5 Things: Celebrating Winn Brooks' Ms. McNiff , Author Speaks On Poet Robert Lowell

1. The folks at the Winn Brook Elementary School want to both celebrate the end of the school year and honor Maura McNiff, a staff member at the school for more than a quarter century who is retiring, with a Family Picnic and Ice Cream Social. So grab a blanket and find a spot near the playground and be prepared to be entertained by a live band from MIT. Arrive around 5:30 p.m. as ice cream will be served from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Winn blacktop. And at 6:30 a.m., the band will play and dancing will commence in celebration of the end of another school term and McNiff’s fantastic years assisting kids and teachers. It's $3 per person ($10 per family) for ice cream.

2. The Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Belmont Public Library begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Right after the meeting at 10 a.m., author Kathleen Spivak will speak about her new book, "With Robert Lowell and His Circle."

3. In 1959, Kathleen Spivack won a scholarship to study at BU with the poet Robert Lowell. Her fellow students included Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton among others. (Lowell, Plath and Sexton would later spend time as patients at Belmont's McLean Hospital.) Spivack will tell the story of her time among some of the most esteemed artists of a generation. She looks at friendships, addiction, despair, perservance and survival, and how social changes altered lives and circumstances.
All are welcome to attend this free program. Books will be available for sale and signing. 

4. Infrastructure work continues down the road as Insituform Technologies will begin sewer and drain repairs on Williston and Trapelo road adjacent the municipal parking lot in Cushing Square beginning at 7 a.m. but only if the weather permits it. 

5. Yoga, taught by professional instructors, is being held this morning from 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. at the Plymouth Congregational Church, 582 Pleasant St. in Gardiner Hall, at the back of the church. $10. All levels welcome just bring your own mat if you can. $6 per child for child care. All proceeds benefit Plymouth Nursery School.