Save the date of Saturday, June 1, 2013 as the town of Weston hosts its spectacular Weston 300 Field Day and Grand Concert Celebration. The festivities begin with Field Day from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. taking place at the Weston High School. “Entertainment will include face painting, dunk tanks, clowns, a petting zoo, and a variety of fun, kid-friendly games as well as delicious local foods. Performances by Weston dance groups and other local organizations will occur throughout the day. There will be a “Weston 300 Olympics”, featuring sporting competitions on the turf field, and a 5K-road race. Robotics, science demonstrations and a film festival will be featured in the Weston High School.” All this and so much more….

Then from 6:00 – 9:30 p.m., there will be a grand celebration concert “Pops style” at the Weston High School football stadium. “On an over-sized stage with spectacular lighting, a 300-person chorus and combined orchestras will perform American favorites, gospel, jazz and contemporary classics. Thunderous singing by a town-wide choral group will culminate with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, followed by a rousing round of cannon fire and a spectacular fireworks display.”

In order to defray the cost of the festivities, Weston 300 is asking for modest donations* from participating residents. Wrist bands will be sold in advance at the Weston Recreation Center and on site at Weston High School on June 1. The prices range from $50 for a Reserved Pops-style Table of Five for the concert and $30 for an all day family donation for both events to $5 for bleacher and lawn seating for the concert and several other options in between.

As you may recall, Weston was incorporated as a town in January 2013, and so this year marks its 300th anniversary. The town website sums it up perfectly, “Weston has had a remarkable history, spanning from its rural farmland beginnings to the thriving community it is today. The 300th anniversary is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate, reflect and showcase the varied aspects of this historic town. To that end, the Town of Weston plans to commemorate the accomplishments and development of the town over the past three centuries through a series of special events” that span throughout the 2013 year.

For more information on this or on the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

* Credit cards and checks are accepted. The donation is tax-deductible as allowable by law. Rain date: Sunday, June 2, 2013

The New Year of 2013 is going to be an exciting one for Weston, MA. Incorporated as a town on January 12, 1713, Weston will officially be turning 300 today (January 12, 2013). The town website sums it up perfectly, “Weston has had a remarkable history, spanning from its rural farmland beginnings to the thriving community it is today. The 300^th anniversary is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate, reflect and showcase the varied aspects of this historic town. To that end, the Town of Weston plans to commemorate the accomplishments and development of the town over the past three centuries through a series of special events” that span throughout the 2013 year.

The 300th celebration begins today as the Weston300 Committee is hosting the Weston Tercentennial Commemoration at the Weston High School at 4:30 p.m. with a reception following at the Town Hall at 6:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, January 26 and Sunday, January 27 also in celebration of the tercentennial year, the Weston300 Committee is hosting the Weston Winterfest on the Town Green. (Note that Winterfest, which was scheduled to kick off today, has been re-scheduled to commence on January 26 due to weather conditions.) This two-day event promises to be a winter wonderland filled with activities and fun for children and families to enjoy. Click here to see the Winterfest schedule.

Cheers to Weston on its 300th Birthday! We are lucky to live in such an incredible and historic town.

For more information on Weston’s 300th celebration, contact www.weston300.org or weston300@westonmass.org. And for more information on the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

It’s that time of the year again – back to school! And so I figured what a great time to share some pertinent information* about the schools in Weston, MA….

I. Weston Public Schools, 89 Wellesley Street, 781-786-5200. The Weston public schools consist of three elementary schools (Country, Woodland and Field) as well as the middle and high schools.

Elementary Schools – Weston enjoys two parallel Kindergarten through Grade 3 schools, Country and Woodland. Once a child enters one of the schools, his/her siblings will follow at that same school. Then for Grades 4 and 5, the children come together from Country and Woodland Schools and enter Field School. “Elementary class sizes average 20.4 in Grades K through 5.” Here is more specific information on the elementary schools:

• Country School, 2 Alphabet Lane, 781-786-5400
• Field School, 99 School Street, 781-529-8000 – Note that a newly-built Field School is in process and slated to be complete by September 2014. Click here for updates from the Field School Project Committee.
• Woodland School, 10 Alphabet Lane, 781-786-5300

Weston Middle School, 456 Wellesley Street, 781-786-5600 – The Middle School educates children in Grades 6 through 8, and it is “organized in a ‘house’ system, with students in each house sharing the same set of subject matter teachers. This arrangement allows for a more personal and supervised education appropriate for young adolescents…. Middle School class sizes average 22.4.”

Weston High School, 444 Wellesley, Street, 781-786-5800 – The High School consists of students in grades 9 through 12. There were 179 students in the 2012 graduating class.** Note that Weston High School was just ranked #1 in Boston Magazine’s Best Schools 2012 issue.

II. Weston Private Schools and Colleges

Cambridge School of Weston, 45 Georgian Road, 781-642-8600 – “The Cambridge School of Weston is a [co-educational] innovative, collaborative, day and boarding community fostering educational depth and richness for students in grades 9 through 12 since 1886.”

The Gifford School, 177 Boston Post Road, 781-899-9500 – The Gifford School “is a private, nonprofit, coeducational day school providing a specialized educational and clinical program for students who face a variety of learning, behavioral and/or emotional challenges. Gifford serves over 100 students ranging from eight year olds to high school seniors. Students come from over 60 cities and towns throughout Massachusetts.”

The Meadowbrook School, 10 Farm Road, 781-894-1193 – “The Meadowbrook School of Weston [is] a co-educational independent day school for students in grades Junior Kindergarten through 8.”

Regis College, 235 Wellesley Street, 781-768-7000 – “Founded in 1927 by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston (CSJ), Regis welcomes students of many faiths and provides everyone with opportunities for spiritual development and community service that are hallmarks of the CSJ tradition. Regis was a women’s college until [its] successful transition to coeducation beginning in 2007. Now [it] enroll[s] 1,600 men and women, both undergraduate and postgraduate.”

The Rivers School, 333 Winter Street, 781-235-9300 – “The Rivers School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for students in grades 6 through 12.”

Tremont School, 57 Brown Street, 781-235-4805 – “The Tremont School is a new, independent, co-educational day school in metrowest Boston for grades 5 through 12, specifically designed to offer a lively, project-based curriculum for a deliberately diverse group of students.”

III. Weston Preschools & Day Care Programs

Interestingly, Weston Patch featured a Reader’s Choice Poll in March 2012, “The Best Preschool or Day Care in Weston is…”, and according to the poll, “With 998 votes and six comments, Roxbury-Weston Programs, Inc., came in first place, with North Avenue Nursery School following with 837 votes and 14 comments. Beginnings School, Weston Wing, Red Barn Nursery School and The Mosaic School rounded out the top six.”

Beginning Child Development Center, 210 South Avenue, 781-891-1011 – Beginnings offers programs for infants and toddlers as well as for preschool, Junior Kindergarten, SPARK Kindergarten and an Afterschool Program for children in Kindergarten through Grade 3.

Countryside Playschool, 130 Newton Street, 781-899-5417 – Countryside Playschool is a preschool which “accepts 2 to 3 year olds.”

The Learning Zone, 101 River Road, 781-642-6787 – The Learning Zone offers programs to infants and toddlers as well as part time and full-time preschool and full and part day Kindergarten. The children range in age from one month to 6 years.

The Mosaic School, 2 North Avenue, 781-647-1155 – The Mosaic School is a “small early childhood program” for children 15 months to 5 years.

North Avenue Nursery School, 377 North Avenue, 781-894-4377 – This school operates two classes, one for ages 3 and 4 and a pre Kindergarten for ages 4 and 5.

Red Barn Nursery School, 724 Boston Post Road, 781-893-8020 – “The Red Barn tradition is one of parents and teachers working together for the benefit of all the children. The school was established in 1943 and is one of the oldest cooperative nursery schools in the Boston area.” Children range in age from 2.9 to 5 years (pre Kindergarten).

Regis College Children’s Center, 235 Wellesley Street, 781-768-7096 – “The Regis College Children’s Center enrolls children ages 15 months to 5 years old. The RCCC provides child care and education services to children of Regis College staff and faculty, and families of surrounding communities.” Regis also offers a private Kindergarten program called Academy Kindergarten.

Roxbury-Weston Programs, Inc., 349 Boston Post Road, 781-891-6710 – “When [Roxbury-Weston] began, [it was] a socially relevant and progressive project by joining children from diverse communities together to learn, play and understand each other. The communities [it] served knew the value of a good education and the greater value of social understanding and thinking. Today Roxbury-Weston Programs is the longest running voluntary desegregation education program in the country.” Children range in age from 2.9 to 5 years (pre Kindergarten).

Weston Windows, 2 and 10 Alphabet Lane (at Country and Woodland Elementary Schools), 781-786-5240 – “It is the philosophy of this program that all children are unique and special. [The program offers] a developmentally-appropriate preschool classroom that supports both children with special needs and children who are developing at a typical pace [and that] recognizes each child’s strengths, individual needs, pace and style of learning.” There are two classrooms at both Country and Woodland Schools.

Weston Wing, 313 North Avenue, 781-891-9021 – “Weston Wing is a non-profit nursery school/child care center…. Parents may enroll their children for three, four or five days per week, … and parents of young toddlers have the additional option to choose a two day morning, extended day, or full day program. Weston Wing enrolls 78 children per day.”

I hope this information about the Weston schools helps answer some general questions and serves as a preliminary guide. For more detailed information or with specific questions, please click on the link to the school’s website or call the school directly. On a personal note, my children attended the Red Barn Nursery School and Weston Windows, and then have come up the Woodland Elementary School track into Field and the Middle Schools. And so if you have questions about these particular schools, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com). Please also contact me for more information about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns or for a complimentary home appraisal.

* The quoted information throughout this post is taken from each school’s particular website.

** Source: Weston PTO 2011-2012 Student Directory.

I am a bagel lover…it’s my morning sustenance. And so I am pretty well-educated about the bagel selection in these parts. (As an aside, I say “pretty well-educated” because I’m 100% sure that there are some delicious bagel spots that I have missed.) Before I begin though, I have some hard and fast bagel location prerequisites, specifically the bagel locale has to be close to where I live in Weston, MA because I can’t drive 20 minutes in the morning given all of my other a.m. tasks. And my bagel taste is particular – I am a sesame or cinnamon raisin bagel lady, and so I can’t necessarily comment on bagels with all of the fixin’s. Having stated my disclaimers, here are some of my thoughts on a few of the great local bagel places (in the Weston, Wellesley and Wayland area):

Bruegger’s Bagels – this is a chain, and I frequent the one in Newton (or more specifically Auburndale, pictured above) as I particularly love the sesame bagels here. It’s my #1 bagel choice, and so I often drive a couple of extra minutes to satisfy my sesame bagel yearnings…. There are other convenient locations* in Weston and Wellesley.

Cafe Fresh Bagel – I haven’t been to this Needham locale for quite some time, mostly because I have Bruegger’s (and Dunkin Donuts as an alternate) so close to me. But when I did venture here for bagels, they were fabulous. This is the only location in the area.

Dunkin Donuts – another chain…these DD locations* are everywhere – Wellesley, Wayland, Waltham, Newton and Natick. When I don’t want to drive the extra distance to Breugger’s, I go to DD and get the cinnamon raisin bagel…. It’s the best when it’s fresh out of the oven.

Einstein Bros. Bagels – my friend, Linda, loves the six cheese bagel here. This store is centrally located just off of Route 30 in Wayland, and there is another convenient location* in Waltham.

Finagle A Bagel – there used to be one right on Route 20 in Wayland, but this is now a TD Bank, and so the closest one is in Chestnut Hill. These bagels are big, tasty and yummy.

Panera Bread – I had never tried a bagel from Panera Bread until I was visiting my sister this spring in Wilmington, DE. And wow was I pleasantly and incredibly surprised. The cinnamon raisin bagel I ordered was so yummy with bits of cinnamon sugar in it. And I am not one who wants extra sugar in my cinnamon raisin bagel so it was just the perfect amount. Unfortunately there is not a Panera’s in Weston, but there are nearby store locations* in Waltham, Newton, Needham and Natick.

Starbucks – As you may recall, Starbucks is my very, very favorite – at least when it comes to Venti Black Iced Teas. I generally frequent the Newton Lower Falls Starbucks twice a day to get my #1 drink. Starbucks also sells bagels as part of its food repertoire (pictured below). That being said, Starbucks is not my first choice for bagels. Their offerings are limited (usually it’s just plain or multi-grain), and they aren’t the most tasty. But when I have no time in the morning whatsoever, they do the trick. Starbucks has other locations* in Wellesley, Wayland, Newton and Natick.

Of course, you can usually find a variety of bagels at your local grocery store, and this is a great option as well. Are you a bagel lover too? If so (or even if not), what special bagel places have I missed? What are some of your favorites? I can’t wait to hear….

For more information on this or for any real estate needs in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com).

* Within approximately five miles of Weston, MA.