Author Archives: Bigelow PTO

FORJ Codeswitching Film Discussion: Wed May 7 @7pm

Please join Bigelow FORJ for a facilitated film discussion of Codeswitching: Race and Identity in the Suburban Schoolhouse.

RSVP for the event is requested: RSVP HERE

Please watch the film prior to the event. It can be accessed for free at: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/codeswitching

Codeswitching presents the highly personal stories of two generations of students participating in the Boston METCO program. The discussion will be faciliated by Bigelow parent and University of Massachusetts Boston professor Dr. Amy Cook.

Bigelow Meeting with Superintendent Nolin: Thur May 8th @8:20 am

Please join us Thursday, May 8th at 8:20 am for a PTO meeting at Bigelow with Newton Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Anna Nolin, and members of the School Committee.

This is an important opportunity to learn about district initiatives and priorities for the future of NPS and for Bigelow. We look forward to a meaningful discussion with NPS leaders. Spread the word & bring a friend!

NPS Budget Update

There remains a significant gap between the Mayor’s funding allocation for the Newton Public Schools (NPS) for Fiscal Year 2026 and the budget approved by the School Committee to implement Superintendent Nolin’s recommendations for our schools. We greatly appreciate everyone’s advocacy efforts thus far. It is important that we continue speaking up and urging our elected officials to advocate for the needs of our students.

How can you help?

Attend meetings as a physical show of support
The City Council will discuss the NPS budget again on Thursday, May 8th. School committee meetings and information can be found HERE.

Contact Mayor Ruthanne Fuller
The Mayor alone determines the funding allocation for NPS. Tell her you support the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget and ask her to allocate additional funds to NPS.

Reach out to your City Councilors
While the City Council doesn’t set the school budget, city councilors are influential advocates. Urge them to support increased funding for NPS.

  • Find your ward and councilors using this map or by entering your address here.

Spread the Word
Talk to your neighbors—including those without school-aged kids. It’s vital that Mayor Fuller sees broad, citywide support for NPS.

Thank you for your support!

Enjoy your April Break!

Thank you to all the incredible volunteers who have helped make this spring’s many PTO events possible. Your contributions have truly made a difference.

And there is more to come! May is full of opportunities to connect, learn, celebrate, and support our Bigelow community. Mark your calendars and join us!

Wishing everyone an amazing April Break!

Donations For Teacher Appreciation Week: May 5-9th

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:

Please review sign-up links for each grade above, and deliver your donated item to Bigelow the morning of your grade’s luncheon. 

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

1. Venmo @BigelowPTONewton 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 teacher 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:

Volunteer for NewtonServes! Sunday, May 4th

Volunteer for Bigelow SERVES
Sunday, May 4th 10 am to 2 pm

Please join us Sunday, May 4th to help reinvigorate the green areas around Bigelow for NewtonSERVES 2025. The event will run from 10 am to 2 pm and volunteers are welcome to drop in for any amount of time. Every minute of your time helps!

Volunteers are encouraged to preregister HERE.

Please wear work clothes and bring a refillable water bottle. We also request the following items if you have them:

  • work/gardening gloves
  • yard tools (shovels, rakes, trowels, etc)
  • wheelbarrow
  • watering can

**Please label any tools you bring so we can be sure they are reunited with you at the end of the event.**

NewtonSERVES is an annual city-wide day of building community through service. NewtonSERVES projects focus on cleaning and improving our parks, school grounds, open space areas, and conservation lands. Please join us, Sunday, May 4th, to build our Bigelow Community while reinvigorating the green areas around the school!

All Bigelow families, friends, and neighbors are welcome!

7th Grade CAS Presentation: Mayhem Poets

On Thursday, April 10th, Bigelow 7th graders were invited to watch and participate in the engaging and inspirational performance of the Mayhem Poets. The Mayhem Poets offer timely, youthful, humorous, and hip spoken word poetry that reflects the thoughts, issues, and concerns of young people today. 

“Let’s go see a poetry show.” That is a sentence rarely proclaimed and usually responded to with cringes and excuses. The Mayhem Poets are on a mission to change that. Having been dubbed “an amazing ride” by the New York Times, this mind boggling performance has been described as “The Simpsons meets Malcolm X at a Notorious B.I.G. concert”. These theatre-trained, comedically-gifted, lyrical virtuosos seamlessly blend raw elements of hip hop, theatre, improv and stand-up comedy to tell gut-wrenching truths that leave audiences forever changed.

The Mayhem Poet’s unique approach to spoken word has landed them feature spots on The Today Show and Eyewitness News, after winning 1st place and a grant for 100K in the Microsoft Idea Wins Challenge in 2006. Since then they’ve been touring internationally from legendary venues like Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theatre, and Broadway’s New Victory Theatre; to hundreds of universities and local schools of all grades.

Please see below videos from their performance at Bigelow as well as samples of their events:

Bigelow Video 1
Bigelow Video 2
Video Sample (22 minutes)  (performance/audience participation)
Video Sample – short (audience participation)
Video Sample – short (performance) 

Creative Arts and Sciences (CAS) presentations are made possible by your generous donations to the PTO. Thank you!

Thank you “Tropical Twist” Volunteers!

Last Friday’s “Tropical Twist” Dance Party and Social was a HUGE success!

Many thanks to Paul Chin for spearheading this amazing event.

Special thanks to Principal Green, Student Council Advisor Mr. Leone, Mr. Mogensen, Bigelow Custodians, and Student Council Members for all their help.

Finally, thank you to the MANY parents who volunteer at the dance: Hai Ly, Rachanee Nelson, Erica O’Toole, Alex & Aparna Rolfe, Eugene Rhee, Mandy Carozza, Dominique Fowler, Alberto Pina, Jordan Wu, Angela Trimmis, Victoria Peake, and Anna & Neil Donnelly.