¡ Ay dios mio! What a night it was! Saturday evening’s Hot Night in Havana was maravillosa. More than 130 parents, guardians, friends, Bigelow teachers and staff ate delectable Latin food, sipped mojitos, danced the salsa, bid on great items and most importantly, reconnected with old friends and met new ones. The event raised mucho dinero — close to $15,000— which will go towards curriculum-enriching programs such as the Creative Arts and Sciences, student scholarships, school grounds upkeep, classroom supplies, as well as gym and technology items not covered by the regular school budget.

Take a peak at the magical evening by clicking here: http://zaza.smugmug.com/Events/Big-Night-in-Havana/n-jhtcFg/

Muchas gracias to all who attended and to the people and businesses who donated goods, services as well as their time and talents to make our Hot Night one of the best ever.

Specifically, thank you to:

• Our tireless co-chairs Tammy McKenna and Beth Panella who worked long hours to bring a great concept to fruition. Special thanks to Tammy, the head honcho at the Commander’s Mansion, for getting so many of her vendors to contribute to the evening.
• Una Simmons for turning a white tent into a colorful Havana hot spot.
• The other Hot Night Committee members for time and energy to make the whole night come together. They are: Leah Arteaga, Sally Brickell, Laurie Halloran, Alison Leary, Vicki Ritterband, Jen Siegelman, solicitor extraordinaire Joanne Tsao, and the kids and significant others who helped with set up and break down.
• The volunteers who helped make the evening flawless and the solicitors who populated our auction tables: Stuart Arbuckle, Gary Bagnall, Carena Cremin, Heather Mehra, Claire Marre, Sami O’Reilly, Agi Sardi, Stacy Schwartz, Vicki Spetter, and Lex Van der Ploeg.
• Our superb entertainers, salsa teacher Monica Schauweker, crooner Manuel “Coco” Torres and The Bigelow Bulldog Jazz Band led by the terrific Greg Livingston.
• The wonderful Bigelow staff who donated one-of -a-kind items to the auction:  Jaime Alberts, Christopher Campbell, Joe Eckstrom, Todd Harrison, Greg Livingston, Meghan Martin, Kyra Mercado, Lora Papazian, Michele Parker, Danielle Pargoli, Bill Prendergast, Sue Schy, Patty Summa and Mike Whitman.
• The local companies who donated or gave us discounts on delectable food, thirst-quenching beverages and various other things: BG Events and Catering, Hector Arredondo, Boston Beer Company – Sam Adams, El Pelon Taqueria, Murray’s Liquors, Blooms of Hope, Gordon’s Fine Wines and Liquors, Home Depot of Watertown, AA Rental Center of Watertown and Gray’s Daily Grind. Please frequent these businesses and use their services!
• Our sponsors, Anonymous, Village Bank, All that Jazz Dance Studio and the Whitehouse/DeDominicis family
• The evening’s photographer, mom Isabel Roeder, http://zaza.smugmug.com .
• The many businesses and organizations who donated items to our silent auction. For a complete list, click here: http://bigelowpto.org/big-night-2015-donors/ Please support them!
• To anyone else who contributed to the evening who we forgot to list. Our apologies!

We wish all the Bigelow Mom’s out there a Happy Mother’s Day.  We hope you are all enjoying your day with family and friends.

We also wanted to say THANK YOU to all that participated in, attended, donated to and planned the BIG NIGHT.  It was a wonderful evening!  More detailed information about the night to follow on Tuesday.

See the attached flyer for more information FallPlayAuditionInformation

May newsletter- sleep

Looks like the weather is going to be great for our Hot Night in Havana!!  If you have not had a chance to get your Big Night Tickets, please get them today so we can  finalize our plans for the evening.  

Get your tickets at www.charityauctionorganizer.com/auction/Bigelow2015.  You can also view our auction catalog. We hope you can join us!!

Have some free time this Saturday? We need volunteers to help us at the Big Night. Want to join in?  A few people are needed to help set up and decorate the space from 11am-2pm on Sat. We also need help during the event for an hour or so.  Specific needs are to  check in guests from 6:45 – 8pm and clean up at 11pm.  Please email Beth at beth.ann.panella@bankofamerica.com if you are interested in helping out or you have any questions.

Thank you to all who visited Bertucci’s last week during the Dining for Dollars nights. Thanks to your participation (and good appetites) Bertucci’s will donate $348 to pay for scholarships for 8th grade end of year trips.

May 4-8 is Teacher Appreciation Week. Say “Thank You” to the exceptional teachers and staff who motivate, educate and inspire your students to be the best they can be by participating in the Honor Thy Teacher campaign. Newton Schools Foundation created this special program for parents to honor teachers by giving a gift in their name. You may also choose to honor a special education aide, a fine arts or music teacher, or a coach or counselor who has touched your child’s life. Suggested donation is $25 per teacher/staff member.

FIDEL STILL CAN NOT MAKE IT TO THE BIG NIGHT, BUT YOU CAN! JOIN US AT BIGELOW’S HOT NIGHT IN HAVANA THIS SATURDAY, MAY 9 from 7-11pm.

Come enjoy live Cuban music, salsa lessons, delicious latin food, and lots of great items to bid on, as well as a special appearance by the Bigelow Jazz Band. The fiesta takes place under the stars at the Commander’s Mansion in Watertown.

Get your tickets at www.charityauctionorganizer.com/auction/Bigelow2015 

Want to volunteer?  We need people to help set up and decorate the space from 11am-2pm on Sat. We also need a few people to help during the night of the event for an hour or so. Please email Beth at beth.ann.panella@bankofamerica.com if you are interested.

Check out our auction, especially our one of a kind TEACHER / SCHOOL items.  Go to www.charityauctionorganizer.com/auction/Bigelow2015 and scroll to the bottom to see the items.

Thank you to all that attended the Growth Mindset Workshop at last week’s PTO meeting.  Over 60 parents / guardians and educators attended the evening.  A very special thank you to the Newton North School Council and Principal Jen Price for sharing their presentation with us. It was a very informative and interactive night.