West Medford Community Center Quarterly News

There’s more going on at the Center than ever these days! Over the past few years we’ve

hosted everything from a 100th birthday celebration for our dear departed Alice Isaacs to the

inaugural performance of the Senior Belly Dance Troupe “Neimah”. We’ve featured a

classic film festival in honor of Black History Month, a funky, fresh fashion show, Harvest

Tea celebrations, city-wide Zumba and “Crunch-and-Punch” classes, a fabulous NAACP

wine-tasting event, several “Ville Reunion” activities and a dance concert with the Back

Pocket Dance troupe.

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

During the week, our active

Seniors have a low-cost, nutritious

lunch provided by Mystic Valley

Elder Services (MVES). They also

keep very busy with weekly Yoga

sessions, a knitting club, the

“Sisters-in-Sweat” exercise group,

computer classes, monthly movies,

games, and periodic bus trips to

such great destinations as Atlantic

City and Cape Cod. The “Sisters-

in-Sweat” Exercise Group meets

three times a week to walk it out at WMCC. A low impact, but stimulating video work-

out keeps these active ladies heart healthy and happy. You can join them here on

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday at 9:30 am.

Happy New Year!

January 2013

We’ve got a dedicated and loyal group of

volunteers that come to us from the Hallmark

Health System, MVES and Cataldo

Ambulance to help with our lunches, as well

as our own folks who never get tired of

pitching in. Monthly blood pressure clinics

and social services advice are provided by the

Greater Medford VNA and Hallmark Health.

We’ve also benefited from great educational

sessions and regular discussions on numerous

health-related topics from diabetes prevention

to stress relief.

WMCC Senior Knitting Club members

Norma Thompson, Millicent Hamilton,

Kettly Tucker, Dorothy Elizabeth

Tucker, Dorothy Walker, enjoy a light

moment as Evelyn Tyner looks on.

Long-time WMCC supporter and

musician Fred Zielke plays weekly for the

Senior Lunch Bunch. From jazz standards

to Broadway show tunes, Fred’s repertoire

is extensive and well-enjoyed whenever

he stops by

Mystic Valley Elder Service’s rep Ariane

Taylor shares a story with Rachel Tanner

during a weekly lunch gather of WMCC

seniors. You can always find a fun and

familiar group meeting and eating here

during the noon hour!

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

As of this fall, we’ve also offered rental

space to a French educational and

cultural collaborative called EFGB and

now house a pre-school for about 15

children being immersed in French

culture and language prior to being

mainstreamed to English-only classrooms

for kindergarten and beyond. The

partnership had added a lot of life (and

some serious volume) to our mornings

here at the Center. P’Tits Bouts (“small

bits”), as the school is called, joins Rising

Star of Medford, our excellent tutoring

and academic success program (fee-

based, sliding scale) on the second floor

of this great facility. There’s also a new

men’s Tai Chi class in the evening, so

we’re branching out in new directions at

every turn.

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

WMCC is also the current home of the littlest Girl Scouts in Medford. Two different Daisy

Troops, 65264 and 68137, meet here a few times each month. And we also house Boys

Scout Troop 421. They’ve all been generous with their time and resources, as they continue

to use the Center for home base. If you’re interested in knowing more about any scouting

troop, we can connect you with their leadership via phone or email.

The long list of community rentals continues to grow as well. We’ve been a

convenient local venue for folks from West Medford and beyond to hold their

baby and bridal showers, birthday parties, family dinners, and small gatherings

of all sorts. Rates and availability are available from WMCC Board Member

Starry Poe at 781-648-1414.

We invite you to get in on the fun…start or renew your individual, senior or

family WMCC membership and come down to see what’s going on! We’ve got

a bunch of new things planned for 2013 and beyond.

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

WMCC Senior Club Executive Committee

members listen in as President Florence

King conducts the group’s business. The

Senior Club general membership meets on

the third Wednesday of each month here at

the Center and is open to all.

Volunteer Computer Guru Joe Jones instructs

Rev. Florence King on the finer points of

Windows and the internet. Joe specializes in

teaching older users who may require a bit

more “patience” and his classes run twice a

week at 10:30 am.

The Board of Directors is excited to announce it has approved four (4)

proposals to provide new services at the WMCC to increase community

involvement:

• An Adult Tai Chi class has already begun at the Center, meeting twice a week. This class

is headed by David Johnson and Kenneth Gibson, both instructors are experienced in

Hwa Yu T’ai-Chi since 1973 and are long time community members.

• A Spanish Class for kids 3 – 7 years old will begin in January. Taught by Laura Pallares

and Cristina Martinez, both Spanish teachers in the area.

• A Media Makers Video production club aimed at teenagers who demonstrate an interest

in understanding media and want to gain hands-on experience in video production. This

group will be lead by Calvin Lindsay and Grant Casassa.

• A West Medford Girls Group is a youth outreach program aimed at building self-esteem

in girls and young ladies of our community. The group encourages girls to make a

commitment to excel in academics, physical fitness, as well as in civic and social

involvement in our community.

Feel free to come join any of our groups or propose your own vision for

Community Outreach!

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

:

Tai Chi Class: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Spanish Class: Wednesdays 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Media Makers Video Production Club: 2 Saturdays/month 9:00am-12:00pm

Girls Group: Schedule to be determined

Belly Dance Troupe Neimah: Based on an idea posed by Cathi Phillips, group of senior women formed a belly dance troupe for fun and physical fitness.

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

This past has been a year of growth and stabilization for the Center. We have addressed many issues and met with members of the community over the past year to listen to your concerns, and have acted on all fronts. There is more to do, and you can expect more from us over this new year, and we expect more from you. Among our 2013 goals, we seek volunteers and parents to help organize teen events like the homework club, dance groups, parties and the like. What goals would you like the Center to strive for in 2013? Ultimately we, the board, are beholden to you and your ideas for what this Center is and aspires to be. Please plan to attend our Yearly Board Meeting on February 17, 2013 at 2 pm where we will provide an open forum to discuss these and other goals, so come and get involved! I look forward to hearing from you, Brian Collins, President West Medford Community Center Board of Directors

They rehearsed for a number of months and then performed for the seniors group at an afternoon celebration. The group, called ”Neimah”, featured Cathi Phillips, Rachel Tanner, Dorothy Elizabeth Tucker, Shirley Miller and Norma Thompson

Volunteer Focus

Operating without a full-time staff, the West Medford

Community Center relies heavily on its loyal and active

volunteers. In each newsletter we publish, we’ll focus on

one or more of these great helpers and give you a peek

into why they do what they do here at 111 Arlington

Street.

First up, Norma M. Thompson

Norma is a long-time resident of West Medford, having moved here in 1976. She is an

R.N. (registered nurse) by profession now enjoying a well-earned retirement. Norma has

three children, two of which still live in the city and one who has relocated to Florida. She

likes this because it always gives her someplace sunny and warm to visit.

After retiring in 2009, Norma wanted to learn and do more in the community. She joined

the Senior Women’s Walking Group at the WMCC and after coming a few times, decided

to volunteer with the Senior Lunch program, joining a growing number of volunteers to

Mystic Valley Elder Services array of programs in and around the Tri-city area. She’s

instrumental in setting up and serving lunches at the center three times a week and can

usually be found at her post in the Founder’s Room or in the kitchen.

Norma also enjoys Yoga at the Center once a week, as well as her Walking and Exercise

group in the early mornings. She also helps lead the weekly Knitting Club and loves

teaching other seniors to knit and crochet.

Norma is actively involved with the WMCC Senior Club, a group of fun and enthusiastic

center supporters who are constantly looking for new ways to socially engage and promote

this special community resource. Norma says that the people she comes into contact with

here are “awesome” and that WMCC is “a beautiful place.” The only thing she doesn’t

like is that there’s not more room. She says “There’s just not enough storage space.”

Volunteers like Norma fill the space that we do have with laughter, a welcoming spirit and

a heart to serve…Thanks Norma for all you do at WMCC!

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

Les P’Tit Bouts Pre-school Takes up Residence at WMCC

In the fall of this year WMCC entered into an agreement with Education Française de

Greater Boston (EFGB) to house a special pre-school on the second floor of our Arlington

Street home. The school is called Les P’tits Bouts, which loosely translated means “the little

bits or little ones”. Their aim is to offer francophone families easier access to a francophone

education. Through total immersion, P’tit Bouts seeks to create solid language foundations

for children who will later be able to benefit fully from EFGB’s afterschool programs and,

or be mainstreamed into English-speaking school environments. Their priority is to provide

francophone families with new options in their child’s French education.

EFGB is a non-profit association created in September 2008 by a group of Francophone and

Francophile parents and teachers living in the Boston area. EFGB is attached to the French

culture and language, and wishes to share the language with their children, giving them

affordable, effective educational options.

The West Medford Community Center welcomes the families of Les P’tit Bouts School to

our home and celebrates the diversity and vitality they add to our everyday operations.

P’Tit Bouts is fee-based. If you know of a family that might be interested in their

educational options, please contact EFGB by phone: 1-339-970-9596 or email:

info@efgboston.org

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

P’Tit Bouts pre-schoolers pose for a picture all dressed up in their Halloween finest. They

paraded in costume to the delight of the Senior Lunch Bunch and got treats for their troubles.

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042

A little more than a year has gone by since beloved

WMCC Senior Alice Isaacs passed. She was

remembered fondly by the Knitting Club with this

tribute (poem by T.E. Carter).

Medford City Councilor Rick Caraviello stopped

by in December and presented 12 beautiful

holiday turkeys to the Elder Services program.

Here’s Rick with several of the seniors who

were at the center when he visited.

Every Tuesdy at 11:00 a.m. Instructor Rosa

Brown leads a group of Senior women in a

relaxing, low-impact Yoga routine. Using

chairs and mats alternately, Rosa’s popular

class gets rave reviews for reducing stress

and alleviating bodily fatigue. Come on out

and find your Qi with this ancient form of

physical and spiritual exercise Neil Osborne Mystic Valley NAACP Branch

President presents Rev. Florence King with her

life membership plaque

The Mystic Valley Branch of the N.A.A.C.P.

and

The Medford Human Rights & Disability Commissions

invite you to join them to commemorate and celebrate the life of

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

MONDAY, JANUARY 21ST, 2013 AT 12:00 PM

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street, Medford, MA 02155

Join us for Inauguration viewing, light refreshments, and discussion.

Please feel free to bring a dish to share.

RSVP by January 16th: Neil.osborne@mva-naacp.org or

Dmcleod@medford.org

West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042