Message from Newton Community Pride –
We are sorry to inform that NewtonSERVES on Sunday April 26, 2020 is cancelled. NewtonSERVES is about connecting and coming together to do work that benefits our community. While we do this on NewtonSERVES day altogether, we also each do this every day in a million small ways! In these very uncertain times, please keep your neighbors and friends in mind. Wishing you and your family all the best.
We realize these can be complicated times for many in our community. But we can help each other! Please fill out this form if you are looking for assistance OR if you are able to offer help. (Note that all information is only visible to the PTO Board)
Bigelow Families Support Network Form
If you would like to speak with someone instead of answering this form, please reach out!
Text or call: (617) 631-0625
Email: bigelowbulldog@gmail.com
Take care and stay healthy!
Below is a list of Bigelow contacts if you need additional information or have other questions:
If you….
❏ have a general question about school, contact Mr. Harrison: harrisont@newton.k12.ma.us
❏ have concerns about my child’s social emotional needs, contact your child’s guidance counselor or the school psychologist:
❏ have a concern about your child’s health, contact Head of School Nurses, Ruth Hoshino hoshinor@newton.k12.ma.us
❏ have a question about your student’s learning: Contact your child’s team teacher.
❏ your child is on a 504 or IEP and you have a question about their needs or questions about special education services: Contact Assistant Principal for Student Services, Courtney Rau Rogers raurogersc@newton.k12.ma, or your child’s caseworker.
Note from Mr. Harrison:
You can expect:
● Your child’s team teachers will be in touch with you and your child via email or video by the end of this Friday, and then once a week afterwards.
● Team teachers will share with your child learning activities for each week. The learning activities will be standards-based grade level content activities that may review material already learned and deepen understanding. They will not serve to teach new content, be collected or graded, or be used as assessment toward term grades.
● In addition to the learning activities shared by teachers, NPS has created online resources called “NPS Learning from Home” that can be found by following the link below: www.newton.k12.ma.us/covid19
● Guidance counselors will be available to connect families with community resources and offer social emotional support. They are also a resource for questions about connecting with teachers.
● Special Education liaisons will be in touch weekly to ensure that students on their caseload have access to enrichment activities and to support students’ social emotional needs through virtual connections.
● The Bigelow administration will be available to respond to parent inquiries. The best way to reach us is via email, which we will be checking daily.
● All Bigelow faculty will be checking emails daily.
● I will send out a weekly email or video in an effort to maintain our strong community connections.
Thank you for your patience as we have worked with our NPS administrators and faculty to determine the best way to provide learning opportunities to our students during this extended school closure.
As many of you have quickly learned over the past few days, it is not possible to truly replicate the traditional PreK-12 school day at home. School is a place where learning is engaging, creative, and differentiated. It is a place where students receive academic, as well as social and emotional supports. And so, while we cannot re-create the school day at home, we can provide you with resources that will provide continuity of learning for our students during this uncertain time.
On this page, you will find links to resource pages our teachers and staff have compiled for families. The resources are divided by level (PreK-5, Middle, High) and many are further divided into “Review and Practice,” “Games and Activities,” and “Extend Your Thinking.” These materials and activities are not intended to replace classroom instruction or to substitute for it in any way. They are meant to help your student remain connected to school and engaged in learning and to help you, as parent/guardian, create routines to help manage at home while we are out of school.
Over the next three weeks, teachers will be reaching out through weekly communication to their classes with specific recommendations for learning activities that students and families complete each week. These activities are grade appropriate and can be completed by students independently or with support from their family. Special education staff, English language learning teachers, and counselors and other staff are also available to communicate with students and families. In addition, we have developed a Frequently Asked Questions document to answer questions you might have.
If you need access to a device or assistance with internet connectivity in your home, please visit our technology page for more information.
We realize these can be complicated times for many in our community. But we can help each other!
Please fill out this form if you are looking for assistance OR if you are able to offer help. (Note that all information is only visible to the PTO Board)
Bigelow Families Support Network Form
If you would like to speak with someone instead of answering this form, please reach out!
Text or call: (617) 631-0625
Email: bigelowbulldog@gmail.com
Take care and stay healthy!
Other Community Resources
Newton Public Schools published a page in their website for COVID-19 Information and Resources. Please bookmark it and check it often as the district is constantly updating it. It includes:
Reading
Walking
Dear Bigelow Families,
You should have received a message from David Fleishman with updates about our school closure. Thank you all for your patience and flexibility over the past 48 hours as we deal with this unique health challenge.
The NPS Office of Teaching and Learning is assembling a collection of materials to provide enrichment and connectedness opportunities for your children during this closure. The materials will provide educational opportunities and activities at grade level for your children while school is closed. They are not intended to replace classroom instruction, or to substitute for instruction in any way. Rather, they are supplemental–grade-level activities that are interesting and fun and encourage students to explore new topics on their own.
As David mentioned, all school activities have been postponed. We’ll revise our schedule for trimester 2 report cards and other key events once we resume normal school functioning. In regards to the grade 8 New York City field trip in June, no decision has been made about it yet. We are working with our travel company, EF, to explore options for the trip, and will re-assess the situation later in March. Please refrain from contacting EF’s travel support team directly until we determine our plan for going forward.
Please take care. We will be in touch with further information. Stay well.
Todd
Todd M. Harrison
Principal’s
617-559-6800
03.11.20 – Principal’s Update on School Events and Activities
Dear NPS Families,
We write to provide you with an update on our school closure related to COVID-19. While we continue to assess the situation and ultimately make a firm decision on the length of our closure, we want to let you know what to expect over the next few days.
Because we had only used one of our five “snow days” when we decided to close, the days out of school until Wednesday, March 18th, will be considered “snow days.” Only these four days are required to be made up at the end of the school year, which means that the last day of school for students is now firmly set for Wednesday, June 24th. As with any snow day, there are no expectations of academic work by students and teachers are not expected to provide assignments or instruction. Next week, we will provide you with an update on next steps to support student learning.
We know a school closure may impact our most vulnerable families, especially those experiencing food scarcity. Food resources, as well as additional resources and updates related to COVID-19, can be found on our website at: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/COVID19
As a reminder, the decision to close schools is an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. It will only be effective if the community also takes steps to practice self-isolation, monitor for any symptoms, and avoid large gatherings. We need all community members to do their part or the school closure will not be successful in limiting the spread of the virus. Of course, all school activities regardless of location, including athletics, parent/teacher conferences, club meetings, and extra-curricular classes are cancelled until further notice.
We will be in touch with you next week as our plans progress. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this unprecedented situation.
Sincerely,
David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools