:00-1:00

Proceeds benefit the early education and child care programs at Newton Community Service Center, 492 Waltham Street, West Newton. Open to the public.

For more information: 617-969-5906 or in**@*****eb.org.

Register for Newton Recreation Indoor Winter Lacrosse

Registration is now open for Newton Recreation’s indoor winter lacrosse league at Newton North High School.

Grades 2-4: practice 3-4:30PM on Sunday
Grades 5-6: practice 4:30-6PM on Sunday
Grades 7-9: practice 6-7:30PM (

inexperienced 9th graders) on Sunday

All sessions for Elementary & Middle School Programs will be played on Sundays from January 6 through March 3. Inexperienced players are welcome and encouraged to participate!!

High School, grades 9-12: practice 7-9:30PM on Thursday, Jan 3-March 7)

Required equipment: Stick, helmet, gloves, sneakers, pads, and mouth piece.

Registration Fee:
• $140/player ($210/family)
• $150 Non-Resident

Mail-in Registration Only
Application and Information is available online but registration must be submitted by mail only. Contact coach Bussy Adams via email for more details. .

Just for Teens at the Newton Free Library

Teen Crafternoons, Wednesday, December 19, 3:30 pm

Get creative the first and third Wednesday of every month in the second floor teen area. On 12/5, help create holiday cards for those who are hospitalized during the holid

ay season and on 12/19 we’ll be making origami boxes and snowflakes to get in the holiday spirit! Grades 6-12.

Movie Screening of Elf, Saturday, December 22, 2:00 pm

It’s Elf season! Drink hot cocoa, eat peppermint sticks and get in the holiday spirit with a special screening of Elf. The movie is rated PG and runs for 97 minutes. Open to all.

Improv Storytelling: Moving Characters, Moving Stories, Thursday, December 27, 7:00 pm

Teens, grades 6-12, join Rona Leventhal, a storyteller from Western Massachusetts, for an improv storytelling workshop in Druker Auditorium. Harness your hidden characters! Using improvisational theatre and movement, we will explore the bizarre, sweet, sly, bold, old and young characters that live in each of us. Learn to have a ‘body-sense’ of how to bring any character to life within a story. Give yourself permission to play and explore! The focus will be on exploring characters in general, not just one particular story. Open to all who want to have fun and learn!

“App”etizers, Friday, December 28, 4:00 pm

Drop in to the second floor teen area to pick up an “app”etizer menu. Learn about new cooking apps, test them out on the iPad and eat snacks! Open to teens and up.

True Colors: Newton North’s Freshman Cabaret, Dec 13-14

True Colors, Newton North High School’s Freshman Cabaret, is made up of skits, songs and dances, all performed by students in this year’s fabulous freshman class.

The theme this year is True Colors: be yourself, express yourself,

and let your true colors shine!

December 13 and 14 at 7:30pm
Performing Arts Center, Newton North High School 457 Walnut Street,

Tickets $7.00 at theatreink.net , or 617-559-6406.