Break out your Bigelow colors and walking shoes––it’s parade time!

Students and families are invited to join all the Newton Public Schools in marching in the 250th Anniversary Salute to Service Parade on May 17th from 3-5pm. We are excited to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and include additional features, floats, and new traditions. This year, the parade date was moved a week ahead of Memorial Day to Armed Services Weekend.

Show your school spirit by walking together as a community, then celebrate at the finish with a well-earned ice cream treat from Cabot’s. Please RSVP here, so there is enough ice cream for everyone. *If you are interested in wearing Bigelow’s mascot costume and riding a float with other mascots, please email our PTO at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com to let them know!

Parents/caregivers, please sign up to walk alongside our students! Sign up here and we hope to see you on May 17th!    

Dear NPS Families,

As you may know, each year, parents, guardians, and students are able to nominate NPS and Out of District teachers and staff for a Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) Award. A SEPAC Award recognizes exceptional NPS and Out of District teachers, aides, behavior therapists, psychologists, bus drivers, crossing guards, administrators, and other staff for the role they played in a student’s special education journey this past academic year. Interested in nominating an exceptional NPS or Out of District teacher and/or staff member? The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 22nd. Here’s how the process works:

• Submit a nomination through the nomination form
• All celebratory nominations will be recognized
• The week of June 15th, your nominee will receive:
  • An email with the kind words you wrote about them and a short slideshow of anonymized nominations lifting up the good work taking place across the district.
  • A printed SEPAC Award certificate delivered to their school. 
  • Each principal will receive a list of nominees from their school.

Do you need to nominate everyone from your student’s team? Please only nominate the teachers and staff members who you feel have been exceptional!

Questions? Reach out to: newtonspecialeducationawards@gmail.com

Thank you so much for your participation recognizing the exceptional NPS and Out of District teachers and staff who work so hard to support special education students. Please help us share this message as widely as possible so the SEPAC Awards can reach all corners of our community!

Warmly, 

2025-2026 SEPAC Board

Bigelow Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ) is a committee focused on advancing racial justice through education, action, and community building.

We want to know how we can improve!

Click HERE for a quick feedback survey

Survey deadline is May 8th. Thank you for your insights!

Please support the Bigelow Drama Festival class this weekend as they perform The Giver.

Friday, May 8 Performance at Bigelow, 7pm. Tickets $5 for all or $1 with code BULLDOG if you need a discount! 

Saturday, May 9 METG Festival Performance at Dedham Middle School, 4:15pm. Tickets $15 in advance or $20 at the door. 

Tickets are now on sale for Bigelow’s Ten Tables annual progressive dinner fundraising event! Seats are limited and this event sold out last year so reserve your spot today!

Saturday, May 16th
6:30–8pm
Appetizers and Cocktail Party
**Address will be sent to those attending prior to the event**

7:45pm
Dinner locations will be distributed at 7:45 pm.

Click here to RSVP!

Bigelow families are invited to walk together in this year’s Walk for Hunger, a meaningful Boston tradition supporting food access across Massachusetts.

Contact: Hai Ly Burk | 808-344-0841, ms_haily@yahoo.com

Learn more: https://projectbread.org/walk-for-hunger/about

When you register, choose “Join a Team” and select the BIGELOW BULLDOGS team from the registration page.

We’ll gather as a Bigelow group at 8:45 am by the EMBRACE statue in the Boston Common). If you’re able, wear purple so we can easily find one another!

All are welcome – students, families, and friends. It’s a great way to come together, get outside, and support an important cause! Please consider donating to Project Bread.

In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5th – 9th), the Bigelow PTO will host three luncheons for our dedicated teachers and staff.  Each lunch will be catered by families from each grade:

Monday, May 4th: 6th Grade Families Sign-Up

Wednesday, May 6th: 7th Grade Families Sign-Up

Friday, May 8th: 8th Grade Families Sign-Up

We are also accepting monetary donations to fund luncheon items. If you would prefer to donate money, the steps are:

1. Venmo @BigelowTreasurer and add note “[Grade] Teacher Appreciation Lunch”.
2. Sign up for an item in the grade-specific SignUpGenius link above. In the comments include “Venmo to Bigelow PTO [$ amount]”.
3. A PTO volunteer will cover that item for you the day of the luncheon. 

This will be our final staff appreciation event of the year. Let’s give our Bigelow staff a big thanks for all that they do!

If you have any questions, please contact:

6th grade: Heather Hanson heather.freshdesign@gmail.com or Jennifer Rosenthal at jrosenthal222@gmail.com

7th grade: Tara Raposa at taratmr@gmail.com

8th grade: Nisa Dailey at Nisa@okdailey.com

The PTO echoes Dr. Green’s thanks to Dr. Jordanna L’Esperance (Dr. J) for her April 15th presentation on middle school mental health and development. Dr. Green shared Dr. J’s slides – click here – if you were unable to attend this virtual meeting.

As Dr. Green mentioned, based on the significant interest in this topic we will hold a similar session for Bigelow parents in the Fall of 2026.

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 actively 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 our feeder schools. Click here for more open roles.

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

Yes, I want to get involved