Author Archives: Bigelow PTO

Attention Cooks & Party People! TEN Tables is coming up!

Saturday, November 2, 2019, is the Bigelow PTO TEN Tables progressive dinner!

We need Hosts! One Host for Appetizers, One Host for Dessert and a few hosts for dinner.

Please consider opening your home to host the evening appetizer kick off, the dessert party or host a dinner. This event has been an enjoyable PTO fundraiser for many years at Bigelow, a great way for Bigelow caregivers to get together and raise money for our school and our children.

This event needs your help to be successful

Appetizer and Dessert Hosts

  • You can co-host with another family.
  • Appetizer house would need to host ~100 people for 1.5 hours (from 6:30pm to 8pm)
  • Dessert house would need to host ~ 60 people for 1.5 hours (from 10pm to 11:30pm)

I would like to host

Tips for the TEN Tables Dinners
1. Cook what you love! OR Order out and serve from your favorite restaurant!
2. Join together:  one household cooks while the other hosts the dinner.
3. Choose recipes that can be made ahead and kept warm until guests arrive.
4. Buffet style works for dinners as does sit-down.
5. If your family is new to Bigelow, this is a great time to get to know more people!
6. The PTO can help you if you need guidance or advice. Don’t hesitate to contact us!

TEN Tables is a progressive dinner and is held at several homes in succession on one night. A single course is served at each home. Everyone meets from 6:30-8pm at one house for drinks & light appetizers – perhaps cheese and crackers. There you receive your dinner hosts address. You then leave and go to dinner (with 6-12 other guests) from 8-10pm at your dinner hosts’ house. At 10pm everyone meets at the dessert house for to end the evening.

Please contact Una Simmons at una@ethannet.com or BigelowBulldog@gmail.com if you would like to host part of this fun evening or if you have any questions. Thank you!!!

New Menu App

Check out the new interactive menu app for school lunches. Write “Bigelow” or another Newton school on the research field and explore:

  • Find out about allergens and dietary restrictions and preferences
  • Check nutrition information, by clicking on the item name to view the ingredient statement
  • Print full weekly menus
  • Download the mobile app

Food Allergy: School cafeterias will maintain an allergen “right to know” station on every serving line, which includes a detailed listing of all of food products separated by allergen food categories. In addition, detailed ingredient information is available for freshly prepared menu items, as well as manufacturer labels for every pre-packaged item (i.e., snacks) through the foodservice director on site.

How PoPS supports the performing arts programs

In 2019, funds raised by the PoPS helped to support Bigelow performing arts programs, as well as the Bigelow community as a whole, thanks to improvements to the auditorium. The PoPS are still working with a surplus thanks to auditorium upgrades by NPS. Other performing arts items to be funded will be discussed throughout the school year. See meeting minutes for more information.

April 2019 – Spots!!

The PoPS funded the purchase of two new free standing spotlights to improve the stage lighting.

October 2019 – Instruments are safe with the PoPS!

80 locks were purchased for the Bigelow Arts Department to secure the instruments in the new lockers provided by NPS.

October 2019 – Let there be LIGHT!!

The new light board will be installed and an in-service will be paid for by the PoPS in the coming weeks. The tech crew is hoping the light will always shine brightly on our actors and musicians at Bigelow with the new house lights and now the improved stage lighting!

October 2019 – Making music real! 

The Pops will support a workshop and concert on October 18th by recording artist and songwriter Jean Rohe and her band. 7th and 8th grade chorus is singing her song “National Anthem: Arise! Arise!”. The opportunity to meet singers and songwriters brings music to life for the students in a unique way, we are pleased to support this venture! https://www.jeanrohe.com/

See pictures here.

Thursday: “Screenagers: The Next Chapter “

The Newton North and Newton South PTSOs are co-hosting a screening of the documentary Screenagers:The Next Chapter on October 10th at 7:00 PM in the Newton North Theater.  The film is about helping teens growing up in the digital age uncover skills for anxiety and stress management. A panel discussion will follow the film with experts from Newton Wellesley Hospital Pediatric Psychiatry and Newton High Schools counselors. All are welcome. 
More information: Screenagers: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience

Bigelow in the news: “If we want democracy to endure, shouldn’t we know something about it?”

Story from the Boston Globe, by Linda K. Wertheimer,October 1, 2019, 8:10 a.m.

Civics education in public schools has been on the wane for decades, and it shows. Here’s how Massachusetts is making it matter again.

It’s early September at Newton’s Bigelow Middle School, and a class of eighth-graders watch as the teacher sticks a blue slip of paper on a bulletin board. On the paper is the word “democracy.” The teacher, Andrew Swan, turns to them and asks, “What’s the opposite of democracy? What does it look like?”

The students stare at him — their silence gets awkward. A girl finally raises her hand and says: “Republican.” Swan shakes his head, and the girl and some classmates break into giggles. Swan smiles gently. He asks “What are you thinking of? Political parties?” The girl nods.

“This is democracy with a lowercase d,” Swan explains, in a classroom with posters on the back wall headlined “Periodic Table of the Constitution” and “Periodic Table of the Amendments.” It’s early in the semester, and there is a lot of ground to cover.

More on the Boston Globe. Or download PDF here.

Back to School Night is October 3

Bigelow’s Back To School Night for parents is next Thursday, October 3.

Please arrive in time to park, as parking can be difficult to find in busy nights like this. And don’t forget to bring a copy of your child’s schedule with you – a hard copy will be sent home with students on Tuesday (it is also posted in the Aspen parent portal).

Bigelow PTO Family Directory: get your copy this Thursday

Thank you to all the families who ordered a hard copy of the Bigelow PTO Family Directory.

Directories are ready to be distributed at Back to School Night, on Thursday 10/03. Please be there to get your pre-ordered copy at 6:30pm, in order to avoid lines and be ready to be at homebase by 7pm.

The PTO Family Directory is also available online and can be used for free by all Bigelow families.

6th Grade Social this Friday

As a warm-up to the all-school dance on October 25, all sixth graders are invited to attend their own Grade 6 Social on Friday afternoon, October 4, from 3:00-4:30pm. There will be games, ping pong, and pizza in the cafeteria, and music and basketball in the gym. Tickets are $6 and sold during lunch in the cafeteria beginning October 1st. This is an opportunity for 6th graders to have fun with new and old friends. The School Store will be open: students can bring cash if they want to buy snacks or a Bigelow water pouch.