Name: Wellesley Theatre Project presents Peter Pan
Start: 2017-07-28T23:00:00+00:00
End: 2017-07-29T01:00:00+00:00
Location: Wellesley High School

Outdoor screening of Ponyo at Wellesley College’s Davis Museum, July 27

July 24, 2017 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

One of the great pleasures of summer in Wellesley is the Wellesley College Davis Museum‘s family-friendly Outdoor Summer Film series. Picture you and your family, outside on the Davis Plaza on a warm summer evening in a relaxed atmosphere where nobody raises and eyebrow if the little ones get antsy. Sounds like summer heaven to me. Included in the festivities will be art activities, tours of the galleries, and extended museum hours. There’s free popcorn for the kids, and free beer for parents, so there’s just no way you can go wrong here.

Museum open until 7 p.m.
Art activities from 7-8 p.m.
Screenings start at 8 p.m.

Thursday, July 27, Ponyo — During a forbidden excursion to see the surface world, a goldfish princess encounters a human boy named Sosuke, who gives her the name Ponyo. Ponyo longs to become human, and as her friendship with Sosuke grows, she becomes more humanlike.

Op-Ed: Ba Ba Black Sheep

July 12, 2017 by admin 4 Comments

“Ba Ba Black Sheep”

Special to Swellesley from Susan Connolly, Mother of 2 & an ex-Wellesley High School Spanish teacher, 1999-2009

I’ve never really been one to follow the crowd, nor have I ever cared about keeping up with the Joneses. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, the Joneses can bite me.

However, it is becoming increasingly more apparent that as a parent, I am one of the few black sheep in a field of mostly white ones. Perhaps I’m the product of some recessive gene like most other black sheep. Perhaps I’m just a little bit crazy. Parenthood can do that to you. In any case, I’m cool with that.

My children have now come to understand the harsh reality that they will not be keeping up with the Joneses, in spite of their best efforts. Sorry, little lambs, but this Ewe is running the show, not YOU.

In this CULTure of over-indulged, over-enrolled, over-stimulated and pathetically desensitized children, so help me GOD, I will fight like hell to adhere to the following house rules.

1. There are and never will be toy or real guns, slingshots, swords or weapons of any kind allowed in our home. There is enough violence in this crazy world, and I will be damned if it will be mimicked within the confines of these four walls.

2. If you want to have a your own cell phone, iPod touch, Kindle, iPad or any other electronic device, you must be old enough to have a part-time job and pay for it yourself. Working towards a goal is good for your soul. Technology can be wonderful, but children don’t NEED their own devices, nor should they be handed expensive gifts on a sliver platter. READ A BOOK (the kind made from trees)! PLAY OUTSIDE!

3. With the exception of swimming lessons (which are non-negotiable for your safety), you may choose no more than ONE activity per season in which to participate. Pick something you enjoy and have fun. You don’t have to be the state champion, the team captain, the prima ballerina or the president of anything. Enjoy!

4. At school, be kind and respectful. Do your work, give your best effort, and above all, LEARN SOMETHING! It’s not about the grade.

END RANT

Outdoor Little Mermaid screening, Wellesley College’s Davis Museum, June 29

June 26, 2017 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Museum open until 7 p.m.
Art activities from 7-8 p.m.
Screenings start at 8 p.m.

Thursday, June 29, The Little Mermaid — Rebellious 16-year-old mermaid Ariel is fascinated with life on land. On one of her visits to the surface she falls in love with a human prince. Determined to be with her new love, Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula to become human for three days.

Wellesley Education Foundation presents “The Big Disconnect”

March 12, 2017 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair will help parents understand the ways in which technology and media are putting children at risk at each stage of development, from infancy through young adulthood, and challenging what it means to be a family.

Through a grant funded by the Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF), attendees will learn the skills to distinguish between educational, healthy and unhealthy use, and practical strategies for nourishing deep attention, creativity, empathy and meaningful relationships. There will be a book signing of “The Big Disconnect” by Dr. Steiner-Adair after the event.

Please register here for the event.

Wellesley College ravens are back for a fourth consecutive year

March 10, 2017 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

The ravens are back at the Wellesley College Science Center for the fourth consecutive year, and Mama Pauline is incubating four eggs. Papa Henry is still right by her side as the pair readies themselves for the work of raising their clutch up from hungry chicks to fledglings.

You can see all the doings right here on the live ravencam.

“Ours is the first opportunity to closely observe this most creative of birds in close contact with people,” noted Professor of Biological Sciences Nicholas Rodenhouse when the birds established themselves at Wellesley in 2014. A 24/7 video recording of the nest made over the course of the spring nesting has provided a unique cache of data for researchers.

It’s not easy to conjure ideas of spring and rebirth and awakening while outside the snow swirls and arctic blasts blow straight through the most winter-hardy soul, but Pauline’s feathers aren’t a bit ruffled by the weather. She and Henry are flexible that way. Ravens typically settle down in areas more rural than Wellesley, but finding the “right” neighborhood doesn’t seem to matter much to those two free spirits. Wellesley suits them just fine year after year, despite the warnings of their in-laws and the sniffs of their friends.

The truth is, they are real estate pioneers who have alit on a bargain. According to Rodenhouse, Pauline and Henry probably chose the campus for its cliff-like buildings in a productive landscape. The Science Center, surrounded by shrubs and trees, sits along an open, sometimes damp, meadow. Their nest is high up in a partially glass-enclosed fire escape on the sunny side of the building from where they can see Galen Stone Tower, Houghton Chapel, more trees and open spaces, and Lake Waban.

Sounds perfect. Wonder if they list it on airbnb when they’re not in residence.