John Pritchard receives Quarter Century Award
Hale-O-Ween returning Oct. 26
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Hale-O-Ween is back by popular demand. This Hale family favorite returns on Saturday, October 26, from 2 to 5 p.m. The event is free and will include hikes, arts and crafts, games, a bouncy house, and more.
“Our property is open 365 days a year and while we encourage people to come out...
WHS to present ‘Argonautika’
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Westwood High School is presenting the play "Argonautika,” written by Mary Zimmerman and adapted from the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts. It tells the story of Jason, who is sent by his uncle to find the “golden fleece” taken from a winged ram. He does this based on promise that, if...
Westwood’s Viti a writer and fighter
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By Ella Kohler
Hometown Weekly Intern
“He said, ‘Do you write poetry now?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I never show it to anyone.’”
For much of Westwood resident Lynne Viti’s life, she kept her writing private. However, she is now an award-winning poet and author with numerous published works. Along the way, Viti learned —...
Spotlight learns fire safety
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By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
On Thursday October 3, the Westwood Council on Aging received a visit from some very special guests. The guests had been invited by Community Spotlight, a new group in Westwood formed to help understand the community and what it has to offer residents. Attendees at this Spotlight session -...
Mustangs outlast Wolverines
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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
So far this season, Westwood High boys soccer holds a respectable 3-4-1 record at home. Playing away from Flahive Field, however, has been a problem for the Wolverines, who are 0-5-0 on the road this season and 3-9-1 overall (3-8-1 TVL).
On Thursday, the Wolverines made the...
Downey Elementary named Blue Ribbon School
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The U.S. Department of Education has named Westwood’s Downey Elementary School a National Blue Ribbon School for 2019, joining 362 other schools from around the nation. Schools are awarded a National Blue Ribbon based on overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
“It is an honor to be named...
Westwood students are responsible Digital Citizens
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Give children a computer and the world is at their fingertips, but with that access comes a host of potential pitfalls. How do they learn to manage their time? How do they identify fact from fiction when searching Google for information? When Westwood Public Schools gave each of its high school students a...
COA cooks at Powisset Farm
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By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
Visitors from the Westwood Council on Aging visited Powisset Farm on Thursday, September 26, to learn all about cooking with herbs during a class taught by Didi Emmons. Emmons is a professional chef who has founded four successful restaurants. She is also the author of several books, including...
Westwood reworks social studies curriculum
They say you can’t rewrite history, but in Westwood the school department is reworking its entire social studies curriculum to comply with new state education standards. Teachers at every grade level worked over the summer to ensure the material they present this school year meets the new requirements.
“The greatest change is in the 8th grade,”...
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Fun for all at Westwood Day
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By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
On Saturday, September 21, residents of Westwood met up to celebrate their wonderful town. There was no shortage of fun with so much to do, including a road race, a shopping area, and activities for all to enjoy.
“You guys going to run fast today?” one mom asked her child...
Historical Society to feature John Pritchard
On Tuesday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m., John Pritchard will talk about Boston’s chocolate industry, based on his extensive experience with the Confectionary Division of NABISCO. In 1986, John was sent to Itapetinga, Brazil as a technical adviser for a facility being constructed to manufacture black Dutch cocoa. He is also familiar with the history...
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Harvest Arts Festival brings in poets
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By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
As fall begins and the weather cools down, local communities take advantage by hosting a number of festivals and community events. This year, Westwood had a fresh arrival on its list of season festivities: Saint John’s Episcopal Church hosted its Harvest Arts Festival, a brand-new celebration of local artistic...
District announces new preschool director
Lisa Freedman started her career at the Westwood Public Schools 20 years ago. This fall, she takes over as director of the Integrated Preschool, replacing longtime director Aprile Albertelli, who retired at the end of the last school year. Freedman came to Westwood High School in 1999, and for the past two years, has been...
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Kids learn soccer skills through play
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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
With youth sports participation plummeting nationwide, and travel sports growing more competitive and more costly every day, the idea of a soccer skills clinic for a bunch of kindergarteners sounds like it could be an over-competitive nightmare.
Instead, the kids of Westwood spent their Sunday morning laughing, smiling...
Petting zoo lets patrons try robots
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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
While a “robot petting zoo” sounds like an attraction from Disney World’s Tomorrowland, it was actually Westwood Library's way of letting members of the community explore coding toys for their children.
On Thursday night, August 15, the library brought out their Mini Spheros, Dash Robots and the Kano Harry Potter...
St. Mark’s Greek Fest coming soon
St. Mark of Ephesus Orthodox Cathedral of Westwood will host its fifth annual Greek Fest on Saturday, September 14, and Sunday, September 15, on the church grounds at 340 Clapboardtree Street.
St. Mark’s Greek Fest will run on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The festival celebrates...
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IAM Strong advocates for mental health
By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
Sometimes, we all need help from our friends.
That is the simple lesson the IAM Strong Foundation has been trying to teach students and their families since its establishment. The organization is making a big difference when it comes to mental health and making sure people receive the help they need.
IAM...
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Westwood DPW helps with tornado cleanup
By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
The people of Massachusetts face relatively predictable weather. The biggest snowstorms typically take place between mid-January to March. Evening thunderstorms and torrential downpours are a usual part of the summer months. Hurricanes occasionally crawl their way up to the Northeast but meteorologists know weeks in advance. But tornadoes tend to...
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Robotics team prepares for new season
This year, Westwood High School Robotics, team 1757, competed in the quarterfinals in the UNH district FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). Its robot, Rampothy, made history with teams 3597 (Robo-Rangers) and 5962 (perSERVERE) by executing a double-ramp climb, which was never seen in the FIRST Robotics Competition.
FRC combines the excitement of building robots and sports by...
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