Five Things You Need to Know Today, Dec. 8

 1) Dance of the Sugar Plum Flurry? -- Did you see any of the snow flurries the National Weather Service said might fall this morning, most likely before 7 a.m.? A few more may fall between 7 and 10 a.m. They are not expected to accumulate. A gentle introduction to winter precipitation hereabouts.

2) Grinch'd out by the holidays right about now? Try this. Breathe. Seriously. Sit or stand still right where you are. Take a slow, deep breath, to the count of three. Hold the breath for two or three seconds. Release it slowly. Repeat three times. Take a few seconds before you move. Get on with your day.

3) Honors for Joe Crowley -- The School Committee will host a gathering this coming Tuesday, Dec. 13, to honor retiring School Committee member Joseph Crowley. The committe invites school personnel, past and present; other officials; and the public to drop by the School Committee meeting room at the Joyce Middle School Tuesday between 2 and 5 p.m. A committee member for the past 38 years, according to school Supt. Mark Donovan, Crowley has "played a major role in developing our school system," and "served as a strong advocate for public education and for the students of Woburn."

4) In case you missed it: Readers offered a plateful of comments on our story Tuesday about school lunches not selling like hotcakes. Did you read the story and comments? What do you think about the price, healthfulness and "kid appeal" of current school lunches?

5) On this day in 1980, John Lennon, a member of the musical quartet that transformed popular music in the 1960s -- the Beatles -- was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman outside Lennon's apartment building, the Dakota, in New York City.

To find out what's going on today in Woburn, check out our events listings.