The 2011-12 Somerville High School Girls Indoor Track Team will be led by Captains Natalie David, Nicole Genard, Stephanie Gullage, Pristine Mei, Michel-le Meranda and Rita Musello-Kelliher. Strengths of the team will be in the sprints and hurdles with Nicole Genard, Michel-le Meranda, Gelynne Berger and newcomer Alison Kaba.

An edible paradise in your own backyard. Yes you can! – Photo by Andrew Firestone

Chic designed garden business in Somerville

By Andrew Firestone

With the winter months setting in, even with this unseasonable warmth we are having, the time for harvest is over and nature falls into deep slumber. But for next season, if your garden needs jazzing up, why don’t you turn to Jocelyn Jones, owner and operator of Generous Earth Gardens? That way, you’ll get a beautifully designed, fully edible pageant of spring, and vegetables for your whole family through the summer.

By William C. Shelton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

In June 2010 a group of parents who felt that the Somerville Public Schools bureaucracy had frustrated their many-years-long efforts to bring progressive education to Somerville came together. A number of them had children in the Choice program and had opposed its unification with the mainstream track at the Healey School. (See below for definitions.)

The Somerville Community Chorus is proud to announce its 2011 Holiday Concert, which will feature Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols and Christmas carols from around the world.

Parents, officials brace for battle

By Andrew Firestone

Somerville parents have gone a long way towards their goals of solving the education problems of Somerville. While the administration questions the feasibility and rationality of their plan, the community members behind the Somerville Progress Charter School (SPCS) say their cause is right, and it must be implemented.

Individuals who hit the dance floor at the Walnut Street Center's annual holiday party included (left to right): Gina Olivier, Lynn Potter, Randy Dottin, Stephen Michael Dewar, and Ray Hardy. – Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

Developmentally disabled adults find a place to thrive in Somerville

By Elizabeth Sheeran

At midday last Thursday, the ballroom of the Holiday Inn on Washington Street was filled to capacity with partygoers, celebrating the season.

Tim Adkins had high praise for the meal, the deejay, the room, and everything else about the party. Bob Spezzafaro said he enjoyed dancing with his girlfriend Denise Poor, who was showing off a ring Spezzafaro had given her as an early Christmas gift. Moving about the room in a red sweater topped with a necklace made of Christmas ornaments, Lynn Potter said the best thing about the party was meeting people. And the ice cream.

Tonight Wednesday, December 7, at the Flatbread in Davis Square, enjoy awesome Pizza and Bowling while supporting Toys for Local Children today 4 p.m. to closing. Flatbread will donate a portion of every pizza sold, both dine-in and take out! Help support a great charity that brings joy to a lot of local kids by calling up on the phone or visiting and ordering a pizza – 617 776-0552. Our own DJ Jimmy Del Ponte will emcee the event and they have a country store as well as a 50/50 raffle! There will be a place to donate new unwrapped toys and people can bowl and eat while helping to support Toys for Local Children.

“Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It’s like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won’t fatten the dog.”
– Mark Twain

Naturally, all of us wish for the best possible educational opportunities for the children of our community. Knowing with certainty what the best course of action is can be challenging, to say the least. So it is in consideration of the second K-8 charter school being proposed and debated in our city.

Somerville maple syrup in maple leaf bottles were on sale at last year's, as well as at this year’s Maple Syrup Brunch Fundraiser at the Independent.

By Cathleen Twardzik

The aroma of numerous tasty dishes, along with the succulent scent of maple syrup, wafted through the air at a recent brunch fundraiser, which was held to support the Somerville Maple Syrup Project.