The arrival of the new hybrid model is fast approaching! The hybrid schedule, which includes in-person classes two days per week for students who selected the hybrid model, begins Monday, November 16. Here’s a checklist of steps for you and your child/children to get ready.

Cohort

Check your learning model in Aspen. These are the cohorts that you selected or your child has been assigned to. They determine your child’s schedule of classes.

All students will remain with their same cluster teachers in the hybrid model and many will continue to be in the same class sections. Some students’ class sections have been changed in order to meet the social distancing requirements in each room for each cohort.

Laptop Computer

Please make sure your child:

•  Has earphones and microphone. We recommend earbuds with a built- in microphone
•  Re-charges the laptop battery every night before attending classes.
•  Safely carries the laptop, earphones with microphone, and recharging cord to a from school on the days that your child attends in-person classes.
• Grade 8 laptops have been delayed—we will let you know when they are ready for pick-up.

If you have not done so already, pick up your child’s Chromebook at Bigelow on the following dates and times: Monday, November 9, 12-4:30pm or Tuesday, November 10, 8-12noon. More information here.

 School supplies

Each grade has revised and simplified supplies that students need to bring to school initially for in-person classes. Your child should bring the following items to school on their days:

•  2 Two-ply Masks
• Backpack
• Chromebook with headphones/microphone and recharging cord
• 1 Spiral-bound notebook with paper
• Pens and pencils with erasers
• Refillable water bottle (on sale at the School Store for $5)
• Warm clothing for inclement weather. (We will be going outside regularly for mask breaks.)
• Independent reading book
• Grade 8 Math only: whiteboard, whiteboard marker and eraser, and 1 graph paper 8 ½’ x 11” notebook

Zoom links

Watch your google calendar for new meeting zoom sessions links next Thursday and Friday, November 12-13. Teachers will send them to you then. Your google calendar is your primary and only schedule. Because we are on a 6 week cycle, there are no more color-coded templates. You can also check Aspen on a day by day basis to see your daily schedule.

Powerpoint Presentation on Health and Safety Procedures

All students will view a narrated powerpoint presentation by Principal Todd Harrison during advisory on Tuesday, November 10, 8:30am. In it he will share information about the many new health and safety procedures that we are using this year.

For Parents Only: Info on Split-Hybrid Plan

If you missed Principal Todd Harrison’s parent information meeting on the split-hybrid plan on October 26, you should view the powerpoint or the recording of the meeting:

• Split-Hybrid Info Meeting Powerpoint
• Split-Hybrid Info Meeting Video

The Chromebooks for 7th graders have arrived! If you have not gotten your device on Friday you can pick it up on: Monday, November 9, 12-4:30pm or Tuesday, November 10, 8-12noon

Please come to the front entrance on Vernon Street during these times, and ring the door bell. A staff member will bring your child’s laptop and recharging cord  to the front door.

Each student has been assigned a device and will be given one unless they already received one this year or notified the IT Department in advance about a Spring handout still in use. All students should have their own personal headphones with a built-in microphone. An earbud/microphone set is recommended.

Please see the Chromebook Use and Care Quick Reference which includes information on connecting the device to your home wireless network. Also linked is the Secondary Acceptable Use Guideline Poster that we share with students every year. Please review it with your child before using the device. We expect the laptop to be used for school-related purposes.

Students should charge their device every night, and bring it along with their recharging cord and headphone/microphone set to and from school every day that they attend in-person classes. The laptop and related equipment should be safely carried in a backpack. We recommend that you get a case for it. Students are responsible for its safekeeping, and should never leave it unattended in an unsecure location.

Chromebooks for 8th graders are not ready yet; we will let you know when they are here.

In order for staff to prepare for the transition to the hybrid model, there will be NO Classes and NO School for students on Thursday, November 12 and Friday, November 13.  Wednesday, November 11 is the Veterans Day holiday, so students will not have school on Wednesday-Friday, November 11-13.

2019-2020 yearbooks are ready for pickup on Monday, November 9, 12-4:30pm or Tuesday, November 10, 8-12noon

Please come to the front entrance on Vernon Street during these times, and ring the door bell.

If you did not order a yearbook and want a copy, we have a limited supply of extra books available for purchase. Bring $25 in cash or check made out to Bigelow Middle School.  These books will be sold on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last.

Congratulations to the yearbook committee on a great edition!

Jerry Craft  – Coretta Scott King Book Awards author winner and 2020 Newbery Medal winner – presented to all 500+ students and faculty at Bigelow Middle School on November 4th. Jerry’s award-winning graphic novel, New Kid, is Bigelow’s 2020 One School, One Book selection. The Zoom webinar was facilitated by Bigelow librarian, Patty Summa, and 7th grade English teacher Rebecca Robles. Students learned about Jerry’s path to becoming a graphic novelist and the creative process behind New Kid and the recently released sequel, Class Act. Students asked questions while Jerry demonstrated how he illustrates characters for these and other novels.

The Bigelow PTO funded this program through One School, One Book and Creative Arts and Sciences programs, thanks to our community’s generous contributions!

It was a beautiful, sunny Halloween day and 11 Bigelow teams showed up for our first Bigelow PTO Scavenger Hunt.

Teams had to collect over 30 items and answer questions about Bigelow in just four hours. A few teams did really well and got everything right. Oh yeah! But one team did it in less than one hour. The winning team – who received a $25 J.P Licks gift certificate  – was formed of two 6th grade families: the Pumpkin Smashers. Congratulations!!!

Thank you to all the students, family members and friends who participated in our social event yesterday. We hope you had fun and that you – and many more – will join us again next year!

Here are some of the items the teams had to bring back and some questions they had to answer:

• Photos of 3 grave stones
• Any country’s flag
• Turnip
• Video of team singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”

• What do these Bigelow-related acronyms stand for: PoPS, CAS, FORJ, METCO, BAC, GSA.
• How many bike racks does Bigelow have?
• What are 3 of the many things that the PTO funds?

Do you know the answers? (The teams did not have the links, of course).

6th grader Alleena P. is the winner! Congratulations!

School Calendar

School will NOT be in session for middle school students on Thursday November 12 and Friday November 13. During these two days, faculty and staff will be trained on the health and safety protocols necessary to transition students to the building and will conduct instructional preparation for the new schedule. Please note that these days will not need to be made up at the end of the year as they had been reserved them for use as professional development days during the 2020-21 school year.

Updated start and dismissal times

Beginning November 16, the start and end times for hybrid students in Cohort A (Monday & Tuesday) and Cohort B (Thursday and Friday) will be 8:15 am – 11:30 am.
Students who return home will have class online in the afternoon with classes ending at 2:50 p.m.

Wednesday is an all distance day for most students and the school day is 8:15am-1:40pm.

All Bigelow students are invited to participate in a virtual presentation with Jerry Craft, Newbury Award-winning author of New Kid, Wednesday, November 4 at 10am.
More details and a Zoom link will be provided closer to the presentation.

The Bigelow PTO funded this program through One School, One Book and Creative Arts and Sciences programs, thanks to our community’s generous contributions!