Take a look at the Bigelow PTO online store for face masks, t-shirts, hoodies and sweatpants.
Online orders will remain open until Friday, October 30th.
Items will be distributed at the Bigelow parking lot in November.
Dates and times to be announced.
Thank you to the Bigelow Student Council for the support and logo design!
Please save the dates for this year’s Back To School Nights. All sessions will be online on zoom. The schedule will be:
Over the last two weekends, the PTO organized get-togethers for students to meet in person outside of the school. We held 11 gatherings at the backyard of host families all across Newton and in Boston for over 70 students – mostly 6th graders but also a group of new 7th graders!
The feedback we got from the hosts was very positive and the parents indicated that their students had a terrific time and loved being in person with old and new friends.
Social interaction is so important for children and families and we are planning to have more social events in the coming months! Stay tuned for a Scavenger Hunt on Halloween and for a new version of our Ten Tables event.
If you would like to participate in organizing these or other events to bring our community together, please let us know! Contact us at: BigelowBulldog@gmail.com
Newton Safe Routes to School works to increase the number of students walking and biking to school and around the city for their health (active transportation) + reduce congestion and improve air quality by reducing the number of vehicles arriving at school. The Task Force works as a group with NPS and the city on any number of issues such as fixing safety issues, supporting crossing guards, resolving snow clearing problems, conducting bike and pedestrian safety training, etc. Working together SRTS is able to achieve more than individual schools.
Would you like to represent Bigelow at the Task Force?
The first SRTS meeting of the year will be at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14. This would be a good time for someone to learn more about the program. Please contact bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you re interested.
Click here if you want to learn more about SRTS in Massachusetts.
Dear Bigelow Community,
We are looking for a volunteer to help the PTO with our annual tax filings. If you are an accountant or lawyer specializing in taxes, we would greatly appreciate your assistance. Thank you!
Bigelow PTO Board
Bigelow Drama returns – now on zoom! Like so many things, drama will look very different this fall- but as they say, the show must go on! Whether you are interested in performing, writing, or technical theatre, we have a spot for you! Please join the After School Drama team on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 4pm or 7pm (pick whatever time works best for you) to hear about opportunities to participate in after school drama at Bigelow this fall.
For more information and for the Zoom link and passcode, please contact Ms Alberts: albertsj@newton.k12.ma.us
All info will also be posted on the Bigelow Drama website, at http://bigelowdrama.weebly.com/
The following message is from the City of Newton Office of Health and Human Services.
Flu Vaccine Clinics
Newton’s Health and Human Services Department has initially scheduled two drive-through/walk-up, appointment-based, weekend flu clinics open to Newton residents and Newton Public Schools students and their families.
Registration is not yet open for these clinics. Online appointment registration will open by early next week at www.newtonma.gov/flu.
Adults and children older than 6 months may be vaccinated at these clinics. Some high-dose flu vaccine will be available for adults who are at least 65 years old. These clinics are free and health insurance information is requested, but not required. If you do not have a vehicle, you may walk-up to receive a vaccine.
Additional dates may be added depending upon demand.
Appointments are required and may fill quickly. Alternatively, consider getting a flu shot at another time and place; they are available in many locations, including primary healthcare provider offices, local pharmacies, and urgent care clinics. A list of some additional options for flu shots can be found at newtonma.gov/flu.
Please join us for the Bigelow PTO Fall meeting this Thursday, October 1, at 7 pm with Principal Harrison, Superintendent David Fleishman and School Committee member (and Bigelow mom) Kathy Shields.
We hope you are able to join our Zoom meeting as we give a brief overview of the PTO.
Principal Todd Harrison will then spend a few minutes discussing the first weeks of school.
After that, we will have a Question and Answer session with Superintendent David Fleishman and Kathy Shields. If you would like to send questions in advance of the meeting, please click here.
Patty Summa, our school librarian, will also join us to talk about the One School, One Book, novel, “New Kid,” by Jerry Craft. She and Principal Harrison will chat about what Bigelow has planned for advisory activities around this wonderful book and the role that FORJ will play in leading discussions on racial equality.
Bigelow will virtually host Jerry Craft on November 4 at 10am as part of the One School, One Book initiative. The author of “New Kid” will be zooming with Bigelow students of grades 6, 7 and 8. Details will follow. This event is funded by the PTO and made possible thanks to your support!!!
In the meantime, the Newton Free Library is also hosting several events that might be of interest for our Bigelow readers and cartoonist enthusiasts and their families.
Draw Your Own Comics!
Wednesday, October 14th at 7 PM
Come have fun while drawing your own comics! In this workshop, students will play drawing games, generate ideas for their own characters, and start to write their own comic book stories. All levels of experience welcome! Workshop is run by Cathy G. Johnson, Providence-based writer and author of the graphic novel THE BREAKAWAYS! Registration required to receive the zoom link. For tweens in grades 5 to 8.
New Kid Trivia Night
Wednesday, October 21st at 7 PM
Use your “New Kid” knowledge to challenge your friends and family in a fun evening of trivia. Library staff will challenge players with questions from a variety of categories on Zoom. No restrictions on team size. One registration per team. The Zoom link will be sent out the day of the event. This event is kids, tweens, teens and their families.
New Kid Author Jerry Craft!
Wednesday, October 28th at 7 PM
Newbery Award and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author/illustrator Jerry Craft takes us behind the scenes of his bestselling graphic novel New Kid and the upcoming Class Act. Join us on Zoom as Jerry gives tweens and their families a look into his writing and drawing process. This event will be moderated by Morgan Harper, a Library Teacher at Peirce and Williams Elementary Schools. For 5th to 8th-graders and their families. Please use this google form to register for this event. We will send participants the Zoom link on the day of the event. This program is part of Overdue: Confronting Race and Racism in Newton, a city-wide read and series of events and conversations on race and racism.
Bigelow is rolling out the new 10 Day/2 Week schedules on Tuesday, Sept.29.
1) Teachers will send students new zoom meeting invitation links by Tuesday morning. These will populate your children’s google calendar, and are their primary “one-stop-shop” schedule, with all classes and meeting links in one place.
2) Here is a color-coded student schedule template for week 1 and week 2.
During Advisory on Tuesday morning, teachers will show students how to fill in each week using their day to day Aspen schedule. Once complete, students will have a color-coded schedule with all class times. This version is a secondary schedule for your child. Your child can complete electronically as a google.doc, or if you have prefer, you can print out a hard copy for your child to fill out by hand. Extra color-coded hard copies are available at Bigelow.
Download PDF here. Download Word document here.
On Tuesday, the school will offer a “help desk” in case a student has any difficulty with this new 10day/2 week schedule. Please email bigelow.support@newton.k12.ma.us if you have questions on Tuesday.
