The Bigelow PoPS are all of us, the Parents of Performing Students.This community of dedicated parents was created by former Bigelow Parents of Performing Students in 2008 to support the performing arts through advocacy, fundraising, coordination, and volunteering and had been very active in that mission since.

Get involved! The PoPS have continued to support the performing arts department behind the scenes this year financially and whenever students or faculty has needed a hand. Your kids work hard in theatre and performances please help PoPS help them and consider volunteering next year. Please email bigelowbulldog@gmail.com to get involved!

Any parent or guardian who has a student in Orchestra, Chorus, Band, A Capella, and Drama are welcome and encouraged to participate in the PoPS and support our students and performing arts faculty.

• PoPS Volunteer Opportunities and Work

We are looking for volunteers to organize the 8th grade graduation and fundraising activities to support 8th grade end of year events.

The first event usually organized in the fall is a car wash and bake sale.

Learn more: http://bigelowpto.org/8th-grade-activities-2/

To express interest: bigelowbulldog@gmail.com

Advertising in the Bigelow Directory is a great way to promote your business and support the PTO! The advertisement will be used in both the printed Bigelow Directory and the online directory. It would be a color, full page print and the cost is $250.

Please contact Heather Philbrook at htphilbrook@gmail.com for more details.  Deadline is September 22, 2021.

RSVP HERE

The Bigelow PTO Family Directory is hosted online at Membership Toolkit. The access is free and it can be used by all Bigelow families. The directory is run and funded by the PTO thanks to your support!

The online platform is a secure and easy to use tool that organizes contact information from all Bigelow families unless they specifically opt out.  It is a convenient, environmentally conscious system, that can be updated throughout the school year.

Please confirm that your information is correct and up-to-date. Specific directions for accessing the Directory and verifying contact information is below.

Incoming 6th graders from Underwood, Lincoln-Eliot and Ward, have been automatically added to Bigelow’s Directory. The Membership Toolkit account for Bigelow will use the same login as your elementary school. Mason Rice and out of the district families will need to enter their information manually (see directions for new users below).

ACCESS THE DIRECTORY

Instructions: Accessing and Adding/Verifying Information

• Login as RETURNING USER, using the same login as last year at Bigelow or your elementary school, if you are:
• • • • Returning Bigelow family
      • Incoming families from Lincoln-Eliot, Underwood and Ward

• Login as NEW USER, and create a new account if you are:
  • Incoming families from Mason-Rice and out of the district
  • New families with students in Grade 7 and Grade 8
• Click “Verify my email” and then check your email for a link to complete the process. The link expires in 2 hours. If you do not receive the email, check your spam or junk folders.
• Once you have verified your email address, log back in and finish the registration process.

STEP 1: Complete the Parent/Family and then Student Information. Most of this information should already be available. Please just confirm it is correct. Or add new contact information.

STEP 2: Complete theDirectory/Publish Preferences.

Note: Once the Primary Account is set up, the Primary User can “invite” other email addresses to access his/her account. This allows the Secondary User to have their own login information, but still have access to the family account.

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.

The success of the system is dependent on every family logging in and updating their information. 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.

Get involved! We have many opportunities for you to participate in fun, community-building events. Commitment can be as big or as small as you like.

Yearbooks will be distributed to seventh and eighth graders who placed an order last year during lunches on Tuesday, September 14th.

We have a limited supply of extra yearbooks for sale. Students who did not place an order but want to purchase last year’s yearbook can do so on Tuesday during lunches as well. The price is $25, cash or check’s made out to Bigelow Middle School.

Meets Day 3 and 6 @ 7:15 – 7:55 AM Beginning Wednesday, 9/22. Contact Mr. Harlow for more info: harlowe@newton.k12.ma.us

Bigelow Middle School FORJ (Bigelow FORJ)  is a school-based chapter of Newton’s Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ). 

Bigelow FORJ is a group of devoted parents, faculty and administrators committed to raising anti-racist children who acknowledge the pervasiveness of systemic barriers; speak out against injustices; and seek action-oriented solutions.  We invite parents and children to engage in critical conversations that support questioning, challenging and dismantling systemic racism, structural inequities, including anti-Blackness, racial discrimination, unconscious biases and all other forms of racial injustice and social exclusion.

Please email us at bigelowforj@gmail.com and tell us if

• you would like to get our monthly announcements;
• you’d like to join our leadership committee;
• you have some ideas about how to promote antiracist work at Bigelow; and/or
• you’d like to participate in broader conversations on antiracism, diversity & inclusion.

Yuen Ler Chow and Elena Su are current freshmen at Harvard and MIT and the co-founders of the Greater Boston STEM Program (gbSTEM), an enrichment program that delivers free introductory computer science, math, and engineering courses to elementary and middle school students in the Greater Boston area. Since March 2020, their team of dedicated high school and college volunteers have brought free lessons to over 500 Massachusetts youth. Classes will be held both in-person and through Zoom, and will offer an innovative curriculum and collaboration-based learning model.

The fall semester of gbSTEM will run from September 26th to December 18th, 2021.

The registration deadline is September 17th, 2021.

Information about the program and the registration form can be found at https://gbstem.org

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