The Newton Juneteenth Celebration returns to the Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln St, Newton, on Saturday, June 15, 2024, from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm!

This fun family event celebrates the national Juneteenth holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Americans. Bring your kids and parents to celebrate African-American heritage and culture through food, music, dance, and story-telling for a fantastic afternoon of fun!

The Myrtle Baptist Church Choir will take center stage for a headline performance. This year, we are featuring this historic choir to honor their 150-year anniversary! Listen to their amazing sound here.

Also, don’t miss…

• Delicious food truck flavors of Zaz and Gourmet Kreyol
• Free face painting
• Children’s reading with Myrtle’s youth pastor
• Children’s reading with Story Starters
• DJ Firestarta dance darty
• Shopping at more than 20 booths by local Black-owned businesses
• Live performance by Tempo Rhythm & Steel Band
• T-shirt making with Wee the People
• Creating with Adinkra
• Free Designer Juneteenth Water Bottle for the first 300 people to arrive!

View the Program of Events here

Get involved!

• Are you a Black-owned business or a community partner? Request a booth here or email questions to vendor@forj.org.
• Want to help with preparations beforehand and/or join our fun crew on the day of the event? Volunteer here.
• Help fund the festivities! Please click here to donate.
• Questions? Email juneteenth@forj.org.

We are grateful for generous sponsorship support from the Harmony Foundation, Village Bank, Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ) and Newton Cultural Council. The Newton Juneteenth Celebration is brought to you by the Juneteenth Celebration Steering Committee in partnership with the Newton Coalition of Black Residents, FORJ and FORJ Newton North High School.

More details available at https://www.facebook.com/FORJNewton/.

Many thanks to Lanni Isenberg, Laura Goldworm, Jill Feinberg, Nisa Dailey, and Hai Ly Burk for stepping up to fill some of the open PTO committee positions for the 2024-25 school year!

There are still plenty of open positions and opportunities and we are eager to involve more parents. In particular, we would like to identify volunteers for the following so we can hit the ground running next Fall:

• President/Co-President Lead and support the team, preside over PTO meetings, serve as primary contact and representative of the PTO
• Fundraising Committee Work with other volunteers to help determine the best focus for PTO fundraising events (e.g., annual appeal, socials, restaurant nights, online auction)
• Fall PTO Adult Social Co-Chair Help organize a casual social event highlighting PTO committees and events
• Bigelow Back to School Bash Help organize outdoor family event at Bigelow with food truck(s) and music
• 6th Grade Parent/Caregiver Fall Potluck Help organize the 6th grade community “get to know you” event
• 8th Grade Activities Committee Organize transition activities for 8th grade class including fundraising, year-end celebrations, Moving On ceremony, etc
• Creative Arts & Science (CAS) Co-Chair Work with current Bigelow CAS chair Zlatena Simeonova and the city-wide CAS director to coordinate engaging arts and science events for the student body.

If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about any of the opportunities above or any of the other PTO positions please email bigelowbulldog@gmail.com.

We are looking for parent volunteers on Thursday, June 20th, from 12-2:30pm to help our 8th graders with their community service project at Bigelow.

If you are available/interested, please fill out this form and we’ll be in touch soon with more details!: https://forms.gle/k93XnCH3fxSnNrFm6

Please join us next Tuesday, June 4th at 6:30 pm for our final PTO meeting of the 2023-24 school year. We will review the PTO budget and start planning for next year.

This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom: https://mit.zoom.us/j/2480127508?pwd=RGVwT1k5MFd4dEtFK3ZYTUthTUhOdz09&omn=99085742459

As a reminder, we are actively recruiting parent/guardian volunteers for several PTO board positions for the 2024-25 school year. Filling these positions is critical to the success of the PTO! Please read more below and fill out this Google Form to express interest or provide feedback.

• President: Lead and support the team, preside over PTO meetings, serve as primary contact and representative of the PTO
• Vice President of Community Building: Support Committee Chairs in planning and community events (e.g., School Dances, other Social events)
• Vice President of Fundraising Activities: Support Committee Chairs for fundraising planning and events
• Secretary: Take minutes, keep the PTO calendar current, communication flow

We also have open co-chair positions for many committees that work with the board to fill particular needs and drive specific events. Volunteering with the PTO is a great way to enhance your student’s middle school experience while meeting other parents and building a stronger school connection.

Volunteering doesn’t have to be a big commitment! If you are eager to take part in the PTO but would prefer to have a co-chair position, please consider volunteering as a Co-President or Co-Vice President. We’d love to hear from you and include you as part of the team in a capacity that works for all.

To make the PTO a success for all students and families, we would love to involve community members from all of Bigelow’s feeder schools. Rising 6th, 7th, and 8th the grade parents/caregivers from Underwood, Cabot, Lincoln-Elliot, Mason Rice, Ward, and beyond: We want to hear from you! Please let us know if you can join our board or a committee in any capacity ensuring that we have an inclusive board and that our events have a wide reach.

Please review this Google Form to express interest or provide feedback.

Don’t miss Bigelow Drama’s Student-Directed Spring Production of 10 Minute Plays! Performances are Friday, May 31st and Saturday, June 1st at 7 pm. Purchase your tickets HERE.

• The FRIDAY performance will be ASL interpreted.
• It is important to us that the show is accessible to all families, regardless of financial situation: use the code BULLDOG to get two $1 tickets.
• Tickets for students will also be sold at all lunches for $5.

Thanks to tremendous participation in Teacher Appreciation Week, the PTO completed our 2023-24 school year appreciation events with a surplus. We were able to put this surplus to good use by replacing the 30+ year old refrigerator in the Bigelow staff room. Thank you to the many parents and caregivers who contributed to Teacher & Staff Appreciation events throughout the year and made this well overdue upgrade possible.

Many thanks to Ron Farrar and Suriya Ziblatt for leading the Teacher & Staff Appreciation committee for the past 2 years!

Are you interested in future Teacher & Staff appreciation events? Please review this Google Form to provide feedback or express interest in volunteering for the 2024-25 school year.

Please Save the Date, Tuesday, June 4th at 6:30 pm for our final PTO meeting of the 2023-24 school year. We will review the PTO budget and start planning for next year. This meeting will be held virtually, link to be distributed.

As a reminder, we are actively recruiting parent/guardian volunteers for several PTO board positions for the 2024-25 school year. Filling these positions is critical to the success of the PTO! Please read more below and fill out this Google Form to express interest or provide feedback.

• President: Lead and support the team, preside over PTO meetings, serve as primary contact and representative of the PTO
• Vice President of Community Building: Support Committee Chairs in planning and community events (e.g., School Dances, other Social events)
• Vice President of Fundraising Activities: Support Committee Chairs for fundraising planning and events
• Secretary: Take minutes, keep the PTO calendar current, communication flow

We also have open co-chair positions for many committees that work with the board to fill particular needs and drive specific events. Volunteering with the PTO is a great way to enhance your student’s middle school experience while meeting other parents and building a stronger school connection.

Volunteering doesn’t have to be a big commitment! If you are eager to take part in the PTO but would prefer to have a co-chair position, please consider volunteering as a Co-President or Co-Vice President. We’d love to hear from you and include you as part of the team in a capacity that works for all.

To make the PTO a success for all students and families, we would love to involve community members from all of Bigelow’s feeder schools. Rising 6th, 7th, and 8th the grade parents/caregivers from Underwood, Cabot, Lincoln-Elliot, Mason Rice, Ward, and beyond: We want to hear from you! Please let us know if you can join our board or a committee in any capacity ensuring that we have an inclusive board and that our events have a wide reach.

Please review this Google Form to express interest or provide feedback.

The Spring Bling Dance + Social was a fun success with over 100 students in attendance dancing, taking photos, and enjoying the games, snacks and the magic show!

HUGE thank you Hai Ly for leading this effort and to the parent volunteers who were crucial to making the dance + social a success:

Rachanee Nelson, Susan St. Pierre, Caitlin Cusick, Laura and Luke Goldworm, Ross Feinberg, Alex and Aparna Rolfe, Nick Burk, Jen Elam, Monika Sawicka, Carla Rodrigues, Kate Leuthy, Margaret Silva, Christian Cotto, Christine Reid, Stacey Kazakaff-Elgen, Joanne Wang, Valerie Conen, Ileen Thelen, Lanni Isenberg, Jen Magee, Paul Chin, and Hai Ly.

A big thank you to our student volunteers: Jaylin Pryor, Ana Pineda, Gabe Neeley, and Nayra Musisi.

Also shout out to Mr. Leone and the student council for their help selling tickets, Principal Coston for her support, and custodians Mike and Rick who were so helpful throughout the entire event. THANK YOU!

Do you have ideas for future school social events? Please review this Google Form to provide feedback or express interest in volunteering for the 2024-25 school year.

Thank you to all who attended last Saturday’s Social at the Social to celebrate our Bigelow community and meet incoming Principal Dan Green.

Many thanks to Tracy Buckner, Bekka Cirel, and Erika Holmberg for spearheading this event!

Would you like to see more opportunities for parent/caregiver social events? Do you have ideas for other community building events? Please review this Google Form to provide feedback or express interest in volunteering for the 2024-25 school year.