St. Sebastian's School is proud to announce the Honor Roll recipients for the Second Quarter and First Semester of the 2021-2022 school year. Recipients of these academic awards fall into three categories: High Honors, maintains an A- or above in all subjects; Honors with Distinction, maintains a B or above in all subjects; and Honors, maintains a B- or above in all subjects. The following students are from Jamaica Plain:
Maxim D. Kalinichenko, Grade 9, High Honors
Michael J. Kalinichenko, Grade 11, High Honors
Luis E. Sosa Espinal, Grade 9, Honors
The Armenian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA), a nonprofit health care organization dedicated to serving elders locally and internationally, and the sponsor organization of the Armenian Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, recently announced an expanded senior leadership team. The Armenian Nursing & Rehabilitation Center is an 83-bed, Jamaica Plain nonprofit nursing center located at 431 Pond St., next to Larz Anderson Park, which offers long-term care. AWWA added two experienced administrators: Greg Messina, Chief Operating Officer, and Jessica Brigham, Executive Director. Messina will guide the Armenian Nursing & Rehabilitation Center’s strategic and planning initiatives, including the development of new services and programs, oversight of finances and collaboration with key health care partners. Brigham will lead the day-to-day operations, including the clinical care of patients and residents, management of staff, and communication with families.
Rehearsal for Life, a non-profit leader in Boston-area’s creative youth development sector, will present its new Banned in Boston musical virtually on April 14. The 2022 performance will once again be written and scored by award-winning creative Faith Soloway, Interim Artistic Director of Rehearsal for Life and co-writer of Amazon’s award-winning show Transparent, with special guest performances by actors Jane Lynch of Glee and Tim Meadows of Saturday Night Live. To promote accessibility and inclusivity for all, individual tickets are available with a pay as you can or are able to option here. In keeping with the Banned in Boston tradition, more than two dozen politicians, celebrities, and business leaders will join the cast to support Urban Improv’s important work with Boston Public School students. This year’s musical-esque romp, ‘Back To School’, will be a dystopian comedy based on the exaggerated reality of returning to school during the pandemic, when in-person learning and gatherings remain challenging.
Democrats will convene virtually on March 12 to elect 22 delegates and 5 alternates to represent Boston Ward 11 Democrats at the 2022 State Democratic Convention. This meeting will be at 10 am. Attendees may participate remotely by registering at the Boston Ward 11 Facebook Caucus post or requesting link from either co-chairs, Anne Rousseau at revarousseau@comcast.net or Marie Turley at mimiturley@hotmail.com. Registered and pre-registered Democrats in Boston’s Ward 11 who are 16 years old by February 4, 2022 may vote and be elected as delegate or alternates during the caucus. Youth (age 16 to 35), people with disabilities, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community not elected as delegates or alternates are encouraged to apply to be add-on delegates at the caucus or by visiting massdems.org/caucus.
Jamaica Plain resident Jessica Morris recently joined Benchmark Strategies public affairs team as Assistant Vice President. Morris brings experience in renewable energy and sustainability, intergovernmental relations, public policymaking and execution, and press and media relations. Prior to joining Benchmark, Morris served six years at as the Chief of Staff to former District 6 Boston City Councilor and Council President Pro Tempore Matt O’Malley. In that role she oversaw and managed a team of legislative staff and neighborhood liaisons for District 6. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Morris led a crisis response for the council district with the Boston’s largest population of seniors and created a 100+ member volunteer call system to connect with seniors, identifying their urgent needs, such as food insecurity.
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy is bringing back a wonderful reason to visit the Emerald Necklace parks this winter. Lights in theNecklace is a unique lighting exhibition which began last year and will return beginning February 1 and continuing through March 20, 2022. Select bridges, and some trees, in the Emerald Necklace will be awash with an emerald glow. Lights in the Necklace celebrates the power of Boston and Brookline’s urban parks to bring visitors together, inspire and light the way in challenging times. Enjoy the lighting on a series of iconic Emerald Necklace bridges, from dusk to 9 pm, daily.
Jamaica Plain 17-year old Zoe Xi, a senior at Boston University Academy was named a Top 40 finalist in the 2022 Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. The 2022 finalists were selected from more than 1,800 highly qualified entrants based on their projects’ scientific rigor and their potential to become world-changing scientists and leaders. Each finalist is awarded at least $25,000, and the Top 10 awards range from $40,000 to $250,000. Xi’s project is titled "Approximation Algorithms for Dynamic Time Warping on Run-Length Encoded Strings." The Top 10 Regeneron Science Talent Search 2022 winners will be announced during a live-streamed awards ceremony on March 15.
Kitchen volunteers are urgently needed at Community Servings to help the Jamaica Plain nonprofit’s professional kitchen staff prepare and package 18,000 medically tailored meals that are delivered weekly to critically and chronically ill individuals across the region. While Community Servings operates one of Boston’s largest volunteer programs, the current COVID-19 surge has pushed January volunteer numbers to low levels. Demand for the nonprofit’s nutritious, life-saving meals has increased by over 80% since the pandemic began. “Volunteers have been at the heart of our mission since we began, essential to ensuring that we can feed our neighbors in need and help maintain their health,” said David B. Waters, CEO of Community Servings. “Given the effects of this pandemic surge, we are making a plea for anyone with a few hours to lend a helping hand in our kitchen.”
Volunteers help peel and chop vegetables; portion soups, stews and salads; and pack weekly meal bags for clients living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes and heart disease, among other illnesses.
In 2022, Greater Boston will mark the bicentennial of America’s great placemaker and designer of the Emerald Necklace park system: Frederick Law Olmsted. To mark the moment, in early 2020, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site (Fairsted) and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy initiated Olmsted Now, a coalition-led platform to connect communities and organizations in making parks and public space more vibrant, verdant and welcoming for all. Since then, the Olmsted Now coalition has hit an array of foundational milestones in equity, support, partnerships and outreach. To model anti-racist and trust-based resource development and distribution by and for park communities, Olmsted Now introduces the Committee of Neighborhoods; announces support through a “Come Together” fundraising initiative; and, in the past year, has doubled and diversified its partners, while expanding its communication channels. Community Power in Action
In 2020, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy commissioned Harvard professor Stephen Gray and Grayscale Collaborative to guide Olmsted Now through an equity analysis and action plan that would not merely “include” but would center communities who could potentially most benefit from bicentennial programming and investments, yet have historically been structurally excluded from park decision-making.
Girl Scout Cookie Season has arrived! The Daisies and Brownies of Troop 64228 will be selling cookies for the first time at J.P. Licks on Centre Street on Saturday, January 8 and Saturday, January 22 from 11 am to 3 pm. Customers can get their pick of nine awesome cookie flavors, and support the girls' next big adventures! $5/package. Cash, credit card, and Venmo accepted.
