Franklin PTO Board Members Sue Membrino and Julia Wolfe receive donation from Peoples Bank Staff.

Circus Smirkus:
Mark your calendars!  Circus Smirkus is coming to Franklin!  Rick Davis, a veteran of Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus, Walt Disney World & Broadway will be the Circus Smirkus artist in residence for the week. He will be working with a small group of Franklin students after school to prepare a fabulous circus show. In addition to the after school program, Rick will conduct an all-school assembly and workshops for the 2^nd grade. The Franklin Circus Smirkus Show will be Friday, January 13 at 7PM at the F.A. Day Middle School Auditorium. Tickets will be $5 each or $20 per family. Come have fun, be entertained and see what talented Franklin students learned during the week. All proceeds from the show will benefit Franklin School! It is not too late to sign up to participate in the Circus Smirkus after school program so be sure to contact Gail Guerrero at guerrero.gail@gmail.com if your child has interest.

Upcoming PTO Meeting:
Our next PTO Meeting will be Thursday, January 19 at 7:30 PM (7 PM for Room Parents).

Multicultural Night:
Come celebrate the wonderful diversity of our community! Tuesday, March 6 is Multicultural Night. If you’d like to volunteer to host a country table, bring your favorite ethnic dish to share with the Franklin community or help with set up or clean up, please contact Joanne Caruso at Caruso@neco.edu.

Spring Auction:
The Spring Auction will be on the evening of Saturday, March 31 and planning is already underway.  You could help make this the most successful year yet by donating even just one hour of your time or by asking a business or service you use to make a donation.  Please contact Alyce Kuklinski atalyce.kuklinski@rcn.com to volunteer or with any questions.

2012 Is Off to an Exciting Start!
The PTO Board
Susan Boyer, Amika Brewster, Carolyn Craven, Angela Galbraith, Gail Guerrero, Liz Marshall, Marysol Masse-Makimura, Sue Membrino, Steven Mucci, Deb Rooney, Geri Russillo, Julia Wolfe

PRINCIPAL’S POSTS

Happy New Year!  Over the vacation, I had a chance to catch up on some professional reading. I came across this article and thought it was worth sharing.  

The Perils and Promises of Praise Carol S. Dweck

The wrong kind of praise creates self-defeating behavior. The right kind motivates students to learn.

We often hear these days that we’ve produced a generation of young people who can’t get through the day without an award. They expect success because they’re special, not because they’ve worked hard.
Is this true? Have we inadvertently done something to hold back our students?
I think educators commonly hold two beliefs that do just that. Many believe that (1) praising students’ intelligence builds their confidence and motivation to learn, and (2) students’ inherent intelligence is the major cause of their achievement in school. Our research has shown that the first belief is false and that the second can be harmful—even for the most competent students.
As a psychologist, I have studied student motivation for more than 35 years. My graduate students and I have looked at thousands of children, asking why some enjoy learning, even when it’s hard, and why they are resilient in the face of obstacles. We have learned a great deal. Research shows us how to praise students in ways that yield motivation and resilience. In addition, specific interventions can reverse a student’s slide into failure during the vulnerable period of adolescence.
Fixed or Malleable?
Praise is intricately connected to how students view their intelligence. Some students believe that their intellectual ability is a fixed trait. They have a certain amount of intelligence, and that’s that. Students with this fixed mind-set become excessively concerned with how smart they are, seeking tasks that will prove their intelligence and avoiding ones that might not (Dweck, 1999, 2006). The desire to learn takes a backseat.
Other students believe that their intellectual ability is something they can develop through effort and education. They don’t necessarily believe that anyone can become an Einstein or a Mozart, but they do understand that even Einstein and Mozart had to put in years of effort to become who they were. When students believe that they can develop their intelligence, they focus on doing just that. Not worrying about how smart they will appear, they take on challenges and stick to them (Dweck, 1999, 2006).
More and more research in psychology and neuroscience supports the growth mind-set. We are discovering that the brain has more plasticity over time than we ever imagined (Doidge, 2007); that fundamental aspects of intelligence can be enhanced through learning (Sternberg, 2005); and that dedication and persistence in the face of obstacles are key ingredients in outstanding achievement (Ericsson, Charness, Feltovich, & Hoffman, 2006).
Alfred Binet (1909/1973), the inventor of the IQ test, had a strong growth mind-set. He believed that education could transform the basic capacity to learn. Far from intending to measure fixed intelligence, he meant his test to be a tool for identifying students who were not profiting from the public school curriculum so that other courses of study could be devised to foster their intellectual growth.
The Two Faces of Effort
The fixed and growth mind-sets create two different psychological worlds. In the fixed mind-set, students care first and foremost about how they’ll be judged: smart or not smart. Repeatedly, students with this mind-set reject opportunities to learn if they might make mistakes (Hong, Chiu, Dweck, Lin, & Wan, 1999; Mueller & Dweck, 1998). When they do make mistakes or reveal deficiencies, rather than correct them, they try to hide them (Nussbaum & Dweck, 2007).
They are also afraid of effort because effort makes them feel dumb. They believe that if you have the ability, you shouldn’t need effort (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007), that ability should bring success all by itself. This is one of the worst beliefs that students can hold. It can cause many bright students to stop working in school when the curriculum becomes challenging.
Finally, students in the fixed mind-set don’t recover well from setbacks. When they hit a setback in school, they decrease their efforts and consider cheating (Blackwell et al., 2007). The idea of fixed intelligence does not offer them viable ways to improve.
Let’s get inside the head of a student with a fixed mind-set as he sits in his classroom, confronted with algebra for the first time. Up until then, he has breezed through math. Even when he barely paid attention in class and skimped on his homework, he always got As. But this is different. It’s hard. The student feels anxious and thinks, “What if I’m not as good at math as I thought? What if other kids understand it and I don’t?” At some level, he realizes that he has two choices: try hard, or turn off. His interest in math begins to wane, and his attention wanders. He tells himself, “Who cares about this stuff? It’s for nerds. I could do it if I wanted to, but it’s so boring. You don’t see CEOs and sports stars solving for x and y.”
By contrast, in the growth mind-set, students care about learning. When they make a mistake or exhibit a deficiency, they correct it (Blackwell et al., 2007; Nussbaum & Dweck, 2007). For them, effort is a positivething: It ignites their intelligence and causes it to grow. In the face of failure, these students escalate their efforts and look for new learning strategies.
Let’s look at another student—one who has a growth mind-set—having her first encounter with algebra. She finds it new, hard, and confusing, unlike anything else she has ever learned. But she’s determined to understand it. She listens to everything the teacher says, asks the teacher questions after class, and takes her textbook home and reads the chapter over twice. As she begins to get it, she feels exhilarated. A new world of math opens up for her.
It is not surprising, then, that when we have followed students over challenging school transitions or courses, we find that those with growth mind-sets outperform their classmates with fixed mind-sets—even when they entered with equal skills and knowledge. A growth mind-set fosters the growth of ability over time (Blackwell et al., 2007; Mangels, Butterfield, Lamb, Good, & Dweck, 2006; see also Grant & Dweck, 2003).
The Effects of Praise
Many educators have hoped to maximize students’ confidence in their abilities, their enjoyment of learning, and their ability to thrive in school by praising their intelligence. We’ve studied the effects of this kind of praise in children as young as 4 years old and as old as adolescence, in students in inner-city and rural settings, and in students of different ethnicities—and we’ve consistently found the same thing (Cimpian, Arce, Markman, & Dweck, 2007; Kamins & Dweck, 1999; Mueller & Dweck, 1998): Praising students’ intelligence gives them a short burst of pride, followed by a long string of negative consequences.
In many of our studies (see Mueller & Dweck, 1998), 5th grade students worked on a task, and after the first set of problems, the teacher praised some of them for their intelligence (“You must be smart at these problems”) and others for their effort (“You must have worked hard at these problems”). We then assessed the students’ mind-sets. In one study, we asked students to agree or disagree with mind-set statements, such as, “Your intelligence is something basic about you that you can’t really change.” Students praised for intelligence agreed with statements like these more than students praised for effort did. In another study, we asked students to define intelligence. Students praised for intelligence made significantly more references to innate, fixed capacity, whereas the students praised for effort made more references to skills, knowledge, and areas they could change through effort and learning. Thus, we found that praise for intelligence tended to put students in a fixed mind-set (intelligence is fixed, and you have it), whereas praise for effort tended to put them in a growth mind-set (you’re developing these skills because you’re working hard).
We then offered students a chance to work on either a challenging task that they could learn from or an easy one that ensured error-free performance. Most of those praised for intelligence wanted the easy task, whereas most of those praised for effort wanted the challenging task and the opportunity to learn.
Next, the students worked on some challenging problems. As a group, students who had been praised for their intelligence lost their confidence in their ability and their enjoyment of the task as soon as they began to struggle with the problem. If success meant they were smart, then struggling meant they were not. The whole point of intelligence praise is to boost confidence and motivation, but both were gone in a flash. Only the effort-praised kids remained, on the whole, confident and eager.
When the problems were made somewhat easier again, students praised for intelligence did poorly, having lost their confidence and motivation. As a group, they did worse than they had done initially on these same types of problems. The students praised for effort showed excellent performance and continued to improve.
Finally, when asked to report their scores (anonymously), almost 40 percent of the intelligence-praised students lied. Apparently, their egos were so wrapped up in their performance that they couldn’t admit mistakes. Only about 10 percent of the effort-praised students saw fit to falsify their results.
Praising students for their intelligence, then, hands them not motivation and resilience but a fixed mind-set with all its vulnerability. In contrast, effort or “process” praise (praise for engagement, perseverance, strategies, improvement, and the like) fosters hardy motivation. It tells students what they’ve done to be successful and what they need to do to be successful again in the future. Process praise sounds like this:
•     You really studied for your English test, and your improvement shows it. You read the material over several times, outlined it, and tested yourself on it. That really worked!
•     I like the way you tried all kinds of strategies on that math problem until you finally got it.
•     It was a long, hard assignment, but you stuck to it and got it done. You stayed at your desk, kept up your concentration, and kept working. That’s great!
•     I like that you took on that challenging project for your science class. It will take a lot of work—doing the research, designing the machine, buying the parts, and building it. You’re going to learn a lot of great things.

What about a student who gets an A without trying? I would say, “All right, that was too easy for you. Let’s do something more challenging that you can learn from.” We don’t want to make something done quickly and easily the basis for our admiration.
What about a student who works hard and doesn’t do well? I would say, “I liked the effort you put in. Let’s work together some more and figure out what you don’t understand.” Process praise keeps students focused, not on something called ability that they may or may not have and that magically creates success or failure, but on processes they can all engage in to learn.
Motivated to Learn
Finding that a growth mind-set creates motivation and resilience—and leads to higher achievement—we sought to develop an intervention that would teach this mind-set to students. We decided to aim our intervention at students who were making the transition to 7th grade because this is a time of great vulnerability. School often gets more difficult in 7th grade, grading becomes more stringent, and the environment becomes more impersonal. Many students take stock of themselves and their intellectual abilities at this time and decide whether they want to be involved with school. Not surprisingly, it is often a time of disengagement and plunging achievement.
We performed our intervention in a New York City junior high school in which many students were struggling with the transition and were showing plummeting grades. If students learned a growth mind-set, we reasoned, they might be able to meet this challenge with increased, rather than decreased, effort. We therefore developed an eight-session workshop in which both the control group and the growth-mind-set group learned study skills, time management techniques, and memory strategies (Blackwell et al., 2007). However, in the growth-mind-set intervention, students also learned about their brains and what they could do to make their intelligence grow.
They learned that the brain is like a muscle—the more they exercise it, the stronger it becomes. They learned that every time they try hard and learn something new, their brain forms new connections that, over time, make them smarter. They learned that intellectual development is not the natural unfolding of intelligence, but rather the formation of new connections brought about through effort and learning.
Students were riveted by this information. The idea that their intellectual growth was largely in their hands fascinated them. In fact, even the most disruptive students suddenly sat still and took notice, with the most unruly boy of the lot looking up at us and saying, “You mean I don’t have to be dumb?”
Indeed, the growth-mind-set message appeared to unleash students’ motivation. Although both groups had experienced a steep decline in their math grades during their first months of junior high, those receiving the growth-mind-set intervention showed a significant rebound. Their math grades improved. Those in the control group, despite their excellent study skills intervention, continued their decline.
What’s more, the teachers—who were unaware that the intervention workshops differed—singled out three times as many students in the growth-mindset intervention as showing marked changes in motivation. These students had a heightened desire to work hard and learn. One striking example was the boy who thought he was dumb. Before this experience, he had never put in any extra effort and often didn’t turn his homework in on time. As a result of the training, he worked for hours one evening to finish an assignment early so that his teacher could review it and give him a chance to revise it. He earned aB+ on the assignment (he had been getting Cs and lower previously).
Other researchers have obtained similar findings with a growth-mind-set intervention. Working with junior high school students, Good, Aronson, and Inzlicht (2003) found an increase in math and English achievement test scores; working with college students, Aronson, Fried, and Good (2002) found an increase in students’ valuing of academics, their enjoyment of schoolwork, and their grade point averages.
To facilitate delivery of the growth-mind-set workshop to students, we developed an interactive computer-based version of the intervention called Brainology. Students work through six modules, learning about the brain, visiting virtual brain labs, doing virtual brain experiments, seeing how the brain changes with learning, and learning how they can make their brains work better and grow smarter.
We tested our initial version in 20 New York City schools, with encouraging results. Almost all students (anonymously polled) reported changes in their study habits and motivation to learn resulting directly from their learning of the growth mind-set. One student noted that as a result of the animation she had seen about the brain, she could actually “picture the neurons growing bigger as they make more connections.” One student referred to the value of effort: “If you do not give up and you keep studying, you can find your way through.”
Adolescents often see school as a place where they perform for teachers who then judge them. The growth mind-set changes that perspective and makes school a place where students vigorously engage in learning for their own benefit.
Going Forward
Our research shows that educators cannot hand students confidence on a silver platter by praising their intelligence. Instead, we can help them gain the tools they need to maintain their confidence in learning by keeping them focused on the process of achievement.
Maybe we have produced a generation of students who are more dependent, fragile, and entitled than previous generations. If so, it’s time for us to adopt a growth mind-set and learn from our mistakes. It’s time to deliver interventions that will truly boost students’ motivation, resilience, and learning.
References
Aronson, J., Fried, C., & Good, C. (2002). Reducing the effects of stereotype threat on African American college students by shaping theories of intelligence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 113–125.
Binet, A. (1909/1973). Les idées modernes sur les enfants [Modern ideas on children]. Paris: Flamarion. (Original work published 1909)
Blackwell, L., Trzesniewski, K., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78, 246–263.
Cimpian, A., Arce, H., Markman, E. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Subtle linguistic cues impact children’s motivation. Psychological Science, 18, 314–316.
Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. New York: Viking.
Dweck, C. S. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality and development. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis/Psychology Press.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
Ericsson, K. A., Charness, N., Feltovich, P. J., & Hoffman, R. R. (Eds.). (2006). The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Good, C., Aronson, J., & Inzlicht, M. (2003). Improving adolescents’ standardized test performance: An intervention to reduce the effects of stereotype threat. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24, 645–662.
Grant, H., & Dweck, C. S. (2003). Clarifying achievement goals and their impact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 541–553.
Hong, Y. Y., Chiu, C., Dweck, C. S., Lin, D., & Wan, W. (1999). Implicit theories, attributions, and coping: A meaning system approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 588–599.
Kamins, M., & Dweck, C. S. (1999). Person vs. process praise and criticism: Implications for contingent self-worth and coping. Developmental Psychology, 35, 835–847.
Mangels, J. A., Butterfield, B., Lamb, J., Good, C. D., & Dweck, C. S. (2006). Why do beliefs about intelligence influence learning success? A social-cognitive-neuroscience model. Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience, 1, 75–86.
Mueller, C. M., & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Intelligence praise can undermine motivation and performance.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 33–52.
Nussbaum, A. D., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Defensiveness vs. remediation: Self-theories and modes of self-esteem maintenance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Sternberg, R. (2005). Intelligence, competence, and expertise. In A. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), The handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 15–30). New York: Guilford Press.

Carol S. Dweck is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Random House, 2006).

NEWTON SPECIAL EDUCATION

The Newton Parent Advisory Council for Special Education (PAC) is an organization of Newton parents, education specialists and interested community members. The PACs role is to ensure that the Newton school department is responding appropriately to children in need of special education services. For more information about the Newton PAC or to join our online discussion group, please email info@newtonpac.org or visit our website at www.newtonpac.org.

Components of a High Quality Reading Program for Children with Reading Disabilities presented by Elaine HoldenThursday, January 12 at 7 PM (note earlier time)
Dr. Holden will discuss the significance of delays in the acquisition of basic reading skills and how to use current research to advocate for instruction that will be effective for children of all ages with reading challenges. She will also discuss the importance of reading fluency as a necessary skill for reading comprehension. She will discuss the higher-level language skills (vocabulary, sentence structure, and inferential thinking) that contribute to a deep understanding of text. Participants will learn about current research in fluency and reading comprehension as a means of better understanding the needs of competent readers. Dr. Holden has worked in New England as a specialist, consultant, college professor, and supervisor in the area of reading for over thirty years. As the author of numerous articles, contributor to language texts and evaluation tools, as well as a noted speaker at educational conferences for over twenty years, Dr. Holden brings a wealth of professional knowledge to us.

This free presentation will be held in Room 210 at 100 Walnut Street, Newtonville. Light refreshments and networking begin at 6:45 PM. The presentation will begin at 7:00 and end at 9 PM. Please RSVP to info@newtonpac.org so that we will have enough handouts.

Newton Parent Advisory Council (NewtonPAC) for Special Education meetings are free and open to all people interested in learning more about special education in Newton.

If you have questions about special education services or are interested in finding out more about resources offered by the Sped PAC please contact one of Franklin’s liaisons: Julie MacLaughlin julmclaugh@verizon.net, Urmila Parlikar urmilaparlikar@gmail.com and Eileen Sanberg, easanberg@aol.com.

UNDERSTANDING OUR DIFFERENCES

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Newton Community Ed classes at Franklin Registration is now underway for Winter classes with Newton Community Education. Coming up at Franklin we have Intergalactic Investigators and Lego Engineering 2 on Mondays, Brainatomy and Ready, Set…Draw on Tuesdays, Math ManiaandMore Drumming 101 on Wednesdays,Drama andChess on Thursdays, Advanced Lego We-Do Robotics on Fridays, andSelf Defense Combat Sambo on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Check out our Saturday family programs this winter:cooking specials The International Chocolate Chip andTwo Continents Many Dumplings, and enjoy the outdoors in our newWinter Explorers. Older elementary schoolers can join us for The Stockmarket Game, Archery, Fencing, Robotics, orBabysitting. We have some new sports offerings this winter including Dodgeball, Basketball,andSports Jam, and for younger kids we have indoor Saturday Sports Jams (andT-Ball andFlag Football coming this spring). If you’re looking for great winter and spring vacation programs, we have those too. As always, we have a wide variety of classes at schools throughout Newton, and we welcome kids from all schools at all of our classes. For more information or to register, call our office at 617-559-6999 or visit our website at www.newtoncommunityed.org. Be sure to look through our huge selection of adult classes too, and watch for our summer catalog, coming in January.

Sleep and the School-Age Child: Helping Yours have a Good Night! Free Parenting Presentation! Dr. Dennis Rosen, Sleep Specialist from Children’s Hospital, Boston Wednesday,January 11 7-8:30 pm, Education Center Room 210, 100 Walnut Street. Join us to learn why we sleep when we do, why sleep is so important, and how certain factors can make it easier or more difficult to fall asleep. You’ll also learn how much sleep children of various ages really need and how to help yours-from kindergarteners to middle schoolers-get a good night sleep.Sponsored by the Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and The Newton Partnership

Join Girl Scouts for our 100th anniversary year! All-new badgeprogram, outdoor skills, exciting leadership opportunities, and more for girls in all grades. Newton has school, neighborhood and citywidetroops. To start your Girl Scout journey, contact our local Girl Scoutoffice at join@girlscoutseasternmass.org or call 781-893-6113. Be sure to say you are from Newton, and mention the girl’s school and grade. Parent volunteers are also key to a successful Girl Scout experience.

Resource Fair for families of English Language Learners or former ELLs on Thursday, January 19 from 6-8 pm in the Newton North cafeteria. Families are invited to learn about some of the different school and community resources in Newton. There will be information available on the following topics: understanding the college process with high school guidance counselors; supporting your child in school, understanding the schools – conferences, report cards, testing etc.; adult English classes; summer camp and after school programs; food and nutrition. The city social worker will answer questions and free flu shots from the Health Department will be available. Childcare, dinner and interpreters will be provided in Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Korean. Transportation available upon request. Please RSVP to your child’s ESL teacher or to Dianna Kobayashi at 617-559-6045 or Dianna_Kobayashi@newton.k12.ma.us. Let us know if you need an interpreter in another language.

Theatre Ink Proudly Presents CABARET TROUPE’S “CRAZYTOWN”  an evening of contemporary musical theatre. Directed by Anna Nemetz and Jon Paul Roby . January 12 and 13  at 7:30PM in the Performing Arts Center Auditorium at Newton North. Tickets are $7 each. Available on line at www.theatreink.net or at the door.

Boys Scouts of America Fun and adventure await in Cub Scouting, where boys get a chance to do all sorts of great activities with friends, like building and racing pinewood derby cars, roasting hot dogs around the campfire, and being part of a team. Cub Scouting aims kids in the right direction, building their confidence through activities and helping them learn leadership skills. Newton Cub Scout Packs meet at the following locations: Union Church, Waban, Sacred Heart School, Newton Center, Temple Reyim, West Newton, Myrtle Baptist Church, West Newton, Our Lady Help of Christians, Newtonville, Second Church, West Newton. For more information visit www.ktc-bsa.org. Cub Scout Pack 210 meets the first Thursday of every month at 7 pm at the First Baptist Church on the corner of Beacon and Center streets, Newton Center. Contact jjanosky@alum.mit.edu for more information.

Could your child, age 6 to 11, benefit from the consistent, caring friendship of a Newton teenager? Newton’s One to One Program has an enthusiastic and responsible new group of high school seniors from Newton North and Newton South High Schools. If you would like the opportunity to have your child matched this academic year with a “Big Brother/Sister”, please call or email Nancy Holczer, Program Director by the end of October for more information. Please leave a message when calling 617-559-9063 with your name, address, and phone number or email info to Nancy at Nancy_Holczer@newton.k12.ma.us  A program of the Newton Public Schools since 1972. Funded by The Newton Partnership.

Become a Newton School Volunteer! Help a Newton elementary school student learn basic mathematics concepts. Adult volunteers are needed to tutors students in grades 2-5. Tutor  a child once a week for 30-45 minutes; No teaching experience is needed; Tutors select their preferred school, grade, day, and time; Play special math games that reinforce skills and help students gain confidence; Training, Everyday Math books and learning materials, and ongoing support are provided. For more information, contact Ellen Bender 617-559-6131 or ellen_bender@newton.k12.ma.us.

For the following Newton Parks & Recreation events, go to the Newton Parks and Recreation website at www.newtonma.gov/parks and click on School Vacation for more information or call Channon Ames at 617-796-1529:

The Ward School PTOis hosting a screening of Race To Nowhere on January 19 at 7pm at the John Ward School, 10 Dolphin Rd. Newton. Tickets may be purchased online for $10 with a special online teacher and student rate of $5. To order tickets, go to http://www.racetonowhere.com/screenings/ward-school. If seats are still available, tickets will be sold at the door for $15. The movie will be followed by a facilitator and panel discussion as well as audience Q and A. Questions may be directed to Stacy Schwartz, PTO-co-president, staschwartz@gmail.com.

Historic Newton Events:
NEWTON COMMUNITY WEEKEND Saturday and Sunday, January 7 and 8, noon-5pmNewton residents are invited to enjoy free admission to the museum. Start the New Year off with a visit to your city museum.
HISTORIC NEWTON BOOK CLUB MEETING, Thursday, January 19, 7:30 PM This month’s book club selection is A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk and the Conquest of the American Continent by James Merry. In this thoughtful and entertaining history, Merry sheds light on Polk’s presidency and the goals Polk set for himself – all of which he achieved. They included cementing the annexation of Texas, resolving the dispute with Great Britain over the Oregon Territory, and, most importantly, provoking the Mexican-American war to position the United States to dominate the continent. The book is a compelling and perceptive portrait of a complex and controversial president. The book club is free and open to the public. New members are always welcome.
NEWTON SALUTES EXHIBIT CELEBRATION Sunday, January 22, 4-6 PM Adams Street Synagogue: Celebrating our Centennial The Adams Street Synagogue is Newton’s oldest synagogue. Dedicated in 1912, it is celebrating one hundred years of service to Newton’s Jewish community as an Orthodox synagogue serving a diverse congregation and the broader community. The synagogue, in Newton’s most diverse neighborhood, Nonantum, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The exhibit describes the history of the congregation, illustrated by historic photographs. Free.
HISTORIC NEWTON@NIGHT: A TRIBUTE TO ANNE LARNERThursday, January 26, 6:30 PM Please join us for this special evening that will honor Anne Larner, Board President of Historic Newton and an outstanding leader and community activist. Also featuring Tufts University’s own singing sensations, The BEELZEBUBS, this event will include cocktails, a light supper, and a chance to participate in an auction featuring radio personality, Matty Siegel of Kiss 108, as guest auctioneer. Proceeds from ticket sales will help underwrite a new education program in Anne Larner’s name at the newly renovated Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds. Tickets are $150 per person and can be purchased online atwww.historicnewton.org.

5th Grade Weather Science Unit Demystified through videos and fun experiments at http://www.pragmaticmom.com/?p=22024. Use this blog post to help your child study for the unit test and MCAS by reading the post and watching the multiple videos. Explains the relationship between Air Pressure and Heat, Air pressure and Weather, Climate versus Weather, How Clouds are Formed and more.

Earn $$$s Shoveling Snow Sign up on http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/snowremove.htm to be added to a list of snow shovelers for hire this winter. Or, do a good deed and volunteer to shovel for a low-income neighbor who is physically unable to shovel. Sign up forms for both paid and volunteer shovelers are in the middle of the page under “Can you help your neighbors shovel snow this winter?”

“Parents Helping Parents” Support Group Are you a parent or guardian feeling stressed or overwhelmed? Could you use the support of peers to help? Come to an anonymous support group run by a trained facilitator. This group will meet weekly on Wednesdays begining December 7 at Brigham House, 20 Hartford St. For more information, please call Meg at 617-926-5008 ex 108. Child care provided. FREE.  http://thenewtonpartnership.org/attend-an-event/

Happy 10th Birthday, Newton CPA!Neighborhood Event for West Newton, Auburndale & Newton Lower Falls on Tuesday, 24 January (snow date 7 February 2012). How would you allocate nearly $20 million for affordable housing, historic resources, open space & recreation land in Newton over the next 5 years? Come tell us on January 24 from 7-9 pm at Warren House, 1600 Washington Street in West Newton. Enjoy a slide show about past CPA projects & neighborhood history. Add your ideas for future projects to our interactive maps. Refreshments provided! For more information, see www.newtonma.gov/cpaorcontact Alice E. Ingerson, phone: 617-796-1144 or email aingerson@newtonma.gov.

SPORTS, MUSIC & DANCE

KIDS’ KARATE Trinity High School is closing in June, so after 8 years we are moving to Lasell College in March. There will be Free Trial Classes for Beginners in April. Girls and boys, entry ages 1-5 grades. For more information, please see www.kids-karate.org or leave message at 617-527-8052.

Happy New Year from All That Jazz Dance Studio! New classes beginning in January: Fairy Princess Dance (3-5 yr olds) Sundays 1-2pm. Hip hop workshop (7-11 year olds) Sundays 2-3pm. Boys and Girls tumbling/hip hop (4-6 year olds) Sundays 3-4pm. Boys only BreakDance (9-11 year olds) Sundays 5-6pm. Visit  www.allthatjazznewton.com. Call Miss Deb Lifson Vogel at 617-641-0784 or email missdeb@allthatjazznewton.com to register!

The Boston College Women’s Soccer program will be holding 8 Junior Academy one-hour clinics on Sunday afternoons for girls ages 9-12: January 8, 22, 29, February 5, 12, 19, 26, and March 11. They will be held at the Bubble at either 12 pm or 1:15 pm. It will be capped to the first 30 participants per time session. The coaches will be the BC Women’s Soccer coaching staff and players. For more information including registration contact 617-552-0982 or bhattacn@bc.edu.

Registration is now open for the Summer 2012 Newton Youth Players’ adaptation of the Sound of Music. Open to students enter Grades 2-6 in the Fall of 2012, rehearsals run from June 25 – July 18 at the Newton Cultural Center, 225 Nevada Street. Performance is on July 17 at 6pm. Sponsored by the Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs, Directed by Melissa Bernstein. On-line registration is at NewtonYouthPlayers.com or call 617-796-7540.

Newton South Recreation Complex Located at the Newton South High School, the Newton South Recreation Complex offers a variety of sports and educational classes on Sundays starting January 8through February 12. Sign up for Karate, Tennis, Fencing, Badminton, Bollywood and Bhangra Dance, Engineering with Lego or a Babysitters Training Course. Online registration is available at www.activityreg.com. For more information go online to www.newtonma.gov/parks or contact Channon Ames at cames@newtonma.gov or at 617-796-1529.

Suzuki Workshops in January at Brookline Music School
EVERY CHILD CAN!  Introduction to the Suzuki Method – Sunday, January 8, 9:30am – 4:30pm An introduction to Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy and its application to Suzuki education. For parents, teachers, prospective teachers and others, this new course provides an inspiring, in-depth look at the Suzuki approach to teaching and learning. This course is required for all new Suzuki teachers, but open to prospective teachers, parents, administrators and all others interested in learning about Suzuki approach to education. It is not instrument-specific. There are no instrument proficiency requirements. No audition is required.
8TH ANNUAL SUZUKI FLUTE WORKSHOP - Sunday, January 15 & Monday, January 16, 9am – 5pm This two-day workshop features a master class, group class and ensemble or reading class each day, and ends with an informal concert. Non-Suzuki flute students are welcome to join in the fun but should be familiar with some of the repertoire from the Suzuki Method.
2012 SUZUKI FLUTE TEACHER TRAINING – Thursday, January 12 – Monday, January 16, 9am – 5pm  Flute Book 2 (Kimberly Lorimier); Flute Book 4 (Laurel Ann Maurer). Over the course of five days, trainees will receive 15 hours of classroom time and eight hours of observation time, in conjunction with the 8th Annual Suzuki Flute Workshop.
For more information, emailAmy Poliakoff at amyflute@comcast.net, or visithttp://bmsmusic.org.sitepreview.mysuperpageshosting.com/HTM%20Pages/Suzuki_Program.htm.Contact Brookline Music School at www.bmsmusic.orgor call 617-277-4593.

Registration is now open for the winter session of Time for Partners. A popular art and music class for children 18 months to 4 years accompanied by an adult. A great opportunity to meet new friends while building self-confidence and sharing successes. Classes begin January 23. Classes are held from 9:30 – 11:15 at the Newton Cultural Center, 225 Nevada Street. Pick one day, Monday through Friday. Visit www.newtonculturalcenter.org and click on ‘Childrens Classes’ for more information or to register. Or call 617-527-8283.

The School of Rock Bostonhas 109 openings for our fabulous 2012 Rock & Roll Boot Camps, but we sell out by May of every year! This year we are looking for guitarists, bassists, singers, drummers, and keyboardists for our one-week day camps in Feb, April, and June/July/August, which include songwriting, recording seminars, and a final concert at a real live rock venue. Ages 7-17 accepted. Camps run 9 am to 3 pm at our 120 Elm Street location in Watertown and are staffed by instructors from the Berklee College of Music. Please email Boston@schoolofrock.com or call 617-923-3434 to receive your information packet. Register by 4/1 and save $100!

Bridging the Generations: An Intergenerational Music Class at Goddard House in Brookline, Assisted Living, January 11 – February 8 Brookline Music School offers an intergenerational class for children ages 3-5 years, with younger siblings welcome and seniors. The class will take place over five Wednesdays at 3:30pm for 45 minutes. The class combines all the elements of a regular music class, set in a senior living facility, where the residents participate by singing, playing instruments, or simply watching. The class allows for and encourages interaction between the children and the seniors. With rhythm instruments, songs, play materials and movement, we create a rich musical experience for everyone. Class fees are $100 for one session: five classes. More sessions may be added in March and May. To register call Brookline Music School at 617-277-4593 or for more informationemail Ruth Schechter at rschechter@bmsmusic.org.

Newton West Little League Spring 2012 Registration is Open! NWLL runs baseball programs for children (boys and girls) in the Williams, Burr and Franklin school districts for ages 4 through age 12. Divisions of play are based on age, grade and ability. The season runs from early April through the end of June. Please visit our website for more information at www.newtonwestll.org.Registration is now open and can be accessed from the main web page. Financial assistance is available if needed. Please register as soon as possible. Registration must be completed by February 24 to guarantee a place in the league. If you need more information please send an email to info@newtonwestll.org.

CLASSIFIEDS

Lice Aunties is Newton’s own mobile lice removal company, now using the LouseBuster treatment, non-toxic, one time, guaranteed. Call 617 901-0620or visitwww.liceaunties.com

Elementary and Middle School Tutor Experienced teacher and tutor, tutoring Newton elementary and middle school students for over ten years. Subjects include writing, reading, and math, study skills. Contact Richard Hanelin at 617-969-3492 or at dhanelin@comcast.net.

ActiveMinds Tutoring, LLC Your source for in-home tutoring. Effective, Personalized and Convenient. All grades/all subjects, including test preparation (MCAS, SSAT, ISEE, SAT…).  Sign your child up today for academic success! Call 617-663-5700 during business hours, or 617-227-2225 Eve/Wknds. Please visit our website at www.activemindstutoring.com.

Flute Lessons Nurturing, goal oriented FLUTE TEACHER welcomes new students of all ages and levels. Professional Flute Studio in Newton. First lesson is complimentary. Call Barbara Nakazawa 617-527-4413 or email Barbara@newtonfluteteacher.com.

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Hurwit & Associates is seeking a part-time operations assistant/receptionistThe ideal candidate for this position will possess a friendly and positive attitude with excellent writing and communication skills. The ability to multi-task, attention to detail, and organizational skills are also important. Ideally, candidates should demonstrate computer proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Email, Internet use, and familiarity with QuickBooks. In addition to operational and administrative support, responsibilities may also include client communications and assisting with legal filings, database management, marketing and email campaigns, and some bookkeeping matters. Hurwit & Associates is a law firm specializing in legal counsel for philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, and is based in Newton. Please visit our website www.hurwitassociates.com , for more information about our firm, our clients, and our work. Please contact Dan Hershey, dhershey@hurwitassociates.com, for more information or to submit your resume and cover letter.

Franklin Office 617-559-9500
The next issue of the Connection will be published on January 27th. To submit something, submit it to newsletter@franklinpto.org by NOON on January 23rd.
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