The Bigelow Parents of Performing Students – better known as PoPS – are happy to share some of the important Fall dates to help parents organize student’s schedule.

• Friday, September 6th from 3-5 pm Informational Meeting for students only (Introduce Staff/ Detail Fall Play/ Provide information about the 2019 audition process)
• Wednesday, September 11th Sixth Grade Meeting (3-4 pm) / Tech Crew Interviews (4-5 pm) / First Set of Auditions (5-6 pm)
• Friday, September 13th from 3-6 pm Second Set of Audition Times
• Monday, September 16th from 3-5 pm Callbacks or First Rehearsal

There will be a parent meet and greet TBA soon.

If you are interested in being a part of PoPS, learn about involvement opportunities here. Sign up for the PoPS newsletter here to receive timely notes about dates, auditions and rehearsal schedules. If you did not receive the PoPS Welcome back email on Sunday, 08/25, click here to subscribe.

If you have any questions, please contact bigelowpops@gmail.com.

The Cross Country Informational Meeting for students will be held on Thursday, September 4th at 3pm in the Bigelow Library. Cross Country is a sport open to all students and it is the only sport that sixth graders are allowed to join at the middle school level. No experience is required and there are no cuts. All students are eligible to participate, but must attend the meeting in order to receive important information for joining. For more information, please check the Bigelow Cross Country Website.

The Newton Safe Routes to School Task Force is looking for a representative from Bigelow. The task force has monthly meetings (Fridays at 9:30 a.m. at Waban Library, members can also be called into) with representatives from Newton Police, DPW, the Mayor’s Office, and School Committee to address obstacles to students walking/biking/taking the bus to school. One of the initiatives at the middle school this year is starting an anti-idling campaign. The task force is also promoting the student pass Charlie Cards within each school. Other middle schools work with the city on identifying and promoting safe walking and biking routes to school. More at Newton Safe Routes to School Facebook page.

Please contact bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you are interested in being the Bigelow representative.

Student Charlie Cards (S-Cards) can be obtained for free from Linda Anderson at Bigelow’s main office.  A student card is valid for one year, from Sept. 1st – Aug. 31st. It offers student discounts on the MBTA bus, subway, Ferries, and Commuter Rail, including a $30 monthly T pass (regular cost $90).

The cards work on the subway, too, so are a great way for your tween/teen to get around town on weekends and after school.
*Bigelow: Bus #52, #57, #501 and #503
* North Bus #59, #553, #554, and 556
More bus routes here: https://www.mbta.com/schedules/bus

A monthly pass or up to $10 can be placed on the S-card. Funds can be deposited onto the card on board a bus, at a fare vending machine or at a subway station. 

Download information about Bigelow here.

Middle School can be a great experience for parents as well. Get to know the Bigelow community better by getting involved in some of the PTO activities.

Volunteering enriches the school community: every bit of effort helps and any amount of time you can contribute to support our children, the school and our community is invaluable! Check out many opportunities HERE. We have immediate need for:

• 6th Grade Potluck Host – Consider co-hosting with another parent
• 8th Grade Activities Committee Chair – Consider co-chairing with another parent 
• TEN Tables Co-Chair – Una Simmons is the other co-chair
• Big Night Chairperson – Consider co-chairing with another parent 

These are tried and true Bigelow events that need parental leadership. The PTO has structured ways of running these events and will help you, but we need leaders to be in charge, please consider chairing.

The 2019-2020 Calendar is available on the NPS website, HERE.

As for Bigelow, below are a few dates to get on your calendars looking ahead to next year.

• Aug 27   Tue    Grade 6 Ice Cream Social (9 – 10am)
• Sep 3     Tue    First Day of School
• Sep 8   Sun   METCO Picnic @ Franklin Park
• Sep 11   Wed   Back to School Picnic @ Burr Park (5:30 – 7pm)
• Sep 21   Sat      6th Grade Potluck (7 – 9pm)

For the Grade 6 Parent Potluck – Sat. September 21 – 7:00pm – 9:00pm – we are looking for a 6th grade family to host. If interested please email us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com

Newton North High School uses the same online directory software that we use here at Bigelow (MySchoolAnywhere). We will be authorizing them to automatically import graduating students from our account so that no student is overlooked. This would be a great time to log in and make sure your information and share settings are up to date. Just login to: https://www.myschoolanywhere.com/login.a5w

If you still have children at Bigelow next year, you will be able to select which school to view upon logging in. If your child is not moving on to Newton North, please be sure to let the Newton North directory administration know so they can have the PTSO remove your child from the directory. Let us know if you have any other questions about this.

Medication Pick-up: Parents of students who have medication stored in the health room should pick it up by the last day of school, June 18. All medication (pills, epi-pens, inhalers, etc.) not picked up will be discarded. Please plan ahead to pick medication up so it is not wasted! Medication may not be carried home by the student — it must be picked up by an adult. School nurses will not be available after June 18 to return medication to families.

Medication Order Reminder: All medication orders expire at the end of the school year. If you are visiting your child’s health care provider during the summer, consider requesting a new medication order for your child. All medication, prescription or over-the-counter, requires an order. The Medication Permission Form and the Medication Policy are both available online at  www.newtonma.gov/schoolhealth

West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease Prevention: Mosquito and tick-borne diseases like West Nile Virus and Lyme disease occur in Newton residents. Take steps to avoid getting sick! 

• Mosquito repellant not only works for mosquitoes, but helps repel ticks as well. Use a repellant with DEET, and follow label instructions for concentrations appropriate for children.
• Avoid being outdoors during peak mosquito hours, particularly once West Nile Virus has been detected in the mosquito population.
• Remove containers around your home (tires, kid pools, pots, tarps) that could allow mosquitoes to breed.
• Check your body for ticks after being outdoors and remove them immediately to avoid disease transmission. 

Shoo the flu! Seasonal influenza vaccine will be offered this fall during the school day to students and employees. The vaccine will be available to all students in Kindergarten through grade 12, by parental consent only. Consent and screening forms will be posted at www.newtonma.gov/flu by early September, in preparation for the fall clinics. 

Have a happy and healthy summer!