Dedham Country Day—educating children Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8

October 15, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

SPONSORED POST: Dedham Country Day believes that balance matters—in learning and life. They combine academic challenge with support and pedagogical tradition with innovation. Strong scholastics together with outstanding arts, athletics and service learning creates a program that is balanced and whole. At DCD, a premium is placed on both academic and emotional intelligence.

Dedham Country Day School — DCD is made up of a vibrant and diverse community from 32 different towns.

Children learn who they are as diverse individuals and how to be part of something bigger. Acceptance is a given, and children find encouragement in every connection they make. It’s a community that nurtures, nudges, and gives. That’s how DCD grows “whole” children—and, ultimately, adults who will thrive with the intellectual and emotional capacity to contribute to their world and enjoy meaningful lives.

While DCD’s campus and classrooms may look a bit different this year, reconfigured to maintain the health and safety of its community, DCD’s ability to deliver an education that is challenging, inclusive, and engaging, reflective of its mission, remains unchanged. From Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8, DCD students tackle hands-on projects, collaborate, take risks, solve problems and, most of all, engage deeply in their experience.

Explore DCD through a series of virtual admissions events and personal connections with the school’s admissions staff this fall. The first Learning Spotlight for Pre-K and Kindergarten is on October 20. Visit www.dedhamcountryday.org for details and
registration.

Dedham Country Day School

www.DedhamCountryDay.org
781-329-0850

Happy birthday to Wellesley’s own Katharine Lee Bates

August 12, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Happy birthday to 1874 Wellesley High School graduate and Bates Elementary School namesake Katharine Lee Bates, widely known as the author of the patriotic song America the Beautiful. In honor of the prolific writer who taught at Dana Hall School before landing a job as a professor of English literature at Wellesley College, I took a spin on the Shining Sea Bikeway. The 11-mile paved and level bike path stretches from Bates’ birthplace of Falmouth, to Woods Hole.

Katharine Lee Bates, Shining Sea Bikeway — The Shining Sea Bikeway is an easy-going way to get in a 22-mile round-trip bike ride on a summer’s day. The path is well-kept with plenty of places to pull off and take a break. Mile markers help you keep track of your progress.

I started out at the Depot Road trailhead in Falmouth, about a 90-minute drive from Wellesley Square. There’s a free parking area there for about 80 cars, and you can’t miss the trailhead right across the street from the lot. Signs warned that the path was crowded and masks should be warned. During my mid-week trip, the path generally looked about as crowded as the above picture. As I got closer to busy Woods Hole, I saw more cyclists.

Once at Woods Hole, I was pleasantly surprised to see that even in this time of pandemic, the bathrooms in the Steamship Authority ticket building were open (and sparkling clean), and the fountains were functional and supplying ice-cold water. One of my favorite part of Woods Hole is the drawbridge, of course. Here’s a video:

View this post on Instagram

Beyond Wellesley in Woods Hole, caught the #drawbridge opening

A post shared by Swellesley Report (Wellesley) (@theswellesleyreport) on Aug 12, 2020 at 3:55pm PDT

Last stop: Landfall restaurant, where a table overlooking Woods Hole Harbor awaited. After a half-dozen beautiful raw oysters and a Caprese Ciabatta sandwich, I was ready for the 11-mile trip back to Falmouth.

Woods Hole, Landfall restaurant — These beauties hit the spot. The iconic Landfall restaurant has 22 tables inside and 13 outside, and accepts walk-ins or reservations. My table benefited from the water view and a lovely breeze. All the staff wore masks, and the customers did so when they moved about the restaurant.

Lunch over, I hit the Shining Sea Bikeway once more and pedaled under the Cape’s spacious skies, meditating on Bates’ line, “America, America, God shed his grace on thee…”

The trail must be on an incline on the way back, because getting back to Falmouth seemed to take longer than powering through to Woods Hole. It couldn’t have been me. I wasn’t tired or saddlesore, no way. Those weren’t tears of joy when I saw my car. Just a little trail dust in my eye, that’s all. Bring on the next adventure.

Happy birthday, Katharine Lee Bates.

Beyond Wellesley: Andres Institute of Art in Brookline, New Hampshire

July 30, 2020 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

In a small New Hampshire town on the Massachusetts border, art-lovers flock to a long-abandoned ski area. There, they wander the woods to view sculptures made of stone, steel, wood, and other materials in the same setting where, decades ago, thrill-seekers sped straight down black diamond trails.

At the Andres Institute of Art in Brookline, NH, artists from all over the world have contributed pieces to what is New England’s largest outdoor sculpture and hiking park. And new art is created and installed on the 140-acre hill every year at this hidden gem, which is free, fun, and open to the public year-round, dawn to dusk.

Over 100 thought-provoking, original works of art are nestled along walking trails all over the mountain, just waiting for visitors to view and enjoy the experience of a personal connection with nature combined with a chance to see large-scale art created on-site.

The park is the brainchild of engineer and innovator Paul Andres, who in 1996 purchased Big Bear Mountain and moved into the house at its peak. There, he was able to combine his lifelong love of nature and passion for art to devote a portion of the property to a sculpture park. Once Andres joined forces with sculptor and long-time Brookline resident John M. Weidman, there was no stopping the pair, and the Andres Institute of Art was born. What started as a few works in the front yard of Andres’ house has turned into a full-blown outdoor museum, with art placed among the many trails that criss-cross the mountain.

Start your visit by picking up one of the maps available in the parking area. An Andres Institute trails map is a curious thing — all at once necessary, inscrutable, and practically useless. Maybe the map is itself a work of art, and I’m too obtuse to understand it. I don’t know. Sometimes it map helped. But sometimes I consulted mine, looked up and around, and wondered if I had perhaps strayed to the edge of a flat world, one where beyond there were beasties waiting to devour me. Still, you need one of those maps if you’re to have a chance of really enjoying the place. Think of it as just one tool. Having your hiking wits about you is another. Basically, you can’t get all that lost on a 613-foot-high, 140-acre mountain, right? Also, there are signs here and there, so that’s one more tool in your kit.

Relax, you’re here to hike and enjoy art. If you bring children, fantastic. They can run and shout and actually touch the art. Even normally reluctant, complaining young hikers will be kept so busy looking for the next sculpture that before they know it, they’ll be at the top of the mountain and it will be time for a snack or lunch. If you bring a dog, also great. Just keep that member of the family on a leash, and it’s all good.

During my visit, I walked the Summit Loop with the goal of enjoying my bagged lunch with a view of the Monadnock Mountains range. Pro tip: when you get to the cell phone towers, you’re at the top, it just might not be 100% obvious. Here’s where your hiking wits come in. Where are cell towers placed? At the tippy top of wherever it is they are — church spires, sky scrapers, mountains, right? OK, you’ve got this. Walk a little further, poke around a bit, and before you know it, the Monadnock range will be arrayed before you, over a dozen peaks, great and small. To the left, there’s Barrett Mountain. Straight on, there’s Mt. Monadnock. Over to the right, Pack Monadnock. What you’ve got in front of you is a whole list of future adventures.

Old Man in the Mountains, NH. I miss the old lug. Photo credit: Library of Congress.

All that and art, too. You made it. Plop yourself down on the old bowling alley seating and enjoy the amazing view that include, of course, a perfectly placed, massive stone sculpture.

How the art gets there

Once a year, several artists from all over the world travel to the Institute to immerse themselves in its rural character and create their art as part of the Bridges and Connections International Sculpture symposium. The artists travel to the Andres Institute for a 3-week stint to craft what are often multi-ton works. The program is part short-term residency, part cultural exchange. Artists stay with locals who sponsor their stay, and work with volunteers who groom and prepare sculpture sites, and operate the heavy equipment needed to properly place the works.

According to the Andres website, “The artists are paid a small stipend for their attendance, but the real reward is that they are allowed to create whatever sculpture they like and to place it wherever they want on the mountain. The Institute provides tools and materials to help each artist realize his or her vision.”

The result is beautiful art hidden in plain sight among the natural backdrop of a New Hampshire forest.

The best part about the Andres Sculpture Park is that it’s unique and charming, with an original sculpture at every bend. The mountain itself, immovable and unchanging, serves as host to a this constantly growing work-in-progress that attracts an increasing number of artist applicants who vie for the four coveted spots per year.

We arrived for our visit to the Institute late-morning on a Saturday and enjoyed an easy, breezy socially distanced experience. The mountain was peopled but not crowded, and visitors were quick to don their masks upon approaching others. We’re told that a nice side trip is to stop off at the New Kun Garden Chinese Restaurant down the street for their Thai ice cream roll, followed by a dip at Potanipo Pond. We opted to hit one of the many farm stands in the area for organic produce and homemade baked goods.

Details:

Andres Institute of Art
98 Rte. 13
Brookline, NH 03033
603-673-8441

Open year-round, dawn to dusk.

Parking is plentiful.

There is a port-a-potty in the parking lot, but it was off limits when we was there due to COVID.

There is no water available, so be sure to bring your own.

This is a carry in/carry out park.

Downloadable maps are available online.

Beyond Wellesley: sneak peek at Riverbend School’s newest buildings in S. Natick

July 9, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Riverbend School the construction zone has made its final leap to becoming Riverbend School, the campus. Located at 33 Eliot St., the K – 8, 200-student Montessori-method institution has finished the Upper School building and the gymnasium, the last of three major building projects that kicked off in 2014. Let’s just say it’s been a busy six years at Riverbend, which has had a presence in South Natick since 1986.

Designed by Piatt Associates Architecture, the Upper School contains three purpose-built lower elementary classrooms, as well as dedicated design and art studios. A stand-alone, full-size gymnasium provides plenty of space for indoor recreation, and will also generate revenue through rentals of the space. Both new buildings are located on the field adjacent to the Middle School, which is part of the historic Peletiah Morse Tavern, on Rte. 16.

“All of the buildings for the campus were intended, as designed, to be respectful of the character of the John Eliot Historic District and I hope the new buildings will be seen that way as well,” says architect Jim Piatt.

The two previous building projects, both also designed by Piatt, were Children’s House, completed in 2014; and the Middle School, attached to the tavern, completed in 2017.

Head of School Whitney Slade took time out of his day to give me a tour of the campus, which he said is “geared toward our kids, Montessori kids, the way they’re taught and the way they learn. In the Montessori method, big open spaces are needed.” Here are a few pics of how that was achieved:

Riverbend School, Natick — Children’s House, completed in 2014, is what drivers-by would likely identify as the main building of Riverbend. The 13,000 square-foot building houses the approximately 100 students in the toddler-kindergarten program, as well as administration offices.

Riverbend School — Interior of the gym, which is air conditioned, as are all of the Riverbend buildings. “We’ll be renting out the gym to Natick Rec, Dover-Sherborn basketball, and others, so the gym is also a revenue opportunity for us,” Slade said.

All told, the school has put over $5 million into creating its new campus. The Natick-owned brick building the school worked out of for decades is now vacant. But with grades 4-6 located in Memorial Hall, Riverbend hasn’t completely crossed Eliot Street.

Slade is now focused on what September will look like for Riverbend. “We’re developing protocols to keep everyone separate,” he said. “We’re working with the Natick Board of Health with the goal of providing a safe learning environment for our students, their families, and our staff. We’ll miss out on field trips this year, unfortunately. Maybe we’ll go over to Elm Bank, since we can walk there.”

“And there’s always Forest Friday,” Slade said, pointing to the wooded conservation land the school abuts. “That’s very big here.”

Other sneak peeks:

Sneak peek: we get a look at the Babson College globe

Sneak peek: the renovated Hood Museum at Dartmouth College

Sneak peek: an early look behind Door No. 7 in Wellesley

Wellesley-raised artist creates George Floyd mural in Jamaica Plain

June 17, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Alexander Golob’s community art is well-know to Wellesley residents. With his 600-ft. long mural “Coloring Book”, the Wellesley High School graduate took what was once a blank wall between Bank of America and California Pizza Kitchen and turned it into a colorful Cubists-inspired painting.

George Floyd mural by Wellesley artist — Mural in Jamaica Plain honors George Floyd’s memory. Photo credit: Golob Art.

Yesterday Golob completed his most recent work, an acrylic painting at 401 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain. The painting’s purpose is to honor the memory of George Floyd and, Golob says, “the countless others who have suffered and died from systemic and continued racism and police brutality in our country.”

Floyd died on May 25 after being pinned to the ground by a police officer who kneeled on his neck for over 8 minutes.

The Boston University College of Fine Arts graduate says the the Jamaica Plain community was kind and generous throughout the project, with words of encouragement, support, and offers of food and water. He is donating all proceeds from the work to Boston Art & Music Soul (BAMS) Fest, a local Black-led arts organization that breaks down racial and social barriers to the arts, music, and culture across Greater Boston. You can donate to BAMS here.

The artistic process wasn’t a complete love-fest between artist and passers-by, however. Golob says that while painting, a racist and homophobic person yelled at him and threatened his life. On his Instagram account he said, “Although I was scared (I’m still rattled), I kept going — maybe even in spite of him. I was deeply moved by the others with me during the first incident who helped shut down the vile tirade from this man and encouraged me to keep painting. He is small and filled with hate. I hope he finds help. In spite of hatred, together, we shall persevere.”

Look for Golob and a group of recent WHS grads later this summer to take up paintbrushes and beautify a brick wall in Linden Square, in the parking lot of the Linden Store. It will be the third artwork that Golob, in partnership with Federal Realty (owner/operator of Linden Square), will have placed in the popular shopping area.

Beyond Wellesley: police report “active incident” in Natick Mall area

June 1, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

According to the Natick Police department on their Facebook page, “there is an active incident in the area of the Natick Mall.”

In the Monday, June 1, 10pm post, the police asked the public to use caution when traveling in the area, or avoid the area if possible.

Massachusetts State Police also are on the scene, and you could hear Wellesley and other police departments chiming in on a very active police scanner on Monday night.

Management at Nouvelle condos, which is attached to the Natick Mall, has advised residents to stay inside their units.

As heard via police scanner, officers have been monitoring activity at several “staging areas” in Natick including Ben & Jerry’s on route 9, and the Cloverleaf Mall. A large number of vehicles was also reported to be heading down Speen St.

Beyond Wellesley: a visit to Boston’s Arnold Arboretum

May 29, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

I’ve missed out on all my favorite garden-related visits this spring — the Beacon Hill Garden Tour, the Art in Bloom exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Kelleher Rose Garden in Back Bay’s Fens area, all canceled or closed due to COVID-19 concerns. But there are still flowers and spring beauty to be seen out there in the world, this much I know. But how to do so without rubbing elbows during these socially distant times?

I’ve put a few common-sense practices into action to help me get out and about while staying socially distant. The tricks are to get moving early, stay off the beaten path, and and find the wide-open spaces. In my search for serenity in an outdoors setting I’ve found destinations that are far less crowded than the obvious popular hot spots. Let others embrace spoiled walks in Wellesley as they glare at those without masks and draw back in horror at the approach of others, later posting bitter complaints on social media. To them, I cede the Brook Path.

If you’re looking for a more tranquil experience, try out Arnold Arboretum in Boston, 10 miles from Wellesley Square. A recent Saturday morning visit left me refreshed and vowing to return to the 281-acre National Historic Landmark, owned by Harvard University. Parking can be found at various small lots around the perimeter of the property. I arrived at 9am and found a spot in the lot at the corner of Walter and Bussey Streets. When I came back to my car a little before noon, there were still spaces available. The Arboretum suggests that the savvy work around the peak hours of visitation of 4pm – 7pm on weekdays and 2pm – 7pm on weekends. The Arboretum is open dawn to dusk.