On Tuesday, April 2, 2019 Superintendent David Fleishman will host a forum on the vaping epidemic among youth. The evening will include a panel of speakers providing health, wellness, and prevention education on the topic of vaping. Attorney General Maura Healey will provide the keynote for the event. Medical experts and NPS educators will provide information, insight, and education for families and community members.
We do hope you will mark your calendar and join us for this very important event. To RSVP, please follow this link:
https://goo.gl/forms/bvNsftl4K2RVAlGc2
Event details are below:
When:            Tuesday, April 2^nd
Time:              7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Location:        Newton South High School Auditorium (140 Brandeis Rd.)

On March 28, the the working group who is in charge of hiring the new food services management company for Newton schools will be interviewing representatives from Sodexo and Whitsons (the two companies that sent proposals) in order to determine which vendor we will be moving forward with once the current contract with Sodexo expires later this year.

While the interview is not open to the public, Matthew Miller, from the School Committee, feels that the parent/student/community voice needs to be heard. As such, they have assembled a form to collect questions.  

Please send your questions here: https://goo.gl/forms/4Fq3vABGNG6zJwrq2

More information at:  http://bigelowpto.org/2019/03/food-service-request-for-proposal/

“This was the most fun I have ever had at school!” quote from a 6th grade cast member.

The Parents of Performing Arts Students – PoPS would like to thank all the staff, teachers, families, and students for making Shrek the Musical such a success! The PoPS would like to give a special thanks to Mrs. P, Ms. A, and Ms. Mo for all their energy and support of our kids. Also, thanks to the support of the Bigelow community, PoPS raised over $1000 to support the program!

Message from School Committee Member Matthew Miller:

“Dear Newton Parents,

I am writing to provide an update regarding the Food Service Request for Proposal.

Sodexo is currently finishing up the 3rd year of three back-to-back 1-year contracts. NPS is required to put out an RFP (Request for Proposal). We approved adding two additional years to the contract for a total of 5 back-to-back years with the hope of making us more attractive to vendors.

The FRP group includes:

Dana Bennett (K-8 PEHW Coordinator)
Liam Hurley (NPS Finance)
Cindy Brown (Purchasing)
Eva Thompson (Interim Assistant Superintendent of Elem. Ed.)
Jon Ledwick (Consultant with Edvocate)
Stephen Marshall (Grants Manager, with Food Service experience)
Matthew Miller (SC Rep)

We have met twice as a group, the most recent meeting being held yesterday to review the proposals that have come in.

At the most recent meeting we reviewed the two proposals that have come in. Those include Whitsons and Sodexo. We had expected Chartwell and Aramark to also put forth a proposal. However, they did not. We think this is b/c after crunching numbers they realized they could not make it work. We are calling them to find out more. However, one theme of our discussion yesterday was that NPS is not that attractive to vendors. Some vendors are much better suited for bigger cities where more students (if not all) take advantage of school lunch. It is also helpful to note that we have basic criteria that a potential vendor needs to meet in order to be able to send in a proposal. Given the size of our district, we are limited in options.

Both Whitsons and Sodexo have put together proposals in the form of glossy, colorful binders full of info. While this info is proprietary, the info can be found online. I am in the process of going through the hundreds of pages and will be sharing my analysis. Happy to answer questions as well.

At the meeting yesterday, we established that both vendors meet the minimum criteria to set forth a proposal. The next step is to interview each vendor. These interviews will take place on March 28th from 9-1:30P. We are inviting a team of key stakeholders to watch observe yet not speak at the interview. I am sure many of you want to be a part of this team. To be fair, we are working with the administration and PTO council to get an appropriate cross section of our community including parents, students, High School, Middle School, Elementary School, teachers, custodians, principals and community members. We are currently reaching out to those individuals. That small group of 10 reps will be able to contribute interview questions and lend insight during a debrief. As such, I will be doing my best to collect your questions ahead of time so we can represent what is important to you. After the interview, we will be able to provide a summary.

The interview is one part of an evaluation process. We will be meeting after the interview to compare notes. At that time we will make a decision about which vendor we will move forward with.

One concern that was raised yesterday is how our community will react knowing that we are going to have to choose between Sodexo and Whitsons. Numerous complaints have come in about both companies, and participation rates have not increased. This is why we are, for the first time, involving the community in the process. Both companies have the ability to provide a higher level of quality. It is important for us to work together to decide which represents the best options and the best Food Service Director.

Finally, while there are many areas that we are focused on including conservation, allergies, communication, organic options, local options, etc., as a group we agreed that the number one priority is creating meals that are attractive, delicious and healthy. We are prepared to support whichever vendor we choose so that they can focus on improving food quality first and foremost.

Thank you,
Matthew”

Original message on the Newton Parents group.

Our last planning meeting for Big Night is this Monday, March 18th at 7:30pm, at the home of Karen Markson, at 150 Hunnewell Ave.

We will continue our planning for Big Night, the biggest fundraiser for the Bigelow community, held this year on Saturday, March 30, 7:30-10:30 pm.

We ask for your participation so we can make this a successful fundraiser for the Bigelow community. Please join us and see how you can help!