Education news

If you are a single parent looking to connect with other single-parent families, the North Suburban Family Network (NSFN) will host a playgroup on Wednesday, Feb. 21 and Wednesday, March 21 from 5:30-7 p.m. at NSFN offices, 16 Franklin St., Melrose. Families should bring a bag dinner. Call NSFN at 781-662-2722 to register for a playgroups.

Those interested in the single-parent family playgroup should call NSFN at 781-662-2722, as the group exploring different ways to make connections.

The NSFN is a community-based family education and support program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, through the Melrose Public Schools and is a program of Hallmark Health.

Melrose High School will be holding a Parent/Teacher Conference Night on Thursday, Feb. 8 from 7-9 p.m.

Call Mrs. Carpenter at 781-979-2200 to schedule appointments with your child’s teachers.

Although individual Girl Scout Cookie sales have ended, there is still a chance to get some of the treats. Cookies will be sold at Foodmaster, 880 Main St., Melrose, on the following dates through the end of February: Thursday, Feb. 8, 4-7 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 9, 4-7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 10, 11 a.m to 2 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 11, 1-4 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 17, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 18, noon to 3 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 24, 1-4 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 25, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, send an email to barbara@melrosegirlscouts.com or visit www.melrosegirlscouts.com.

Melrose residents Jen Bonta, Samantha Cunha, Olivia Miller, Jenny Samuelson, Anika Seidman-Gati and Amanda Sirois are performing in Stoneham Theatre’s the young company production of “Once Upon a Mattress,” Feb. 9 –11, at Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main St., Stoneham.

In the theatre company’s production of “What the Wolf Saw,” also Feb. 9 –11 at the Stoneham Theatre, Melrosians Maya Hamberg, Jessica Jones and Anna Tramontozzi will perform.

For tickets and information, call the Stoneham Theatre Box Office at 781-279-2200 or purchase tickets online at stonehamtheatre.org.

Memorial Hall will be turned into a disco inferno for the “Saturday Night Fever” adults-only dance on Saturday, Feb. 10 from 7:30-11:30 p.m. to benefit the Lincoln School PTO.

Attendees can dance to favorite 70s/80s music provided by Party Time Events DJ & MC, complete with strobe lights, a lit dance floor and more. Tickets are $30 each, which includes a buffet dinner and lots of disco dancing. There will also be a cash bar and raffle prizes, including a 50/50 raffle.

All proceeds will benefit the Lincoln School PTO. Tickets may be purchased at the following locations: Mayor’s Office, City Hall, 562 Main St., Exquisite Hair Salon, 3 East Foster St., Melrose; Jeff Carbone Insurance, 429 Main St., Melrose; or by calling 781-620-1359 or 781-665-2781.

The 12th annual Environmental Camp Adult Dinner Dance fund-raiser takes place Saturday, Feb. 10 at Moose Hall in Malden at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $25 per person, and include dinner, a DJ, raffles, a cash bar and more. This fundraiser benefits the fifth-grade Hoover School students who will attend Environmental Camp in the spring.

To purchase tickets, or for more information, call Dawn Surette at 781-665-3357.

The Roosevelt School PTO will host a wine and beer tasting evening and silent auction on Friday, March 16 from 7-10 p.m. at Memorial Hall, 590 Main St., Melrose.

The cost is $25 per person; must be over 21 to attend. The wine and beer tasting is sponsored by Greenwood Wine and Spirits, Wakefield; light food will be provided by A Hot Dish Specialty Catering and Gourmet Café, Haverhill. Desserts and coffee will also be available.

To donate an auction item or for reservations, call Lucia Krinsky at 781-665-5217.

The theme of the eighth annual online student essay contest, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, is “Making Democracy Work: Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities.” The contest is open to all Massachusetts students in grades 4-12. Contest deadline is March 16.

Winners will receive U.S. Savings Bonds and read their essays at Faneuil Hall in Boston at the awards event.

For information, call 617-523-2999, 800-882-1649 or visit lwvma.org.

Teams are forming now for the fourth annual Melrose Trivia Bee sponsored by The Bridge: A School/Community Partnership, to be held on Saturday, March 24 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall, 590 Main St., Melrose.

This is the time when participants get to show off their useful and useless knowledge as teams of three compete to be named Trivia Champs of Melrose. Teams may represent any constituency: a neighborhood, a family, businesses of all types, clubs, non-profit organizations and/or city government.

There is a $200 entry fee per team, and all the money raised will benefit The Bridge in its many activities to assist teachers, students and administrators of the Melrose Public Schools. In past years, under the leadership of Bridge Coordinator Emily Rubenstein, volunteers from the community have tutored high school students, helped in computer labs, worked to assemble and “publish” student books, and assisted in myriad tasks that might otherwise have taken valuable staff or teacher time.

To register a team, or for more information, call Emily Rubenstein at 781-979-2299.

 Each year, the Melrose Emblem Club #89 conducts an “Americanism” essay contest. This year’s contest is open to students in the 5th and 6th grades who are asked to write an essay about the topic: “Women in History: Who is Your Favorite Woman in History and Why?”

Essay should be 150-200 words, and be printed or typed on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper. Essays must be clearly marked with the student’s name, address, telephone number, school, grade and teacher’s name. Essays must be received by Friday, March 30.

Students should send their completed essays to: Marie Ryan, Americanism chairwoman for Melrose Emblem Club #89102 Crescent Ave., Melrose MA 02176, and may also email the essays to Ryan at marieryan3@comcast.net.

Blackwell Publishing, a leading publisher for academic and professional societies, is offering writing scholarship awards for Massachusetts-area high school graduates. Four scholarships in the amount of $500 each will be granted to applicants who submit original writing samples related to one of Blackwell’s four divisional areas: medical, professional, academic and scientific.

Acceptable writing samples include existing academic work such as an essay addressing the reasons for entering a particular field of study or a composition exploring community involvement. Fiction and poetic works will also receive consideration when accompanied by a short explanation citing how the pieces are relevant to a career goal.

The essays should not exceed 500 words and the deadline is Sunday, April 1. Applications require a cover page with contact information, current high school name and college(s) to which the student has applied or been accepted.

Applications should be sent to: Blackwell Publishing, c/o Charitable Contributions Committee, 350 Main St., Malden, MA 02148.

For more information about Blackwell Publishing, visit blackwellpublishing.com.

The Bridge: A School/Community Partnership is looking for volunteers to work with students at Melrose schools.

For those who like math, volunteer tutors are needed to provide both remediation and enrichment to small groups of elementary students. Volunteers can work before school from 7:30-8:15 a.m.; during school for any 45-minute period between 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; or after school from 2:30-3:15 p.m.

At the middle school, a volunteer is needed to provide enrichment to a small group of middle school students any day of the week from 11:10 a.m. to noon. And high school volunteers are needed to tutor small groups of high school students in geometry and algebra after school from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Adults with knowledge of test-taking and writing skills are needed to tutor a high school student who has difficulty organizing when completing in-class assignments and tests.

Those who enjoy working with younger children and completing office tasks are needed to help in the office of the Early Childhood Center at the Ripley School, 94 Lebanon St., Melrose. Additionally, classroom volunteers are needed in one of Melrose’s elementary schools.

A Melrose High School Class of 1976 scholarship is being formed in memory of deceased classmates. The money will be awarded to an academically deserving Melrose High School graduating senior. Those interested in making a scholarship donation should make checks payable to “MHS Class of 1976,” and send payment to: Eileen Lloyd Lyle, 5 Angela Circle, Melrose, 02176.

Are you looking for a safe, friendly place to meet other parents and give your child an opportunity to play with children of similar ages? If you are the parent of a child age 3 or under who lives or works in Melrose, Stoneham or Wakefield, we invite you to take advantage of the valuable resources offered through the North Suburban Family Network (NSFN).

The NSFN, a program of Hallmark Health, is a community-based family education and support program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, through the Melrose Public Schools. The NSFN brings together families and the communities of Melrose, Stoneham and Wakefield by helping to meet the needs of parents and caregivers of young children birth through age 3 through a variety of free parent/child playgroups, parent support groups and educational workshops.

Family-fun events and drop-in play are two of our most popular programs. We offer drop-in play Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. (call for Saturday hours.)

Families outside the three communities are welcome to attend any drop-in programs and registered programs if space is available. The NSFN is located at 16 Franklin St., Melrose, and office hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday.

For more information, call NSFN at 781-662-2722 or visit www.hallmarkhealth.org and click on North Suburban Family Network under Departments and Services.

“In Honor Of” gift cards are available through The Excellence in Education program. For any monetary donation, an engraved note card will be sent to a specified teacher or administrator, announcing that a gift has been made to the Excellence in Education program in their honor.

All funds received through the program are used to directly honor and recognize the accomplishments of Melrose educators. An annual breakfast for all school system employees, a mini-grant program, and the annual Awards Ceremony, are three important events funded through the generosity of the Melrose public and business community.

To make a donation to the “In Honor Of” program, forms are available at the Melrose Chamber of Commerce, 1 West Foster St., City Hall, the YMCA, the Melrose Public Library and through the schools.

For questions or to make a donation, contact the Melrose Chamber of Commerce at 781-665-3033.

The Common Ground Teen Center, held in the lower level of the Hope Alliance Church, located at the corner of Green St. and the Lynn Fells Parkway, is open on Fridays 7-9:30 p.m. Activities include a pool table, foosball table, air hockey, ping pong, poker, video games, TV and computers, along with some sort of organized tournament with a chance of winning prizes each day. All Melrose residents in grades 6-12 are welcome to attend. Admission is $1.

The Melrose Mothers Group meets Wednesdays from 9-11 a.m. at the First Congregational Church, 121 West Foster St. While the mothers socialize in one room, their children enjoy supervised play, crafts, and a snack in the nursery or the preschool room. The group is open to all families with preschool children and currently has several openings. Monthly fee is $30 for one child, $35 for more than one.

Free, anonymous support groups are available for frustrated, overwhelmed or anxious about being a guardian through Parents Helping Parents.

For information, call Dawn Folopoulos, regional coordinator, at 978-372-5102, or visit parentshelpingparents.org.

Melrose residents who have friends or family members serving overseas may contact the Boys and Girls Club of Stoneham and participate in the kid-run Club Care program. Club members meet once a week to write letters, draw pictures, and assemble care packages to send to local servicemen and women.

For information, call Julie Kramer, at 781-438-6770, ext. 206 or e-mail jkramer@bgcstoneham.org.