Gracias (Spanish) Спасибо (Russian)  Obrigado (Portuguese) 谢谢 (Chinese – Simplified) Շնորհակալություն (Armenian) Go raibh maith agat (Ireland – Gaelic) Merci (French) Salamat (Tagalog) धन्यवाद (Hindi) Dziękuję (Polish) Grazie (Italian) Cảm ơn (Vietnamese) Danke (German)  شكراً (Arabic)

On Tuesday evening, Bigelow’s Gym came alive to celebrate our beautiful and diverse community with delicious food, bright displays, lively music, and good cheer! Attendees were treated to a tour of Armenia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Uruguay, Venezuela & Vietnam.

Thank you to all of the students, families and teachers who attended and the many volunteers who came together to make this event a success!

Special thanks to Principal Green and Bigelow Custodians for all their help, to our teachers who helped communicate with many of our families, and to Ms. Richardson for sharing an international music soundtrack for the evening!

Finally, thank you to 8^th grade parent Lanni Isenberg for spearheading this amazing event! She documented the steps to make this come together the last two years, so it should be a great head start for any families who would like to make it happen again with our PTO next year!

Enjoy a few photos from the joyous event!

If you haven’t had a chance to volunteer for an event yet, now is a great opportunity before the end of the year! Our goal is to create a fun and safe environment for all the kids and your help is greatly needed and appreciated. These events are only possible if the adults show up to help.

Sign up HERE today.

Thank you to everyone who’s signed up so far! We are still looking for chaperones — please sign up for however long you can — it doesn’t have to be the whole dance!

• CHAPERONES: Hallway & Gym

This is a great opportunity to get involved, stay connected with our Bigelow community, get to know teachers, staff and families from other schools! Parents and guardians from all grades may join! We especially welcome incoming 6th grades to participate and learn more about middle school.

Please throw your hat in the ring by Friday, May 1st so we can prepare a slate to be voted on by all parents at our end-of-year PTO meeting (date TBD).

We have several PTO Board roles open for next year and we would love to have representation from all feeder schools.

Check out ALL the positions HERE to sign up or find out more about something new!

Returning volunteers: please email bigelowbulldog@gmail.com to let us know whether or not you are continuing on in your same role next year. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered this year and to those who have already signed up for next year. 

Here are a few roles we are looking to fill:

• Co-President (1): Rotating leaders who are accountable for the success of the PTO
• Vice President (1): Work with board and committee chairs to coordinate fundraising activities
• Communications (2): Send weekly newsletters and maintain Social Media accounts. Attend and participate in board meetings
• Creative Arts & Sciences (2): Help enrich the curriculum by planning cultural events for the student body
• Back to School Picnic (2): Coordinate the family picnic at Burr Park (September)
• Ten Tables (1): Organize our Progressive Dinner fundraiser (April-May)
• 8th Grade Activity Planning (2–6): Coordinate 8th Grade Fundraising and End-of-Year events

Yes, I want to get involved

We are looking for volunteers to help lead Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4–8th). During this week, each grade (6, 7, 8) organizes a luncheon for teachers and staff.

We are looking for 6th and 7th grade parents to coordinate their grade’s luncheons. Please email Laura Goldworm at lauramandell@yahoo.com if you are interested!

Last year’s restart of Bigelow’s traditional Ten Tables progressive dinner was such a success that we’re doing it again!

On Saturday, May 16, we will join together for appetizers at one Bigelow family’s home and then split into smaller groups for dinner at a number of other families’ homes. This event is a wonderful night of community-building, and a great way to raise money and engagement to support our PTO.

With hosts signed up for the appetizer kick-off, we’re looking for a few more dinner hosts to complete the event.

If you are interested in hosting one of the dinners, please email the PTO at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com, or the event chairs, Kathy Shields at kburdetteshields@yahoo.com or Amy Davis at amygdavis84@gmail.com.

Would you like Bigelow’s grounds to be improved? Volunteer for Newton Serves!

If you are interested in gardening, groundskeeping or landscaping, Newton Serves is a great way to lend your skills to our Bigelow community.

Newton Serves is focused on cleaning and improving our city’s parks, school grounds, open space areas, and conservation lands. If you are interested in bringing this back to Bigelow, we need your help!

Bigelow NEEDS NEW VOLUNTEERS to continue to benefit from the program.

Project registration is NOW OPEN.

Please email bigelowbulldog@gmail.com to express interest and visit the Newton Serves page to learn more.

April 9th, Raising teens in a digital age  – A discussion with Newton North teacher Rob Greenfield and hosted by the Newton North PTSO.

Thursday, April 9 at 7PM, in the film lecture hall at Newton North High School

Please RSVP HERE

Rob Greenfield is the Digital Literacy Coordinator at NNHS and teaches Modern World History and Intro to AI: Technology’s Impact on Society.

Parenting in an era of ubiquitous digital technologies is difficult, and we are largely left to ourselves to make crucial decisions about our children’s exposure to digital media. As parents, we are in the best position to assist our children through these digital landscapes, even if we don’t have first-hand experience with the technology our kids are using. In this session, we’ll explore the possible impact of smartphones, social media, and AI on kids, discuss strategies for opening up conversation with our children about their relationship with digital technologies, and think about how we can help them navigate digital spaces.

**Rising 9th grade carers: please visit the 8th Grade / Rising 9th Grade page on our website for more details.**

Please submit statements to vice-president@northptso.org by Monday, April 6, at 5:00 p.m.

Candidates are required to submit a brief statement (200 words or less). Entries longer than 200 words will be truncated without edits to meet the word maximum requirement. The statements may include: 

• Elementary and middle school attended by the candidates’s NNHS student, if applicable.  
• Particular interest, background, skills, and expertise that have prepared the candidate for the role. 
• Qualities the candidate would bring to the School Council.

Are you looking for the Bigelow PTO Family Directory?

The success of the system is dependent on every family logging in and updating their information. Throughout the school year, families can edit their name, address, and phone numbers, and each family can decide which pieces of information will be available for others to view through the privacy settings.

Our secure and easy-to-use directory is free for all Bigelow families and is hosted online at Membership Toolkit. The directory is maintained by PTO volunteers and funded by the PTO thanks to your support!

If you are unfamiliar with the platform, if you have forgotten your directory access login, or if you are unsure about whether or not you are in it, please email us with your name and your child’s name(s) at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com.

In just a few days, we will have our 2nd annual Bigelow Global Diversity Night! On Tuesday, March 31st, families representing cultures and countries around the world will host tables in the gym from 6:30 PM– 8:00 PM.

All Bigelow families, staff and students are welcome to join us! You do not need to host a table to enjoy the evening. We will provide plates, utensils, cups and napkins and our table hosts will provide food and cultural displays. Countries/cultures include:

Argentina, Armenia, France, Ireland, Italy, Uruguay, China, Germany, Peru, Ukraine, Philippines, Puerto Rico, India, Lebanon, Brazil, Vietnam, and we’ll have teas from around the world!

**Please note that Global Diversity night isnot a “drop-off event.” All students should be accompanied by an adult (parent/guardian or other grown-up).**

If you would like to join a table or help out that evening, please contact 8 th Grade parent Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com. We may need to borrow some tables, so please let us know if you could loan one for the evening!