Category Archives: Summer

Online Kids & Artemis Girls Summer Camps

Online Kids Yoga Camp with Tracy Affonso for Grades K – 4

Each day of camp will begin with breathing/mindfulness exercises designed to help children focus on the present moment. Following the warm-up, they’ll have a fun-filled, active yoga class culminating with a guided relaxation. Kids love yoga with Tracy!

Camp fee is $75.00, registration available here. This is not a drop-in class.
June 22nd – June 26th, 10:00 – 11:00 am via Zoom

Online Summer Camp for Artemis Girls – Stand Strong, Stand Tall! with Tracy Affonso for girls Grades 5 -8, approximately age 10 -14

This week-long, online, summer camp program is based on the popular Girls Empowerment Program for middle school girls! This innovative program led by popular middle school yoga instructor, Tracy Affonso, helps girls to seek their own true voice with yoga, mindfulness, breath work, creative expression and self-reflection.

Camp fee is $85.00, registration available here. This is not a drop-in class.
June 22nd – June 26th, 4:00 – 5:30 pm via Zoom*

Tutoring available

Would your rising senior benefit from help with their college essays this summer? Jane Hirschhorn and her expert team at JBH Tutoring have more than 50 years of combined experience working with students on college essays, academic and creative writing. JBH Tutoring students have been accepted to a wide range of public and private universities across the United States, Canada and Europe.

In light of the unique circumstances surrounding applicants for the 2020-21 admission cycle, they are offering a discount on their Common Application Essay Package. To learn more, please click here.

Tutoring available

Maria Koutsouris, a Newton Public Schools and NNHS Alumni,is entering her PhD program at Boston University where she’ll be student teaching. COVID-19 has brought a tremendous amount of change and uncertainty to children’s education. Maria is reaching out to offer private online tutoring to students who might need the extra help over the summer and throughout the 2020/21 school year.

Trained as a writing and ELL tutor through the University of Vermont, she’s been tutoring for six years, specializing in English, history, and social studies. She can also help students work on their writing, language, research, and task management skills.

For additional information, you can reach her at mkoutsou@bu.edu.

Creative writing program

Educator and journalist Dale Norman is offering “Journeys in Writing”, a creative writing program which will explore a range of places on our planet using Google Earth as its GPS and the world as its map. Dale privately tutors students and is presently utilizing this method of learning and imaginative writing with them.

Dale, who was born in South Africa and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 18, is uniquely qualified to develop and teach this program. Her background includes certification as a middle school language arts teacher; she also previously taught in the 5th grade at The Rashi School in the Boston area, where she produced unique and creative writing projects with students and has created newspapers and poetry books with seventh grade students at for more than 15 years. Most recently, Dale was educational director at two afternoon programs in the Greater Boston area.

If you know a student who may be looking for supplemental quality programming this summer,  you should seriously consider this one-off option.

Home location is not a determining factor for “Journeys in Writing”, given its virtual nature and Dale encourages friendship/family groupings to consider joining together. Groups are limited to a maximum of 12 age and grade-appropriate students. Presently, Dale has the schedule set up for 2 different sessions over the course of the summer. If there is enough interest, Dale will open the program for additional groups. Cost is $420, for 14 classes, with a reduction of $30 for a second sibling, or for larger groups (i.e.: 6 + students who sign up together). Should there be a need, scholarships are available.

A wider range of students age-wise than expected has expressed interest in this program. It is possible there will be more groups than anticipated and some of the groups will be smaller than expected. If this is the case, then pricing for 1:1 Journey explorations, or dyads and triads will be fully reviewed with you, with a withdrawal option. Dale is open to discussing options which best fit family need

Some examples of “Journeys” may include:
-Antelope Canyon, Nevada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOLdOvpx-CU
-Paris, France: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roDY-cVHEAs (younger example)
-Older group of teens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADrIrx2vFts

Each program will be geared toward the particular students in the group, their age and developmental level. Students will brainstorm, write and submit two written pieces per week to Dale for her review. At the end of the summer a book (at the cost of $50 per student) will be produced, with two submissions per student.

For more information, please email journeysinwriting1@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/creativity36.

S.P.A.C.E. Camp 2020 Summer Program for Academic & Creative Endeavors

Virtual SPACE is a four week enrichment program specifically designed to enable campers to explore, learn, and connect with their peers under the guidance of highly qualified educators. The staff is excited and motivated to be working with small groups of campers and provide them with engaging and enriching activities.

SPACE has a long history of providing creative, fun, and engaging experiences for campers in Newton.  Virtual SPACE will continue to provide excellent and engaging programming for their campers and also hopes that Virtual SPACE can provide families with structure and stability for the month of July.

Lower Camp Programming 
Lower campers (campers entering kindergarten to 3rd grade) will explore and thrive in a small group setting. Lower camp will offer small group breakout rooms to facilitate authentic connections with staff and other campers. Campers will also engage in daily activities such as read aloud, arts and crafts, yoga and meditation, and Boxygen. Supply kits will be included for arts and crafts.

Upper Camp Programming
Upper Campers (campers entering 4th to 9th grades) will choose from a selection of electives to design their own schedule. These virtual electives will run for the entire four week program enabling in-depth study, project-based learning, and skill development. All electives were specifically chosen based on their capacity to continue to be engaging for campers in a virtual setting. The daily schedule will consist of three 45 minute electives (chosen by the camper) with two 15 minute independent breaks. Campers will have the opportunity to change their schedule during the first week of SPACE if they want, but their day to day routine will remain the same after that. Campers will be in small groups to enable connection with staff and campers, in addition to support and instruction from the highly qualified staff.

Early Registration for Virtual SPACE is $500.00 for the month. Families sending multiple campers will receive a $50.00 discount per camper. Registration will increase $50.00 per camper after June 12th.

Checks can be mailed to SPACE Camp:
100 Walnut St, Room 218, Newtonville, MA 02460

Session runs Monday July 6th- Thursday, July 30th
9:00 – 11:45 am

Learn more on the website https://sites.google.com/abschools.org/space-camp/home and register electronically here.

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Attention College Students!

Are you interested in tutoring kids in reading and/or math this summer? Kim Gallaugher, a Newton parent, SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) member and Speech-Language Pathologist  will be offering FREE trainings (online and/or in-person) on how to tutor elementary-aged kids in reading and math.

She will teach you how to work with young kids with special needs and help you find families in need of tutoring, either online or in-person. Education and Special Education majors/minors are preferred but if you are interested in working with young kids with special needs and willing to learn how to teach them, you are welcome to apply! Contact Kim at momofiggy@hotmail.com for more information.

K-12 Reading Program

The Boston University K-12 Reading Program has opened early, reduced rates, and converted all classes to a live online format, to help parents and schools maintain student education during these unusual times.

The live, teacher-led online classes are available now and throughout the summer, for Pre-K through 12th grade students.

The curriculum is high caliber and has been taught in a live, online format for 5 years already with over 50,000 school-age students. The classes are led by highly-trained teachers with many years’ experience teaching effectively in online classrooms. Skills taught include:

  • Early Elementary: letter recognition, phonemic awareness, sight words, phonics
  • Mid-to-Late Elementary: fluency, phonics, long-word decoding, comprehension, textbook reading, writing
  • Middle and High School: doubling reading speed, comprehension, writing, notetaking, test preparation, textbook strategies

For additional imformation, see the flyer here or visit the website  https://bu.readingclasses.org/.

 

Volunteers Needed! Outdoors! Socially Distant!

Volunteers are needed at the Newton Farmer’s Market to help make the markets safe and enjoyable this year. Can you lend a hand? Volunteers are needed for the following roles:

  • Count customers as they enter and exit the market.
  • Guide customers as they move through the market.
  • Make certain shoppers are following physical distancing guidelines.
  • Assist with curbside pick-up.
  • Assist farmers when needed.
  • Interactions with customers will be contact-free and appropriate physical distance will be maintained at all times.

    To volunteer, please contact Judy Dore at jdore@newtonma.gov

Both the Tuesday and Saturday markets are moving to Newton South High School!
Saturday market opens June 20th, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.
Tuesday market opens June 30th, 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm.

News from the Newton Free Library

On the heels of Governor Baker’s state-wide reopening dates, the Newton Free Library is carefully planning a phased reopening that is uniquely tailored to the large and active public library.  They’re developing new work processes and will be rolling out a limited array of library services to the community in the coming weeks. While extremely eager to restore library services, this will be a gradual process because they are committed to your safety and the safety of their dedicated staff.

Virtual programming will continue for some time. Registration is required for all virtual events, please click the title to link to view the full program description and registration information.

Love the  Children’s Programming? Sign up here for the NEW Children’s Program Email!

Tween/Teen Event Highlights:

  • Virtual Anime Movie: Wednesdays at 5:00 pm. Missing anime club or movies with your friends? Join for a virtual anime movie! You’ll be watching NiNoKuni (2019). Runtime 106 minutes. Grades 5-12.
  • Zoom & Make: Crochet Basics: Every other Thursday at 5:00 pm. Learn to crochet a nifty washcloth or dishcloth you can use or give away! You’ll learn the basics of crochet and create a useful first project. You can try out the easy-to-follow pattern beforehand and join us in the Zoom class to work out any problems and chat! Grades 5-12.
  • Virtual Teen Area: Saturdays at 3:00 pm theTeen Area goes virtual! Use this time to be together at home, ask questions, play games, complete challenges, and craft! This is a librarian-moderated Zoom program hosted for tweens and teens in grades 5-12.

Wait there’s more! Don’t miss our continuing programming for
Adults:

  • Tech Time appointments: Need help with your device or to borrow ebooks from the library? Book a session to have a librarian help you over the phone. Appointments available Monday-Friday.
  • Tele-Librarian: You’ve got questions, they’ve got answers! Sign up for an appointment for a librarian to assist you with a research-related question.
  • Weekly Short Story Discussion Group: Join each Wednesday for a discussion of 2 different short stories.
  • Curious Eats Cooking Blog Club: Do you like cooking and blogs? Combine those two interests and come talk to other people who enjoy those things. You’ll share photos of the dishes you’ve cooked each week from a chosen food blog.

Tween/Teen:

  • Magic The Gathering: Wednesdays at 5:30 pm. Interested in finding a meet up to play Magic: The Gathering after school? We’ve found just the place: Zoom! Moderated by a local Newton South student, please download Magic the Gathering Arena. Registration is required to receive a Zoom link. (For grades 5-12)
  • Star Wars Escape Room: available anytime. BB-8’s missing! Try to find him before Kylo Ren gets to him and is able to download the map to find out where Luke Skywalker is! May the force be with you. (For all ages)