The yearbook order deadline has been extended! If you haven’t ordered a yearbook yet for this most memorable year, now is the time to do so! The final deadline to order is next Monday, June 1.

Order yours today @ YBPAY.LIFETOUCH.COM
Yearbook ID Code: 1945920

For more information or go to Bigelow Yearbook or contact Ms. Rice @ rices@newton.k12.ma.us

Mr. Swan, Bigelow 8th Grade Civics teacher, wrote a note to parents when he had some unexpected extra time on his hands on May 19th.  The message was mainly to 8F parents, but other parents and students are invited to read as well. This is an excerpt:

“I am sure that you and/or your children have had a similar experience [bad internet connection, problems accessing meetings, etc.] in the past 2 months – probably more than once!  We ask the same questions: What’s the point? Why keep trying? Is it even worth the effort? Sometimes we choose to persevere and do the best we can. Other times we have to stop and walk away, like I chose to do today. Maybe that was the wrong choice and maybe I should have tried a little longer.

This raises a larger point, that you and your children have probably also considered at least once. Why continue to bother with schoolwork? That’s a fair question! The weather is finally improving, the novelty of distance-learning wore off long ago, and there are no official grades. Some students are clearly seeking the bare minimum to earn a “Pass” for our classes. They submit just 1 of the 3 tasks for a class, or rush through all 3 by Tuesday morning so you won’t keep asking about their homework. They join the Zooms for attendance credit, but mute the device so they can’t hear our voice. (That’s right, kids, we know what you’re doing!) A few others have been ‘ghosting’ us for weeks. Meanwhile, the majority of our 8F students have diligently attended Zoom sessions and submitted solid classwork week in and week out since March without a break. That’s been an impressive achievement that we do not take for granted!

Really, though, why should kids continue doing all their schoolwork? In some situations, I honestly believe the answer is “they shouldn’t”. Many middle- and high-schoolers are caring for younger siblings so their parents can work.  That is a hefty and valuable responsibility which we should encourage and facilitate for as long as it’s necessary. Many family routines and roles have been jumbled and not yet replaced, so schoolwork may not clearly fit into teenagers’ lives. I know from recent surveys I’ve conducted that the majority of my students are grieving lost relatives, fearful about losing others, and/or concerned about their parents’ employment. Last week, 43% of 8F students reported they know somebody who currently has COVID19. I was crushed by these numbers as they poured into my GoogleForm, and they are still haunting me.

Yes, some students benefit from and crave the structure that schoolwork can provide, and we have seen some kids thriving under the current conditions, without being as overscheduled or distracted by peers. And yes, many teachers are providing some really cool and unique learning activities like at-home science experiments and virtual field trips. My colleagues and I are working and collaborating every week to squeeze all the lemonade we can get from this lemon of a pandemic. There is a lot of educational value available to students who can mentally access the material, and perhaps that is a good enough answer to the question “Why continue to bother?”

Here’s the part you really don’t want to hear, but if you read this far then we might as well keep going: The start of the next school year will probably look a lot like Whatever This Is, folks. Zoom is at least a part of the ‘new normal’. Gmail is the main line of student-teacher-family communication for the near future. Videos, podcasts, and other online media will play a large role in instruction at all levels, from college to pre-K. (My wife runs a daily videoconference “circle time” with her preschool students from a ‘recording studio’/office we created last month from a bedroom closet.)

Sorry, kids, I really am. But you gotta get used to This.

Whatever systems and skills and strategies our students can develop this month will certainly serve them well in the future. Maybe the content of our assignments doesn’t much matter (and we all know it’s not actually graded or scored), but the process and personal preparation certainly do. This is a great time for children to figure out how to actually use Gmail features, like labels and tabs (and emojis!) and respond to their teachers’ messages. If they can only focus on 1 class, then just be honest with the other teachers and learn the heck out of that class in the final weeks. And I definitely hope they can get practice to bounce back from setbacks, because we’ve got more of those to come. Parents: if you keep supporting us in this effort, then you better believe we’ve got your back, too.”

Download full letter here: Mr Swan – May 19, 2020 letter to all

Mass General News, by Jennifer Nejman Bohonak, May 23

In March, when COVID-19 cases were skyrocketing in Boston, young musicians and siblings Elizabeth and Ethan Qian-Tsuchida from Newton, Mass., heard notes of fear and uncertainty.

Their father, Toby Tsuchida, information security officer at Massachusetts General Hospital, and their mother, Kelly Qian-Tsuchida, a pharmacist at Winchester Hospital, shared stories from the frontlines: Intensive care units filling up with very sick patients; the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center becoming a field hospital; family friends working in health care making great sacrifices and saving lives.

Responding to COVID-19 Fears
Elizabeth, 14, an eighth grader at Bigelow Middle School in Newton, has played piano since she was about 5 years old, performing in national competitions at Carnegie Hall. Her brother, Ethan, 12, began playing cello two years ago after studying other instruments. “There is always going to be hope and inspiration, even during dark times.”

They wanted to use their talent to bring hope to an anxious community and raise money for health care workers. The brother-sister duo performed together before the COVID-19 pandemic, but with stay-at-home orders moving their music groups online, they have become each other’s only real-time music partners.

Elizabeth and Ethan created an online fundraising page through Mass General’s BeCause community and are posting weekly piano and cello duets. So far, they have raised more than $2,500.

Classical Expressions
The siblings use their living room to record their concerts. As they perform, they appear as silhouettes — an artistic decision to emphasize that Boston is in a dark time right now, explains Elizabeth. “Music is the light at the end of the tunnel. There is always going to be hope and inspiration, even during dark times,” she says. When Elizabeth feels uneasy, she plays piano — listening as the notes she knows by heart float on air and calm her.

Continue Reading…

On behalf of the PTO and the Bigelow Auction committee, we’d like to extend our sincere THANKS for your charitable donations and sponsorships to our first ever Bigelow Online Auction. Every item donated, every dollar sponsored and every bid, made a world of difference! Despite the challenges COVID-19 has brought to our lives and the adjustments we had to make, with YOUR generosity, we still raised over $11,000! We’re so very proud and grateful for the strength of our community – BIGELOW, you came through!

Special thanks to Mr. Todd Harrison, Mr. Mogenson, our amazing teachers.  and to the auction committee : Cheryl Abramson, Alexia Giannakopoulos, Una Simmons, Karen Markson and Joana Canedo – they are at the forefront of our cause and their efforts and commitment  have allowed this event to be a huge success. In addition, big thanks to Debbie O’Rourke, Susan Guinta, Beth Hicks, Caryn Lipchin, Kristyn Raymond, Shital Gandhi, Jenessa Freid, Simone Altindag, Ashley Ackerman, Heather Philbrook who’ve all volunteered to help and shared some great ideas for the auction!

We hope this was a positive experience for all and that we can continue to count on your support in the future. We look forward to next year!!

Please throw your hat in the ring by Wednesday, May 27th, so we can prepare a slate to be voted by all parents on Tuesday, Jun 2, 2020.
(Save the date! – All parents and guardians are invited to our Annual budget and voting meeting).

We have several PTO Board and committee roles open and we would love to have representation from all feeder schools. We are looking for leaders to share positions with the current board members, in order to ensure continuity to ur programs.

• Co-President (1): Rotating leaders who are accountable for the success of the PTO
• Vice President (1): Work with board and committee chairs to coordinate fundraising activities
• Secretary (1): Take minutes, keep the PTO calendar current, communication flow
• Creative Arts & Sciences (2): Help enrich the curriculum by planning cultural events for the student body
• More opportunities listed HERE.

Yes, I want to get involved

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 parents of incoming 6th grades to participate and learn more about middle school.

40% of respondents guessed it right. Other votes went to:
Mr. P, Ms. Levy, Mr. Labrache, Mr. Burtch, and Nurse Schy.

Click here to find out

Watch the Bigelow Music Video again.

Attention 8th Grade Families! Let’s Celebrate our 8th Graders!
Order a special Lawn Sign for your Bigelow 8th Grader!
Order here for $10. Last day to order is Sunday, May 31st.

Pick up date to be determined but definitely before June 18th!
Pick up at Signal Graphics on 441 Centre Street (next to CNN Pizza).