Dear Eighth Grade Parents,

I  am reaching out to you with an update regarding our New York City trip with EF in June.  In response to health concerns there and everywhere, we  are NOT going on this field trip as originally planned. Thank you for your patience while we worked out the best refund options possible for you. The options provided by EF Explore America are the following:

1. Receive a Future Travel Voucher in the amount of all monies paid to EF, including non-refundable fees such as the program fee and insurance. Travel vouchers may be used to travel on any EF Tours or Language Schools program through September 30, 2022.  They are transferable at the face value of the voucher to  an immediate family member or through a private transaction with another traveler at Bigelow in the future at no extra cost. You can learn more about Future Travel Voucher redemption options and review Future Travel Voucher FAQs to answer your immediate questions. When we plan the trip again next year, as we expect to do, you may re-sell this voucher to another Bigelow family.
2. Or you may redeem this voucher for a cash refund of all monies paid less 25% of the Program Fee ($174.75). You have until September 29, 2022 to make a decision of whether you want to redeem the voucher for cash, so EF encourages you to wait and see. It usually takes at least 4 weeks to receive the refund.

You will not need to call the EF Traveler Support line to receive your voucher or refund; you will receive an email from them with your electronic voucher,  including instructions should you opt to cash it in for a refund.

This same information will be live on your EF Explore America online account if you log in at www.efexploreamerica.com/login. Please note: the website will reference a cancellation fee of $250 instead of the $174.75.  That is just due to the fact that EF’s cancellation policy terms changed for groups who had to cancel due to COVID-19.

Believe me, this was a disappointing decision to make. I am sorry the 8th graders will miss this opportunity at this time in their lives.  But of course, keeping them healthy and safe is more important.  These are extraordinary times. I appreciate your patience, flexibility, and understanding as we’ve worked through this with EF.

Best regards, Todd

Video Message from Nurse Schy

Nurse Petry and I have been working hard at our attempt at virtual communication with your children.  We’ve missed them all and would love to check-in with them in person.  We’ve created two chat rooms on Wednesday and Thursday starting April 8 for them to come to us with a question, a comment, or just to say hello. We’ll be there at the appointed time waiting for them.  Parents, if you have a specific question or concern, please either call or text Sue at (617) 564-1008, email her, or request a private chat.

Keep washing those hands and I hope to see you all soon.

Nurse Schy: schys@newton.k12.ma.us

Dear NPS Families,

[In this message] you will find details of our distance-learning plan, which will move into its next phase on Monday, April 6th. We know that our families have been anxious for a more structured schedule that re-engages students in learning, reconnects them to their school community, and provides clear direction and support. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we have embarked upon the challenge of moving a large organization centered upon in-person connection to a distance learning environment.  Continue reading….

• NPS Student Gmail Activation
• Distance learning plan in English.
• Spanish Translation – Email to Families – Distance Learning Plan – 4.2.20
• Portuguese Translation – Email to Families – Distance Learning Plan – 4.2.20
• Chinese Translation – Email to Families – Distance Learning Plan – 4.2.20
• Korean Translation – Email to Families – Distance Learning Plan – 4.2.20
• Japanese Translation – Email to Families – Distance Learning Plan – 4.2.20
• Russian Translation – Email to Families – Distance Learning Plan – 4.2.20
• Hebrew Translation – Email to Families – Distance Learning Plan – 4.2.20

Translated versions are provided through Google Translate and may contain awkward phrasing and structure.

Currently, school is closed until May 4th. As we know, the situation is continuing to evolve. We will keep you informed should this date change.

NPS will be closed on Friday, April 10th for Good Friday, as previously scheduled.

April vacation is cancelled. We will observe Patriot’s Day on Monday, April 20th and then continue our distance-learning plan for the remainder of the week. 

Because we will be holding school during April vacation, the official last day of school for students will now be Thursday, June 18th. This proposal follows guidance from DESE of a 185-day school year.

Grab ‘N Go Meals for Students

School closures may significantly impact families in many ways, especially those experiencing food insecurity. Grab ‘n Go meals are available to NPS students in need at both Newton North and Newton South High Schools. Please see details below:

• Time: Between 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• Location at South: Front parking loop
• Location at North: Parking area near auditorium entrance

The Corner Café, 321 Washington St., is providing free, hot lunches to Newton students pre-K through grade 12. Text “School Lunch” to 617-527-9835 for a no contact pickup. In addition, check some local Newton and Boston resources for food on the NPS website https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3632.

Food for Families

The Food for Families program has free bags of non-perishable food available for pickup for anybody in need at five locations in Newton. Find the bags in large “pod” containers here:

• Fire Station 2: 1750 Commonwealth Ave., Auburndale
• Fire Station 4: 195 Crafts St., Nonantum
• Fire Station 7: 144 Elliot St., Newton Upper Falls
• Fire Station 10: 755 Dedham St. Newton/Oak Hill (on the south side of the City)
• American Legion Nonantum Post 440: 295 California St., Nonantum (near Watertown)

Please, only 2 bags per family to allow for more families to access food. Also, remember to maintain proper social distancing when picking up the bags (allow a person who is in the pod to exit before entering). Bags can be picked up at any time.

More information here: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3632

What are your favorite games during this 2020 March (going to April) Madness? Online? Board? Ball? Please send us photos of games that kids and families have been playing together so we can share on the PTO website and the PTO Facebook page.

This is Banned Words through FaceTime – early setup, before Zoom became an everyday reality.

For students: watch video

(click on the image)

(Video date: 03/30/20)

For Parents

(Message date: 03/29/20, updated 03/31/20)

Dear Bigelow Parents,

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we all adjust to new circumstances.

My colleagues and I across the district have been hearing a range of feedback from families that reflects the wide variety of circumstances they are facing. This feedback is useful as it informs our plan going forward for the extended school closure. We know our plan must include an acknowledgment and respect for the diversity of situations our families are experiencing, including the time and resources they have available to them.

While we learned last Wednesday of Governor Baker’s declaration to keep schools closed until May 4, we had already been planning for a longer closure. Our planning process was outlined in David Fleishman’s March 22nd email to the community.

By the end of this week, you can expect from us a structured plan that includes opportunities to connect with teachers and classmates as well as content specific work. This schedule will include the opportunity to connect with adults and peers, and to practice, process, and reflect on skills and learning.

In preparation for the rollout of this plan, we have been working rapidly on the following:

Practice – Our teachers and staff have been reaching out to students with technology tools to see what works best in a distance learning environment. Practicing with technology tools, both for connection and learning, allows us to understand what will work in our second phase of school closure. Bigelow teachers and teachers throughout the district have been trying different approaches, but they are all still operating under the same guidance originally laid out by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Collaboration – Committees at each level (elementary, middle, and high) have been collaborating to develop a school and system-wide approach to the next phase of online learning. At the district level, we continue to collaborate with our neighboring districts, including Brookline, Needham, and Wellesley, who have developed plans similar to our own. We will continue to do so in the coming days, as well as working to interpret guidance from the DESE.

Technology deployment – As a public school district, it is essential that we ensure that all of our students have access to the learning that can occur. One aspect of this is access to a device. We are continuing to identify families who need a device and delivering it to them.

I have been impressed by the response of students and teachers to this new changing and challenging environment. Several teachers hosted office hours using google.meet on a trial basis last week, and reported how valuable it was to re-connect with their students and to hear from them how they are doing, both in general and as well as on their online learning activities.

We will be back in touch with you soon with our updated plan to support learning during this extended school closure.

In the meantime, our current plan with online enrichment learning activities will continue. You and your children will be receiving a new round of emails with learning activities for this week. The clusters will send out their recommended online activities on Monday or Tuesday morning, the world language teachers will email their activities on Wednesday morning, and the FAA/PE teachers will communicate theirs on Thursday morning. I hope that this new schedule will help smooth the flow of work in your household. Please encourage your student to choose from these offerings to continue their work at home this week. This will serve them well as we ramp-up for the next phase of our distance learning plan.

Sincerely,

Todd