Author Archives: Bigelow PTO

Seeking Newton Host family for Month of July

Give your family a wonderful month of cross-cultural experience this summer!    Nothing brings the world closer to home than a friendship with someone from abroad.  Educational Enrichment for Romanian Children (EERC), a small local non-profit, seeks host families for six Romanian students ages 13-15 for five weeks (late June to end of July).  The students are were chosen in a competitive process for their exceptional personal and academic qualities and speak English well.  One teen will attend Newton Environmental Science camp;  the five others will attend camps in Sudbury and Hopkinton.  You may select to host a boy or girl and preview their file.  For more information, please contact Dr. Dana Floru  at dfloru@eercboston.org,  tel 781-820-2324. Details about EERC can be found at www.eercboston.org

Drawing Class

Drawing Class for those starting out and those who want to expand their skills: Visual artist with 20 years teaching experience, Joan Mullen is offering two spring classes in her home studio in Newton Corner. Under her guidance in the Introduction to Drawing class, you will develop your drawing skills, your powers of observation and your ability to communicate visually, through sequential guided instruction. The Three-Dimensional Design/Introduction to Sculpture class will explore concepts and elements of 3-D design, developing technical skills while using a variety of materials. Joan Mullen has taught at the DeCordova Museum School, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts School, The Fuller Craft Museum and the Danforth Museum School. She is an Adjunct Professor at Bridgewater State College, where she has taught all levels of drawing and three dimensional design. Class size will be limited and is open to adults and mature teens. Intro to Drawing classes: Sundays 2:30-5:00pm 4/15-6/10 (no class 4/22); cost for 8 classes is $250 which includes studio fee, art supplies and portfolio. 3-D classes: Fridays 9am-11:30am, 4/13-6/11, cost for 8 classes is $260 which includes studio fee and sculpture supplies. Questions or to register: joanmmullen@rcn.com. Website: www.joanmullen.com.

Top Banana Registration open

Registration OPEN for 2012-2013 school year!

At Top Banana, your child will LOVE MATH!

  • Build confidence and self-esteem
  • Have fun learning and enjoy our interactive environment (no rote fact memorization drills)
  • Calculate mentally without pencil and paper (how cool is that?)
  • Perform better at school and improve MCAS and other standardized tests’ scores
  • Become more observant, organized, analytical and independent with homework
  • Learn multiple strategies to solve the same problem
  • Apply core math principals in everyday life
  • Study in small groups led by highly-qualified teachers

Call for FREE Trial Class

Offer is valid for one free trial class per child.
Expires 04/16/2012

If you have a student who will be entering grade 6 or above in the fall, we are planning on some new and exciting offerings during the summer.  These include learning to use Excel spreadsheets, basic programming and competitive math. For more details please call 617-795-1557

visit us at http://www.topbananaeducation.org

Read what parents say about us:
http://www.topbananaeducation.org/after-school-math-program-newton/testimonials

Brookline Music School – Summer Program

Summer Programs (June 25-August 23, 2012)

Summer is the perfect time to try out our programs. Whether your children are curious about sampling a variety of musical instruments or taking a beginners course, a teenager looking to play with others and record music, or an adult looking to take just a few lessons, BMS has the right fit for you!

Programs Include:

* Meet the Instruments! (Ages 6-9 years)
* Music & More (Ages 4-6 years)
* Sibling Dance (Ages 3-7 years)
* Young Beginners Piano: Introduction to Music for Little Mozarts (Ages 4-6 years)
* Beginning Piano Classes (Ages 7-12 years; 13 years and older; adult)
* Beginning Percussion Classes (Ages 4-6; 7 years and older)
* Voice for Beginners (Ages 7-9 years; 10-12 years)
* Music Technology/GarageBand (Ages 7 years and older)
* Two-Week Intensive Recording Project 
(Ages 8 years to adult)

Healthy Habits

3 Healthy Habits to Teach, and Re-Teach Your Kids

Eating Breakfast
The saying, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” still rings true. Eating a healthy breakfast is associated with improved cognitive function (especially memory), reduced absenteeism, and improved mood. Children often end up in the health room at school with a stomachache because they skipped breakfast. A healthy breakfast includes high-fiber foods such as fruit and whole grains. Try hard-boiled eggs, 100 percent fruit juice and high-fiber (low sugar) cereal with berries.

Frequent Hand Washing
Washing hands often and thoroughly is one of the most effective ways to prevent disease. Reinforce hand washing skills learned at school by encouraging your children to wash well. Here’s the procedure:

  • Wet hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap.
  • Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub them well; be sure to scrub the backs of hands, between fingers, and under nails.
  • Continue rubbing at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
  • Rinse hands well under running water.
  • Dry hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Sharing, or Not!
While we want children to learn to share most toys and books, sharing germs is not something we want them to do. Teach children not to share combs/brushes, toothbrushes, hats, toys used by mouth such as whistles, eating utensils and beverages. Sharing these things helps transmit diseases and lice. This particular habit is great to reinforce with older children and teenagers as they become more independent and often share food and drinks with their friends.
For more information on any of these topics, talk to the School Nurse or visit www.cdc.gov

Thank you – and one more 8th Grade Fundraiser…

Thank you to all members of the Bigelow community for your help on our recent fundraising efforts for the 8th grade WL trips to NYC and Quebec! On Friday, February 23rd we had a bake sale, a raffle to shave Mr. Waldman and Mr. Spiegel, and a dough raiser at UNOs. All of these events were a total success and would not have been possible without all of your help! Thank you so much! Please keep an eye out for future fundraising events…

As another fundraiser for the 8th grade WL trips to NYC and Quebec, we recently conducted a T-shirt Design Contest. All students were encouraged to submit entries, and we received so many! We then narrowed down the designs and had all students vote for their favorite design. The winning design was created by 6th graders Jonathan H. and Connor F. It really turned out great! We will now be creating t-shirts with this winning design, and taking orders for them. The t-shirts must be ordered in advance. Order forms for the t-shirts will be going out to all students soon, and I will also attach a copy. Please return all order forms to Ms. Calabria (Room 213 or mailbox) by Friday, April 13th.

Soccer Camp

Boys and girls, ages 6-13, entering grades 1-8, are invited to attend a one week soccer camp geared on fun and development.  The camp will run August 6th-9th (Monday-Thursday) 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM at DeFazio Park’s turf fields in Needham.  Cost is $215.  Camp brochure can be found at http://www.needhamsoccer.com/Portals/76/docs/Clinics%20Camps/NSC%202012%20summer%20clinic%20brochure%20U-littles.pdf.

The Oak Hill/Brown Speech Team Night

The Oak Hill/Brown Speech Team Night
Tuesday, April 10th from 6pm – 8pm
Oak Hill Middle School Auditorium

This special event will showcase our talented students’ performances in several categories, including prose, poetry, children’s literature, duo/multiple interpretation, original oratory, declamation, demonstration and impromptu.

We look forward to sharing the results of the team’s hard work and dedication, earning accolades and honors in both practice sessions and tournaments throughout Massachusetts.

Speech Team provides students with skills that last a lifetime – the ability to present oneself in small and large groups, overcoming the fear of speaking in public, being a part of a competitive yet supportive team environment and experiencing the excitement of major tournament competition. The Oak Hill/Brown Speech Team is a proud member of the Massachusetts Middle School Forensics League (MMSFL) and competes in MMSFL Tournaments throughout the state during the school year.

Come see why our students earn top honors in state-wide competitions!

Questions? Email Coach Robyn Steinberg at robyn@massallergy.net.

ASC A+ Program

The ASC A+ Program is a year-round youth academics program for students in grades 1 through 12, with a special focus on improving and refining study skills in composition, reading, mathematics, and test-taking skills for the SAT, ISEE, and MCAS.  A+ offers a unique summer program for academic enrichment that gives students a “head start,” advancing their writing and math skills to excel in the following school year.

Please visit our website for more information: www.aplusyouthprogram.com