Home Care In Natick, MA

With Johnson School turning 75 this year, students took on a five-month-long project to document the school's history.

Press release from Natick Public Schools:

01/26/2024

The faces of the second, third and fourth grade students at the Johnson School Legacy Project kickoff event on the morning of January 16 were full of anticipation for their future discoveries. While it can be challenging to imagine life before 2024 even when reading a historical news article or story, there’s no doubt that hearing from folks who experienced life as a Johnson elementary school student many decades ago had significant impact on these students.

The five-month-long student learning project is managed by Charleen Belcher, Library Media Specialist at Johnson, and Grace Magley, Director, Digital & Personalized Learning. Belcher remarked on the rare opportunity the current Johnson students had to reach future generations by encapsulating memories of a place that was so special to so many. The project is truly project-based-learning in action: students will ask alumni and experts questions about Johnson’s past—in many cases in live interviews--and compile their learnings. The school has been part of the fabric of Natick for 75 years as of this year.

The five-month-long student learning project is managed by Charleen Belcher, Library Media Specialist at Johnson, and Grace Magley, Director, Digital & Personalized Learning. Belcher remarked on the rare opportunity the current Johnson students had to reach future generations by encapsulating memories of a place that was so special to so many. The project is truly project-based-learning in action: students will ask alumni and experts questions about Johnson’s past—in many cases in live interviews--and compile their learnings. The school has been part of the fabric of Natick for 75 years as of this year.

Find out what's happening in Natickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lemon, who graduated from Johnson nine years ago, appeared on screen remote from her college dorm room. She shared how she fondly remembers time spent learning about the lifecycle of chickens in truly hands on fashion when her Johnson class watched chicks hatch from eggs. As she was speaking, she remarked that a pin that she received from a Peacemakers event was beside her in her room.

John Murphy, who went to the Johnson School from 1955 to 1960, echoed Lemon’s statements when he said, “The relationships you have here are all amazing.”

They looked awestruck when they learned that not only did Murphy have a 50-minute lunch period, but that he could walk home for lunch and then return to school afterwards.

Both Lemon and Belcher spoke about how there were so many things to still learn about Johnson’s past and to commemorate for others. Belcher said that a guiding prompt to steer students’ inquiry-based learning was to think about “questions you don’t know the answers to.”

This press release was produced by Natick Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

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The holiday season is here, and there are multiple chances to see Santa Claus locally.

NATICK, MA — Visits and pictures with Santa are treasured traditions for many Natick families. For them, there’s nothing quite like seeing jolly old St. Nick live and in person.

In the Natick area, kids have several chances:

At the Natick Mall, Santa's Elevator is already up and running and will continue there until Christmas Eve, allowing residents to grab a flick with Santa.

The Natick Dave & Buster's location is also set to host a breakfast with Santa event on Dec. 10.

Framingham's tree lighting ceremony and holiday block party are scheduled for Dec. 1 from 5 to 7:30 p.m., with appearances from Mr. and Mrs. Claus. More information is available here.

Find out what's happening in Natickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Santa will be in attendance at Patriot Place's Holiday Tree Lighting on Nov. 17, in Foxborough, which is just part of the holiday festivities planned at the home of the New England Patriots during the team's bye week.

There are also Framingham and Natick area chain stores that are participating nationally in Santa-themed events, though it's important to check those locations for dates and times. More information on which stores is included below.

Santa will also be at Macy’s stores in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Orlando. In Boston, Macy's has already unveiled their annual holiday windows, and the company's local tree lighting is scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving.

Santa is coming to Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores on Black Friday, which is Nov. 24 this year. Massachusetts Nordstrom stores include:

Boston

Braintree

Burlington

Danvers

Framingham

Millbury

Natick

Peabody

Westwood

JC Penney stores are offering professional portraits with Santa through Dec. 18. Those in Massachusetts include:

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NATICK — Wegmans announced Thursday that it would be closing its Natick location, barely five years after it opened.

The Rochester, New York-based supermarket chain said in a press release that the store would close later this summer, although it has not determined a final closing date.

The store, located within the Natick Mall, was an experimental store for the chain, becoming the first multilevel Wegmans put inside a shopping mall. The 134,000-square-foot store is among the largest in the chain.

"Making these decisions is never easy," said Brien MacKendrick, human resources director, Wegmans New England division, in a statement. "However, we do it for the long-term benefit of our people, our customers and our communities. Unfortunately, with this non-traditional location, we are unable to attract enough customers for our business model to work."

Grocery store brands:Why is Wegmans carrying more of its own products, and what do customers think?

The company said it would not be answering any media inquiries.

Employees to be offered jobs at other Wegmans

The Natick store employs 365 people, including 142 full-timers. The company said all employees would be offered positions at other Wegmans stores.

Wegmans announced in 2015 that it would be moving into the Natick Mall, replacing the former JCPenney as an anchor tenant. The store opened in April 2018, bringing in a new era to the mall as a supermarket replaced a department store.

When it opened:Wegmans outlines Natick Mall plans

Other nearby grocery stores

The store has faced fierce local competition, with two Stop & Shop locations, ALDI, Whole Foods Market, Target, WalMart and BJ's all within close proximity. Another grocery store, an Amazon Fresh market, is expected to eventually open at Shoppers World in Framingham.

"We love our Natick community and customers, and we’re eager to pursue new store locations in the area for the future,“ said MacKendrick. “In the meantime, we hope to continue to serve our Natick customers through our e-commerce offerings and our other area stores.”

Supply chain issues:Wegmans has always navigated change. But these hurdles might be the toughest ones yet.

Wegmans has five other locations in Massachusetts, with the closest to Natick being in Northborough and Chestnut Hill. Other locations include Burlington, Medford and Westwood. Wegmans noted in its press release that the chain has no plans to close any other stores in Massachusetts.

Wegmans has 110 locations overall, mostly in the Northeast. The company expanded into Massachusetts in 2011 when it built its location in Northborough.

These college-level courses will be taught by MassBay Community College faculty and are credit-bearing for both high school and college.

Patch Staff

News release from MassBay Community College.

WELLESLEY HILLS, MA — Local high school students are eligible to take a free class at MassBay Community College through the state-funded Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership (CDEP). This is the ninth year MassBay has offered free dual enrollment courses for qualified high school students, and this year MassBay, is collaborating with Bellingham High School, Framingham High School, Keefe Technical High School, Natick High School, Hopkinton High School, and Needham High School to offer the free classes to eligible juniors and seniors.

These college-level courses will be taught by MassBay Community College faculty and are credit bearing for both high school and college. MassBay credits are transferable to college and university associate and bachelor degree programs.

Classes will be offered online and in person, with two classes on the new MassBay Framingham campus located at 490 Franklin Street. Students can take one of the following general education courses:

“I’m delighted MassBay is once again offering the CDEP dual enrollment classes this spring,” said MassBay Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management Lisa Slavin. “CDEP enables high school students to participate in a college-level class while still in high school, exposing them to new topics, professors, and rigor. Once they successfully complete the course, these students are one step closer to completing a degree or certificate, saving time and money for them and their families.”

Find out what's happening in Natickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Virtual Information Sessions will be held for the Partner High School CDEP program on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 7PM and Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 4PM. For more information about MassBay’s free dual enrollment college courses being offered to eligible high school students this spring, or to register for the virtual information session, please contact Elaine Rosenburg at [email protected], or visit https://www.massbay.edu/cdep-dual-enrollment.

Registration is now open for the spring 2024 semester at MassBay. Classes are online and on campus, starting January 22, 2024.

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NATICK — Book lovers in MetroWest can rejoice: Barnes & Noble is reopening next week at its new location in the Sherwood Plaza on Route 9.

The bookseller's previous location at Shoppers World in Framingham — less than a half-mile away — closed earlier this year as part of a redevelopment project that saw both Barnes & Noble and Old Navy close to make way for an Amazon Fresh supermarket.

Barnes & Noble announced on its Facebook page that its new Natick store will open on Wednesday, June 14. It will take the place of a former Petco store, beside Dick's Sporting Goods in Sherwood Plaza.

Changes at Shoppers World:Barnes & Noble moving from Framingham to Natick, Old Navy closing

To commemorate the bookseller's MetroWest return, the store is hosting several author signings during its first few days in business. Children's author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds will be at the store at 9 a.m. on June 14, followed by suspense author Peter Swanson at 10 a.m. Historical writer Emily Franklin will be at Barnes & Noble at 5 p.m., also on June 14, to sign copies of her latest book, "The Lioness of Boston," a biography about Isabella Stewart Gardner.

Fantasy author Alexander Darwin will sign copies of his book, "The Combat Codes," starting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 15.

Store has provided updates of its progress in Natick

Barnes & Noble's Framingham location closed on Jan. 24, with officials at the time expecting to open the new Natick location this spring. Since then, the store has posted frequent updates on its Facebook page, noting the construction process of converting a former pet supply store into a bookstore, with books slowly being added to the shelves to welcome bookworms when the store officially reopens.

'Non-traditional location':Wegmans says it will close its Natick Mall store by the end of summer

Back in January, a local Barnes & Noble manager told the Daily News that he wasn't sure of the new store's size but believed it to be "a tiny bit smaller" than the Framingham store.

Hours for the Natick store will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Founded in 1886, New York-based Barnes & Noble is the nation's largest brick-and-mortar bookstore chain, with about 600 stores across all 50 states. It has been privately held since 2019.

The closest Barnes & Noble stores to MetroWest are those in Dedham, Burlington, East Walpole and Bellingham.

While many of the chain's stores, including the previous location in Framingham, contain a Starbucks coffee shop inside, the Natick store will not — a Starbucks is already operating within the Sherwood Plaza.